Dennis Waterman (24 February 1948 – 8 May 2022) was an English actor and singer. He was best known for his tough-guy leading roles in television series including ''
The Sweeney
''The Sweeney'' is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London. It stars John Thaw as Detective Ins ...
'', ''
Minder
A minder is the person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e. a person who " minds".
Government-appointed persons to accompany foreign visitors are of ...
'' and ''
New Tricks
''New Tricks'' is a British television police procedural
The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the ...
'', singing the theme tunes of the latter two.
Waterman's acting career spanned 60 years, starting with his childhood roles in film and theatre, and adult roles in film, television and
West End theatre
West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes, "West End" in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1 ...
. He was known for the range of roles he played, including drama (''
Up the Junction
''Up the Junction'' is a 1963 collection of short stories by Nell Dunn that depicts contemporary life in the industrial slums of Battersea and Clapham Junction.
The book uses colloquial speech, and its portrayal of petty thieving, sexual encoun ...
''), horror (''
Scars of Dracula
''Scars of Dracula'' is a 1970 British horror film directed by Roy Ward Baker for Hammer Films.
It stars Christopher Lee as Count Dracula, along with Dennis Waterman, Jenny Hanley, Patrick Troughton, and Michael Gwynn. Although disparaged by ...
''), adventure (''
Colditz
Colditz () is a small town in the district of Leipzig, in Saxony, Germany. It is best known for Colditz Castle, the site of the Oflag IV-C POW camp for officers in World War II.
Geography
Colditz is situated in the Leipzig Bay, southeast of the ...
''), comedy (''
Fair Exchange''), comedy-drama (''Minder''), musical (''
Windy City'') and sport (''
The World Cup: A Captain's Tale''). He appeared in 29 films, the last being released in 2020.
Early life and education
Waterman was born on 24 February 1948, as the youngest of nine children to Rose Juliana (née Saunders) and Harry Frank Waterman in
Clapham
Clapham () is a suburb in south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (most notably Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth.
History
Early history
T ...
,
[Waterman and Arlon. – p.7.] then in the
County of London
The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government A ...
. The family, which included siblings Ken,
Peter
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a sur ...
, a
welterweight
Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...
boxing champion,
Stella, Norma, and Myrna, lived at 2 Elms Road, Clapham Common South Side.
Harry Waterman was a ticket collector for
British Railways
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...
.
Two older sisters, Joy and Vera, had already left home by the time Dennis was born, and another brother, Allen, had died as a young child.
Boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
was a big part of Waterman's childhood. His father had been an amateur boxer and made all of his sons box.
[Waterman and Arlon. – p.13-14.] His older brother Ken first took Dennis boxing when he was three years old,
[Waterman and Arlon. – p.18.] and when he was ten Dennis joined Caius Boxing Club.
Waterman was educated at the Granard Primary School, a state primary school on the Ashburton Estate in
Putney
Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
History
Putney is an ancient paris ...
, southwest London, followed by
Corona Stage School, an
independent school
An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...
at
Ravenscourt Park
Ravenscourt Park or RCP is an public park and garden located in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, England. It is one of the Borough's flagship parks, having won a Green Flag Award. Stamford Brook and Ravenscourt Park tube stations ar ...
in
Hammersmith
Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
...
,
West London
West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary.
The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: North London ...
.
Life and career
1960s
Waterman's acting career began in childhood. His first role was in ''
Night Train for Inverness
''Night Train for Inverness'' is a black and white 1960 British drama film directed by Ernest Morris and starring Norman Wooland, Jane Hylton and Dennis Waterman. It is notable as the film debut of Dennis Waterman. The film was referenced in an ...
'' (1960).
He appeared in two small
stage
Stage or stages may refer to:
Acting
* Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions
* Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage"
* ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper
* Sta ...
roles for the
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...
's 1960 season. In 1961, at the age of 13, he played the part of Winthrop Paroo in the
Adelphi Theatre
The Adelphi Theatre is a West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster, central London. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiv ...
production of ''
The Music Man
''The Music Man'' is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and ...
''. A year later, he starred as William Brown in the BBC TV series ''William'' based on the ''
Just William
''Just William'' is the first book of children's short stories about the young school boy William Brown, written by Richmal Crompton, and published in 1922. The book was the first in the series of William Brown books which was the basis for ...
'' books of
Richmal Crompton
Richmal Crompton Lamburn (15 November 1890 – 11 January 1969) was a popular English writer, best known for her ''Just William'' series of books, humorous short stories, and to a lesser extent adult fiction books.
Life
Richmal Crompton Lambu ...
.
Waterman played the role of
Oliver Twist
''Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress'', Charles Dickens's second novel, was published as a serial from 1837 to 1839, and as a three-volume book in 1838. Born in a workhouse, the orphan Oliver Twist is bound into apprenticeship with ...
in the production of the
Lionel Bart
Lionel Bart (1 August 1930 – 3 April 1999) was a British writer and composer of pop music and musicals. He wrote Tommy Steele's "Rock with the Caveman" and was the sole creator of the musical '' Oliver!'' (1960). With ''Oliver!'' and his work ...
musical ''
Oliver!
''Oliver!'' is a coming-of-age stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel '' Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens.
It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before op ...
'' staged at the
Mermaid Theatre
The Mermaid Theatre was a theatre encompassing the site of Puddle Dock and Curriers' Alley at Blackfriars in the City of London, and the first built in the City since the time of Shakespeare. It was, importantly, also one of the first new thea ...
, London, in the early 1960s, and appeared on the cast recording released in 1961. Waterman was a series regular in the 1962
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
comedy ''
Fair Exchange'', playing teenager Neville Finch. In 1963, he took a "starring" role in the
Children's Film Foundation
The Children's Film Foundation (CFF) was a non-profit organisation which made films for children in the United Kingdom originally to be shown as part of childrens' Saturday morning matinée cinema programming. The films typically were about 55 ...
film ''Go Kart Go''.
He later appeared in the premier of Carving a Statue, produced by Peter Wood on 17 September 1964 at the Haymarket Theatre, London. The cast consisted of; Ralph Richardson as The Father, Dennis Waterman as His Son, Barbara Ferris as The First Girl, Jane Birkin as The Second Girl and Roland Culver as Dr Parker.
Waterman was in the original cast of ''
Saved'', the play written by
Edward Bond, and first produced at the
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, Englan ...
in November 1965. He had a major role in the feature film version of
''Up the Junction'' (1968) in which he played Peter, boyfriend to Polly (Suzy Kendall).
1970s
In the early 1970s, Waterman appeared in the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
officer. He played the brother of a victim of
(1971). He appeared alongside
'' (1971). He was a member of the company of actors who featured in ''The Sextet'' (1972), a
'', 1974). Also in 1974, Waterman appeared in
student by the name of Franz Wasserman. Waterman guest starred in a 1974 ''
'' episode entitled "Stand and Deliver"
He became a household name as DS George Carter in ''
'' during the 1970s. As well as starring as Terry McCann in ''
which was a top three UK hit in 1980 and a top ten hit in Australia. It was written by his then-wife
. Waterman also recorded a song with
In 1976, Waterman released his first album, ''Downwind of Angels'', arranged and produced by
. A single, "I Will Glide", was released from the album.
In 1978, Waterman returned to the RSC to play Sackett in
's comedy ''Saratoga''.
entitled ''The World Cup: A Captain's Tale'' (1982). It was the true story of