Denys Blakelock (22 June 1901 – 9 December 1970) was an English actor, teacher, writer and broadcaster.

Life and career

Blakelock was born in London on 22 June 1901, son of the Rev Martin Blakelock, vicar of St Andrew's,

Muswell Hill Muswell Hill is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, north London. The hill, which reaches over above sea level, is situated north of Charing Cross. Neighbouring areas include Highgate, Hampstead Garden Suburb, East Finchl ...

, and his wife, Constance, ''née'' Pike. He was educated at

Aldenham School Aldenham School is a co-educational independent school for pupils aged eleven to eighteen, located between Elstree and the village of Aldenham in Hertfordshire, England. There is also a preparatory school for pupils from the ages of five to ele ...

from where he went on to the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Sen ...

(RADA). In 1920 he made his first professional appearance, as Jaising in

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

's play ''Sacrifice''.Gaye, p. 379 According to ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' it was in "the showy part of an effeminate soclalite" in

Basil Dean Basil Herbert Dean CBE (27 September 1888 – 22 April 1978) was an English actor, writer, producer and director in the theatre and in cinema. He founded the Liverpool Repertory Company in 1911 and in the First World War, after organising unoff ...

's production of

Frederick Lonsdale Frederick Lonsdale (5 February 1881 – 4 April 1954) was a British playwright known for his librettos to several successful musicals early in the 20th century, including '' King of Cadonia'' (1908), ''The Balkan Princess'' (1910), ''Betty'' (1 ...

's ''

Spring Cleaning Spring cleaning is the practice of thoroughly cleaning a house in the springtime. The practice of spring cleaning is especially prevalent in climates with a cold winter. In many cultures, annual cleaning occurs at the end of the year, which may b ...

'' (1925) that Blakelock made his name."Mr Denys Blakelock", ''The Times'', 14 December 1970, p. 11 In the late 1920s and throughout the 1930s Blakelock appeared in a succession of West End plays, many of them successful but undemanding.Gaye, p. 380 Feeling the need of a greater challenge he turned to the classics, appearing at the

Arts Theatre The Arts Theatre is a theatre in Great Newport Street, in Westminster, Central London. History It opened on 20 April 1927 as a members-only club for the performance of unlicensed plays, thus avoiding theatre censorship by the Lord Chamberl ...

from 1942 to 1945, playing, among other roles, Aguecheek in ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vio ...

'', Androcles in '' Androcles and the Lion'', Bob Acres in ''

The Rivals ''The Rivals'' is a comedy of manners by Richard Brinsley Sheridan in five acts which was first performed at Covent Garden Theatre on 17 January 1775. The story has been updated frequently, including a 1935 musical and a 1958 List of Maverick ...

'', and the title role in '' The Magistrate''. In 1951 he featured in the original West End cast of

John Whiting John Robert Whiting (15 November 1917 – 16 June 1963) was an English actor, dramatist and critic. Life and career Born in Salisbury, he was educated at Taunton School, "the particular hellish life which is the English public school" as he ...

's ''

A Penny for a Song ''A Penny for a Song'' is a 1951 historical comedy play by the British writer John Whiting. In 1967 it was adapted into an opera of the same title by Richard Rodney Bennett, performed at Sadler's Wells. It premiered at Wimbledon Theatre before ...

''. Despite his continuing success as an actor Blakelock grew disenchanted with the theatre, and in 1954 he abandoned the part of Firs, the old major domo, during rehearsals of

John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud, (; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Briti ...

's production of ''The Cherry Orchard''. After that he worked extensively on television and radio, taught at RADA, and wrote a biography of

Eleanor Farjeon Eleanor Farjeon (13 February 1881 – 5 June 1965) was an English author of children's stories and plays, poetry, biography, history and satire. Several of her works had illustrations by Edward Ardizzone. Some of her correspondence has also be ...

titled ''Eleanor: Portrait of a Farjeon'', essays, and an autobiography. His autobiography, titled ''Round the Next Corner'' was published in 1967 by Victor Gollancz in London. With a Foreword by Paul Scofield, it was reviewed as "An intensely personal autobiography that also throws much light on London theatrical life in the twenties and thirties." His book of poetry "The Waters", which focused on his Catholic faith, was published by the Assisi Press in Dublin in 1955. He dedicated the book to Eleanor Farjeon (who encouraged him to write poetry), and was instrumental in her conversion to Catholicism in her late adulthood. His acting work for the

BBC #REDIRECT 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 ex ...

in his last years included a long-running role in the series ''

Waggoners' Walk ''Waggoners' Walk'' was a daily radio soap opera, set in the fictional cul-de-sac of Waggoners' Walk and its environs in Hampstead, north London. It was broadcast daily on BBC Radio 2 from 1969 to 1980, in the form of 15-minute episodes on w ...

''. Blakelock died in London on 9 December 1970, aged 69. In its obituary ''The Times'' commented, "It seems sad that a man whose acting, especially in comedy, gave so much pleasure should himself have found so little satisfaction in it. At least, however, he enjoyed passing on his knowledge and his experience of the problems of the stage to student classes at RADA. and to pupils who worked with him privately".

References and sources

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blakelock, Denys 1901 births 1970 deaths Male actors from London English male television actors