Derek Royle (7 September 1928 – 23 January 1990) was a British actor born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England. He graduated from RADA in 1950. His face was probably better known than his name to British viewers, but he acted in films and TV from the early 1960s until his death. He had a supporting role in the Beatles' film ''

Magical Mystery Tour ''Magical Mystery Tour'' is a record by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a double EP in the United Kingdom and an LP in the United States. It includes the soundtrack to the 1967 television film of the same name. The EP ...

'' in 1967, as well as a minor one with Cilla Black in the film ''

Work Is a Four-Letter Word ''Work Is a Four-Letter Word'' (also known as ''Work Is a 4-Letter Word'') is a 1968 British satirical comedy film directed by Peter Hall and starring David Warner and Cilla Black, in her only acting role in a cinematic film. The film was not w ...

'' a year later. Most of his film appearances were in comedy films such as '' Tiffany Jones'' (1973), '' Don't Just Lie There, Say Something!'' (1974) and ''Confessions of a Sex Maniac'' (1974).

Stage and television roles

He appeared in a children's TV comedy series, ''Hogg's Back'' (1975) as Doctor Hogg, an eccentric general practitioner (GP); in 2016, this series appeared on

Talking Pictures TV Talking Pictures TV (TPTV) is a British free-to-air vintage-film and nostalgia television channel. It was launched on 26 May 2015 on Sky channel 343, but later also became available on Freeview, Freesat, and Virgin Media. It is on air for 24 h ...

. Royle acted with

Wendy Richard Wendy Richard (born Wendy Emerton; 20 July 1943 – 26 February 2009) was an English actress, known for her television roles as Miss Shirley Brahms on the BBC sitcom ''Are You Being Served?'' from 1972 to 1985, and Pauline Fowler on the soa ...

and

Pat Coombs Patricia Doreen Coombs (27 August 1926 – 25 May 2002) was an English actress. She specialised in the portrayal of the eternal downtrodden female, comically under the thumb of stronger personalities. She was known for many roles on radio, ...

over two series. Hog's Back is a ridge of hills in Surrey. Royle played the hotel guest who dies in his room in the ''

Fawlty Towers ''Fawlty Towers'' is a British television sitcom written by John Cleese and Connie Booth, broadcast on BBC2 in 1975 and 1979. Two series of six episodes each were made. The show was ranked first on a list of the 100 Greatest British Televisio ...

'' episode "

The Kipper and the Corpse ''Fawlty Towers'' is a British television sitcom written by John Cleese and Connie Booth, broadcast on BBC2 in 1975 and 1979. Two series of six episodes each were made. The show was ranked first on a list of the 100 Greatest British Television P ...

". He also was the first actor to portray

Monsieur Ernest Leclerc This is a list of all main and recurring characters of BBC television's sitcom Allo 'Allo!'' that ran from 1982 until 1992 and 85 episodes. Overview René Artois René Francois Artois (Gorden Kaye) – The local café proprietor who, whi ...

in the sixth series of ''

'Allo 'Allo! ''Allo 'Allo!'' is a British sitcom television series, created by David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd, starring Gorden Kaye, Carmen Silvera, Guy Siner and Richard Gibson. Originally broadcast on BBC1, the series focuses on the life of a French caf ...

'' (replacing Jack Haig, who had portrayed Ernest's brother Roger), and had a supporting role in a remake of ''Indiscreet'' (1988) and a new BBC version of a

Lord Peter Wimsey Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey (later 17th Duke of Denver) is the fictional protagonist in a series of detective novels and short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers (and their continuation by Jill Paton Walsh). A dilettante who solves mysteries for ...

story. As a stage actor he was a mainstay of

Brian Rix Brian Norman Roger Rix, Baron Rix, (27 January 1924 – 20 August 2016) was an English actor-manager, who produced a record-breaking sequence of long-running farces on the London stage, including ''Dry Rot'', '' Simple Spymen'' and ''One for ...

's Whitehall farces company. He specialised in absent minded characters and used his acrobatic skills to fall down stairs and immediately get up again as if nothing had happened. Theatre critic

Michael Coveney Michael Coveney (born 24 July 1948) is a British theatre critic. Education and career Coveney was born in London and educated at St Ignatius’ College, Stamford Hill, and Worcester College, Oxford. After graduation, he worked as a script re ...

called him "simply one of the funniest men on the English stage".

Personal life and death

He was married to make-up artist Jane Royle and their daughters

Amanda Amanda is a Latin feminine gerundive (i.e. verbal adjective) name meaning, literally, “she who must (or is fit to) be loved”. Other translations, with similar meaning, could be "deserving to be loved," "worthy of love," or "loved very much b ...

and

Carol Royle Carol Buchanan Royle (born 10 February 1954) is an English actress. She is best known for playing Jenny Russell in the BBC sitcom ''Life Without George'' (1987—1989) and Lady Patricia Brewster in '' Heartbeat'' (1997—2003). Early life Born ...

became actresses. He died from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

aged 61.

References

External links

* 1928 births 1990 deaths Deaths from cancer in England English male stage actors English male film actors English male television actors Male actors from London 20th-century English male actors Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art British male comedy actors {{UK-tv-actor-1920s-stub