George Sewell (31 August 19242 April 2007) was an English actor, best known for his television roles, but also active on stage and in films.

Early life and early career

The son of a Hoxton printer and a florist, Sewell left school at the age of 14 and worked briefly in the printing trade before switching to building work, specifically the repair of bomb-damaged houses. He then trained as a Royal Air Force pilot, though too late to see action during the Second World War. Following his

demob Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and militar ...

, Sewell joined the Merchant Navy, he worked in the engine room serving as an oil trimmer for the

Cunard Line Cunard () is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its three ships have been registered in Hamilton, Berm ...

on the and for their Atlantic crossings to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. He worked as a street photographer, assisted a French roller-skating team, and was drummer and assistant road manager of a rumba band. He also travelled Europe as a motor coach courier for a holiday company.

Acting career

Theatre

Sewell had not considered acting until, aged 35, he met the actor

Dudley Sutton Dudley Sutton (6 April 1933 – 15 September 2018) was an English actor. Active in radio, stage, film and television, he was arguably best known for his role of Tinker Dill in the BBC Television drama series ''Lovejoy''. Early life Sutton was ...

by chance in a pub. Sutton recommended that Sewell audition for a production by Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop of '' Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be''. Sewell did so, and made his acting debut as a policeman in the show both at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East and in the

West End West End most commonly refers to: * West End of London, an area of central London, England * West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England West End may also refer to: Pl ...

. He went on to star in two other Littlewood productions, ''

Sparrers Can't Sing ''Sparrows Can't Sing'' is a 1963 British kitchen sink comedy film. Based on a 1960 play, ''Sparrers Can't Sing'', it was directed by Joan Littlewood and was from a story by Stephen Lewis. The producer was Donald Taylor and the original music by ...

'' (1962) and as

Field Marshal Haig Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, (; 19 June 1861 – 29 January 1928) was a senior officer of the British Army. During the First World War, he commanded the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front from late 1915 unti ...

in '' Oh! What a Lovely War'' (1963), which later opened in Paris and on Broadway. The experience garnered from stage acting led to a long career in both film and television.

Television

For many years, Sewell was the gritty face of crime and law enforcement in a huge array of television series. Amongst his early roles, he was the tallyman in the television play '' Up The Junction'' (1965), a criminal who runs off with a teenage girl in '' Softly, Softly'' (1966), a hard-nosed building engineer in '' The Power Game'' (1965–66), a cowardly informer in '' Man in a Suitcase'' (1967), and a seedy private eye in '' Spindoe'' (1968). In 1969 he played an escaped convict called Jansen in the '' Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)'' episode called "Vendetta for a dead man". In 1970, he played Colonel

Alec Freeman ''UFO'' is a 1970 British science fiction television series about the covert efforts of a government defence organisation to prevent an alien invasion of Earth. It was created by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson with Reg Hill, and produced ...

in Gerry Anderson's live-action science-fiction drama '' UFO''. Also in 1970 he played resistance leader Pierre Allard in three episodes of the ITV series Manhunt – 14 (One Way Home), 17 (The Ugly Side of War) and 22, (Intent to Steal) which were filmed in 1969 and aired in January 1970. He also appeared in a 1971 episode of '' Public Eye'' (Come into The Garden, Rose) as Harry Brierly. In 1973, Euston Films re-invigorated the TV series ''

Special Branch Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security and Intelligence (information gathering), intelligence in Policing in the United Kingdom, British, Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, ...

'', formerly a videotaped series starring Derren Nesbitt. Sewell was brought in to play the lead character of DCI Alan Craven. The show ran for two seasons with Sewell, and served as a stylistic forerunner of crime drama ''

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 ...

'' (in which Sewell also appeared, this time as a villain). Sewell was to parody this role as

Supt Supt () is a commune in the Jura department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. Population Points of interest *Arboretum de Chevreuil See also *Communes of the Jura department The following is a list of the 494 commu ...

Frank Cottam in the Jasper Carrott/ Robert Powell comedy, ''

The Detectives A detective is a professional investigator. Detective(s) or The Detective(s) may also refer to: Films (Chronological) * ''Detectives'' (1928 film), an American silent comedy film by MGM, directed by Chester Franklin * ''Detective'' (1954 film) ...

''. He also played a Detective Baker who turned out to be a burglar in the '' Rising Damp'' episode ''The Prowler.'' He also played Ray Walker in ''

Heartbeat A heartbeat is one cardiac cycle of the heart. Heartbeat, heart beat, heartbeats, and heart beats may refer to: Computing *Heartbeat (computing), a periodic signal to indicate normal operation or to synchronize parts of a system *Heartbeat, clus ...

'' (series 9 episode 20).

Later roles

Later television appearances include '' Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'' (1979), in which he played Mendel, and the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' story '' Remembrance of the Daleks'' (1988), in which he played builder's merchant and

fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

leader Ratcliffe. He also appeared frequently in films, notably '' This Sporting Life'' (1963), '' Poor Cow'' (1967) and '' Get Carter'' (1971). He was the subject of ''

This Is Your Life This Is Your Life may refer to: Television * ''This Is Your Life'' (American franchise), an American radio and television documentary biography series hosted by Ralph Edwards * ''This Is Your Life'' (Australian TV series), the Australian versio ...

'' in 1973 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews while filming scenes for the TV series ''

''.

Personal life and death

George Sewell died from cancer on 2 April 2007 at the age of 82. His brother,

Danny Sewell Danny Sewell (18 November 1930 – 18 May 2001) was a British professional heavyweight boxer and actor who created the role of Bill Sikes in the 1960 stage musical ''Oliver!''. He remained in the role for the original Broadway production, whi ...

, a former boxer, also became an actor.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
''The Guardian'' obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sewell, George 1924 births 2007 deaths 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors British Merchant Navy personnel Deaths from cancer in England English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors Male actors from London People educated at St Ignatius' College, Enfield Actors from Hoxton Royal Air Force pilots of World War II