John Hewer (13 January 1922 – 16 March 2008) was an English

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and business manager who became familiar with audiences for playing Captain Birdseye in ads for

Birds Eye Birds Eye is an American international brand of frozen foods owned by Conagra Brands in the United States, by Nomad Foods in Europe, and Simplot in Australia. The former Birds Eye Company Ltd., originally named "Birdseye Seafood, Inc." had be ...

Biography

Hewer was born in

Leyton Leyton () is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the River L ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, the son of an engine driver. He attended Leyton High School following which he worked for the Social Services Department for

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

(LCC) dealing with people who had problems paying their rent. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

when he served as a navigator in the

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...

, with which he travelled to Vancouver and the Caribbean and witnessed the result of the

Hiroshima bombing The United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945, respectively. The two bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the on ...

. During the war Hewer performed with a group that entertained other service personnel.John Hewer: Icon of TV advertisements
- ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 20 March 2008 On being demobbed he returned to working for LCC but feeling drawn to the stage he joined the Unity Theatre and became a stalwart of London's

Players' Theatre The Players' Theatre was a London theatre which opened at 43 King Street, Covent Garden, on 18 October 1936. The club originally mounted period-style musical comedies, introducing Victorian-style music hall in December 1937. The threat of World ...

where he appeared throughout his career including in musical theatrical productions such as ''Sail Away'' and ''Six of One'' in London's

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 ...

. The highlight of his theatrical career was starring opposite

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Fi ...

in '' The Boy Friend'' on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in the 1950s. His television work included hosting the 1970s Canadian CTV variety series ''

The Pig and Whistle ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'', but his most familiar role was as the fictitious sailor Captain Birdseye, the mascot for

frozen foods in scores of British

TV commercials A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

from 1967 to 1998. In a 1993 poll he was voted the most recognised naval captain after

Captain Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...

.Obituary for John Hewer
- ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' 22 March 2008 With the actor Mike Hall he set up Hewer and Hall, the first conference production company in the UK to use the American model of "show business for business". The company presented conferences, product launches, training films and cabarets in the UK and across Europe; it was active in the late 1960s and early 70s and counted IBM,

Mobil Mobil is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil. The brand was formerly owned and operated by an oil and gas corporation of the same name, which itself merged with Exxon to form ExxonMobil in 1999. ...

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...

Beechams The Beecham Group plc was a British pharmaceutical company. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Beecham, after having merged with American pharmaceutical company SmithKline Beckman to become SmithKline Beecham, merged with Glaxo W ...

Gulf Oil Gulf Oil was a major global oil company in operation from 1901 to 1985. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth-largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the so-called Seven Sisters oil companies. Prior to its merger ...

and

among its clients. Hewer married Edna Vernon in 1943, who predeceased him in 1998. Residing in

Epping Epping may refer to: Places Australia * Epping, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Epping railway station, Sydney * Electoral district of Epping, the corresponding seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly * Epping Forest, Kearns, a he ...

in his later years and finally Brinsworth House in

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, Hewer died aged 86 on 16 March 2008. He was survived by a son and daughter.

Selected filmography

* '' The Dark Man'' (1951) - 1st Taxi Driver * ''

Assassin for Hire ''Assassin for Hire'' is a 1951 British crime film directed by Michael McCarthy and starring Sydney Tafler, Ronald Howard and Katharine Blake. Its plot follows a contract killer who becomes stricken with remorse when he is led to believe he ...

'' (1951) - Giuseppe Riccardi * '' Law and Disorder'' (1958) - Foxy * ''

Operation Stogie ''Operation Stogie'' is a 1959 British film.''Operation ...

'' (1959) * ''

Strip Tease Murder ''Strip Tease Murder'' is a low budget 1961 British film thriller directed by Ernest Morris and starring John Hewer and Ann Lynn. Plot Diana, a stripper, is electrocuted during a dance routine on stage at the Flamingo Club. Her husband, compere ...

'' (1961) - Bert Black * ''

Three Spare Wives ''Three Spare Wives'' is a 1962 British comedy film directed by Ernest Morris and starring Susan Stephen, John Hewer, Robin Hunter. It was based on a play by Talbot Rothwell. Plot On the death of his Arabian uncle, George (Robin Hunter) inheri ...

'' (1962) - Rupert * '' Billy Budd'' (1962) - Dubbing * ''

Mister Ten Per Cent ''Mister Ten Per Cent'' is a 1967 British comedy film directed by Peter Graham Scott and starring Charlie Drake, Derek Nimmo and Wanda Ventham. It was shot at Elstree Studios and on location in London. It was the last in a series of four films ...

'' (1967) - Townsend * ''

adverts as Captain Birdseye (1967-1998) * '' Home Before Midnight'' (1979) - Donelly * ''

Noel's House Party ''Noel's House Party'' is a BBC light entertainment series that was hosted by Noel Edmonds. Set in a large house in the fictional village of Crinkley Bottom, leading to much innuendo, it ran from 23 November 1991 to 26 March 2000 on BBC One, a ...

'' (13th March 1993) - Captain Birdseye

References

External links

*
''The Times'', 19 March 2008: John Hewer, original Captain Birdseye, dies aged 86

BBC bio of John Hewer as "Captain Birdseye"''The Guardian'', 18 March 2008: Captain Birds Eye actor dies''The Daily Telegraph'', 19 March 2008: Captain Birdseye actor John Hewer dies
*Obituaries:
''The Times'', 18 March 2008

''The Guardian'', 20 March 2008

''The Daily Telegraph'', 22 March 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hewer, John 1922 births 2008 deaths English television presenters English male stage actors English male television actors People from Leyton Male actors from London Fleet Air Arm personnel of World War II