Ray Smith (1 May 1936 – 15 December 1991) was a Welsh actor who played the tough-talking police chief, Detective Superintendent Gordon Spikings, in the television series ''

Dempsey and Makepeace ''Dempsey and Makepeace'' is a British television crime drama made by LWT for ITV, created and produced by Ranald Graham. Lead roles were played by Michael Brandon (Lieutenant Dempsey) and Glynis Barber (Detective Makepeace), who later married ...

''. He was the first actor to play

Brother Cadfael Brother Cadfael is the main fictional character in a series of historical murder mysteries written between 1977 and 1994 by the linguist-scholar Edith Pargeter under the name "Ellis Peters". The character of Cadfael himself is a Welsh Benedic ...

for BBC radio.

Early life

Smith was born in

Trealaw Trealaw is a long village, also a community and electoral ward in the Rhondda Valley, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It stretches over from the junction of Cemetery Road and Brithweunydd Road in the east, to the junction of Ynyscynon Road and Partri ...

in the

Rhondda Valley Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( cy, Cwm Rhondda ), is a former coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley ...

, and lived his early years on Ynyscynon Road, but lived for most of his adult life in

Dinas Powys Dinas Powys (; also spelt "Dinas Powis" in English) is a small town and community in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. Its name means "fort of the provincial place" and refers to the Iron Age hillfort which overlooks the village. Dinas Powys ...

. He became interested in acting while he was at school, and was determined not to become a miner like his father, who died in a pit accident when Smith was only three years old. After leaving school Smith became a builder's labourer. Following National Service in the army, he began acting professionally at the

Prince of Wales Theatre, Cardiff The Prince of Wales Theatre is a former theatre in central Cardiff. Built in 1878, seating 2,800, it later became a sex cinema. It is now a pub. The building is located near Cardiff Central railway station, near the corner of St Mary Street an ...

, then joined the Swansea Grand Theatre as an assistant stage manager. He later moved to London, where he spent a year unemployed before obtaining a part in a play about the

Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...

Television career

Smith made his television debut in ''Shadows of Heroes'' in 1959, and then his appearances in series such as ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it debut ...

'' and '' A Family at War'' made him known to the public. He also appeared as Detective Inspector Percy Firbank in ''

Public Eye Public Eye or The Public Eye may refer to: * ''Public Eye'' (TV series), a British television series that ran from 1965 to 1975 * ''The Public Eye'' (TV series), a Canadian television public affairs television series which aired on CBC Televisio ...

'', a role he started playing in 1971. Two years later came one of his most famous roles, as George Barraclough in '' Sam'', in a Granada Television drama series set in

northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

Later years

Ray Smith died in December 1991 at the age of 55 in the lounge of

Llandough Hospital University Hospital Llandough ( cy, Ysbyty Llandochau Prifysgol) is a district general hospital in Llandough, Penarth, Wales. It is managed by the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board. History In the first decade the 20th century the Cardif ...

after a major heart attack. He had been shooting one of his last scenes in the television adaptation of

Kingsley Amis Sir Kingsley William Amis (16 April 1922 – 22 October 1995) was an English novelist, poet, critic, and teacher. He wrote more than 20 novels, six volumes of poetry, a memoir, short stories, radio and television scripts, and works of social a ...

's novel ''

The Old Devils ''The Old Devils'' is a novel by Kingsley Amis, first published in 1986. The novel won the Booker Prize. The plot centres on Alun Weaver, a writer of modest celebrity, who returns to his native Wales with his wife, Rhiannon, sometime girlfriend ...

'' when he was taken ill on location in Newport. An onscreen credit dedicated the series ''The Old Devils'' to his memory, and his performance in it won him a posthumous BAFTA Cymru Award (Best Actor) in 1993. His son was the musician Huw Justin Smith, better known as

Pepsi Tate Pepsi Tate (10 March 1965 – 18 September 2007) was the bass guitarist of Welsh glam metal band Tigertailz, who made the Top 40 in the UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (f ...

TV roles and filmography

* ''Nick of the River'' (1959) * ''Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre'' (1960) ("Candidate for Murder") * '' The House Under the Water'' (1961) (7 episodes) * ''The Terrorists'' (1961) * ''Ben Casey'' (1962) * ''No Hiding Place'' (1960–1963) (2 episodes) * ''

Tomorrow at Ten ''Tomorrow at Ten'' is a 1962 British thriller film directed by Lance Comfort and starring John Gregson, Robert Shaw and Kenneth Cope. Plot A man calling himself Marlow kidnaps Jonathan Chester, the young son of wealthy industrialist Anthony C ...

'' (1962) * ''The Painted Smile'' (1962) * '' Mystery Submarine'' (1963) * ''Suspense'' (1963) * ''Murder Can Be Deadly'' (1963) * ''The Indian Tales of Rudyard Kipling'' (1964) * ''Ring Out an Alibi'' (1964, TV miniseries) * ''Moulded in Earth'' (1965) (TV miniseries) * ''Z-Cars'' (1965–1970) (4 appearances) * ''Candidate for Murder'' (1966) * '' Softly, Softly'' (1966–1967) (4 episodes) * ''

Callan Callan is a given name and surname of Irish and Scottish origin. It can derive from Ó Cathaláin, meaning ''descendant of Cathalán''. Callan can also be an Anglicized form of the Gaelic Mac Allin or Mac Callin. Notable people with the name includ ...

'' (TV series, 1967–1972) * ''The Informer'' (1967) * ''

The Wednesday Play ''The Wednesday Play'' is an anthology series of British television plays which ran on BBC1 for six seasons from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually original works written for television, although dramatic adaptations of fiction ...

'' (1968) ("Mrs Lawrence Will Look After It") * ''Half Hour Story'' (1968) (Stella) * ''Company of Five'' (six-part series, including '' Shaggy Dog'', a

Dennis Potter Dennis Christopher George Potter (17 May 1935 – 7 June 1994) was an English television dramatist, screenwriter and journalist. He is best known for his BBC television serials '' Pennies from Heaven'' (1978), ''The Singing Detective'' (198 ...

play, 1968) * '' Special Branch'' (1969) * ''Detectives'' (1969) * ''Saturday Night Theatre'' (1969) ("Bangelstein's Boys") * '' A Family at War'' (TV serial, 1970) (episode: "For Strategic Reasons") * '' Shadows of Fear'' (1970–1971) * '' Man at the Top'' (1971) * ''

'' (TV series, 1971–1975) * ''Made'' (1972) * ''Country Matters'' (1972) * '' Jackanory'' (24 appearances between 1972 and 1985) * ''

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 ...

'' (1972) * ''

The Adventures of Black Beauty ''The Adventures of Black Beauty'' is a British adventure family television series produced by London Weekend Television and shown by ITV in the United Kingdom between 1972 and 1974. It was distributed internationally by London Weekend Interna ...

'' (1972) * ''

New Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London' ...

'' (TV series, 1972–1974) * ''

Under Milk Wood ''Under Milk Wood'' is a 1954 radio drama by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, commissioned by the BBC and later adapted for the stage. A film version, ''Under Milk Wood'' directed by Andrew Sinclair, was released in 1972, and another adaptation of ...

'' (1972) * '' The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes'' (1973) * '' Sam'' (TV series, 1973–1975) * ''King Lear'' (TV serial, 1974) * ''

The Main Chance ''The Main Chance'' is a British television series first aired on ITV in four series between 1969 and 1975. It is a drama series that depicts the sudden transformation in the life of a solicitor, David Main (played by John Stride), after he ...

'' (1975) * '' Thriller'' (1975) * '' Crown Court'' (1975) * ''

Madame Bovary ''Madame Bovary'' (; ), originally published as ''Madame Bovary: Provincial Manners'' ( ), is a novel by French writer Gustave Flaubert, published in 1856. The eponymous character lives beyond her means in order to escape the banalities and emp ...

'' (TV serial, 1975) * '' The Hanged Man'' (TV series, 1975) * ''How Green Was My Valley'' (1975) * ''Hunter's Walk'' (TV series, 1973–1976) * ''

Operation Daybreak ''Operation Daybreak'' (also known as ''The Price of Freedom'' in the U.S. and ''Seven Men at Daybreak'' during production) is a 1975 war film based on the true story of Operation Anthropoid, the assassination of SS general Reinhard Heydrich in ...

'' (1976) * '' Bill Brand'' (1976) * ''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' (1976) * ''Rogue Male'' (TV movie, 1976) * ''Rooms'' (TV series, 1977) * ''1990'' (episode "Health Farm", 1977) * '' Play for Today'' (2 plays, 1977 and 1980) * '' The Sailor's Return'' (1978) * ''

The Mill on the Floss ''The Mill on the Floss'' is a novel by George Eliot, first published in three volumes in 1860 by William Blackwood. The first American edition was published by Harper & Brothers, Publishers, New York. Plot summary Spanning a period of 10 to ...

'' (TV serial, 1978) * ''The Hills of Heaven'' (TV serial, 1978) * ''Enemy at the Door'' (1978) * ''Target'' (1 episode, 1978) * ''The Beast'' (TV special, 1979) * ''Juliet Bravo'' (1 episode, 1980) * ''Masada'' (TV miniseries, 1981) * ''The Life and Times of David Lloyd George'' (1981) * ''Plays for Pleasure'' (episode "Like I've Never Been Gone", 1981) * ''Maybury'' (1983) * ''We'll Meet Again'' (TV series, 1982) * ''The Citadel'' (TV movie, 1983) * ''Struggle'' (TV series, 1983) * ''Shades of Darkness'' ("Bewitched" 1983) * ''

'' (30 episodes, 1985–1986) * ''King Lear'' (1987) * ''Three for the Road'' (1987) * ''The District Nurse'' (episode "Bedside Manners", 1987) * ''Babylon Bypassed'' (1988) * ''

'' (TV serial, 1992)

References

Bibliography

* Anthony and Deborah Hayward ''TV Unforgettables - Over 250 Legends of the Small Screen'', Guinness, 1993

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Ray 1936 births 1991 deaths People from Trealaw Welsh male film actors Welsh male stage actors Welsh male television actors 20th-century Welsh male actors