Raymond Herbert Witch (6 October 1927 – 10 December 2009) was an English theatre, motion picture and television actor.
Biography
Witch was born to parents Herbert Witch and Nellie Witch (née Gilbert) on 6 October 1927
[Kristján Jónsson (2012) ''Svandís Jónsdóttir Witch og Raymond Witch'' (webpage) Retrieved on May 15 from http://www.mbl.is/greinasafn/grein/1422790/?item_num=71&dags=2012-05-22] in the village of
Kingston, Kent
Kingston is a village and civil parish between Canterbury and Dover in Kent, South East England. The parish contains the hamlet of Marley.
History
The Kingston Brooch, an important piece of Anglo-Saxon jewellery dating from the 7th Century, was ...
located in
South East England
South East England is one of the nine official regions of England at the ITL 1 statistical regions of England, first level of International Territorial Level, ITL for Statistics, statistical purposes. It consists of the counties of england, ...
. Herbert, a postman, served in the
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, was wounded in action, and later married Nellie after his
demobilization
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 ...
in 1918.
In June 1963 Witch married Svandís Jónsdóttir
[ who had originally travelled from Iceland to study acting in London. The two spent some time in Iceland during the early 1960s in way of a honeymoon before returning to London.
]
Career
Witch trained as an actor at 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 ...
[Foot, Tom (2010). ''Third time fatal for dramatic actor Raymond Witch''. (webpage) Retrieved on 11 May 2016 from http://www.camdennewjournal.com/news/2010/jan/third-time-fatal-tv-actor-raymond-witch] (RADA). Beginning as a chorus member or background character in simple pantomimes, such as ''Cinderella'' in 1953, he was also successful in obtaining a number of more active acting roles during his career, including in the original West End production of ''Irma la Douce
''Irma la Douce'' (, "Irma the Sweet") is a 1963 American romantic comedy film directed by Billy Wilder from a screenplay he co-wrote with I. A. L. Diamond, based on the 1956 French stage musical of the same name by Marguerite Monnot and Alexa ...
'' in 1958.
Essentially a dramatic actor, Witch made a successful move to television in which he obtained over 50 small supporting roles,[ including the series ''A Question of Guilt'', '']A Bunch of Fives
''A Bunch of Fives'' is an English children’s television show from ATV, broadcast for two series of seven episodes each in 1977 and 1978 on ITV. A precursor of ''Grange Hill'', it starred Andrew Rinous, Lesley Manville and Jamie Foreman as ...
'', ''Tom Brown's Schooldays
''Tom Brown's School Days'' (sometimes written ''Tom Brown's Schooldays'', also published under the titles ''Tom Brown at Rugby'', ''School Days at Rugby'', and ''Tom Brown's School Days at Rugby'') is an 1857 novel by Thomas Hughes. The stor ...
'', ''Adelaide Bartlett'' and ''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 debuted ...
''.[
Although primarily an actor for television Witch obtained roles in the made for television movies '' The Great Escape II: The Untold Story'' (1988), ''Events in a Museum'' (1983), ''The Room'' (1991) and ''The Trip North'' (1991).]
Later life
Although married, Witch had no children. He lived alone, while his wife, suffering Alzheimer's, was taken into care. He visited her daily and was an active member of the South Bloomsbury Tenants and Residents Association (formerly the Bury Place Residents Association). Following a series of hospital visits after a fall at his home, Witch died in London from a heart attack and severe infection.[ Svandís died at her nursing home in May 2012.
]
Filmography
References
External links
*
Photograph and indormation on Svandís
Photograph and health care issues
1927 births
2009 deaths
English male television actors
Male actors from Kent
People from Kingston, Kent
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