William Hoyland (10 November 1943 – 15 July 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned fifty years. He appeared in several British television series.

Career

After a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

education at

Leighton Park Leighton Park School is a co-educational independent school for both day and boarding pupils in Reading in South East England. The school's ethos is closely tied to the Quaker values, having been founded as a Quaker School in 1890. The school's ...

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

, Hoyland started out in a

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

titled ''You're Human Like The Rest of Them'' in 1967. After several small roles in well-known 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 debuted ...

'' and ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...

'', he appeared in five episodes of the 1976 television mini-series '' Bill Brand'', as Sandiford. Two years later, he appeared in the 1978 '' All Creatures Great and Small'' episode "The Name of the Game" as Mr Blenkinsopp, the village's vicar. He reprised the role two episodes later in "Ways and Means". Hoyland had a brief role in the 1981

Bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemical ...

film '' For Your Eyes Only'' as McGregor, a military officer serving as caretaker of a classified device aboard the spy ship ''St. Georges''. He also appeared in '' Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi'' as Commander Igar. His character captured

Luke Skywalker Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the protagonist of the original film trilogy of the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. Portrayed by Mark Hamill, Luke first appeared in ''Star Wars'' (1977), and he returned in ''The ...

, and handed both the rebel and his lightsaber over to

Darth Vader Darth Vader is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. The character is the central antagonist of the original trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is one of the main protagonists in the prequel trilogy. ''Star Wars'' creator George ...

. In addition to acting in over seventy productions in cinema and television, Hoyland was also a noted stage actor. In 1974, he joined the Joint Stock Theatre Company and found success playing Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel in ''Nuremberg'' and Donald Rumsfeld in '' Guantánamo: Honor Bound to Defend Freedom''. In 2016, the year before his death, he acted in ''A Month of Sundays,'' a play written by Robert Larbey and set in an old folk's home. In 1996, Hoyland again played an officer, this time Arthur Fieldson, in the mini-series ''

Our Friends In The North ''Our Friends in the North'' is a British television drama serial produced by the BBC. It was originally broadcast in nine episodes on BBC2 in early 1996. Written by Peter Flannery, it tells the story of four friends from Newcastle upon Tyne o ...

''. He went on to play a number of other officers, barristers and doctors in various productions past the turn of the century. In 2004 he appeared as Klaus Werner von Krupt in ''

Hellboy Hellboy is a fictional superhero created by writer-artist Mike Mignola. The character first appeared in ''San Diego Comic-Con Comics'' #2 (August 1993), and has since appeared in various eponymous miniseries, one-shots and intercompany crossovers ...

''. Later in life, he also had minor roles in ''Mr. Sloane'' and ''

Call The Midwife ''Call the Midwife'' is a BBC period drama series about a group of nurse midwives working in the East End of London in the late 1950s and 1960s. The principal cast of the show has included Jessica Raine, Miranda Hart, Helen George, Bryony Hanna ...

''. His last role, aired in the year of his death, was as a headmaster in the mini-series ''Man In An Orange Shirt''.

Personal life

Hoyland was born to Denys and Doreen Hoyland."William Hoyland obituary"
- ''The Guardian'', 1 August 2017 He never knew his father, a

who was training as a teacher when he was conscripted in

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 ...

. He was killed in Italy. He was married to Carole De Jong, his third wife, and had two children — musicians Martin and Tom — from his first marriage."Obituary: William Hoyland"
- The Stage

Death

Hoyland was diagnosed with stomach cancer early in 2017. He died from the disease on 15 July, aged 73.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Obituary in ''The Guardian''Hoyland's biography with the Dublin Theatre Festival
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoyland, William 1943 births 2017 deaths Deaths from stomach cancer English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors People from Edgbaston Deaths from cancer in England