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He married Patricia Brown in 1955; they had three children: Timothy (b. 1956); Piers (b. 1967); and Amanda (b. 1959), who was the first wife of Nicholas Howard, son of politician
Derek Robert Nimmo (19 September 193024 February 1999) was an English character actor, producer and author. He is best remembered for his comedic
clerical sitcom, ''upper class
Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status, usually are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper class is gen ...
"silly ass" and clerical roles including Revd Mervyn Noote in the BBC1
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
sitcom ''All Gas and Gaiters
''All Gas and Gaiters'' is a British television ecclesiastical sitcom which aired on BBC1 from 1966 to 1971. It was written by Pauline Devaney and Edwin Apps, a husband-and-wife team who used the pseudonym of John Wraith when writing the pilot ...
'' (1966–71).
Career
Nimmo was born inLiverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
, Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...
, the son of an insurance salesman, and grew up in Mossley Hill
Mossley Hill is a suburb of Liverpool and a Liverpool City Council ward. Located to the south of the city, it is bordered by Aigburth, Allerton, Childwall, and Wavertree. At the 2001 Census, the population was 12,650, increasing to 13,816 a ...
in an environment he described as "old merchants' houses, comfy English suburbia". He was educated at Booker Avenue Infants and Junior School as well as Quarry Bank High School for Boys, then a grammar school under headmaster R. F. Bailey, who brought with him, from his previous position as assistant headmaster at leading independent school Shrewsbury School, "the finest traditions of public schools". He then followed his father into the insurance business, and after National Service in Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...
, became a salesman for a paint company. He began his stage career at the Hippodrome Theatre in Bolton
Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th ...
, Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...
. It was during this time that he made a cameo appearance
A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...
in the Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
' film, '' A Hard Day's Night'' (in which he appeared as "Leslie Jackson", a magician with doves).
He appeared in a number of British films and television series, as aristocrats, including starring roles in the television comedy series ''The World of Wooster
''The World of Wooster'' is a comedy television series, based on the Jeeves stories by author P. G. Wodehouse. The television series starred Ian Carmichael as English gentleman Bertie Wooster and Dennis Price as Bertie's valet Jeeves.
The s ...
'' (as "Bingo Little"), and in the comedy film '' One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing'' (as "Lord Southmere"), as well as appearing in the James Bond spoof film '' Casino Royale''.
Nimmo made his name as the Reverend Mervyn Noote in the British sitcom
A British sitcom or a Britcom is a situational comedy programme produced for British television.
Most British sitcoms are recorded on studio sets, while some have an element of location filming. A handful are made almost exclusively on location ...
''All Gas and Gaiters
''All Gas and Gaiters'' is a British television ecclesiastical sitcom which aired on BBC1 from 1966 to 1971. It was written by Pauline Devaney and Edwin Apps, a husband-and-wife team who used the pseudonym of John Wraith when writing the pilot ...
'' (1966). At the time it was considered rather controversial because the main characters were senior churchmen (the Bishop, his chaplain Noote and the Archdeacon) who got into various scrapes as a result of their general incompetence. By the time the series finished, Nimmo was identified with the stereotype of a traditional British clergy
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
man and he went on to play a bungling monk in another BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...Oh, Brother!
''Oh, Brother!'' is a British television sitcom starring Derek Nimmo, which aired on BBC1 from 13 September 1968 to 27 February 1970.
Synopsis
The series was set in the fictional Mountacres Monastery, with Nimmo cast as the well-meaning but ine ...
'', and a Roman Catholic priest in its sequel series, ''Oh, Father!''. Another sitcom in which he appeared in a starring role as a clergyman, many years later, was ''Hell's Bells
Hell's Bells or Hells Bells may refer to:
Music
* "Hells Bells" (song), a 1980 song by AC/DC
* ''Hells Bells'' (album), a 1980 album by John Hicks
* "Hell's Bells", a piece of music written by Art Kassel and recorded in 1932
* "Hell's Bells", ...
'' (by now promoted to a dean). He also appeared as the Reverend Jonathan Green in a television production of ''Cluedo
''Cluedo'' (), known as ''Clue'' in North America, is a murder mystery game for three to six players (depending on editions) that was devised in 1943 by British board game designer Anthony E. Pratt. The game was first manufactured by Waddin ...
''. He became so well known for his clerical parody
A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...
that, in the 1975 '' The Goodies''' episode " Wacky Wales", a "team of Derek Nimmos" played in a spoof " Ecclesiastical Rugby Sevens" competition.
In 1966, he appeared in the second series of '' The Bed-Sit Girl''. Nimmo appeared on stage in many West End plays
Play most commonly refers to:
* Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment
* Play (theatre), a work of drama
Play may refer also to:
Computers and technology
* Google Play, a digital content service
* Play Framework, a Java framework
* P ...
and starred in the musical '' Charlie Girl'', which contained a scene specially written to allow him to perform his party trick of wiggling his toes. He also became a regular panellist on the popular BBC radio show '' Just a Minute'', and had a chat show on BBC Television, ''If It's Saturday, It Must Be Nimmo'', from 24 October to 19 December 1970, though it was felt that he seemed less at ease as a chat show host. Having been away from television for some time, he made an appearance in the Australian television series '' Neighbours'' in 1990, playing Lord Ledgerwood alongside Madge and Harold Bishop.
As a theatrical impresario, he took his own touring production (Intercontinental Entertainment) to 30 countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Oman and the UAE, and so provided himself with material for many stories on ''Just a Minute''.
In the 1970s, Nimmo sang the jingle "P…p…pick up a Penguin" in a series of television advertisements for McVitie's
McVitie's () is a British snack food brand owned by United Biscuits. The name derives from the original Scottish biscuit maker, McVitie & Price, Ltd., established in 1830 on Rose Street in Edinburgh, Scotland. The company moved to various sites ...
Penguin biscuits,
echoing a stammer
Stuttering, also known as stammering, is a speech disorder in which the flow of speech is disrupted by involuntary repetitions and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words, or phrases as well as involuntary silent pauses or blocks in which the ...
he had used for his character in ''All Gas and Gaiters''. In 1996, Nimmo voiced Mr Smiley in one episode of '' Dennis the Menace''.
Personal life
He married Patricia Brown in 1955; they had three children: Timothy (b. 1956); Piers (b. 1967); and Amanda (b. 1959), who was the first wife of Nicholas Howard, son of politician George Howard, Baron Howard of Henderskelfe
Major George Anthony Geoffrey Howard, Baron Howard of Henderskelfe, JP (22 May 1920 – 27 November 1984) was a British politician, soldier and media man.
Howard was a younger son of Geoffrey Howard and Ethel Christian Methuen, and grandson of ...
.
Nimmo's hobbies included gardening, photography (particularly nature photography
Nature photography is a wide range of photography taken outdoors and devoted to displaying natural elements such as landscapes, wildlife, plants, and close-ups of natural scenes and textures. Nature photography tends to put a stronger emphasis o ...
), birdwatching and collecting walnut furniture, porcelain and paintings. He was also a wine expert and wrote several books on the subject as well as a number of books on the theatre. Another interest was after dinner speaking, for which he was always in demand.
He received many awards, including the 1990 Benedictine After Dinner Speaker of the Year. He was made a Freeman
Freeman, free men, or variant, may refer to:
* a member of the Third Estate in medieval society (commoners), see estates of the realm
* Freeman, an apprentice who has been granted freedom of the company, was a rank within Livery companies
* Free ...
of the City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...
, and the University of Leicester
, mottoeng = So that they may have life
, established =
, type = public research university
, endowment = £20.0 million
, budget = £326 million
, chancellor = David Willetts
, vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah
, head_lab ...
recognised his contribution to entertainment with an honorary master's degree in 1996. Nimmo was an Anglican.
Death
On 2 December 1998, Nimmo attended a National Treasures celebrity lunch in the boardroom of the '' Daily Express'' newspaper along with SirPeter O'Sullevan
Sir Peter O'Sullevan (3 March 1918 – 29 July 2015) was an Irish-British horse racing commentator for the BBC, and a correspondent for the Press Association, the ''Daily Express'', and ''Today''. He was the BBC's leading horse racing comme ...
, Joan Collins, Dame Beryl Bainbridge, Dickie Davies and Sue MacGregor amongst others. He had recently returned from a Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
tour of '' Run For Your Wife'' and was in sparkling form during the lunch. After lunch he asked to be driven to the Garrick Club
The Garrick Club is a gentlemen's club in the heart of London founded in 1831. It is one of the oldest members' clubs in the world and, since its inception, has catered to members such as Charles Kean, Henry Irving, Herbert Beerbohm Tree, Ar ...
for further refreshment, and then returned to his Kensington (Lexham Gardens) home. He and his wife later went out to dinner. On their return, Nimmo was checking an external alarm when he lost his footing and fell down a stone staircase into the basement. He suffered head injuries and was taken to the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital
Chelsea and Westminster Hospital is a 430-bed teaching hospital located in Chelsea, London. Although the hospital has been at its present site since only 1993, the hospital has a rich history in that it serves as the new site for the Westminst ...
where he remained in a coma until the end of December. While still recovering in hospital, Nimmo contracted pneumonia and died on 24 February 1999.
He is buried in the churchyard at Easton Maudit, Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by
two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
.
Selected filmography
Film
* ''The Millionairess
''The Millionairess'' is a 1960 British romantic comedy film directed by Anthony Asquith, and starring Sophia Loren and Peter Sellers. Set in London, it is a loose adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's 1936 play of the same name.
Plot
By the ...
'' (1960) - Assistant Butler (uncredited)
* ''It's Trad, Dad!
''It's Trad, Dad!'' (1962), known in the U.S. as ''Ring-A-Ding Rhythm'', is a British musical comedy featuring performances by a variety of Dixieland jazz bands and rock-and-roll singers. The film was one of the first produced by Amicus Produc ...
'' (1962) - Head Waiter
* '' Go to Blazes'' (1962) - Fish Fancier
* ''The Amorous Prawn
''The Amorous Prawn'' or ''The Amorous Mr. Prawn'' is a 1962 British comedy film directed by Anthony Kimmins and starring Ian Carmichael, Joan Greenwood and Cecil Parker. The film was based on a 1959 farcical play by Kimmins.
In the United S ...
'' (1962) - Pvt. Willie Maltravers
* '' The Small World of Sammy Lee'' (1963) - Rembrandt
* '' Heavens Above!'' (1963) - Director-General's Assistant
* '' Tamahine'' (1963) - Tim Clove
* ''Hot Enough for June
''Hot Enough for June'' is a 1964 British spy comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas, and starring Dirk Bogarde with Sylva Koscina in her English film debut, Robert Morley and Leo McKern. It is based on the 1960 novel '' The Night of Wenceslas'' b ...
'' (1964) - Fred
* ''The Bargee
''The Bargee'' is a 1964 British comedy film shot in Techniscope directed by Duncan Wood, and starring Harry H. Corbett, Hugh Griffith, Eric Sykes and Ronnie Barker. The screenplay was written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.
Plot
Hemel Pike ...
'' (1964) - Dr. Scott
* '' Murder Ahoy!'' (1964) - Sub-Lt. Eric Humbert
* '' A Hard Day's Night'' (1964) - Leslie Jackson - Magician (uncredited)
* '' The System'' (1964) - James (uncredited)
* '' Joey Boy'' (1965) - Lt. Hope
* '' Coast of Skeletons'' (1965) - Tom Hamilton
* '' The Liquidator'' (1965) - Fly
* ''The Yellow Hat'' (1966) - Douglas
* '' Mister Ten Per Cent'' (1967) - Tony
* '' Casino Royale'' (1967) - Hadley
* '' A Talent for Loving'' (1969) - Moodie
* '' One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing'' (1975) - Lord Southmere
Television
* ''Angel Pavement
''Angel Pavement'' is a novel by J. B. Priestley, published in 1930 after the enormous success of ''The Good Companions'' (1929).
It is a social panorama of the city of London, seen largely through the eyes of the employees of the firm Twigg & ...
'' (1957, 1 episode)
* '' The Buccaneers'' (1957, 1 episode)
* '' Kenilworth'' (1957, 2 episodes)
* '' The Adventures of Peter Simple'' (1957, 1 episode)
* '' Ghost Squad'' (1962, 1 episode)
* '' Citizen James'' (1962, 1 episode)
* ''Mr Justice Duncannon
''Mr Justice Duncannon'' is a British television sitcom that aired on BBC TV from 18 January to 22 February 1963. It is a spin-off of '' Brothers in Law'' and stars Andrew Cruickshank as a London judge. The entire series was wiped and is no longe ...
'' (1963, 1 episode)
* '' Z-Cars'' (1963, 1 episode)
* ''Hancock Hancock may refer to:
Places in the United States
* Hancock, Iowa
* Hancock, Maine
* Hancock, Maryland
* Hancock, Massachusetts
* Hancock, Michigan
* Hancock, Minnesota
* Hancock, Missouri
* Hancock, New Hampshire
** Hancock (CDP), New Hampshir ...
'' (1963, 1 episode)
* ''Armchair Theatre
''Armchair Theatre'' is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by ABC Weekend TV. Its successor Thames Television took over from mid-1968.
The Canad ...
'' (1963, 1 episode)
* '' More Faces of Jim'' (1963, 1 episode)
* ''Comedy Playhouse
''Comedy Playhouse'' is a long-running British anthology series of one-off unrelated sitcoms that aired for 120 episodes from 1961 to 1975. Many episodes later graduated to their own series, including ''Steptoe and Son'', '' Meet the Wife'', ' ...
'' (1963-1974, 5 episodes)
* ''Hugh and I
''Hugh and I'' is a black-and-white British sitcom that aired from 1962 to 1967. It starred Terry Scott and Hugh Lloyd as two friends who shared lodgings with Terry's mother and was followed by a sequel called '' Hugh and I Spy''. The two actor ...
'' (1963-1964, 2 episodes)
* '' Baxter On...'' (1964, 1 episode)
* '' Sykes and A...'' (1964, 1 episode)
* '' Boyd Q.C.'' (1964, 1 episode)
* '' The Graham Stark Show'' (1964, 1 episode)
* '' The Scales of Justice'' (1965, 1 episode)
* ''Steptoe and Son
''Steptoe and Son'' is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about a father-and-son rag-and-bone business in 26a Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in Shepherd's Bush, London. Four series were broadcast by the BBC in black and w ...
'' (1965, 1 episode)
* '' Undermind'' (1965, 1 episode)
* '' A World of Comedy'' (1965, 1 episode)
* '' The Bed-Sit Girl'' (1965-1966, 7 episodes)
* ''The World of Wooster
''The World of Wooster'' is a comedy television series, based on the Jeeves stories by author P. G. Wodehouse. The television series starred Ian Carmichael as English gentleman Bertie Wooster and Dennis Price as Bertie's valet Jeeves.
The s ...
'' (1965-1967, 5 episodes)
* ''All Gas and Gaiters
''All Gas and Gaiters'' is a British television ecclesiastical sitcom which aired on BBC1 from 1966 to 1971. It was written by Pauline Devaney and Edwin Apps, a husband-and-wife team who used the pseudonym of John Wraith when writing the pilot ...
'' (1966-1971, 33 episodes)
* ''Blandings Castle
Blandings Castle is a recurring fictional location in the stories of British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being the seat of Lord Emsworth (Clarence Threepwood, 9th Earl of Emsworth), home to many of his family and the setting for numerous ta ...
'' (1967, 3 episodes)
* '' Sorry I'm Single'' (1967, 9 episodes)
* '' Oh Brother!'' (1968-1970, 19 episodes)
* '' Oh, Father!'' (1973, 7 episodes)
* '' My Honourable Mrs'' (1975, 7 episodes)
* ''Life Begins at Forty
''Life Begins at Forty'' is a 1932 American self-help book by Walter B. Pitkin. Written during a time of rapid increase in life expectancy (at the time of its publication American life expectancy at birth was around 60 and climbing fast, from be ...
'' (1978-1980, 14 episodes)
* '' Third Time Lucky'' (1982, 7 episodes)
* ''Hell's Bells
Hell's Bells or Hells Bells may refer to:
Music
* "Hells Bells" (song), a 1980 song by AC/DC
* ''Hells Bells'' (album), a 1980 album by John Hicks
* "Hell's Bells", a piece of music written by Art Kassel and recorded in 1932
* "Hell's Bells", ...
'' (1986, 6 episodes)
* '' Neighbours'' (1990, 2 episodes)
* ''Cluedo
''Cluedo'' (), known as ''Clue'' in North America, is a murder mystery game for three to six players (depending on editions) that was devised in 1943 by British board game designer Anthony E. Pratt. The game was first manufactured by Waddin ...
'' (1990, 1 episode)
* '' The Good Guys'' (1993, 1 episode)
* '' Dennis the Menace'' (1996, 1 episode)
References
External links
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nimmo, Derek 1930 births 1999 deaths Male actors from Liverpool People educated at Quarry Bank High School Comedians from Liverpool English male film actors English male radio actors English male stage actors English male television actors 20th-century English male actors Actor-managers Accidental deaths from falls People from North Northamptonshire 20th-century British comedians 20th-century theatre managers