Iain Cuthbertson (4 January 1930 – 4 September 2009) was a Scottish

character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...

and theatre director. He was known for his tall imposing build and also his distinctive gravelly, heavily accented voice. He had lead roles in ''

The Borderers ''The Borderers'' is a British television series produced by the BBC between 1968 and 1970. Setting A historical drama series, ''The Borderers'' was set during the 16th century and chronicled the lives of the Ker family, who lived in the Scot ...

'' (1968–70),''

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 ...

'' (1971), '' Budgie'' (1971–72), its spinoff ''

Charles Endell Esquire ''Charles Endell Esquire'' is a British comedy-drama series that is a spin-off of the series '' Budgie'', with the role of Endell continuing to be played by Iain Cuthbertson. Due to an ITV technicians' strike which took the network completely ...

'' (1979–80), '' Danger UXB'' (1979) and ''

Sutherland's Law ''Sutherland's Law'' is a television series made by BBC Scotland between 1973 and 1976. The series had originated as a stand-alone edition of the portmanteau programme ''Drama Playhouse'' in 1972 in which Derek Francis played Sutherland and ...

'' (1973–76), as well as the films ''

The Railway Children ''The Railway Children'' is a children's book by Edith Nesbit, originally serialised in ''The London Magazine'' during 1905 and published in book form in the same year. It has been adapted for the screen several times, of which the 1970 fil ...

'' (1970), and '' Gorillas in the Mist'' (1988). He guest starred in many prominent British shows including '' The Avengers'', ''

Dr. Finlay's Casebook ''Dr. Finlay's Casebook'' is a television drama series that was produced and broadcast by the BBC from 1962 until 1971. Based on A. J. Cronin's 1935 novella ''Country Doctor'', the storylines centred on a general medical practice in the fictiona ...

'', ''

The Onedin Line ''The Onedin Line'' is a BBC television drama series that ran from 1971 to 1980. The series was created by Cyril Abraham. The series is set in Liverpool from 1860 to 1886 and covers the rise of a fictional shipping company, the Onedin Line, na ...

'', '' Survivors'', '' Ripping Yarns'', ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...

'', ''

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 deb ...

'', ''

Juliet Bravo ''Juliet Bravo'' is a British television police procedural drama series, first broadcast on 30 August 1980, that ran for six series and a total of 88 episodes on BBC1. The theme of the series concerned a female police inspector who took over con ...

'', '' Rab C. Nesbitt'', ''

Minder A minder is the person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e. a person who " minds". Government-appointed persons to accompany foreign visitors are of ...

'', ''

Inspector Morse Detective Chief Inspector Endeavour Morse, GM, is the eponymous fictional character in the series of detective novels by British author Colin Dexter. On television, he appears in the 33-episode drama series '' Inspector Morse'' (1987–2000), ...

'' and ''

Agatha Christie's Poirot ''Poirot'' (also known as ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'') is a British mystery drama television programme that aired on ITV from 8 January 1989 to 13 November 2013. David Suchet starred as the eponymous detective, Agatha Christie's fictional Her ...

''.

Early life

Born in 1930, the son of the biochemist Sir David Cuthbertson, and brought up in Glasgow, he was educated at

Glasgow Academy The Glasgow Academy is a coeducational independent day school for pupils aged 3–18 in Glasgow, Scotland. In 2016, it had the third-best Higher level exam results in Scotland. Founded in 1845, it is the oldest continuously fully independent ...

. He moved to

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), a ...

with his family and attended

Aberdeen Grammar School Aberdeen Grammar School is a state secondary school in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is one of thirteen secondary schools run by the Aberdeen City Council educational department. It is the oldest school in the city and one of the oldest grammar school ...

and the

University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

, where he graduated with an MA honours degree in French and Spanish. His first break as an actor was on radio while at university. He spent two years'

national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

in the

Black Watch The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regime ...

. During that time he was ordered to act as prisoner's friend at the

court martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

of a soldier accused of appearing late on parade, and then assaulting his superior officer when he eventually did turn up. He managed to get the soldier cleared of the more serious charge. His original wish was for a job in the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

, but he became a radio journalist with the BBC in Glasgow.

Theatre career

Cuthbertson started acting at the Glasgow

Citizens' Theatre The Citizens Theatre, in what was the Royal Princess's Theatre, is the creation of James Bridie and is based in Glasgow, Scotland as a principal producing theatre. The theatre includes a 500-seat Main Auditorium, and has also included various ...

in 1958 and became General Manager and Director of Productions in 1962. In that year the theatre hosted an exhibition of work by the artist Stewart Bowman Johnson Three years later he became Associate Director of London's

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England ...

Television career

His most memorable television role was as the eponymous Procurator Fiscal in the long running ''

'', a television series made by BBC Scotland between 1973 and 1976. The series had originated as a stand-alone edition of the portmanteau programme Drama Playhouse in 1972 in which Derek Francis played Sutherland and was then commissioned as an ongoing series: the producer was Frank Cox. ''Sutherland's Law'' dealt with the duties of the Procurator Fiscal in a small Scottish town. The major cast members included Cuthbertson (as John Sutherland), Gareth Thomas,

Moultrie Kelsall Moultrie Rowe Kelsall (24 October 1904 – 13 February 1980)Biographical info

Victor Carin Victor Carin (1 October 1933 – 2 January 1981) was a Scottish actor, director, and translator, who wrote for radio, television, film, and the stage.Corbett (2005), "Introduction", pp. xvii–xix. Carin was born in Aberdeen and grew up in Stoneh ...

, Martin Cochrane,

Maev Alexander Maev Alexander, also Maeve Alexander (born Maev Alexandra Reid McConnell on 3 February 1948) is a Scottish television and stage actress. Aside from her numerous stage appearances including Cleopatra and in '' The Mousetrap'' at the St Martin's T ...

and Edith MacArthur. A rather different achievement was his portrayal of the criminal and businessman Charlie Endell in both '' Budgie'' (

London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 un ...

/ ITV) with

Adam Faith Terence Nelhams Wright (23 June 1940 – 8 March 2003), known as Adam Faith, was an English singer, actor, and financial journalist. A teen idol, he scored consecutive No. 1 hits on the UK Singles Chart with " What Do You Want?" (1959) and "P ...

(1971–72) and its sequel ''

'' (

Scottish Television Scottish Television (now, legally, known as STV Central Limited) is the ITV network franchisee for Central Scotland. The channel — the largest of the three ITV franchises in Scotland — has been in operation since 31 August 1957 and is th ...

/ITV) in 1979. Other roles include the lead in ''

'' ( BBC, 1968–70), ''

'' ( BBC, 1971) (as

Thomas Arnold Thomas Arnold (13 June 1795 – 12 June 1842) was an English educator and historian. He was an early supporter of the Broad Church Anglican movement. As headmaster of Rugby School from 1828 to 1841, he introduced several reforms that were wide ...

), ''

The Stone Tape ''The Stone Tape'' is a 1972 British television horror drama film written by Nigel Kneale and directed by Peter Sasdy and starring Michael Bryant, Jane Asher, Michael Bates and Iain Cuthbertson. It was broadcast on BBC Two as a Christmas ...

'' ( BBC, 1972), ''

Children of the Stones ''Children of the Stones'' is a British television fantasy drama serial for children, produced by HTV in 1976 and broadcast on the United Kingdom's ITV network in January and February 1977. The serial was produced by Peter Graham Scott, with P ...

'' ( HTV/ITV, 1977), ''The Voyage of Charles Darwin'', '' Danger UXB'' (

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...

/ITV, 1979), ''The House With Green Shutters'' ( BBC, 1980). He appeared in the pilot episode of ''

Rab C Nesbitt ''Rab C. Nesbitt'' is a Scottish comedy series which began in 1988. Produced by BBC Scotland, it stars Gregor Fisher as an alcoholic Glaswegian who seeks unemployment as a lifestyle choice. Rab C. Nesbitt was originally a recurring character i ...

'' (1988) as a magistrate. He suffered a crippling stroke in January 1982, which forced him to give up theatre for fear of forgetting his lines. He resumed television and film work, though, as his lines could be written on crib boards. His first role following his stroke was as the villainous Scunner Campbell in '' Super Gran'' (

Tyne Tees Television ITV Tyne Tees, previously known as Tyne Tees, Channel 3 North East and Tyne Tees Television, is the ITV television franchise for North East England and parts of North Yorkshire. Tyne Tees launched on 15 January 1959 from studios at a converte ...

/ITV, 1985). In 1989 he played the villain Brett Savernake in the episode of '' Campion'' entitled "Sweet Danger". Minor parts in ongoing series include appearances in ''

'' (BBC), '' The Avengers'' ( ABC/ITV), ''

'' ( Central Television/ITV), ''

Bulman ''Bulman'' is a British television crime drama series, principally written and created by Murray Smith. It was first broadcast on ITV on 5 June 1985. The series, featuring retired ex-cop George Bulman (Don Henderson) and his assistant Lucy Mc ...

'' (

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was its ...

/ITV), '' Ripping Yarns'' (BBC), ''

The Duchess of Duke Street ''The Duchess of Duke Street'' is a BBC television drama series set in London between the late 1800s and 1925. It was created by John Hawkesworth, previously the producer of the ITV period drama '' Upstairs, Downstairs''. It starred Gemma ...

'', Colonel Mannering in ''

Adam Adamant Lives! ''Adam Adamant Lives!'' is a British adventure television series that ran from 1966 to 1967 on BBC 1, starring Gerald Harper in the title role. The series was created and produced by several alumni from ''Doctor Who''. Proposing that an adventur ...

'' story ''D For Destruction'' (1966) and Garron in the ''

'' story ''

The Ribos Operation ''The Ribos Operation'' is the first serial of the 16th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 2 to 23 September 1978. This serial introduces Mary Tamm ...

''. He also appeared in: Diamond Crack Diamond, ''

'' (BBC), '' Survivors'' (BBC), ''

Scotch on the Rocks ''Scotch on the Rocks'' is a TV serial based on the novel by Douglas Hurd and Andrew Osmond. The book is the third in a loose trilogy, the other two being '' Send Him Victorious'' and ''The Smile on the Face of the Tiger''. Written around 196 ...

'', '' The Adventures of Black Beauty'' (London Weekend/ITV), ''

'' (ITV), ''

The Ghosts of Motley Hall ''The Ghosts of Motley Hall'' is a British children's television series written by Richard Carpenter. It was produced and directed by Quentin Lawrence for Granada Television, and broadcast between 1976 and 1978 on the ITV network. The series ...

'' (Granada/ITV), ''

'' (BBC), '' Casualty'' (BBC), ''The Mourning Brooch'', ''Casting the Runes'' and ''McPhee the Mother and Me''. On film, he appeared as Charles Waterbury in ''

'' (1970).

Personal life

Cuthbertson's first marriage, to

Anne Kristen Anne Kristen (7 March 1937 – 7 August 1996) was a Scottish actress, best known for portraying Olive Rowe in ''Coronation Street''. Her longest-lasting role was as Miss Meiklejohn in '' Hamish Macbeth''. She also appeared in ''Wings'' as Moll ...

in 1964, was dissolved in 1988. He is survived by his second wife, Janet Smith. From 1975 to 1978, he served as Rector of the University of Aberdeen. He listed his hobbies as sailing and fishing, and, after retiring, he lived in Dalrymple,

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of ...

. He suffered a severe

stroke A stroke is a disease, medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemorr ...

in 1982, which caused paralysis down one side of his body and speech loss. It took him almost two years to recover sufficiently to be able to act again. Although he avoided live theatre work thereafter, owing to a fear of forgetting and/or stumbling on lines, he was still able to take parts in films and television. He died in 2009 at Ayr Hospital and was cremated.

Filmography

Film

Television

Radio

* 1981 ''

Hatter's Castle ''Hatter's Castle'' (1931) is the first novel of author A. J. Cronin. The story is set in 1879, in the fictional town of Levenford, on the Firth of Clyde. The plot revolves around many characters and has many subplots, all of which relate to t ...

'' as James Brodie; by A J Cronin; BBC R4

Classic Serial ''Classic Serial'' was a strand on BBC Radio 4, which broadcasts in series of one-hour dramas, "Adaptations of works which have achieved classic status." It is broadcast twice weekly, first from 3:00–4:00 pm on Sunday, then repeated from 9:00– ...

5 parts 11/1/1981-8/11/1981. * 1988 ''Our Roman Cousins'' by Bruce Stewart; BBC R4

Saturday Night Theatre ''Saturday Night Theatre'' was a long-running radio drama strand on BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of Talk rad ...

30/01/1988. * 1993 ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vi ...

'' as Malvolio; BBC R3 3/1/1993.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cuthbertson, Iain 1930 births 2009 deaths 20th-century Scottish male actors 21st-century Scottish male actors Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Black Watch soldiers Male actors from Glasgow People educated at Aberdeen Grammar School People educated at the Glasgow Academy Rectors of the University of Aberdeen Scottish male film actors Scottish male stage actors Scottish male television actors Scottish theatre directors British theatre directors