Clive Walter Swift (9 February 1936 – 1 February 2019) was an English actor and songwriter. A classically trained actor, his stage work included performances with the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

, but he was best known to television viewers for his role as

Richard Bucket ''Keeping Up Appearances'' is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke. It originally aired on BBC1 from 1990 to 1995 with two specials airing in 1997 and 2008 on PBS. The central character is an eccentric and snobbish middle class so ...

in the BBC sitcom '' Keeping Up Appearances''. He played many other television and film roles.

Life and career

Swift was born in Liverpool on 9 February 1936, the son of Abram Sampson Swift, who owned a furniture shop in Bootle, and Lily Rebecca, née Greenman. His elder brother David was also an actor. Both were educated at Clifton College and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where Clive read

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

. He was previously a teacher at LAMDA and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. His family was Jewish. He appeared as Snug in the Royal Shakespeare Company's 1968 film production of ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' as part of a cast that included Diana Rigg,

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (born Helen Lydia Mironoff; born 26 July 1945) is an English actor. The recipient of numerous accolades, she is the only performer to have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting in both the United States and the United Kingdom. ...

and Ian Richardson. During the 1970s, he appeared as Doctor Black in two of the BBC's M. R. James adaptations: '' The Stalls of Barchester'' and '' A Warning to the Curious'', as well as the BBC adaptation of '' The Barchester Chronicles''. He is best known for his role on '' Keeping Up Appearances'' as

, the long-suffering husband of Hyacinth. Swift made two appearances in ''

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 u ...

'', in the 1985 story '' Revelation of the Daleks'' and the 2007 Christmas special. Around the time of his second appearance, he gave a "grumpy" interview to ''

Doctor Who Magazine ''Doctor Who Magazine'' (abbreviated as ''DWM'') is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Launched in 1979 as ''Doctor Who Weekly'', the magazine became a monthly publication the followi ...

'' in which he bemoaned "not getting paid" to promote his episode, and belittled the show. He also played Sir Ector, the adoptive father of

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

John Boorman Sir John Boorman (; born 18 January 1933) is a British film director, best known for feature films such as ''Point Blank'' (1967), ''Hell in the Pacific'' (1968), ''Deliverance'' (1972), ''Zardoz'' (1974), '' Exorcist II: The Heretic'' (1977), ...

's 1981 film '' Excalibur''. In addition to acting, he was a songwriter. Many of his songs were included in his shows ''Richard Bucket Overflows: An Audience with Clive Swift'', which toured the UK in 2007, and ''Clive Swift Entertains'', in which he performed his own music and lyrics, which toured the UK in 2009. He also played the part of the Reverend Eustacius Brewer in '' Born and Bred'', which aired on BBC One from 2002 to 2005. His last performance was in an episode of ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the '' Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels of I ...

'' in 2017, after which he retired.

Personal life and death

Swift was married to novelist

Margaret Drabble Dame Margaret Drabble, Lady Holroyd, (born 5 June 1939) is an English biographer, novelist and short story writer. Drabble's books include '' The Millstone'' (1965), which won the following year's John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize, and ''Jer ...

from 1960 until their divorce in 1975. He was the father of one daughter,

Rebecca Rebecca, ; Syriac: , ) from the Hebrew (lit., 'connection'), from Semitic root , 'to tie, couple or join', 'to secure', or 'to snare') () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical ...

(who died in April 2017), known for running The Literary Consultancy in London, and two sons,

Adam Swift Adam Swift (born 1961) is a British political philosopher and sociologist who specialises in debates surrounding liberal egalitarianism. He has published books on communitarianism, on the philosophical aspects of school choice, on social jus ...

, an academic, and Joe Swift, a garden designer, journalist and television presenter. Swift died at home on 1 February 2019, just 8 days prior of his 83rd birthday, following a short illness. Paying tribute to Swift, fellow actor James Dreyfus said he "loved this extremely talented, subtle actor". His ''Keeping Up Appearances'' co-star Patricia Routledge said: "Clive was a skillful and inventive actor with wide experience, as his successful career proved," and that she was very sad to hear of her former co-star's death.

Filmography

Film

Television

Radio

*'' Oblomov'' as the Doctor (2005) *''The Right Time'' (2008) *''

Measure for Measure ''Measure for Measure'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604 and first performed in 1604, according to available records. It was published in the ''First Folio'' of 1623. The play's plot features its ...

'' as Escalus (2004) *''Jorrocks's Jaunts and Jollities'' as Nash (2011) *'' The Price of Fear – Remains to be Seen'' as Fred Treiber (2012) * "Vivat Rex" as Lord Talbot in "Henry VI" by William Shakespeare, in episodes 15–16, BBC (1977)

Stage

*'' Cymbeline'' (1962) as Cloten *''The Physicists'' (1963) as Inspector Richard Voss ( Aldwych Theatre) *'' The Tempest'' (1966) as Caliban ( Prospect Theatre Company)

References

External links

Clive Swift
at the British Film Institute *
Obituary
at Bbc.co.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Swift, Clive 1936 births 2019 deaths 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge British Jews British male comedy actors English male film actors English male radio actors English male Shakespearean actors English male stage actors English male television actors Horizon (British TV series) Male actors from Liverpool Jewish English male actors People educated at Clifton College Royal Shakespeare Company members

Clive Clive is a name. People and fictional characters with the name include: People Given name * Clive Allen (born 1961), English football player * Clive Anderson (born 1952), British television, radio presenter, comedy writer and former barrister * ...