Ron Moody obit

Ron Moody, Fagin actor, dies at 91

He was not on the list.

Actor Ron Moody, who played Fagin in the hit film version of Oliver!, has died aged 91.

The star, who was nominated for the best actor Oscar in 1968 for his performance in the Charles Dickens adaptation, died in hospital on Thursday.

His widow Therese said: "He brought joy to his family and to the hearts of many and will be greatly missed.

He was singing until the end."

His agent said Mr Moody, who died in hospital, had been ill for some time.

He was born Ronald Moodnick in north London and played the role of the master criminal in the stage version of the musical in the West End and on Broadway before making the film.

He had a lengthy career in TV and film, including an appearance on EastEnders, but was said to have turned down the role of Doctor Who. He is survived by his widow and six children.

Moody was on his way to becoming a sociologist when he fell into acting.

The Londoner got his first taste of showbusiness aged 16 when he worked as a wages clerk at Elstree studios.

He had spent the war in the RAF before going on to study at the London School of Economics.

Years later, he remembered: "I went to the London School of Economics to study sociology and psychology on a serviceman's grant.

"While there, I got dragged into taking part in a student revue and ended up writing, and appearing in, a few sketches. In short, I got the stage bug.

"Soon after, I was discovered in an end-of-term show by two writers who put me in their stage revue, and I've never looked back."

Moody holds the peculiar distinction of having portrayed the wizard Merlin in two Disney films, Unidentified Flying Oddball (1979) and A Kid in King Arthur's Court (1995).

Moody honed his craft in a string of theatrical roles before reluctantly auditioning for the role in Lionel Bart's musical that made him a star.

He said: "At first I never wanted to do it. They told me there was this musical of Oliver Twist so I went to see the Alec Guinness film (of Oliver Twist), which I found to be so anti-semitic as to be unbearable.

"But Bart is as Jewish as I am and we both felt an obligation to get Fagin away from a viciously racial stereotype and instead make him what he really is - a crazy old Father Christmas gone wrong."

Moody, who is said to have once turned down the lead role in Doctor Who, also wrote novels and musicals of his own and kept working into his eighties, including a small role in EastEnders.

He once said: "I think I'm a straight actor who occasionally does musicals; most people think I'm an eccentric comedian. It's amazing how many years you can spend in this business just sorting out something as simple and basic as that.

"I don't think a professional agent or theatre manager would say my career had gone as well as perhaps it should have after that first Oliver! success, but then again I was never really intending to have a career in the professional theatre in the first place. Considering I set out to be a sociologist, I think I've really done quite well."

Partial filmography

    Davy (1958) - The Unicyclist (uncredited)

    Follow a Star (1959) - Violinist

    Make Mine Mink (1960) - Jelks (uncredited)

    Five Golden Hours (1961) - Gabrielle

    A Pair of Briefs (1962) - Sidney Pudney

    Summer Holiday (1963) - Orlando

    The Mouse on the Moon (1963) - Prime Minister Rupert Mountjoy

    Ladies Who Do (1963) - Police Inspector

    Murder Most Foul (1964) - H. Driffold Cosgood

    Every Day's a Holiday (1964) - Professor Bastinado

    San Ferry Ann (1965) - German

    The Sandwich Man (1966) - Rowing Coach

    Oliver! (1968) - Fagin

    David Copperfield (1969, TV Movie) - Uriah Heep

    The Twelve Chairs (1970) - Vorobyaninov

    Flight of the Doves (1971) - Hawk Dove

    Legend of the Werewolf (1975) - Zoo Keeper

    Dogpound Shuffle (1975) - Steps

    Closed Up-Tight (1975)

    The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It (1977) - Dr. Henry Gropinger

    Dominique (1978) - Dr. Rogers

    The Word (1978, TV Mini-Series) - LeBrun

    Unidentified Flying Oddball, aka The Spaceman and King Arthur (1979) - Merlin

    Nobody's Perfect (TV series) (1980) - Inspector Roger Hart

    Othello (1981, TV Movie) - Iago

    Wrong Is Right (1982) - King Awad

    Where Is Parsifal? (1983) - Beersbohm

    The Telebugs (1986-1987, TV Series) - (voice)

    Asterix and the Big Fight (1989) - Prolix (English version, voice)

    A Ghost in Monte Carlo (1990, TV Movie) - Alphonse

    How's Business (1991) - Pawnshop broker

    Emily's Ghost (1992) - Dawson

    The Animals of Farthing Wood (1993-1995, TV Mini-Series) - Toad / Badger / Bully / Large Town Rat (voice)

    A Kid in King Arthur's Court (1995) - Merlin

    Noah's Island (1997–1999) - (voice)

    The 3 Kings (2000) - King Herod

    Revelation (2001) - Sir Isaac Newton

    Paradise Grove (2003) - Izzie Goldberg

    Lost Dogs (2005) - Maurice Todd

    Moussaka & Chips (2005) - Officer David Tomlinson