Simon Ward obit

The Tudors actor Simon Ward dies after long illness

 

He was not on the list.

The British screen and stage actor Simon Ward has died after a long illness, his agent has confirmed.

Ward, who was 70, appeared in several films throughout the 1970s and 1980s, including The Three Musketeers.

He also starred as Bishop Gardiner in The Tudors and as Sir Monty in the popular BBC television series Judge John Deed.

A statement released by his agent said he passed away peacefully with his wife Alexandra and daughters at his bedside.

The son of a car salesman from Beckenham in Kent, Ward joined the National Youth Theatre at the age of 13 where he remained for eight years.

After attending the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he worked in repertory in Northampton, Birmingham and Oxford, and occasionally in London's West End.

Ward's break into the theatre came in 1967 when he played the lead in Joe Orton's play, Loot, which paved the way for television and film roles.

In 1972, he gained national acclaim for his portrayal of Churchill in Richard Attenborough's epic film Young Winston, which featured a distinguished cast including Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft.

The following year, he played the Duke of Buckingham in The Three Musketeers.

In 1974, Ward was cast as the author and veterinarian, James Herriot, in the original film adaptation of All Creatures Great and Small.

All Creatures Great and Small later became a successful BBC television series with actor Christopher Timothy taking the lead role played by Ward in the film adaptation.

In more recent years Ward returned to theatre, touring the country with plays such as Alan Bennett's The Madness of George III and Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband.

Actress Susan Penhaligon, who starred alongside Ward in The Madness of King George III, said he had been a "loyal and sympathetic friend".

"He was a witty, frighteningly clever and handsome, complex man who I worked with a lot," she said.

Ward had triumphed in the play, she said, adding: "He showed such courage because I think he was ill then; he was a very courageous man."

Alastair Whatley was one of the last directors to work with Ward, on The Madness of George III.

He said: "Already in declining health Simon took on the one of the most challenging roles written in recent years and furthermore agreed to tour with the production all over England to venues often rather off the beaten track."

In 1987 Ward suffered a serious head injury in a street attack that was never solved.

Ward's daughter is an actress, Sophie Ward. His youngest daughter, Kitty, is married to the comedian, Michael McIntyre.

Filmography

Film

Year       Title       Role       Notes

1968      if....        Schoolboy           Uncredited

1969      I Start Counting                 Conductor          

Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed              Karl Holst            

1971      Quest for Love   Jeremy

1972      Young Winston Winston Churchill           

1973      Hitler: The Last Ten Days               Captain Hoffman             

The Three Musketeers   Duke of Buckingham      

1974      Bram Stoker's Dracula    Arthur   TV movie

The Four Musketeers     Duke of Buckingham      

1975      All Creatures Great and Small      James Herriot    TV movie

Deadly Strangers              Stephen Slade  

Children of Rage               Yaakov

Valley Forge       Major Andre       TV movie

1976      Aces High            Lt. Crawford      

1977      The Standard     Herbert Menis  

Holocaust 2000                 Angel Caine       

1978      The Four Feathers            William Trench TV movie

1979      Dominique          Tony Calvert      

Zulu Dawn           Lt. Vereker         

The Last Giraffe                Jock Leslie-Melville          TV movie

La Sabina             Philip    

1980      The Rear Column              Ward     TV movie

1981      The Monster Club            George (segment "Shadmock Story")

1983      Manpower          Narrator               Short

1984      Supergirl              Zor-El    TV movie

1985      The Corsican Brothers    Chateau-Renaud              TV movie

Leave All Fair      John Jeune (Young John)              

1986      L'étincelle            Mike     

1992      Double X: The Name of the Game             Edward Ross      

Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights             Mr Linton           

1995      Nightshade         Peter Brady       

2000      Atrapa-la              Doug     TV movie

Television

Year       Title       Role       Notes

1964      Festival                 Stephen               1 episode

Theatre 625        Dick Jervis           Episode: "Carried by Storm"

1965      Thursday Theatre             Tom Cherry         Episode: "The Flowering Cherry"

1965–1966          The World of Wooster    Eustace                 2 episodes

1966      Thirteen Against Fate     Alain Malou        Episode: "The Son"

1966–1968          The Wednesday Play      Donald Clenham / John Hardie   2 episodes

1967–1968          Jackanory            Storyteller           6 episodes

1970      The Misfit            Ted Allenby-Johnson      2 episodes

The Black Tulip Cornelius Van Bearle       TV mini-series, 6 episodes

Roads to Freedom           Philippe                3 episodes

1972      No Exit Mark Gray           Episode: "A Man's Fair Share of Days"

Cinema: A Documentary               Himself                

1973      ABC Afterschool Specials               Various roles     

Orson Welles Great Mysteries    Stephen Barrow                Episode: "The Leather Funnel"

1975      BBC2 Playhouse                Saunders             Episode: "The Breakthrough"

1976      Call My Bluff       Himself                

1980      The Rear Column              Herbert Ward    TV movie

1981      Diamonds            Bernard de Haan              13 episodes

1982      An Inspector Calls            Gerald Croft       TV mini-series, 3 episodes

1984      Allô Béatrice       Archibald             Episode: Agnes et ses papas

Supergirl: The Making of the Movie          Himself                

1988      A Taste for Death             Stephen Lampart              5 episodes

1989      Around the World in 80 Days      Flannigan             TV mini-series, 3 episodes

1992      Lovejoy                Edward Brooksby             2 episodes

1994      Kurtulus               Winston Churchill            TV mini-series

1995      Ruth Rendell Mysteries Will Harvey         2 episodes

1996      Challenge            Narrator              

1999      Real Women II   Samuelson         

2003–2007          Judge John Deed              Sir Monty Everard            20 episodes

2005      Family Affairs     Mr. Lee                 3 episodes

2006      Heartbeat            Maxwell Hamilton            Episode: "Kith and Kin"

2009–2010          The Tudors          Bishop Gardiner                17 episodes, (final appearance)