Ian Lavender obit

Ian Lavender: Dad's Army star dies aged 77

 

He was not on the list.

The Dad's Army actor Ian Lavender, who played Private Pike in the hit TV series, has died at the age of 77.

Birmingham-born Lavender was just 22 when he was cast as the guileless platoon member, in what was then a new BBC sitcom.

But it made him a household name, and he ended up spending 10 years as part of the comedy classic.

Lavender, who died on Friday, was the last surviving main cast member of the series.

Away from Dad's Army, he also acted in other TV comedies such as Yes Minister, and appeared on stage, including in The Merchant of Venice.

He also had a stint on EastEnders as Derek Harkinson, a role he reprised in 2016 for a festive storyline.

Lavender grew up in the Midlands but studied acting at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.

He was barely out of drama school before being cast in the role for which he was to become most known for. Dad's Army, a much loved series about a Home Guard platoon during the Second World War, ran on BBC One from 1968 to 1977.

It also starred Arthur Lowe as Captain Mainwaring, Arnold Ridley as Private Godfrey and John Le Mesurier as Sergeant Wilson, among others.

The hapless Pike was the youngest member of the troop and a bank clerk.

He frequently had run-ins with Mainwaring, who would shout at him: "You stupid boy!"

The series regularly attracted more than 18 million viewers in the 1970s, and has had a long-lasting impact on British popular culture.

Some of its other catchphrases are also still used, such as "don't panic!", "put that light out!", and "they don't like it up 'em!"

Lavender joined EastEnders in 2001 and remained on the BBC One soap for four years.

He returned to Walford briefly, fifteen years after his first appearance, but he left in 2017 after he becoming ill with sepsis.

The following year marked the 50th anniversary of Dad's Army, which was commemorated by Royal Mail with a collection of stamps featuring the main characters.

After Dad's Army, Lavender returned to the theatre, including a role in a production of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. Between 1971 and 1973 Lavender joined Dad's Army colleague Arthur Lowe on the BBC radio comedy Parsley Sidings, set in a rural railway station. From 1982 to 1983, he was in a BBC radio comedy series, a spin-off from Dad's Army called It Sticks Out Half a Mile. Lavender also appeared in films and television series, one of which (Mr Big, 1977) featured him starring alongside Peter Jones and Prunella Scales. During the 1970s he appeared as a supporting actor in a number of British 'low farce' films, including one Carry On film – Carry On Behind (1975).

He was reunited with producer David Croft for the television series Come Back Mrs. Noah (1977–78, co-written by Croft with Jeremy Lloyd), though it was unsuccessful. A revival of The Glums (1978–79), at first as part of a Bruce Forsyth variety series, proved rather more satisfactory, being adapted from scripts for the 1950s radio series Take It From Here that were written by Frank Muir and Denis Norden.

Lavender then appeared in several other TV comedy shows during the 1980s, including two episodes of Yes Minister, as Richard Cartwright, and a lead role in the short-lived The Hello Goodbye Man (1984), as the inept salesman Denis Ailing. He also appeared on ITV's television game show Cluedo (1990), based on the board game. During the 1990s Lavender continued to appear occasionally in television comedy roles including a bit-part as a burglar alarm salesman in the BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances. He made an appearance in Goodnight Sweetheart as two different parallel universe versions of the time-travelling lead character's son Michael. He also provided the lead voice of BBC children's animation PC Pinkerton in 1988.

In 2001 Lavender joined the BBC soap opera EastEnders, playing the role of Derek Harkinson, a gay friend of Pauline Fowler. He continued in EastEnders for four years, with storylines mainly involving the Fowler family, before leaving the serial in 2005. On 4 November 2016, it was announced that Lavender would make a brief return to the show.

Lavender then toured with The Rocky Horror Show musical, playing the Narrator. He also played the part of a patient in the 5 May 2007 episode of Casualty on BBC. In late 2007, he toured in the comedy play Donkey's Years. In May 2008, Lavender appeared in the BBC documentary series Comedy Map of Britain.

 

Filmography

Film

Year     Title            Role

1971    Dad's Army    Private Pike

1975    Three for All   Carlo, Spanish Policeman

Confessions of a Pop Performer            Rodney

Carry On Behind  Joe Baxter

1976    Not Now, Comrade            Gerry Buss

Adventures of a Taxi Driver            Ronald

1977            Adventures of a Private Eye            Derek

2009    31 North 62 East            John Mandelson

2014    The Hooligan Factory            Granddad Albert

2016    Dad's Army            Brigadier Pritchard

Television

Year     Title            Role            Notes

1968–1977            Dad's Army    Private Pike     80 episodes, regular cast member

1971-1973            Parsley Sidings            Bertrand Hepplewhite            All episodes (some episodes lost)

1974    Man About the House  Mark            Episode: While the Cat's Away

1974    Rising Damp   Liberal candidate            Episode: Stand Up and Be Counted

1977–1978            Come Back Mrs. Noah    Clive Cuncliffe            6 episodes

1978–1979            The Glums   Ron Glum    8 episodes

1982    Yes Minister            Dr Richard Cartwright            2 episodes

1984    The Hello Goodbye Man     Denis Ailing    6 episodes

1990    Cluedo            Professor Peter Plum            Christmas special

1995            Keeping Up Appearances            Security Representative            Episode: Hyacinth Is Alarmed

1998            Goodnight Sweetheart            Michael Sparrow            Episode: My Heart Belongs to Daddy

1998–2008            Casualty          Gordon Cunningham/Benny Jenkins            4 episodes

2001–2005,

2016–2017            EastEnders      Derek Harkinson            240 episodes

2014    Stella            Keith Jackson            1 episode: Christmas Special -Christmas In Pontyberry

Radio

Rookery Nook, BBC Radio 4, Saturday Night Theatre, Saturday 24 August 1985 - Gerald Popkis