Jules Walter obit

Jules Walter obituary

 

He was not on the list.

My godfather Jules Walter, who has died aged 96, was a pioneering actor and cultural mainstay of Notting Hill, west London. He appeared in several British television dramas and cult films in the 1970s and 80s, including The Wild Geese (1978), James Bond: A View to a Kill (1985), Doctor Who, Blake’s 7 and The Professionals. Though often in supporting or uncredited roles, Jules was part of a generation of Caribbean actors who made inroads in British film and television at a time of limited opportunity.

Off-screen, his home became a hub for artists, activists and intellectuals. Guests included the civil rights activist Stokely Carmichael (later Kwame Ture), who would often stay with Jules when in London, and the Labour peer Lord David Pitt, reflecting post-Windrush Black political life in Britain.

Born in St John’s, Antigua, Jules was a descendant of both formerly enslaved Africans and European slave owners, and as such his family bridged the usual divides of race, class and privilege. His father, Ronald Walter, a business owner, was killed when Jules was 12, and after his mother, Vioney (nee Edwards), a seamstress, migrated to the US in search of work, he was raised by his grandmothers, one of whom was head of the grammar school on the island, which Jules attended.

After school, he was employed as an agricultural cadet for Antigua Sugar Estates, and became one of the first Black plantation managers, a job he did for 12 years.

In 1955 he travelled to London, staying with his uncle Carl Walter, a musician and actor, in the Notting Hill area. Carl introduced him to contacts in the entertainment industry and Jules began auditioning for film and television roles, as well as landing modelling jobs for Vogue, Tatler and Vanity Fair.

He quickly became embedded in the Caribbean community in west London. However, this was a time of racial tensions in the UK, and the murder of his cousin Kelso Cochrane in 1959 politicised Jules, and led him to become part of the activist community organising in the neighbourhood.

With the rise of a new wave of cultural activism, Jules joined the Edric Connor Agency (later run as the Afro-Asian-Caribbean Agency) that helped provide opportunities for Black and minority ethnic artists in the UK. He also joined the Negro Theatre Workshop (NTW), one of the first Black British theatre companies. He was particularly proud of being in The Black Macbeth, an all-Black casting of Macbeth at the Roundhouse theatre in north London in 1972.

From the 1980s, Jules spent winter months each year in Antigua. He acquired Coates Cottage in St John’s, which he transformed into a cultural centre and archive, showing Caribbean artists including his cousin Frank Walter, who represented Antigua at the 2017 Venice Biennale.

Jules is survived by two children, Carl and Rene, from a marriage to Mopile, which ended in divorce, a son, Bismarck, from another relationship, and by three grandchildren and a great-grandchild.

Actor

Roger Moore, Tanya Roberts, and Christopher Walken in A View to a Kill (1985)

A View to a Kill

6.3

Man at Race MeetingTycoon (uncredited)

1985

 

Paul McGann, Colin Baker, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, William Hartnell, Sylvester McCoy, Jon Pertwee, and Patrick Troughton in Doctor Who (1963)

Doctor Who

8.4

TV Series

Sea Devil Warrior (uncredited)

1984

4 episodes

 

Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, James Earl Jones, Warwick Davis, David Prowse, Billy Dee Williams, Michael Carter, and Larry Ward in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)

Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi

8.3

Rennek (uncredited)

1983

 

Metal Mickey (1980)

Metal Mickey

6.1

TV Series

3rd Suitor

1982

1 episode

 

The Boy Who Never Was (1980)

The Boy Who Never Was

6.4

TV Movie

Okara

1980

 

Sykes (1972)

Sykes

7.3

TV Series

Malcolm (Ear Consultant)Vicar

1973–1979

2 episodes

 

Blake's 7 (1978)

Blake's 7

8.0

TV Series

Rebel (uncredited)

1979

1 episode

 

Richard Burton, Roger Moore, Richard Harris, and Hardy Krüger in The Wild Geese (1978)

The Wild Geese

6.8

Mboya's ADC

1978

 

Lewis Collins, Gordon Jackson, and Martin Shaw in The Professionals (1977)

The Professionals

8.0

TV Series

Mr. Miller (as Jules Walters)

1977

1 episode

 

The Lively Arts (1969)

The Lively Arts

7.3

TV Series

Commuter

1977

1 episode

 

Diane Keen, John Thaw, and Dennis Waterman in Sweeney! (1977)

Sweeney!

6.7

Security Man (uncredited)

1977

 

The Melting Pot (1975)

The Melting Pot

5.0

TV Series

1976

4 episodes

 

Ralph Bates in Forget Me Not (1976)

Forget Me Not

TV Series

Nightclub doorman

1976

1 episode

 

Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em (1973)

Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em

7.6

TV Series

Parent at Toy Fair (uncredited)

1975

1 episode

 

Comedy Playhouse (1961)

Comedy Playhouse

7.2

TV Series

1975

1 episode

 

The Fight Against Slavery (1975)

The Fight Against Slavery

8.2

TV Mini Series

1975

1 episode

 

Can You Keep It Up for a Week? (1974)

Can You Keep It Up for a Week?

4.5

John Thomas (as Jules Walters)

1974

 

Reg Varney in On the Buses (1969)

On the Buses

7.0

TV Series

Chalkie

1973

2 episodes

 

Peter Gilmore and Anne Stallybrass in The Onedin Line (1971)

The Onedin Line

7.6

TV Series

Abdulla (as Jules Walters)

1972

1 episode

 

Scoop

TV Series

2nd Consul

1972

1 episode

 

Self

On the Buses - The football match - Audio commentary with Jules Walter and Jeanette Wild (2019)

On the Buses - The football match - Audio commentary with Jules Walter and Jeanette Wild

Short

Self

2019