Willoughby Goddard

Willoughby Goddard
with Paul Stassino in The Saint (1969)
Born	(1926-07-04)4 July 1926 Bicester, Oxfordshire, England
Died	11 April 2008(2008-04-11) (aged 81) London, England
Occupation	Actor

Willoughby Wittenham Rees Goddard (4 July 1926 – 11 April 2008) was an English actor whose trademark rotund figure was well known on television and in films for more than 40 years.^[1]^[2]

Biography

Goddard was born in Bicester, Oxfordshire. He played Mr. Bumble in two versions of Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist – a 1962 television adaptation, and the original Broadway production of the musical Oliver!. He originated the role of Cardinal Wolsey in the West End production of Robert Bolt's A Man for All Seasons. He appeared in the television series The Adventures of William Tell (which lasted 39 episodes) in 1958 and 1959 as the villain Landburgher Gessler and as Sir Geoffrey in The Man in Room 17, which ran two series of 13 hour-long black-and-white episodes in 1965 and 1966. He was cast as Reeder's boss, Sir Jason Toovey, (head of the Department of Public Prosecutions) in The Mind of Mr. J.G. Reeder, a TV series of 16 hour-long episodes with first season 1969 and second season 1971 based on short stories by Edgar Wallace.^[2]^[3]

Goddard retired from the industry in 1987 and died in 2008, aged 81.^[4]

Goddard is buried in Teddington Cemetery.

Filmography

Film appearances

Bait (1950) – John Hartley
The Million Pound Note (1950) – Stockbroker (uncredited)
The Green Man (1956) – Statesman
A Touch of the Sun (1956) – Golightly
Stranger in Town (1957) – Publican
Heart of a Child (1958) – Scott
In the Wake of a Stranger (1959) – Shafto
Inn for Trouble (1960) – Sgt Saunders
The Millionairess (1961) – President
The Secret Partner (1961) – Hotel Kepper
Double Bunk (1961) – Prospective Purchaser
The Long Shadow (1961) – Schober
Fate Takes a Hand (1961) – Rollenshaw
The Golden Rabbit (1962) – Clitheroe
Carry On Cruising (1962) – Large Man
The Wrong Box (1966) – James White Wragg
The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968) – Squire
Laughter in the Dark (1969) – Colonel
The Juggler of Notre Dame (1970) – Judge Broadbottom
The Canterbury Tales (1971) – Placebo
Gawain and the Green Knight (1973) – Knight
Joseph Andrews (1977) – Fourposter Innkeeper
Jabberwocky (1977) – Eggman (uncredited)
Quincy's Quest (1979) – General
Young Sherlock Holmes (1985) – School Reverend
God's Outlaw (1986) – Cardinal Wolsey

TV appearances

David Copperfield (1956) – Mr. Creakle
The Buccaneers (1956) – Phineas Bunch – "Marooned"
The Buccaneers (1956) – Lawyer Pym – "Blood Will Tell"
Gay Cavalier (1957) – Bulstrode – "Dragon's Heart"
The Adventures of William Tell (1958–1959) – Landburger Gessler – regular cast
The Invisible Man (1961) – Crowther – "Bank Raid"
Charlesworth (1959) – Calvarez1
Danger Man (1961) – McFadden – "The Journey Ends Halfway"
The Avengers (1961) – The Deacon – "The Frighteners"
Oliver Twist (1962) – Mr. Bumble
Ghost Squad (1963) – Slim Salmon – "The Missing People"
Richard the Lionheart (1963) – Arnold – "The Lord of Kenak"
Public Eye (1965) – Chambers – "A Harsh World for Zealots"
The Man in Room 17 (1965–1966) – Sir Geoffrey – regular cast
The Baron (1967) – Colbert – "The Edge of Fear"
The Saint (1969) – (ex) King Boris – "The Ex-King of Diamonds"
The Mind of Mr. J.G. Reeder (1969) – Sir Jason Toovey – regular cast
The Main Chance (1969) – What About Justice?
Orson Welles Great Mysteries (1973) – Sir Thomas "Captain Rogers"
The Sweeney (1976) – Kitter – "Sweet Smell of Succession"
Space: 1999 (1977) – The Taybor – "The Taybor"
The Famous Five (1978) – The Man – "Five go to Mystery Moor"
My Son, My Son (1979) – Mr. Moscrop
The Incredible Mr Tanner (1981) – Tom
The Black Adder (1983) – The Archbishop – "The Queen of Spain's Beard"
John Silver's Return to Treasure Island (1986) – Sir Solomon Pridham – "The Map"
Porterhouse Blue (1987) – Professor Siblington

References

^ "Willoughby Goddard". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012.
^ ^a ^b Shorter, Eric (16 April 2008). "Obituary: Willoughby Goddard". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
^ Hayward, Anthony (1 May 2008). "Willoughby Goddard: Rotund actor often cast as a baddie". The Independent. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
^ "Willoughby Goddard movies, photos, movie reviews, filmography, and biography – AllMovie". AllMovie.