Geoffrey Wilkinson; actor who was a mainstay of the British stage, screen and radio
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Versatile actor whose face graced screen and stage for 40 years
Ray Brown
Thursday September 6, 2007
Guardian
Geoffrey Wilkinson, who has died of a heart attack aged 64, was a
strolling player par excellence, one of the mainstays of British
stage, screen and radio drama for 40 years. Geoffrey's was a face made
familiar by television. Seen this year in the comedy drama Shameless,
he had started in the Catherine Cookson dramatisation The Mallens in
1979.
He was Alec Keegan, one of several bit parts in Coronation Street
(1979-88), and other series included Last of the Summer Wine
(2003-04), Heartbeat (1996, 2001, 2003), The Royal (2003) and Only
Fools and Horses (1986). In 2002 he played Conservative MP Sir Anthony
Meyer in Ian Curteis's The Falklands Play. On stage he ranged from
Romeo and Juliet to Joe Orton's What the Butler Saw, while film roles
included Calendar Girls (2003) and Brideshead Revisited, to be
released next year. He loved it all.
Geoffrey was born into a working-class family in Sneinton, Nottingham.
His father was a lorry driver; his mother, a tailor, had a strong
sense of humour; and he had one sister Christine, who was three years
his senior. At Manvers secondary school, Rushcliffe, Geoffrey played
Banquo in Macbeth, and his talent was noted and encouraged. Leaving
school at 15, he trained in light engineering before moving into
retail sales. He found some creative satisfaction in amateur dramatics
at the Co-operative Arts Centre.
Then, at 20, he won a scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music and
Drama, London. On graduating, he took bit parts and toured youth
theatre. With flowing locks, a beard and a crimson velvet cloak,
Geoffrey enjoyed the hedonism of the 1960s. But an actor's life is
rarely lucrative, so he went back to Nottingham, worked at the Raleigh
bicycle factory, wrote poetry, played the guitar and then took a
proper job, with the National Coal Board.
However, his love of theatre ultimately overcame his need for a
regular income. By 1981 he was working at the Crucible theatre,
Sheffield, and was cast opposite Rita May in her play Neighbourly
Love. They fell for each other, and she became his third wife.
A year ago he auditioned for the role of Joe "Tiger Boy" Sweeting in
my play Vacant Possession. In this, his final year, he had found a
role that thoroughly suited him. I sent him five pages of script, and
he turned up word perfect in the role. He told his young co-actor,
Jamie Smelt, that he had waited 40 years for a part that was really
his own.
Geoffrey and Jamie carried on taking notes and running lines through a
developmental tour of 40 shows, and again when we opened on the
Edinburgh fringe last month. His last performance was fresh and
stunning, but a few minutes later he collapsed, and died in intensive
care without regaining consciousness.
An endlessly amiable man, he had a fine, informed intelligence honed
on crossword puzzles, and was a devotee of the Goon Show, jazz and
Beethoven. He had an extensive repertoire of old songs, and we busked
I'm a Rambler just before his last performance. He claimed never to
have had a hangover, no matter how hard he tried. And he did sometimes
try - but tipples never interfered with his professional life. To work
with him was pure joy. On stage he had presence and grace.
Geoffrey is survived by Rita and three children from his previous two
marriages, plus two stepchildren and 11 grandchildren.
· Geoffrey James Wilkinson, actor, born October 5 1942; died August 13
2007