In 1960 Mr. Woodthorpe created the role of Aston, a reticent man living alone in a cluttered top-floor room of an abandoned house in a poor London district, who takes in an old derelict, in Harold Pinter's first smash hit, ''The Caretaker,'' opposite Donald Pleasence and Alan Bates. Peter Woodthorpe Birthday and Date of Death. Birthday: September 25, 1931 Date of Death: August 12, 2004 Age at Death: 72 Two years after he died I was still looking at them. Despite its sterling pedigree, that show, plagued by road troubles and coinciding with a newspaper strike, was a costly flop. Finally one day I thought “the heck with this” I tore them all up. Posted at 12:54h in Uncategorized by 0 Comments. His characters in these films were all sleazy, corrupt and manipulative types (a hypnotist, a nudie photographer and a corrupt landlord). One of Woodthorpe's best remembered roles was the guest role of Reg Trotter, father of Del Boy, in the 1983 Christmas special, Thicker than Water, an episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. Mr. Woodthorpe appeared in more than 40 films and television shows, including memorable stints as Gollum in a 1978 animated film of ''The Lord of the Rings'' and its 1981 BBC Radio adaptation. The next year he starred as the Yorkshire lad Noaks in ''Zuleika,'' an ill-conceived musical rendition of Max Beerbohm's novel ''Zuleika Dobson.''. He had then just finished his second year reading Biochemistry[2] at Magdalene College, Cambridge, and expected to return after a run of a few weeks. how did peter woodthorpe die. While performing with the Marlowe Society as a Cambridge undergraduate, the Yorkshire-born Mr. Woodthorpe was spotted by the young director Peter Hall, who cast him as Estragon in … Attendance improved, and ''Godot'' moved to the West End, where Mr. Woodthorpe played opposite Hugh Burden and, after the play's closing, found himself much in demand. He also provided the voice of Pigsy in the cult series Monkey and was Max the pathologist in early episodes of Inspector Morse. In 1964 and 1965 he made three films for cinematographer-turned-director Freddie Francis: The Evil of Frankenstein (1964), Hysteria (1965) and The Skull (1965), the first two for Hammer Films and the last for Amicus Productions. Peter Woodthorpe was born on September 25, 1931 and died on August 12, 2004. Peter Woodthorpe died on August 12, 2004, in Oxfordshire, England, UK. Peter Woodthorpe, who has died aged 72, was one of the most distinctive and arresting character actors to appear on the post-war London stage. I even thought suicide was the way to go, I mean he did it!!! The role, which includes a challenging second-act speech about his character's removal to a mental hospital, was among Mr. Woodthorpe's most magnetic performances, earning him praise as ''magnificent'' from Noel Coward and a Clarence Derwent award for best supporting actor. Peter Woodthorpe, the defiantly eccentric character actor who played a significant role in the British postwar theatrical revolution, died on Aug. 13. He died at the age of 72 on 12 August 2004 in Banbury, Oxfordshire following a short illness. Two years later Mr. Woodthorpe joined Olivier in the opening season of the Chichester Festival among a glittering cast that included Michael Redgrave, Sybil Thorndike, Joan Plowright, John Neville and Rosemary Harris. '', He was once again at the top of his form as Nils Krogstad opposite Claire Bloom's Nora in the 1973 West End revival of Ibsen's ''Doll's House'' and in the 1976 John Mortimer double bill ''Heaven and Hell.'' In 1960, he played Aston in the first production of Harold Pinter's The Caretaker at the Arts Theatre, in London, prior to transferring to the West End's Duchess Theatre on 30 May 1960. Peter was 72 years old at the time of death. Befuddled critics argued over its merits; performances were punctuated by shouts of displeasure and the slamming of seats. When the play was successful, faced with the choice of dropping out either from Cambridge or from the play, he chose to stay with the play and his acting career. He died at the age of 72 on 12 August 2004 in Banbury, Oxfordshire following a short illness. But his parts were small or undistinguished and, prone to alienating colleagues and directors with his biting comments, he was not invited to rejoin Olivier when the National Theater opened at the Old Vic. I did let him and the thought of him go finally but he impacted more teenagers than he would ever know. By the time Kenneth Tynan of The Observer described ''Godot'' as ''a conversational necessity for many years'' and Mr. Woodthorpe's portrayal of Estragon as ''compassionate lunacy,'' both the play and the actors' careers were well on their way. Before going up to Cambridge he was educated at Archbishop Holgate's Grammar School and served as a national serviceman in the Royal Navy, training at the Joint Services School for Linguists as a Russian interpreter. He also starred as Oxford in the Broadway musical Darling of the Day. While performing with the Marlowe Society as a Cambridge undergraduate, the Yorkshire-born Mr. Woodthorpe was spotted by the young director Peter Hall, who cast him as Estragon in the original 1955 production of Samuel Beckett's ''Waiting for Godot'' at the Arts Theater Club in London. In the summer of 1955 he played Estragon in the first British production of Waiting for Godot. A harbinger of the modern theater movement in Britain, ''Godot'' -- frequently described as a play in which nothing happens, twice -- excited controversy. Peter Woodthorpe (25 September 1931 – 12 August 2004)[1] was an English film, television and voice actor who supplied the voice of Gollum in the 1978 Bakshi version of The Lord of the Rings and BBC's 1981 radio serial. Harburg-Jule Styne musical ''Darling of the Day,'' about an artist who, disenchanted with success, fakes his death. Peter Woodthorpe, actor, born September 25 1931; died August 13 2004, Actor who burst into prominence with Beckett. Peter Hall had seen him as a Cambridge University … Since 1994, he recorded the voices of Toad, Great White Stag and Whistler in an BBC Young Collection audiotape version of the Animals of Farthing Wood. I guess I was mad at him for killing himself. In 1984, he and Lennard Pearce (who starred on the programme as Grandad Trotter, Reg's father, and appeared alongside him in that episode) were seen together again in the Minder episode The Balance of Power. How did the apostle Peter ultimately die? His death was reported in The Guardian of London. It is unclear whether he was killed through crucifixion, and only certain traditions state that he perished while upside-down. His more recent stage credits included Eugene O'Neill's ''Mourning Becomes Electra'' and the 1995 National Theater production of Rodney Ackland's ''Absolute Hell.''. Peter Woodthorpe, a British Character Actor, Dies at 72. Mr. Woodthorpe went on to appear as a deliriously all-out Lord Foppington in John Vanbrugh's ''Relapse'' and the predatory Kimberley in Pauline Macaulay's ''Creeper'' while taking over from Mr. Pleasence the title role in Jean Anouilh's ''Poor Bitos.''. Other television appearances include as the writer Honoré de Balzac in the BBC series Notorious Woman (1974) and as the corrupt Councillor Webb in the hard-hitting police drama The Professionals; episode Not a Very Civil Servant (1978).[3]. In August 1955, Peter Woodthorpe, who has died aged 73, became part of the postwar stage revolution. He was 72. In 1956 he joined the English Stage Company as Wang, the water seller, opposite Peggy Ashcroft in Brecht's ''Good Woman of Setzuan.'' A … In 1970, however, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford, where his luster was restored by his near-perfect casting as Toad in A.A. Milne's ''Toad of Toad Hall,'' and a richly textured portrayal of the Actor in Maxim Gorky's ''Lower Depths. Mr. Woodthorpe toured Britain with Lynn Fontanne and Alfred Lunt in Friedrich Dürrenmatt's ''Visit'' as the weak-willed Professor Muller, and repeated the role in Peter Brook's 1958 Broadway production, which opened the Lunt-Fontanne Theater. We are on safe Biblical ground in stating he perished as a martyr. After a stellar first decade Mr. Woodthorpe found his career on the downslide, tempered by prevailing theatrical tastes as well as by his infamous outspokenness. Peter Woodthorpe (25 September 1931 – 12 August 2004) was an English film, television and voice actor who supplied the voice of Gollum in the 1978 Bakshi version of The Lord of the Rings and BBC's 1981 radio serial. Tradition states that he perished under Emperor Nero in or just before 68 A.D. [4], Beckett: Waiting for Godot, David Bradby, Cambridge University Press, 2001, pg 74, Learn how and when to remove this template message, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Peter_Woodthorpe&oldid=965972123, People educated at Archbishop Holgate's School, Articles needing additional references from February 2013, All articles needing additional references, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 4 July 2020, at 14:47. He returned to Broadway in 1968 for a George Abbott production of the E.Y. 26 Sep. how did peter woodthorpe die. Returning to Britain, he joined the Shakespeare Memorial Theater Company at Stratford-on-Avon, playing Flute in Mr. Hall's production of ''A Midsummer Night's Dream,'' Roderigo to Paul Robeson's Othello and Junius in Laurence Olivier's revival of ''Coriolanus.''. He also provided the voice of Pigsy in the cult series Monkey and was Max the pathologist in early episodes of Inspector Morse. Playing alongside the seasoned actor Paul Daneman's Vladimir as one of a pair of tramps eternally waiting for something to alleviate their boredom, Mr. Woodthorpe nonetheless commanded attention as a fascinating oddball, whose nasal whine and fleshy face made him instantly recognizable.