Simon Cadell
Encyclopedia
Simon John Cadell was an English
actor.
Born in London
, he was the grandson of the Scottish
character actor
Jean Cadell
, the brother of the actress Selina Cadell
, and the cousin of the actor Guy Siner
. He was educated at Bedales School
at Petersfield
where his close friends included Gyles Brandreth
, who remained a friend until Cadell's death. Cadell trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
.
in the mid to late 1970s. He then provided the voice of Blackberry in Watership Down
, the animated adaptation of Richard Adams' novel of the same name
, and went on to play parts in a number of British television programmes, including series such as Enemy at the Door
. He also appeared in a few films.
He is most remembered for his role as the well-meaning but out-of-place holiday camp manager Jeffrey Fairbrother in the BBC
Situation comedy
Hi-de-Hi!
, and for playing the disingenuous civil servant Dundridge in the screen adaptation of Blott on the Landscape
, both in the mid-1980s.
On radio he played the elven-king Celeborn in the 1981 BBC adaptation of The Lord of the Rings
. He starred in the BBC sitcom Life Without George
alongside Carol Royle
which ran for three series from 1987 to 1989.
He appeared in the British comedy series Singles
and cameoed
in several shows, including Minder
, Bergerac
, The Kenny Everett Television Show, and Roald Dahl's
Tales of the Unexpected
. He was also in heavy demand as a voice-over for television commercials.
He also narrated the acclaimed children's television series Bump
for the BBC
which is all about a baby elephant (who always bumps into things) and his friend Birdie.
at the Queen Elizabeth Hall
, in London. The doctors singled out smoking as a contributory cause - at one stage Cadell smoked 80 cigarettes a day - but he was back at work playing in Travels with My Aunt
four months after a triple bypass operation. In September the same year, cancer
was detected. On 6 March 1996 Cadell died at the age of 45.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actor.
Born in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, he was the grandson of the Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
character actor
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
Jean Cadell
Jean Cadell
Jean Cadell was a Scottish character actress.Born in Edinburgh, she performed in the cinema and on the stage. One of her best known cinema roles was in the Ealing Studios comedy Whisky Galore! . She once performed opposite W.C. Fields in Hollywood, cast as Mrs...
, the brother of the actress Selina Cadell
Selina Cadell
Selina Cadell is an English actress. She is the sister of the late actor Simon Cadell and granddaughter of the actress Jean Cadell.....
, and the cousin of the actor Guy Siner
Guy Siner
Guy Siner is an American-born English actor known for his role as Lieutenant Hubert Gruber in the British television series Allo 'Allo!.-Early life:...
. He was educated at Bedales School
Bedales School
Bedales School is a co-educational independent school situated in Hampshire, in the south east of England. Founded in 1893 by John Haden Badley in reaction to the limitations of conventional Victorian schools, today the school is one of the most expensive in the UK, charging £9,985 per term for a...
at Petersfield
Petersfield, Hampshire
Petersfield is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Portsmouth, on the A3 road. The town has its own railway station on the Portsmouth Direct Line, the mainline rail link connecting Portsmouth and London. The town is situated on the...
where his close friends included Gyles Brandreth
Gyles Brandreth
Gyles Daubeney Brandreth is a British writer, broadcaster and former Conservative Member of Parliament and junior minister.-Early life:...
, who remained a friend until Cadell's death. Cadell trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, opened by Laurence Olivier in 1946, is an affiliate of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama, an organisation securing the highest standards of training in the performing arts, and is an associate school of the Faculty of Creative Arts of the University of the...
.
Career
His first successes were found in the theatreTheatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
in the mid to late 1970s. He then provided the voice of Blackberry in Watership Down
Watership Down (film)
Watership Down is a 1978 English adventure drama animated film written, produced and directed by Martin Rosen and based on the book by Richard Adams. It was financed by a consortium of British financial institutions...
, the animated adaptation of Richard Adams' novel of the same name
Watership Down
Watership Down is a classic heroic fantasy novel, written by English author Richard Adams, about a small group of rabbits. Although the animals in the story live in their natural environment, they are anthropomorphised, possessing their own culture, language , proverbs, poetry, and mythology...
, and went on to play parts in a number of British television programmes, including series such as Enemy at the Door
Enemy at the Door
Enemy At The Door is a British television drama series made by London Weekend Television for ITV. The series was shown between 1978 and 1980 and dealt with the German occupation of Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands, during the Second World War...
. He also appeared in a few films.
He is most remembered for his role as the well-meaning but out-of-place holiday camp manager Jeffrey Fairbrother in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Situation comedy
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
Hi-de-Hi!
Hi-de-Hi!
Hi-de-Hi! is a British sitcom that aired on the BBC from 1980-1988. It was set in a holiday camp during the 1950s and 1960s and was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, who had written Dad's Army and It Ain't Half Hot Mum. The title was the phrase used to greet the campers and in early episodes...
, and for playing the disingenuous civil servant Dundridge in the screen adaptation of Blott on the Landscape
Blott on the Landscape
Blott on the Landscape is a novel written in 1975 by Tom Sharpe. It was adapted into a 6-part television series for the BBC in 1985.-Plot:The story revolves around the proposed construction of a motorway through Cleene Gorge in rural South Worfordshire...
, both in the mid-1980s.
On radio he played the elven-king Celeborn in the 1981 BBC adaptation of The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings (1981 radio series)
In 1981 the UK radio station BBC Radio 4 broadcast a dramatisation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings in 26 half-hour stereo instalments...
. He starred in the BBC sitcom Life Without George
Life Without George
Life Without George was a BBC comedy series written by Penny Croft & Val Hudson and starring Simon Cadell and Carol Royle. The series ran from 1987 to 1989.-Cast:*Larry Wade- Simon Cadell *Jenny Russell - Carol Royle...
alongside Carol Royle
Carol Royle
Carol Royle is an English television actress.Royle was born in Blackpool and studied drama at the Central School of Speech and Drama. She is probably best known for her leading role as Jenny Russell alongside Simon Cadell in the BBC sitcom Life Without George which ran for three series from 1987...
which ran for three series from 1987 to 1989.
He appeared in the British comedy series Singles
Singles (TV series)
Singles is a British sitcom set in a singles bar produced by Yorkshire Television with the 1984 Pilot Episode produced by Thames Television and aired for 3 series and 22 episodes on the ITV network between 1988 and 1991.- Cast :Pilot :...
and cameoed
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
in several shows, including Minder
Minder (TV series)
Minder is a British comedy-drama about the London criminal underworld. Initially produced by Verity Lambert, it was made by Euston Films, a subsidiary of Thames Television and shown on ITV...
, Bergerac
Bergerac (TV series)
Bergerac was a British television show set on Jersey. Produced by the BBC in association with the Seven Network, and screened on BBC1, it starred John Nettles as the title character Detective Sergeant Jim Bergerac, a detective in "Le Bureau des Étrangers" Bergerac was a British television show...
, The Kenny Everett Television Show, and Roald Dahl's
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer, fighter pilot and screenwriter.Born in Wales to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of Wing Commander...
Tales of the Unexpected
Tales of the Unexpected (TV series)
Tales of the Unexpected is a British television series originally aired between 1979 and 1988, made by Anglia Television for ITV. Filming began in 1978.The series was an anthology of different tales...
. He was also in heavy demand as a voice-over for television commercials.
He also narrated the acclaimed children's television series Bump
Bump (TV series)
Bump was a television programme aimed at young children, created by Charlie Mills and Terry Brain, produced by Gueensgate Productions. It was a cartoon that featured an elephant named Bump and a bluebird named Birdie. The first series was broadcast in 1990 and the second in 1994. The two series ran...
for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
which is all about a baby elephant (who always bumps into things) and his friend Birdie.
Death
In January 1993, Cadell suffered a near-fatal heart attack after giving a recital with Joanna LumleyJoanna Lumley
Joanna Lamond Lumley, OBE, FRGS is a British actress, voice-over artist, former-model and author, best known for her roles in British television series Absolutely Fabulous portraying Edina Monsoon's best friend, Patsy Stone, as well as parts in The New Avengers, Sapphire & Steel, and Sensitive...
at the Queen Elizabeth Hall
Queen Elizabeth Hall
The Queen Elizabeth Hall is a music venue on the South Bank in London, United Kingdom that hosts daily classical, jazz, and avant-garde music and dance performances. The QEH forms part of Southbank Centre arts complex and stands alongside the Royal Festival Hall, which was built for the Festival...
, in London. The doctors singled out smoking as a contributory cause - at one stage Cadell smoked 80 cigarettes a day - but he was back at work playing in Travels with My Aunt
Travels with My Aunt
Travels with My Aunt is a novel written by English author Graham Greene.The novel follows the travels of Henry Pulling, a retired bank manager, and his eccentric Aunt Augusta as they find their way across Europe, and eventually even further afield...
four months after a triple bypass operation. In September the same year, cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
was detected. On 6 March 1996 Cadell died at the age of 45.
Drama
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 to 1980 | Enemy at the Door Enemy at the Door Enemy At The Door is a British television drama series made by London Weekend Television for ITV. The series was shown between 1978 and 1980 and dealt with the German occupation of Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands, during the Second World War... |
Hauptmann Reinicke |
| 1978 | Edward & Mrs. Simpson | Major John Aird |
| 1984 | Tales of the Unexpected Tales of the Unexpected Tales of the Unexpected may refer to:*Tales of the Unexpected , a 1950s-1960s comic book*Tales of the Unexpected , a collection of short stories by Roald Dahl... |
Sam Luke in the episode Have a Nice Death |
Comedy
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 to 1984 | Hi-de-Hi! Hi-de-Hi! Hi-de-Hi! is a British sitcom that aired on the BBC from 1980-1988. It was set in a holiday camp during the 1950s and 1960s and was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, who had written Dad's Army and It Ain't Half Hot Mum. The title was the phrase used to greet the campers and in early episodes... |
Prof. Jeffrey Fairbrother |
| 1985 | Blott on the Landscape Blott on the Landscape Blott on the Landscape is a novel written in 1975 by Tom Sharpe. It was adapted into a 6-part television series for the BBC in 1985.-Plot:The story revolves around the proposed construction of a motorway through Cleene Gorge in rural South Worfordshire... |
Mr. Dundridge |
| 1987 to 1989 | Life Without George Life Without George Life Without George was a BBC comedy series written by Penny Croft & Val Hudson and starring Simon Cadell and Carol Royle. The series ran from 1987 to 1989.-Cast:*Larry Wade- Simon Cadell *Jenny Russell - Carol Royle... |
Larry Wade |
| 1988 to 1991 | Singles Singles (TV series) Singles is a British sitcom set in a singles bar produced by Yorkshire Television with the 1984 Pilot Episode produced by Thames Television and aired for 3 series and 22 episodes on the ITV network between 1988 and 1991.- Cast :Pilot :... |
Denis Duvall |