Graham Armitage

Graham Armitage (24 April 1936 – 6 March 1999) was an English stage, film and television actor.^[1][2][3] From 1973 he lived and worked in South Africa, where he had spent part of his childhood.

Graham Armitage
in The Avengers: Quick-Quick Slow Death (1966)
Born	Edgar Harvey Armitage (1936-04-24)24 April 1936 Blackpool, Lancashire, England
Died	6 March 1999(1999-03-06) (aged 62) Johannesburg, South Africa
Alma mater	RADA
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1952-1999 (Film and TV)

Early life and education

Armitage was born in Blackpool in Lancashire,^[3] the son of Albert Edward Armitage (1908–1959) and Isabel W. née Bailes (1909–). In 1947 Harvey left the UK with his family, flying to South Africa and eventually settling in Cape Town where he attended Sea Point High School and then the Christian Brothers College. In early 1951 Harvey and his family moved to Salisbury, in Southern Rhodesia where he attended Prince Edward School.^{[citation needed]}

During 1952 Harvey wrote the entrance exam for late entry to Dartmouth Naval College. Whilst his Maths and Geography results were outstanding he had not studied the same syllabus for English Literature and History so failed to obtain entrance.^{[citation needed]}

He graduated from RADA in 1952,^[4] following which he made his début in the BBC television play Without The Prince, which was transmitted live.

Career

For the next twenty years Armitage regularly appeared on screen, mainly on television. He had roles in such shows as The Saint, The Avengers and made several appearances on The Dick Emery Show. In 1973 Armitage went to South Africa to appear in the Noël Coward revue Cowardy Custard and decided to stay there, becoming a familiar face on local television and stage.^[5]

In 1974 Olivia Manning adapted two of Arnold Bennett's works (The Card and The Regent) into an eight-part BBC Radio play: Denry - The Adventures Of A Card. Armitage played Denry, with Ursula O'Leary as the Countess of Chell.^[6] From 1979 to 1985 he portrayed Sherlock Holmes for Springbok Radio.^[7][8] His last appearance was in 1999 as a vicar in the South African family film Alec to the Rescue.

Personal life

In 1955 he married Carole Shirley England (1934–2017) at the Cathedral of St Mary and All Saints, Harare in Rhodesia. The couple had three children.

Armitage died in Johannesburg in South Africa in 1999.^[9]

Selected filmography

Film

• The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965) - Pawson (uncredited)
• The Fiction-Makers (1968) - Carson
• Battle of Britain (1969) - Radar Officer (uncredited)
• The Fifth Day of Peace (1970) - Mark
• The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970) - Wiggins (uncredited)
• Scrooge (1970) - Party Guest (uncredited)
• The Music Lovers (1970) - Prince Balukin
• Games That Lovers Play (1971) - Mr. Adams
• The Devils (1971) - Louis XIII of France
• The Boy Friend (1971) - Michael
• Take Me High (1973) - Boardman
• The New Spartans (1975)
• Spanish Fly (1975) - Perkins
• Zulu Dawn (1979) - Capt. Shepstone (uncredited)
• Game for Vultures (1979) - Harken
• Flashpoint Africa (1980) - Don
• The Gods Must Be Crazy (1980) - The Reverend (voice, uncredited)
• Die Groen Faktor (1984) - William Honiball
• Wie Laaste Lag... (1986) - Heart attack businessman
• Going Bananas (1987) - Gen. Smythe-Paget
• Jane and the Lost City (1987) - Cake Waiter
• Code Name Vengeance (1987) - Forrest (uncredited)
• Diamonds High (1988) - Bank manager
• Merchants of War (1989) - Gordon
• Circles in a Forest (1989) - Commissioner
• That Englishwoman: An Account of the Life of Emily Hobhouse (1990) - Minister
• Oddball Hall (1990) - The Grand Noble Master
• River of Diamonds (1991) - Judge
• Fei zhou he shang (1991) - Auctioneer
• Sweet 'n Short (1991) - Bryce Williams
• Fleshtone (1994) - Dr. Sydney Frye
• Cry, the Beloved Country (1995) - Judge
• Alec to the Rescue (1999) - Vicar (final film role)

Television

• Theatre 625 (1966) - Monsieur Bernard
• The Avengers (1966-1967) - Algernon 'Algy' Wynche / Huggins
• Doctor Who (1967) - Barney
• The Saint (1968) - Carson
• The First Churchills (1969) - Earl of Rochester
• Randall and Hopkirk (1970) - Young Stage Director
• From a Bird's Eye View (1971) - Johnstone
• Seven of One (1973) - Arthur (Episode "My Old Man")
• The Naked Civil Servant (1975) - Mr. Dunsmore
• Open All Hours (1976) - Man from Matlock Mutual Protection Society