Paul Angelis:
† Jan 18 1943 – Mar 19 2009
This imposing Liverpudlian actor - the older brother of Michael Angelis of 'Liver Birds' fame - hit our screens a number of times in the '70s and '80s, but had been quietly making his substantial presence known for some time before that. He voiced both Ringo and George, and the Chief Blue Meanie, in the animated Beatles romp 'Yellow Submarine' (1968), for example, and took the randy Scouse git role for the painful but fascinating 'Alf Garnett Saga' (1972) - a grim, barely satirical, document of the sexism and racism of the times. He also appears briefly in the quirky 'Otley' (1968) with Tom Courtenay.
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| Playing a comedy heavy with some subtlety and oddly sympathetic menace in 'George & Mildred', while Truffles the Yorkshire terrier piddles on his boots. |
His first regular TV role was as PC Bannerman in the popular cop drama 'Z-Cars', but he swiftly racked up an impressive roll-call of appearances in '70s favourites such as 'Callan', 'Softly Softly', 'The Onedin Line', 'Man About The House', 'Porridge' and 'The Sweeney'. He also appears in some of the more adventurous drama of the period, such as 'Armchair Thriller' and the 'Thirty-Minute Theatre' play 'Under The Age' as Susie, pushing the envelope as a transexual bartender in an edgy piece of TV theatre.
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| As Susie in 'Under The Age', a 1972 'Thirty-Minute Theatre' |
As TV lost that edge in the '80s, Angelis found roles in the likes of 'Bergerac', 'Boon', 'Tucker's Luck', 'The Gentle Touch' and 'Juliet Bravo', as well as soap opera duties into the '90s with 'Coronation Street', 'EastEnders' and 'Brookside'. While later film work included the Helen Mirren vehicle 'Hussy' (1980) and playing a Bond baddie in 'For Your Eyes Only' (1981).
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| With Warren Mitchell in 'The Alf Garnett Saga' (1972) |
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| In the 1978 'Armchair Thriller' presentation, 'A Dog's Ransom' |
The familiar round of latterday TV includes the usual suspects, 'The Bill', 'Casualty' etc, before tapering off in the early 2000s. It seems that he has also written plays and possibly a novel, although I haven't been able to track one down. Still, good stuff all round.
Paul Angelis-imdb
