Vivian Pickles

 

Vivian Pickles: 

You may well say that here I am pushing the premise of 'Familiar Unknown' a little too far. After all, Vivian Pickles is something of a grand dame of the theatre and has worked with many of the greatest actors and directors of her generation, and yet I feel she is not so well known to recent generations as, say, Maggie Smith, Judi Dench or Vanessa Redgrave, and still able to sneak in under the radar in some rather surprising TV roles.

In the 1964 'Avengers' episode 'The Charmers'

Vivian Kay Pickles was a child actor in the late '40s, trained at the Aida Foster Drama School and began her adult career on the repertory stage of the fifties alongside a number of illustrious stars of the era. This was the time of the 'angry young man' and 'kitchen sink' in British drama and she was a hit in new plays by the likes of Willis Hall and John Osborne. As an attractive and talented young actress, it's unsurprising that she appeared in some of the new and popular programmes of the '60s: drama serials 'Emergency Ward-10', Harpers West One', 'Z-Cars' and the Honor Blackman-era 'Avengers' episode 'The Charmers'.

As the doomed artistic free-spirit Isadora Duncan
in Ken Russell's acclaimed 'Isadora' (1966)

A big break comes with the Ken Russell-directed 'Isadora' a remarkable tour-de-force biopic in stark monochrome which boosted her career and that of Russell who was afterward propelled beyond the realm of BBC shorts and into the art-cinema boom of the '70s. For the actress, now in her mid-thirties, it heralded a purple patch of quality roles, beginning with her casting as Mrs Bennett in the BBC's admired 1967 adaptation of 'Pride And Prejudice', and leading to a brief arc of interesting cinema parts: she's in 'Play Dirty' (1969) - a war story penned by her BBC Arts connection Melvyn Bragg - before 'The Looking Glass War' (1970), 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' (1971), 'Nicholas & Alexandra' (1971), and 'O Lucky Man!' (1973).         

A bravura turn as Harold's exasperated mother in the 
cult classic 'Harold And Maude' (1971)

It was also during this period that she made her only appearance in a Hollywood movie, Hal Ashby's 'Harold And Maude' (1971) in which she plays the remote and bewildered mother of the troubled Harold (Bud Cort). Although not a big grossing success at the time, the film is now considered a cult classic. 

As Mary Queen Of Scots in 'Elizabeth R'

     

Her television presence also peaked during these years, with solid drama including 'Vile Bodies', 'The Great Inimitable Mr Dickens' and the high profile 'Elizabeth R' in which her Mary Queen Of Scots squared up fatally to Glenda Jackson's terrifying virgin queen. It's here though that her profile begins to lower a little, at least as far as film and television are concerned.
       

As the vain Lady Montdore in 'Love In A Cold Climate'

Bertie's redoubtable Aunt Dahlia in 'Jeeves & Wooster'

From the middle-'70s we see Vivian Pickles in such varied TV output as 'Love In A Cold Climate', 'Rebecca', and the excellent 'Velvet Glove' episode about Marie Stopes, while largely steering clear of the primetime potboilers other than 'Bergerac' and 'Midsomer Murders'. Big screen parts, meanwhile are limited to the Disney romp 'Candleshoe' (1977) with David Niven and Jodie Foster and, by way of contrast, the chaotic satire 'Britannia Hospital' (1982).  

As a sidenote, she was a very prolific story reader on 'Jackanory' which I always consider a badge of honour, and turns up as a fun bag-lady in the Brixton barbershop comedy 'Desmonds'. She was also my favourite of the actresses that portrayed Aunt Dahlia in 'Jeeves & Wooster'.   

[Edit: Nov 2025. I previously repeated an IMDB claim that Vivian Pickles was related to various other illustrious persons named Pickles, but am informed that this is not the case.]  

Vivian Pickles-imdb

Brian Osborne

Brian Osborne: 

† 1940 – July 8 2021*

Even among the staunchest of enthusiasts, the later 'Carry On' films are generally held in lower regard than the early and mid-period examples, which in some ways is a shame as the supporting cast of the '70s films often had some great character actors of the period. An example of this is the redoubtable Brian Osborne, who had already gathered a few modest credits in TV shows such as 'Softly Softly' and  'Redcap' before he appears as an ambulance driver in 'Carry On Matron' (1972). He can also be seen in 'Carry On Abroad' (1972),  'Carry On Girls' (1973), 'Carry On Dick' (1974),  'Carry On Behind' (1975) and 'Carry On England' (1976). He was also a regular in the same period's generally unfunny TV spin-off 'Carry On Laughing'.     

Vendor of the notorious love potion liqueur in
'Carry On Abroad' (1972) 

This raised profile may well have led to an increasing number of TV roles in the early '70s, in such popular fare as 'Follyfoot', 'Pardon My Genie', 'Some Mothers Do Ave Em' and, more substantially, 'Upstairs Downstairs' in which he played Pearce the chauffeur.   

The latter '70s saw appearances in 'Space:1999', 'Are You Being Served?', 'The Sandbaggers' and 'Secret Army', but perhaps surprisingly not 'The Sweeney' or 'The Professionals'.

In the film version of the popular TV series 'Bless This
House' (1972), here with Robin Askwith in the role of Mike

In 'Space:1999', and about to fall victim to some 
floral foul play by the young lady with her alien plant    

During the '80s you might have spotted Brian Osborne in 'Moonfleet', 'Minder', 'Shine On Harvey Moon', 'Juliet Bravo', 'Sorry!' and 'A Dorothy L Sayers Mystery: Have His Carcase', while the '90s offered the likes of 'London's Burning' and 'The Bill'.  

In the excellent BBC production of the Dorothy L
Sayers mystery 'Have His Carcase' from 1987  

Beyond his 'Carry On' shenanigans, he does appear in a few big screen productions, including 'Women In Love (1969), 'Under Milk Wood' (1971), 'Bless This House' (1972), Nighthawks (1981), 'Haunters Of The Deep' (1984) and 'Last Orders' (2001). It seems that he hasn't been in anything since 2003, so I hope he is enjoying a happy retirement.  

* (Edit 21/7/21: I'm sad to learn that Brian Osborne has died, in the Canary Islands, aged 81,  just a couple of days before I published this little salute.)

Brian Osborne-imdb

Daniel Moynihan

Daniel Moynihan:

† 1932 - March 30, 2020

Gaunt London-born actor Daniel Moynihan has something of the look of a British Harry Dean Stanton, and his cool, quizzical gaze has appeared in TV and film since the late '50s. Those early years were something of a flurry of activity, with roles in a string of crime dramas and television plays leading into some of the most popular shows of the early '60s. These included 'The Plane Makers', 'The Avengers' (two appearances in the early b&w seasons), 'Z Cars', 'The Strange Report' and 'Special Branch'.      

  

In the 1963 'Avengers' episode 'The Man With Two Shadows'

By the '70s and '80s he was attracting castings for roles that made more of his gravitas and severe appearance, not to mention his assured and maturing acting abilities. He crops up in 'Wings', 'Lytton's Diary', 'Spy Trap', 'General Hospital', 'Prince Regent', as well as a memorable episode of 'Yes, Minister', and in the BBC adaptation of 'The Diary Of Anne Frank'. 

TV Times magazine entry for the early-'70s
ATV series 'Crime Of Passion'

In 'The Famous Five', as the typical Enid Blyton policeman, happy to
let sensible middle class children help him find a dangerous criminal. 

In the historical drama 'Elizabeth' (1998) 

In more recent times, Daniel Moynihan appeared but infrequently, although he did a fair few stints on 'The Bill' as  a doctor. He seems to have quietly retired from the profession, making his most recent TV appearance in 2000 housewife heist series 'Daylight Robbery'.

Daniel Moynihan-imdb

David Rowlands

David Rowlands: 

David Rowlands, with his shock of hair and strong features, pops up fairly regularly in Brit TV of the '70s and 80s, and reminds me a little (and in a good way) of Don Martin's cartoon characters from Mad Magazine.  

Rowlands' stock in trade is mainly characters from the politer end of English society: vicars, vaguely aristocratic and upper middle-class types, military officers, doctors, the occasional scientist and the nicer sort of policeman.  

Enjoying classic billing as the 'man with big bra' in 'Are
You Being Served?', facing the daunting Mrs Slocombe.

He first starts to make appearances in the mid-60s in a fairly even mix of dramas and comedy/variety output, but throughtout his career there is a strong tilt to the comedic side. He can be seen in a lot of mainstream sitcoms, on ITV in the channel's finest comedy 'Rising Damp', and its lesser brethren: 'Bless This House', 'On The Buses', 'Father Dear Father', and Love Thy Neighbour'. Over on the BBC, he crops up in such stalwart midweek fare as 'Are You Being Served?', 'Terry & June', 'Citizen Smith' and 'Allo Allo'. He also remained in demand for sketch and variety shows such as 'The Dawson Watch', 'The Two Ronnies', 'Cannon & Ball', 'Kelly Monteith' and 'Mike Yarwood In Persons'.         

Capturing the Abbot family nuptials in the film
spin-off of Bless This House (1972)

Some of the comedy productions he appeared in are now considered classics, witness the likes of 'The Fall & Rise Of Reginald Perrin', 'The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy', and 'Blott On The Landscape'. He's also got a decent role in the Tom Baker-era 'Doctor Who' adventure, 'The Sun Makers' as an inquisitive intellectual in a world of human slave-drones, earning a whole bag of jelly babies for his assistance in defeating a dastardly Henry Woolf. 

As Bisham in the 1977 'Doctor Who' story 'The Sun Makers'

In the field of more heavyweight drama, he can be spotted in 'Take Three Girls' (and the '80s revisit, 'Take Three Women'), the Boer War saga 'The Regiment', Dennis Potter's 'Pennies From Heaven', and that bizarre ancient-world pot-boiler 'The Cleopatras'.   

As one of the useless Golgafrinchans, sent off into space by
their planet and destined to become the ancestors of humanity,
in the 1981 BBC adaptation of 'Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy'

He's in a very few feature films: the big-screen versions of 'On The Buses' (1971), 'Mutiny On The Buses' (1972) and 'Bless This House' (1972), the Ian Hendry thriller 'Assassin (1973) and the so-bad-it's-all-right-I-suppose comedy horror 'Vampira'/AKA 'Old Dracula' (1974) with David Niven hamming it up as the count. 

In the very silly British horror comedy 'Vampira' (1974)

 David Rowlands-imdb

Derek Martin

Derek Martin:  
† Apr 11 1933 – Jan10 2026

If you watch 'EastEnders', you'll recognise Derek Martin as lovelorn cabbie Charlie Slater who was finally killed off in 2016, after 700+ episodes and even a spin-off, 'Slaters In Detention'. And if you don't watch 'EastEnders', you'll recognise him from dozens of cop series, gangster dramas and comedies, stretching back to the '60s.

Cutting up rough in an episode of 'The Professionals'

Despite having little formal drama training, Londoner Derek Martin has been ubiquitous in no-nonsense roles across British television for decades. Leaving his job at Smithfield meat market and starting as a stuntman and extra, he soon proved to be more than capable with dialogue and gradually built a reputation as reliable casting for heavies, coppers, soldiers and security guards. 

An uncredited appearance in the 'Doctor Who'
adventure 'The Claws Of Axos' from 1971

In 'The Curse Of Fendahl', a classic Tom Baker 'Who' from 1977 

An idea of this trajectory can be seen from his long involvement with 'Doctor Who'. Cast in no fewer than nine adventures from 1965 onwards, he was an uncredited extra until 1977's 'The Curse Of Fendahl'. A conscious decision to move away from stunt work and into speaking roles paid off after much effort and application. The long upwards haul included appearances in 'No Hiding Place', 'Adam Adamant Lives!', 'Z-Cars', 'Softly Softly', 'Terry & June', 'Hart To Hart' (an episode shot in London), 'Target', 'Shoestring', 'Private Schultz', 'Minder' and 'Angels'.        

As a redcap in an episode of 'It Ain't Half Hot Mum'
with the late Windsor Davies and Donald Hewlett  

As the bent copper DI Lyall in 'Law & Order' 

Big breaks came in the form of 'Law & Order' in 1978, a gritty police corruption drama featuring his soon-to-be 'EastEnders' colleague Peter Dean. He also played David Yip's guvnor DCI Berwick in 'The Chinese Detective' and Janet McTeer's cynical deputy in the prison drama 'The Governor'. 

A TV stalwart and deserving of a salute.

Derek Martin-imdb 

Susie Blake

Susie Blake:

Pert and pretty actress, hilarious as the confidingly bitchy continuity announcer from 'Victoria Wood: As Seen On TV' in the '80s and later memorable as the boozy barmaid Bev in 'Coronation Street' who would have married Fred Elliott - had he not dramatically died in epic soap opera style on the morning of their wedding.

Susie Blake's mother Molly presented the popular 
BBC children's programme 'Muffin The Mule'

A member of the illustrious Mills dynasty of actors (she's the great niece of Sir John and cousin to Hayley and Juliet), Susie Blake trained at LAMDA and began appearing on television during the mid-'70s. Her charm and vivacity might have seen her cast in a number of typically lightweight young female roles of the era, but clearly her stage-honed acting ability and knack for comedy started to show itself quite early in her career.     

In her first TV role, a 1974 episode of 'Zodiac' 

As a music hall singer in the Victorian detective series, 'Cribb'

By the '80s, she could be seen in the sitcom 'Born & Bred' and was a regular in 'Russ Abbott's Saturday Madhouse', but it was 1985's 'Victoria Wood: As Seen On TV' that cemented her place in the public eye. Less famously, she also provided voices for Victor Lewis Smith's hit-and-miss 'Adventures of Ferdinand De Bargos' and was given centre stage in her own sketch comedy vehicle, 'Something For The Weekend' in 1989. 

With Russ Abbott in his popular Saturday
evening variety/sketch show in the '80s 

We also see Susie Blake pop up briefly in hit shows of the '90s such as 'One Foot In The Grave', The Darling Buds Of May', and the wine-bar, Laura Ashley frock-era comedy 'Singles', before we hit the 'Coronation Street' years. She played Bev Unwin from 2003 until 2015, quite an epic stint, even for that great national institution. Keeping her hand in on the theatre stage, she also found time to appear in a number of large productions at the National Theatre and Lyric in everything from Ibsen and Shakespeare to 'South Pacific' and Joe Penhall's 'Blue/Orange'. 
  

Slightly miffed at having John Cleese lick her
injured leg in 'Fierce Creatures' (1997) 

Trouble at the Rovers Return, as Bev Unwin
in 'Coronation Street' 

There aren't many cinema productions in which she can be spotted, but they include 'Fierce Creatures' (1997), and 'Nativity 3' (2014). It's more likely you will see her these days in the unfathomably popular 'Mrs Brown's Boys' in which she plays Hilary. I wonder how Victoria Wood would have her snooty announcer character describe that particular programme? We shall never know.     

Susie Blake - imdb 

Harry 'Aitch' Fielder

 

Harry 'Aitch' Fielder:

† April 26 1940 – February 6 2021

King of the Extras, Harry Fielder has died. A legendary supporting player in the British film and television industries, it's almost easier to list which classic productions he doesn't appear in. 

It's apparently something of a game among Brit film buffs to spot his fleeting appearances, particularly in horror films, Carry-Ons, classic TV (all the ITC cult shows, plenty of 'Dr Who'), every great sitcom, and beyond. A tough looking Londoner, he appears often as coppers and villains, but there aren't many bit-part roles he hasn't tackled. 

Trivia: He got paid £11 a day for his seven days work as one of Darth Vader's elite troopers.
  

Harry 'Aitch' Fielder-imdb