Bill Dean

Bill Dean (born Patrick Anthony Connolly, 3 September 1921 – 20 April 2000) was a British actor who was born in Everton, Liverpool, Lancashire.[1] He took his stage name in honour of Everton football legend William 'Dixie' Dean.

Bill Dean
Born
Patrick Anthony Connolly

(1921-09-03)3 September 1921
Everton, Liverpool, Lancashire[1]
Died20 April 2000(2000-04-20) (aged 78)
Wirral Peninsula[2]

Biography

Dean served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, seeing action in North Africa and Italy.[2] He worked variously as a tram driver, pipe fitter, insurance agent, ship's steward, docker and local government officer, while also appearing as a stand-up comedian in Lancashire clubs and pubs, before making his breakthrough in Ken Loach's The Golden Vision.[1] Other work with Loach followed, including a leading role in the film Family Life (1971).[3][4]

Dean was most notable in his later years for playing miserly Harry Cross in the soap opera Brookside.[5] He joined the soap in 1983, a year after its inception, and remained there for seven years before departing in 1990.[6] He briefly returned to the series in 1999 for three episodes, when his character re-appeared in Brookside Close suffering from Alzheimer's disease and wrongly believing that he still lived there.[1]

The same character was the inspiration behind the 1980s group 'Jegsy Dodd and the sons of Harry Cross' who hailed from the Wirral.[7]

He also made appearances in numerous other UK soaps and dramas including, When the Boat Comes In, The Sweeney, Minder, Juliet Bravo and Heartbeat.[8]

His stage work included roles in Trevor Griffiths' play Comedians at The Old Vic, and Howard Brenton's The Churchill Play with the Nottingham Playhouse and then the Royal Shakespeare Company.[9]

Dean also appeared in the video for the single "Groovy Train" by Liverpool band The Farm. He also appeared in the films Kes, Scum, Nightwatch and Let Him Have It.[10]

Filmography

Television

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Film

Personal life

Dean was married, and had three children: two sons, one daughter.[11]

Having been ill for some time he suffered a heart attack and, on 20 April 2000, died at the Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral.[2]

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gollark: https://pcpartpicker.com/guide/MNwrxr/modest-intel-gaming-build

References
  1. Webster, Richard (21 April 2000). "Bill Dean". The Guardian.
  2. "Brookside favourite dies". BBC News. 21 April 2000.
  3. "BFI Screenonline: Big Flame, The (1969) Credits". www.screenonline.org.uk.
  4. Kemp, Philip (2003–14). "Family Life (1971)". BFI Screenonline. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  5. Staff, Guardian (22 April 2000). "Brookside star dies of heart attack" – via www.theguardian.com.
  6. "Bill Dean as Harry Cross". www.brooksidesoapbox.co.uk.
  7. "Vote for your favourite soap star in the new Mirror Soap Awards". mirror. 2 August 2009.
  8. "Bill Dean". www.aveleyman.com.
  9. "Bill Dean | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
  10. "Bill Dean". BFI.
  11. Webster, Richard (21 April 2000). "Bill Dean" – via www.theguardian.com.


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