Donald Hewlett

Donald Marland Hewlett (30 August 1920 – 4 June 2011)[2] was an English actor, born in Northenden, Manchester, Lancashire, and best known for his sitcom roles as Colonel Charles Reynolds in It Ain't Half Hot Mum and Lord Meldrum in You Rang, M'Lord?, both written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft. He also had a number of parts in British film and television productions.[3]

Donald Hewlett
Born	Donald Marland Hewlett[1] (1920-08-30)30 August 1920 Northenden, Manchester, England
Died	4 June 2011(2011-06-04) (aged 90) Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London, England
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1954–1995
Spouse(s)	Christine Pollon 1947 (dissolved); Diana Greenwood 1956 (dissolved); Thérèse McMurray 1979–2011 (his death)[1]
Children	5

Early life

Best known for his portrayals of upper-class military types, Donald Hewlett's father was Conservative MP for Manchester Exchange. He studied geography and meteorology at St. John's College, Cambridge. Early in World War II, he served at the Fleet Air Arm station of Kirkwall in Orkney, providing weather reports for Atlantic convoys. He was later assigned to the Royal Navy during North Atlantic action aboard the light cruisers Malaya and Galatea. He rose to the rank of lieutenant. He was subsequently posted to Singapore, in charge of Japanese POW's and as entertainments officer.

Hewlett was born into a wealthy family; his father Thomas Hewlett owned the Anchor Chemical Company which is based in Clayton, Manchester and is now a subsidiary of Air Products. He was the brother of Thomas Hewlett, Baron Hewlett.

Hewlett was educated at Clifton College[4] in Bristol followed by St John's College, Cambridge where he was part of the Footlights Revue.[5] During World War II he served in the Royal Navy as a lieutenant and meteorologist[2] and was stationed for several years in Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands where he was a founder member of the Kirkwall Arts Club.[6][7] He was later posted to Singapore.[5]

Career

Following his demob, Hewlett trained at RADA and gained his first professional acting job in repertory theatre at the Oxford Playhouse where he worked alongside Ronnie Barker.[5] His first film acting role was the part of Lincoln Green in Orders are Orders (1954).[8]

His television appearances included The Ronnie Corbett Show, The Ronnie Barker Playhouse, The Saint, The Avengers, The Dick Emery Show and the Doctor Who story The Claws of Axos (1971).[9] However, he gained his most prominent role in the Croft and Perry sitcom It Ain't Half Hot Mum (1974–81) as Colonel Charles Reynolds.[3] He was cast with fellow actor Michael Knowles in another David Croft sitcom, the sci-fi parody Come Back Mrs. Noah (1977–78), and later with the successful You Rang, M'Lord? (1988–93), as George, Lord Meldrum (a part specially written for him).[10][11]

Hewlett was cast with Knowles again for the BBC Radio series Anything Legal in 1984.[12] Other roles included 'Winkworth' in Morris Minor's Marvellous Motors in 1989 and The Adventures of Brigadier Wellington-Bull.[13][14] His last TV appearance was in The Upper Hand in 1995.[15] He appeared in several episodes of The Enchanting World of Hinge and Bracket, playing the ship's captain when they embarked on a cruise.

Hewlett also appeared in the episode "Hello Sailor" from the classic sitcom Happy Ever After in 1977 which starred Terry Scott and June Whitfield.[16]

Hewlett made a number of film appearances including Spike Milligan's Adolf Hitler - My Part in His Downfall, A Touch of Class, Carry On Behind and The First Great Train Robbery.[8]

Hewlett's previous marriages, to Christine Pollon and Diana Greenwood, ended in divorce.[1] He had two sons and a daughter by Greenwood.[1] Having previously lived for several years in Whitstable, Kent, he lived in Fulham, SW London, with his third wife Therese McMurray-Hewlett, by whom he had a son and daughter.[1]

His daughter, Siobhan Hewlett, is an actress, best known for her role in Irina Palm.[17]

Death

Hewlett died on 4 June 2011 at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in West London aged 90.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1954	Orders Are Orders	Lincoln Green
1960	Bottoms Up	Hamley
1964	The Beauty Jungle	Advertising Agent	Uncredited
1973	Adolf Hitler - My Part in His Downfall	Senior Officer
1973	A Touch of Class	Spencer Birdsall	Uncredited
1974	Moments
1975	Carry On Behind	The Dean
1976	Confessions of a Driving Instructor	Chief Examiner
1978	The First Great Train Robbery	Club Member	Uncredited
1986	Saving Grace	Monsignor Colin McGee

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1959	The Adventures of Brigadier Wellington-Bull	Captain Sooty Pikington	5 episodes
1965	Coronation Street	Robert 'Bob' Maxwell	2 episodes
1974–1981	It Ain't Half Hot Mum	Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Reynolds	56 episodes
1975–1976	Rogue's Rock	Wing Commander Rogue	21 episodes
1977–1978	Come Back Mrs. Noah	Carstairs	6 episodes
1988–1993	You Rang, M'Lord?	Lord George Meldrum	26 episodes
1989	Goldeneye	Admiral Godfrey	TV movie

References

1. "Donald Hewlett". Retrieved 11 October 2016.
2. Hayward, Anthony (7 June 2011). "Donald Hewlett obituary". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
3. It Ain't Half Hot Mum's Donald Hewlett dies at 90, BBC News, 5 June 2011
4. "Clifton College Register" Muirhead, J.A.O. p489: Bristol; J.W Arrowsmith for Old Cliftonian Society; April, 1948
5. Rob Cope, Mike Fury, You Rang M'Lord?, DAAS, 35-36
6. W. S. Hewison, This Great Harbour Scapa Flow, The Orcadian Ltd (kirkwall Press) 2000, ISBN 978-1-902957-02-9
7. The Orcadian Features - Another war Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
8. "Donald Hewlett". BFI.
9. "Donald Hewlett". www.aveleyman.com.
10. "Come Back Mrs Noah [Pilot] (1977)". BFI.
11. "obituary: Donald Hewlett, actor". www.scotsman.com.
12. "BBC Radio 4 Extra - Anything Legal". BBC.
13. Guide, British Comedy. "Morris Minor's Marvellous Motors cast and crew credits". British Comedy Guide.
14. "The Adventures of Brigadier Wellington-Bull: 1: A Fruitful Business". 5 June 1959. p. 17 – via BBC Genome.
15. Donald Hewlett on IMDb
16. "Happy Ever After[08/09/77] (1977)". BFI.
17. "Irina Palm (2008)". BFI.

External links

• Donald Hewlett on IMDb
• Obituary in The Telegraph