Simon Cadell
| Simon Cadell | |
|---|---|
 Simon Cadell | |
| Born |
Simon John Cadell 19 July 1950 London, England |
| Died |
6 March 1996 (aged 45) Westminster, England |
| Cause of death | Lung cancer |
| Spouse(s) | Rebecca Croft (1985 - 6 March 1996) (his death) |
| Children | 2 sons |
Simon John Cadell (19 July 1950 – 6 March 1996) was an English actor, best known for his portrayal of Jeffrey Fairbrother in the first five series of the BBC situation comedy Hi-de-Hi!.
Early life
Born in London, he was the son of theatrical agent John Cadell, grandson of the Scottish character actress Jean Cadell, the brother of the actress Selina Cadell and commercials director Patrick Cadell, the cousin of the actor Guy Siner and son-in-law of the television producer David Croft. He was educated at The Hall School in Hampstead and Bedales School at Petersfield where his close friends included Gyles Brandreth, who remained a friend until Cadell's death.[1]
Career
Cadell trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. His first successes were found in the theatre in the mid to late 1970s. He then provided the voice of Blackberry in the animated adaptation of Watership Down (1978), based on the novel by Richard Adams. Subsequently he had roles in television programmes such as Enemy at the Door (1978–80), and also appeared briefly in the disaster film Meteor (1979) as a TV news reporter.
He is best remembered for his role as the well-meaning holiday camp manager Jeffrey Fairbrother in the BBC situation comedy Hi-de-Hi! (1980–84) and for playing the disingenuous civil servant Dundridge in the screen adaptation of a novel by Tom Sharpe, Blott on the Landscape (1985).
On radio he played the elven-king Celeborn in the BBC adaptation of The Lord of the Rings (1981). He starred in the BBC sitcom Life Without George (1987-1989) which ran for three series and also featured Carol Royle in a leading role.
Cadell appeared in the 1991 British comedy series Singles. Other television credits include, Minder, Bergerac, The Kenny Everett Television Show and Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected. He was also in heavy demand as a voice-over for television commercials.
He also narrated the children's television series Bump for the BBC which is all about a baby elephant (who always bumps into things) and his friend Birdie.
Personal life
In 1985 Cadell married actress Rebecca Croft, the daughter of Dad's Army co-creator David Croft. The couple had two sons.
Death
In January 1993 Cadell suffered a near-fatal heart attack after giving a recital with Joanna Lumley at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, in London. The doctors singled out smoking as a contributory cause - at one stage Cadell smoked 80 cigarettes a day - but he was back at work playing in Travels with My Aunt (for which he won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performance) at the Wyndhams Theatre four months after a triple bypass operation. On 11 September the same year, cancer was detected.
On 6 March 1996 Cadell died at the age of 45,[2][3] 12 weeks before his best friend Jeremy Sinden also died of lung cancer. Sinden had been born 5 weeks before him, and his father, Donald Sinden, had been a client of Cadell's father John, for over 30 years.[4]
Television Roles
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1978-1980 | Enemy at the Door | Hauptsturmführer Reinicke |
| 1978 | Edward & Mrs. Simpson | Major John Aird |
| 1980-1984 | Hi-de-Hi! | Prof. Jeffrey Fairbrother |
| 1981-1984 | Tales of the Unexpected | Co-pilot in "Hijack" (1981) Sam Luke in "Have a Nice Death" (1984) |
| 1985 | Blott on the Landscape | Mr. Dundridge |
| 1987-1989 | Life Without George | Larry Wade |
| 1991 | Singles | Denis Duvall |
Bergerac
References
- ↑ Nicholas Shakespeare "The Diary of a Lifetime by Gyles Brandreth: review", Daily Telegraph, 31 October 2009
- ↑ GRO Register of Deaths: MAR 1996 A38C 170 WESTMINSTER - Simon John Cadell, DoB 19 Jul 1950, aged 45
- ↑ Alexandra Younger (1996-03-08). "Obituary: Simon Cadell - Obituaries - News". The Independent. Retrieved 2012-04-22.
- ↑ Croydon Life issue 14 June 2008
External links
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