Timothy West, the British stage and screen actor, dead at 90
Timothy West, an actor whose career spanned stage, film, and television for more than six decades, has died at 90.
West was known for his early work with the Royal Shakespeare Company, his roles in movies, including 1973’s The Day of the Jackal, and his many appearances on Television in shows including the soaps EastEnders and Coronation Street and the sitcom Not Going Out. He was also married to Fawlty Towers actor Prunella Scales.
West was born in Yorkshire to stage actor Lockwood West and his wife, Olive, and began his career as an assistant stage manager in Wimbledon in the 1950s. He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1962 and was with them for three seasons, appearing alongside acting greats such as Paul Scofield, Ian Richardson, and Glenda Jackson.
In the 1970s, West began to transition more into television, appearing in hit shows such as Edward the Seventh in 1975 and starring in the comedy-drama Brass between 1982 and 1990. Later in life, he would return to the small screen with even greater prominence, including in the 2007 season of Not Going Out, as well as Coronation Street, Last Tango in Halifax, and EastEnders in the 2010s.
On the big screen, West appeared in small roles in several prominent productions. Aside from the political thriller The Day of the Jackal, his credits include 1987’s Cry Freedom,1998’s Ever After: A Cinderella Story, and 2000’s 102 Dalmatians. Although he may never have been a household name, his face would certainly have been recognizable to millions of television viewers and cinema-goers across several generations.
West was married to his second wife, actor Prunella Scales, for more than six decades. In 2013, they both came forward to announce her struggles with dementia to help spread awareness about living with the disease. Outside of acting, West was the co-artistic director for Prospect Theatre Company at the Old Vic in the early ‘80s and directed multiple theatrical productions between the early ‘70s and the early 2000s.
In a statement posted on X, his three children, Juliet, Samuel and Joseph, wrote, “After a long and extraordinary life on and off the stage, our darling father, Timothy West, died peacefully in his sleep yesterday evening.”
They noted that he left behind his wife of 61 years, a sister, daughter, two sons, seven grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren, and added, “All of us will miss him terribly”.
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