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Norman Rodway
Actor Norman Rodway.jpg
Born
Norman John Frank Rodway

(1929-02-07)7 February 1929
Dalkey, Dublin, Ireland
Died 13 March 2001(2001-03-13) (aged 72)
Occupation Actor
Spouse(s) Pauline Delaney
(m. 1954; div. 19??)
Mary Selway
(m. 1966; div. 19??)
Sarah Fitzgerald
(m. 1973; div. 1974)

Jane Rodway
(m. 1991)
Children 1

Norman John Frank Rodway (7 February 1929 – 13 March 2001) was an Anglo-Irish actor.

Early life

Rodway was born at the family home, Elsinore (named after the castle where Shakespeare's Hamlet is set), on Coliemore Road, Dalkey, Dublin, to Lillian Sybil (née Moyles) and Frank Rodway, who ran a shipping agency. His parents were English, and had moved to Dublin two years before he was born because his father had been posted there for work. He was educated at St Andrew's Church of Ireland National School and the High School, then studied at Trinity College Dublin, where he was elected a Scholar in classics in 1948. He worked as an accountant, teacher, and lecturer in Latin and Greek at Trinity before acting.

Career

He made his stage debut in May 1953 at the Cork Opera House. There, he portrayed General Mannion in The Seventh Step. He made his first appearance in London's West End in 1959, as The Messenger in Cock-A-Doodle Dandy, and moved to England the following year. In 1962, he portrayed the young James Joyce in Stephen D, based on Joyce's writings. Rodway joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1966. His theatrical parts included Bassov in Summerfolk, and the title roles in Butley and Richard III.

Although he was primarily a stage actor, he also performed in radio, television and film productions. With his expressive voice (described by Jack Adrian as "rich and dark and thumpingly Celtic"), he made many radio broadcasts for the BBC. Major television roles included Cummings in Reilly, Ace of Spies, and Charles Brett in The Bretts. He also appeared in series such as Miss Marple, Rumpole of the Bailey and Inspector Morse. He acted with Orson Welles in Chimes at Midnight (1965) and I'll Never Forget What's'isname (1967), and with Patrick McGoohan in an episode of Danger Man, "The Man Who Wouldn't Talk". He often acted as the villain, including Adolf Hitler in The Empty Mirror (1999). He played the role of Apemantus in both television and audiobook productions of Shakespeare's Timon of Athens.

Personal life

He was married four times. His first wife was actress Pauline Delaney, and his second was casting director Mary Selway. He was stepfather to Tara FitzGerald by his third marriage to Sarah Callaby (née Fitzgerald); Rodway and Callaby had a daughter, Bianca. He was married to Jane Rodway from 1991 to his death.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1959 This Other Eden Conor Heaphy
1961 Johnny Nobody Father Healey
1961 Murder in Eden Michael Lucas
1961 A Question of Suspense Frank Brigstock
1962 The Webster Boy Donald Saunders
1962 Ambush in Leopard Street Kegs
1962 The Devil's Agent Machine Gunner at border Uncredited
1962 The Quare Fellow Lavery
1965 Four in the Morning Husband
1965 Chimes at Midnight Henry 'Hotspur' Percy
1967 The Penthouse Dick
1967 I'll Never Forget What's'isname Nicholas
1975 The Hiding Place Van Der Veen
1976 The Story of David Joab TV movie
1981 Dragonslayer Greil Dub only
1981 John Bunyan The Preacher
1982 Who Dares Wins Ryan
1986 Tai-Pan Aristotle Quance
1990 King of the Wind Capt. 'Blueskin' Blake
1996 Mother Night Werner Noth
1996 The Empty Mirror Adolf Hitler
2000 County Kilburn Mr. Bollox
2001 A. Hitler Hitler (final film role)

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1963 Sergeant Cork John D'Arcy Episode: "The Case of the Fenian Men"
1964 The Massingham Affair Mr. Gilmore 4 episodes
1965 The Sullavan Brothers Father Blaise 1 episode
1973 The Protectors Colin Grant Episode: "For the Rest of Your Natural..."
1976 Thriller Peter Ingram Episode: "A Midsummer Nightmare"
1976 The Sweeney Philip Edmunds Episode: "Lady Luck"
1978 Out Det. Insp. Bryce 5 episodes
1981 BBC Television Shakespeare Apemantus Episode: "Timon of Athens"
1983 Reilly: Ace of Spies Cummings 10 episodes
1984 Cockles Jacques du Bois 6 episodes
1987–1989 The Bretts Charles 19 episodes
1988 Rumpole of the Bailey Morry Machin Episode: "Rumpole and the Bubble Reputation"
1989 Inspector Morse Roland Marshall Episode: "Deceived by Flight"
1993 Jeeves and Wooster Major Plank Episode: "Totleigh Towers (or, Trouble at Totleigh Towers)"
1998 As Time Goes By James Episode: "An Old Flame"

Sources

  • Contemporary Theatre, Film, and Television (vol. 26), 2000
  • Who’s Who in Theatre, 1981
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