John Woodvine(1929-2025)

Born in the Simonside area of South Shields, he left the North East when he was five, but went back for holidays with his grandparents. As he grew older, he had it in his mind to be an actor, but had no idea how to go about it. He did various jobs before being called up for National Service in the RAF. On being demobbed, he still wanted to be an actor. He worked for wool merchants for three years, and, during this time he became a keen amateur actor. When the wool merchant went bankrupt, he managed to get a grant from Essex County Council to go to drama school. On completing the course, his first job was with a company that traveled around in a bus doing shows at military camps. He then joined The Old Vic doing walk-on parts and small speaking parts, then spent two years in America. On his return, he joined the Bristol Old Vic. After about twelve years in the business, he went to Newcastle to appear in 'Close the Coalhouse Door' at the Jesmond Playhouse (written by Alan Plater) which also featured fellow North East actors Colin Douglas and Alan Browning. He considered that this experience made him a better actor. He appeared in the TV series 'Z Cars' as a Geordie police inspector but didn't enjoy it. There was then a 90-minute play for Granada Television which was done live.