Monday, 16 November 2009

Edward Woodward


Has died aged 79.


A great shame, but then we all have to go eventually. Woodward was in two of my favourite films - Callan (of course) and The Wicker Man (cheesy, but entertaining, and filmed nearby). I blame the Callan movie for my interest in the ACW. Woodward owned the Gettysburg terrain for a while (he'd offered to purchase the entire set-up featured in the movie but Gilder wouldn't sell the figures).


BBC obituary here.

7 comments:

Robert said...

He does leave a great acting legacy behind him.

Oh, and in that picture- Catherine Schell *sigh*...

Xaltotun of Python said...

Still remember the old black and while Callan - much better than the later episodes or the film. Something very chilling about that swinging light bulb....

WSTKS-FM Worldwide said...

And he was also the Ghost of Christmas Present in the 1985 production of Dickens' A Christmas Carol. What an actor Woodward was.

Best Regards,

Stokes Schwartz

Stryker said...

I can also remember the original black & white TV series which was cutting edge at the time. That swinging light bulb and the music made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck as a kid. Best of all though, the rough-tough hardman Callan painted model soldiers and played wargames! That programme was a huge influence on me as it made wargaming cool at school - even the girls were suddenly (but briefly) impressed with us nerdy types and our toy soldiers.

And of course "The Wicker Man" - I am genuinely sad at his passing...

Ian

Anonymous said...

I was genuinely upset when I heard the news. I only recall the colour TV series and film for Callan. Very inspirational stuff for a young lad. (I also read that he kept the Gettysburg terrain for years).

I loved "Breaker Morant"-the Boer War Court Martial film.

Matt

Anonymous said...

I also recall the Callan series and it was a big early influence, as said above. Did he not also introduce the 'Battleground' series featuring Gilders terrain/figures? I tried for years to track down copies of those shows but no success.

Sad loss.

Lee.

Seb Palmer said...

Hi DC,

I'm coming to this thread very late! Obviously I too mourn the passing of Edward Woodward. I love the Wicker man, myself: pretty bonkers, yes, but brilliant, in it's own special way!

But, moving on to more current Woodward related stuff: I'm still beavering away, when I get a moment (all too rarely right now) on a series of posts about Battleground.

I'm intrigued by the pic you've posted here: where does that come from? Presumably a UK wargames magazine, perhaps a Hinchliffe ad?

Regards

Seb