Colin Welland
Colin Welland | |
---|---|
Born | Colin Edward Williams[1] 4 July 1934 Liverpool, England[2][3][a] |
Died | 2 November 2015 London, England[1] |
(aged 81)
Nationality | British |
Occupation | Actor, screenwriter |
Years active | 1962–1998 |
Spouse(s) | Patricia Sweeney (in 1962) |
Parent(s) | Jack and Norah Williams |
Awards | BAFTA Award (1970) Academy Award (1982) |
Colin Welland (4 July 1934 – 2 November 2015), born Colin Edward Williams, was a British actor and screenwriter. He won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for his script for Chariots of Fire (1981). He won a BAFTA Award for his performance as the empathetic teacher Mr Farthing in the 1969 film Kes.
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Early life[edit]
Born in 1934 in Liverpool, Lancashire,[2][3][a] Welland grew up in the Kensington area of Liverpool before moving to Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire, while still a young child. His parents were John Arthur (Jack) and Norah Williams.[4] He attended Newton-le-Willows Grammar School and after National Service[5] he studied at Goldsmiths College and Bretton Hall College of Education, where he gained a teaching diploma and qualified as a teacher.[6]
He then taught art at Manchester Road Secondary Modern school in Leigh, Lancashire, where he was known as "Ted" Williams because of his Teddy Boy curly hair style.[7] Afterwards he became an assistant stage manager at Manchester Library Theatre.
Acting and screenwriting career[edit]
As an actor, Welland appeared as PC David Graham in the BBC Television series Z-Cars from 1962 to 1978.[8] He was a sympathetic schoolteacher in a BAFTA-winning performance in the film Kes (1969), and a detective in the Richard Burton film Villain (1971). He appeared as a villain in one 1975 episode of The Sweeney, and was in the series' first cinema spin-off Sweeney! (1977) as Frank Chadwick, an editor of a newspaper. His other film appearances include Dennis Potter's Blue Remembered Hills (1979) as the character Willie, and Dancin' Thru the Dark (1990). He was also in the television series Cowboys (1980), a comedy about a dodgy builder, with Roy Kinnear.
Welland's screenwriting credits include the film Yanks (1979), starring Vanessa Redgrave and Richard Gere, which was directed by John Schlesinger, and Twice in a Lifetime (1985), starring Gene Hackman, Ellen Burstyn and Ann-Margret.[8]
Welland won the award for Best Original Screenplay for Chariots of Fire (1981) at the 1982 Academy Awards, and his acceptance speech included the phrase: "The British are coming!"[8][9] (a quotation from Paul Revere).[7] In the film Chariots of Fire, the sign outside the Church of Scotland in Paris shows the preacher for the 9 am worship to be "C.M. Welland"; he had played a vicar in Straw Dogs (1971). Following Chariots of Fire, he was again commissioned by David Puttnam to write the screenplay for War of the Buttons (1994).
Personal life[edit]
Welland died in London in his sleep on 2 November 2015 at the age of 81.[1] He had Alzheimer's disease for several years prior to his death.[8][7]
On his death, Chariots of Fire producer David Puttnam said Welland was "an unswervingly good man; a fine actor, and a seriously gifted screenwriter". Nigel Havers, who had appeared in the film, told BBC News: "I remember him being great fun with a great sense of humour and a very honest man. He had a tremendous honesty about everything he wrote. I'm just very surprised he never made more films in Hollywood. It's a great loss to us all." Z Cars co-star Brian Blessed described Welland as "a great writer and a very natural actor," adding "He had a tremendous ability for writing. He could write anything, any style."[8]
When Welland had appeared on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs in 1973 he said that most of his own plays "usually champion the individual against the system". He said: "I usually find that it's one man's effort to break through what is usually expected of an individual."[8]
Welland was also a lifelong Rugby League fan who played and supported the sport, on the field and in his writing.[10]
Selected filmography as actor[edit]
- Feature films
- Kes (1969)
- Villain (1971)
- Straw Dogs (1971)
- Sweeney! (1977)
- Dancin' thru the Dark (1990)
Notes[edit]
- ^ a b Welland's birthplace was erroneously given as Leigh in obituaries and on the Internet Movie Database prior to 5 November 2015.
References[edit]
- ^ a b c Roberts, Sam. "Colin Welland, Oscar-Winning Writer of Chariots of Fire, Dies at 81". New York Times. 3 November 2015.
- ^ a b Birth Registry, Liverpool Registration District, County of Lancashire, July–September 1934, Volume 8B, p. 89. Reprinted in transcript: [1].
- ^ a b
- Noble, Peter (ed). British Film and Television Year Book, Volume 30. Cinema TV Today, 1974. p. 408.
- Noble, Peter (ed). International Film and TV Yearbook, Volume 33. Screen International, King Publications Limited, 1976. p. 464.
- The International Who's Who 1992–93. Taylor & Francis, 1992. p. 1719.
- The International Who's Who 1997–98. Europa Publications, 1997. p. 1602.
- International Who's Who of Authors and Writers, Volume 23. Europa Publications, Taylor & Francis Group, 2008. p. 752.
- ^ "Colin Welland Biography (1934-)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
- ^ "From Urchin to Oscar winner: Colin Welland" by Ray Connolly Daily Mail. Retrieved 8 November 2015
- ^ Colin Welland Obituary at The Guardian Film Retrieved 4 November 2015
- ^ a b c Boyle, Danny (3 November 2015). "Colin Welland, actor and Oscar-winning Chariots of Fire writer, dies at 81". The Telegraph (Telegraph Media Group Limited). Retrieved 3 November 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f "Actor and writer Colin Welland dies". BBC News. 3 November 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
- ^ "Yahoo Movies UK - Yahoo". Uk.movies.yahoo.com. 30 October 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
- ^ Welland, Colin (22 October 2011). "Hard. Honest. Beautiful". The Independent. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
External links[edit]
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- 1934 births
- 2015 deaths
- Best Supporting Actor BAFTA Award winners
- BAFTA winners (people)
- Best Original Screenplay Academy Award winners
- English male television actors
- English screenwriters
- English television writers
- People from Newton-le-Willows
- 20th-century English male actors
- Male actors from Liverpool
- Alumni of Bretton Hall College
- English male film actors
- Deaths from Alzheimer's disease
- Writers from Lancashire
- Writers from Liverpool
- Male actors from Lancashire