Rodney Bewes

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Rodney Bewes was an English actor and writer, best known for playing Bob Ferris in The Likely Lads (1964–66) and its colour sequel Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? (1973–74). He also created and starred in the early TV comedy Dear Mother...Love Albert (later known as Albert!, 1969–72).

Early life
Bewes was born on 27 November 1937 in Bingley, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. His father Horace worked as a showroom clerk and his mother Bessie taught children with learning difficulties. The family lived in Bingley and Crossflatts before moving to Luton for health reasons; Bewes suffered from asthma and bronchitis as a child. He attended Stopsley Secondary School. At nearly 13, he auditioned for Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School but did not get the part. He appeared in two early BBC TV roles in 1952 (Mystery at Mountcliffe Chase and The Pickwick Papers). After national service in the Royal Air Force, he studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). To pay for his studies, he worked nights in hotels and often slept in class; he was expelled in his final year.

Career
Bewes began in repertory theatre and appeared on television in Dixon of Dock Green (1962) and Z-Cars (1963). He also acted in the film Billy Liar (1963) with Tom Courtenay. His big break came when he was cast as Bob Ferris in The Likely Lads (1964–66), a role helped by his gritty Northern background and accent. The show was a hit on BBC2 and later on BBC1, running for three series. The story continued in the film The Likely Lads (1976) and in the sequel TV series Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? (1973–74), which also spawned radio versions and a cinema spin-off. Bewes starred in Dear Mother...Love Albert (1969–72), which he created with Derrick Goodwin.

Later work
On stage, Bewes appeared in West End plays such as Middle-Age Spread and Funny Money. He also did radio work, including A Very Private Man in 1981. In the 1990s he toured with one-man shows, such as adaptations of Three Men in a Boat and Diary of a Nobody, and he continued acting in TV and theatre into the 2000s. His final television appearance was in 2009 in the Heartbeat episode “Ties That Bind.” In 2013 he acted in The Moment of Truth at the Southwark Playhouse and, in 2015, performed an autobiographical show in Edinburgh. Bewes’s autobiography, A Likely Story, was published in 2005; in it he discussed his rift with The Likely Lads co-star James Bolam and his later feelings about repeats of the show.

Personal life
Bewes was married twice. He and Sylvia N. Tebbitt married in 1963 and later, in 1973, he married Daphne Black; Daphne passed away in 2015. He had four children.

Death
Rodney Bewes died on 21 November 2017 at his home in Cadgwith, Cornwall, six days before his 80th birthday. He is survived by a daughter and three sons.

Legacy
Bewes is remembered for his distinctive Northern humor and his significant contribution to British television comedy, especially The Likely Lads and its enduring companion pieces.