Jack Smethurst
Encyclopedia
Jack Smethurst is an English
TV and film comic actor whose career dates back to the 1950s.
. This was followed by parts in the films A Kind of Loving
(1962), Run with the Wind (1966), Night After Night After Night (He Kills) (1970), the big-screen version of Please Sir!
(1971) and the ITV
sitcom For the Love of Ada
(1970–71) amongst others, before he landed the role for which he is best known - that of bigoted socialist and union leader, 'brother' Eddie Booth in Love Thy Neighbour
. The programme ran for eight series between 1972-1976.
After Love Thy Neighbour ended, his film appearances have been few and far between, but include Chariots of Fire
(1981), the John Goodman
vehicle King Ralph
(1991) (which re-united him with his Love Thy Neighbour co-star Rudolph Walker
) and 1996's La Passione.
He made several appearances as Davenport in Britain's longest-running television sitcom Last of the Summer Wine
in 1997.
He has played two different characters in Coronation Street
. Between 1980-1983, he occasionally appeared as Johnny Webb, one of the men on Eddie Yates' bin round. In 2001, he returned for several months as Stan Wagstaff, a friend of Jimmy Kelly, who left his allotment to Jack Duckworth. Together with his brother Ernie, Stan let Jack in on Jimmy's big secret - he used his allotment shed to brew poteen.
He also starred in Vince Powell
’s 8-part BBC Radio 2
slice-of-life sitcom A Proper Charlie, as factory worker Charlie Garside in 1985. Madge Hindle
played his wife, and Jane Hazlegrove
and Jason Littler their daughter and son.
He appeared on stage in Australia
when he appeared in the play Run for Your Wife, during (1987–1988), and the production toured the country. Other members of the cast in the production were David McCallum
, Eric Sykes
and Katy Manning
. Smethurst regularly works in the theatre, recently touring with a production of Agatha Christie
's And Then There Were None
.
His son Adam
is also an actor, who is married to the Welsh-born actress Rakie Ayola
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
TV and film comic actor whose career dates back to the 1950s.
Career
Smethurst made his film debut in 1958's Carry On SergeantCarry On Sergeant
Carry On Sergeant is the first Carry On film. Its first public screening was on 1 August 1958 at Screen One, London. Actors in this film who went on to be part of the regular team in the series were Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Hattie Jacques, Kenneth Connor and Terry Scott...
. This was followed by parts in the films A Kind of Loving
A Kind of Loving (film)
A Kind of Loving is a 1962 British drama film directed by John Schlesinger, based on the 1960 novel of the same name by Stan Barstow. It stars Alan Bates and June Ritchie as two lovers in 1960s West Yorkshire. The photography was by Denys Coop, and the music by Ron Grainer...
(1962), Run with the Wind (1966), Night After Night After Night (He Kills) (1970), the big-screen version of Please Sir!
Please Sir! (film)
Please Sir! is a 1971 British comedy film starring John Alderton, spun off from the television series Please Sir!.-Cast:* John Alderton as Bernard Hedges* Deryck Guyler as Norman Potter* Noel Howlett as Maurice Cromwell...
(1971) and the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
sitcom For the Love of Ada
For The Love Of Ada
For the Love of Ada is an ITV sitcom that ran between 1970 - 1971.-Outline:This gentle sitcom starred Irene Handl as Ada Cresswell a Cockney pensioner widow who lives with her daughter Ruth Pollitt and son-in-law Leslie Pollitt .Ada starts a relationship with Walter Bingley , the gravedigger who...
(1970–71) amongst others, before he landed the role for which he is best known - that of bigoted socialist and union leader, 'brother' Eddie Booth in Love Thy Neighbour
Love Thy Neighbour
Love Thy Neighbour was a popular British sitcom, which was aired from 13 April 1972, until 22 January 1976, spanning seven series. The sitcom was produced by Thames Television and broadcast by ITV. The main cast included Jack Smethurst, Rudolph Walker, Nina Baden-Semper and Kate Williams...
. The programme ran for eight series between 1972-1976.
After Love Thy Neighbour ended, his film appearances have been few and far between, but include Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire is a 1981 British film. It tells the fact-based story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice....
(1981), the John Goodman
John Goodman
John Stephen Goodman is an American film, television, and stage actor. He is best known for his role as Dan Conner on the television series Roseanne for which he won a Best Actor Golden Globe Award in 1993, and for appearances in the films of the Coen brothers, with prominent roles in Raising...
vehicle King Ralph
King Ralph
King Ralph is a 1991 American comedy film starring John Goodman in the title role of Ralph Jones. The movie also stars Peter O'Toole as the King's private secretary, Sir Cedric Willingham, Camille Coduri as Ralph's girlfriend Miranda Greene, and John Hurt as the British peer Percival Graves, who...
(1991) (which re-united him with his Love Thy Neighbour co-star Rudolph Walker
Rudolph Walker
Rudolph Walker, OBE is a British character actor. Born in Trinidad and Tobago, Walker came to the United Kingdom in 1960....
) and 1996's La Passione.
He made several appearances as Davenport in Britain's longest-running television sitcom Last of the Summer Wine
Last of the Summer Wine
Last of the Summer Wine is a British sitcom written by Roy Clarke that was broadcast on BBC One. Last of the Summer Wine premiered as an episode of Comedy Playhouse on 4 January 1973 and the first series of episodes followed on 12 November 1973. From 1983 to 2010, Alan J. W. Bell produced and...
in 1997.
He has played two different characters in Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
. Between 1980-1983, he occasionally appeared as Johnny Webb, one of the men on Eddie Yates' bin round. In 2001, he returned for several months as Stan Wagstaff, a friend of Jimmy Kelly, who left his allotment to Jack Duckworth. Together with his brother Ernie, Stan let Jack in on Jimmy's big secret - he used his allotment shed to brew poteen.
He also starred in Vince Powell
Vince Powell
Vince Powell was a British television writer.Powell was born as Vincent Smith to Roman Catholic parents in Miles Platting, Manchester. When he was five, his mother died; two years later, his father remarried...
’s 8-part BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
slice-of-life sitcom A Proper Charlie, as factory worker Charlie Garside in 1985. Madge Hindle
Madge Hindle
Madge Hindle is a British actress, best known for her roles on television series.Madge's big break came when her good friend, British playwright Alan Bennett, asked her to appear in his 1966 BBC comedy series On the Margin.From 1968 to 1973, she played the role of Lily Tattersall on the series...
played his wife, and Jane Hazlegrove
Jane Hazlegrove
Jane Hazlegrove is an English actress.Jane is well known for portraying Lisa Shepherd in Families, Yvonne Bradley in London's Burning, Sue Clayton in Coronation Street in 1985 and has appeared in Jonathan Creek, The Bill, Doctors and Holby City. She is currently playing Kathleen "Dixie" Dixon in...
and Jason Littler their daughter and son.
He appeared on stage in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
when he appeared in the play Run for Your Wife, during (1987–1988), and the production toured the country. Other members of the cast in the production were David McCallum
David McCallum
David Keith McCallum, Jr. is a Scottish actor and musician. He is best known for his roles as Illya Kuryakin, a Russian-born secret agent, in the 1960s television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., as interdimensional operative Steel in Sapphire & Steel, and Dr...
, Eric Sykes
Eric Sykes
Eric Sykes, CBE is an English radio, television and film writer, actor and director whose performing career has spanned more than 50 years. He frequently wrote for and/or performed with many other leading comedy performers and writers of the period, including Tony Hancock, Spike Milligan, Peter...
and Katy Manning
Katy Manning
Katy Manning is an English actress best known for her part as the companion Jo Grant in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. She has also made many theatre appearances, and is now a citizen of Australia. She is myopic...
. Smethurst regularly works in the theatre, recently touring with a production of Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
's And Then There Were None
And Then There Were None
And Then There Were None is a detective fiction novel by Agatha Christie, first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 6 November 1939 under the title Ten Little Niggers which was changed by Dodd, Mead and Company in January 1940 because of the presence of a racial...
.
His son Adam
Adam Smethurst
Adam Smethurst is an English actor and writer. He has appeared in TV dramas including Casualty, Marple and Lewis, is the son of Love Thy Neighbour star Jack Smethurst, and is married to fellow actor Rakie Ayola, with whom he has one daughter and is expecting a second.-Personal life:Smethurst is the...
is also an actor, who is married to the Welsh-born actress Rakie Ayola
Rakie Ayola
Rakie Ayola is a Welsh actress, best known for her role as Kyla Tyson in the BBC medical drama Holby City. She first rose to prominence in the lead role of the 1993 Jeanette Winterson screenplay Great Moments in Aviation...
.
Selected filmography
- Carry On SergeantCarry On SergeantCarry On Sergeant is the first Carry On film. Its first public screening was on 1 August 1958 at Screen One, London. Actors in this film who went on to be part of the regular team in the series were Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Hattie Jacques, Kenneth Connor and Terry Scott...
(1958) - Watch Your SternWatch Your SternWatch Your Stern is a 1960 British comedy film directed by Gerald Thomas and starring Kenneth Connor, Eric Barker and Leslie Phillips.Watch Your Stern shares its cast and production team with the Carry On films, but the film is not an official member of the Carry On series.-Synopsis:When the crew...
(1960) - On the FiddleOn the FiddleOn the Fiddle is a 1961 British comedy film directed by Cyril Frankel and starring Sean Connery, Alfred Lynch, Cecil Parker, Stanley Holloway, Eric Barker, Mike Sarne, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Kathleen Harrison, Victor Maddern and John Le Mesurier....
(1961) - A Kind of LovingA Kind of Loving (film)A Kind of Loving is a 1962 British drama film directed by John Schlesinger, based on the 1960 novel of the same name by Stan Barstow. It stars Alan Bates and June Ritchie as two lovers in 1960s West Yorkshire. The photography was by Denys Coop, and the music by Ron Grainer...
(1962) - Doctor in CloverDoctor in CloverDoctor in Clover is a British comedy film released in 1966, starring Leslie Phillips. The film is based on the novel by Richard Gordon.The film was shot in Carnaby Street, Wormwood Scrubs and Pinewood Studios.-Synopsis:...
(1966) - Please Sir!Please Sir! (film)Please Sir! is a 1971 British comedy film starring John Alderton, spun off from the television series Please Sir!.-Cast:* John Alderton as Bernard Hedges* Deryck Guyler as Norman Potter* Noel Howlett as Maurice Cromwell...
(1971) - The Yes Girls (1971)
- For the Love of AdaFor the Love of Ada (film)For the Love of Ada is a 1972 British comedy film directed by Ronnie Baxter and starring Irene Handl, Wilfred Pickles, Barbara Mitchell and Jack Smethurst. It is a spin-off from the television series For the Love of Ada. An elderly couple are about to celebrate the first anniversary of their...
(1972) - Love Thy NeighbourLove Thy Neighbour (1973 film)Love Thy Neighbour is a 1973 British comedy film starring Jack Smethurst, Rudolph Walker, Kate Williams and Nina Baden-Semper, spun off from the television series Love Thy Neighbour.-Cast:* Jack Smethurst as Eddie Booth...
(1973) - Chariots of FireChariots of FireChariots of Fire is a 1981 British film. It tells the fact-based story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice....
(1981) - King RalphKing RalphKing Ralph is a 1991 American comedy film starring John Goodman in the title role of Ralph Jones. The movie also stars Peter O'Toole as the King's private secretary, Sir Cedric Willingham, Camille Coduri as Ralph's girlfriend Miranda Greene, and John Hurt as the British peer Percival Graves, who...
(1991)