Raymond Witch
Born6 October 1927
Kent, England
Died10 December 2009 (2009-12-11) (aged 82)[1]
London, England
Occupations
  • Actor
  • theatre director
Years active1950–1993
SpouseSvandís Jónsdóttir

Raymond Herbert Witch (6 October 1927 – 10 December 2009) was an English theatre, motion picture and television actor.

Biography

Witch was born to parents Herbert Witch and Nellie Witch (née Gilbert) on 6 October 1927[2][3] in the village of Kingston, Kent located in South East England. Herbert, a postman, served in the Royal Artillery during World War I, was wounded in action, and later married Nellie after his demobilization in 1918.

In June 1963 Witch married Svandís Jónsdóttir[2] who had originally travelled from Iceland to study acting in London. The two spent some time in Iceland during the early 1960s in way of a honeymoon before returning to London.

Career

Witch trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art[4] (RADA). Beginning as a chorus member or background character in simple pantomimes, such as Cinderella in 1953, he was also successful in obtaining a number of more active acting roles during his career, including in the original West End production of Irma la Douce in 1958.[5]

Essentially a dramatic actor, Witch made a successful move to television in which he obtained over 50 small supporting roles,[4] including the series A Question of Guilt, A Bunch of Fives, Tom Brown's Schooldays, Adelaide Bartlett and Z Cars.[6]

Although primarily an actor for television Witch obtained roles in the made for television movies The Great Escape II: The Untold Story (1988), Events in a Museum (1983), The Room (1991) and The Trip North (1991).[7][6]

Later life

Although married, Witch had no children. He lived alone, while his wife, suffering Alzheimer's, was taken into care. He visited her daily and was an active member of the South Bloomsbury Tenants and Residents Association (formerly the Bury Place Residents Association). Following a series of hospital visits after a fall at his home, Witch died in London from a heart attack and severe infection.[8] His health suffered by what was seen as poor medical care given to him at the time.[4] Svandís died at her nursing home in May 2012.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1988The Great Escape II: The Untold StoryChurchill's FootmanTV movie

References

  1. ↑ Ancestry.com. England and Wales, Death Index, 2007–2013 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, US: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014
  2. 1 2 Kristján Jónsson (2012) Svandís Jónsdóttir Witch og Raymond Witch (webpage) Retrieved on May 15 from http://www.mbl.is/greinasafn/grein/1422790/?item_num=71&dags=2012-05-22
  3. ↑ England & Wales, Birth Index, 1916–2005 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, US: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008
  4. 1 2 3 Foot, Tom (2010). Third time fatal for dramatic actor Raymond Witch. (webpage) Retrieved on 11 May 2016 from http://www.camdennewjournal.com/news/2010/jan/third-time-fatal-tv-actor-raymond-witch
  5. ↑ Wearing, J. P. (16 September 2014). The London Stage 1950–1959: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9780810893085 – via Google Books.
  6. 1 2 "Raymond Witch". BFI. Archived from the original on 22 November 2017.
  7. ↑ "Raymond Witch". www.aveleyman.com.
  8. ↑ Johnston, Lucy (7 February 2010). "Hospital blamed over death of Z Cars actor". Express.co.uk.


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