Leonard "Lennard" Pearce (31 October 1915 – 15 December 1984) was an English actor who worked in theatre and television. He was perhaps best known for playing Grandad in the BBC television series Only Fools and Horses, from 1981 until his death in December 1984.
Leonard Pearce | |
|---|---|
 Pearce as Grandad in Only Fools and Horses | |
| Born | 31 October 1915 Paddington, London, England |
| Died | 15 December 1984 (aged 69) Archway, London, England |
| Alma mater | Royal Academy of Dramatic Art |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1930s–1984 |
| Television | Only Fools and Horses (1981–1984) |
Early life
editBorn in Paddington as the youngest of five children, Pearce's father Sidney was killed in action during World War I. He trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.[1]
Career
editTheatre
editAs a young actor in the 1930s, Pearce joined a performance tour in Germany. According to Nicholas Lyndhurst, one theatrical performance was attended by senior members of the Nazi Party.[2] At the end of the show, party officials came backstage to congratulate the cast, and Pearce shook hands with Adolf Hitler.[2] Lyndhurst claimed that Pearce said that he regretted not taking the opportunity to kill Hitler.[2]
During World War II, Pearce performed for the Entertainments National Service Association. In the early 1960s, he understudied for Stanley Holloway as Alfred P. Doolittle in the original West End production of My Fair Lady.[3] After 1965, he appeared in many plays at the National Theatre,[3] including Much Ado About Nothing and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.[3] He worked with both Laurence Olivier and Anthony Hopkins on stage. In 1966, Pearce starred in Richard Brinsley Sheridan's The Rivals alongside David Jason, but Pearce and Jason did not meet again until 15 years later.[3]
In 1975, Pearce played Owl in a theatre adaptation of Winnie the Pooh at the Phoenix Theatre in London, and two years later, Mr. Witherspoon in Arsenic and Old Lace at the Westminster Theatre.[3] He was also a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company.[3]
Television
editPearce's television work includes Dixon of Dock Green (1965), Dr. Finlay's Casebook (1967),[4] Sykes (1972) and Coronation Street in May 1969 and April 1977, along with The Wednesday Play ("Cathy Come Home", 1966). Pearce also appeared in a Crown Court broadcast in February 1984.[4]
In 1981, Pearce began his role as Grandad in the first three series of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses.[1] He appeared in a 1984 episode of Minder named "The Balance of Power" and played Mr. Coles in three episodes of Shroud for a Nightingale in March 1984.[4] Pearce's last television appearance was on Children in Need, broadcast on BBC1 on 23 November 1984.[4]
Health problems and death
editIn 1980, while Pearce was a cast member of a play running at the Bristol Old Vic, he began to lose his balance and would frequently fall asleep. He was diagnosed with critical hypertension[1] and was prescribed medication. A heavy smoker for many years, Pearce was in poor health while filming the first episode of Series 4 of Only Fools and Horses.[5] He suffered a heart attack on 12 December 1984 and was rushed by ambulance to Whittington Hospital, where his condition improved.[5] Two days later, Only Fools and Horses scriptwriter John Sullivan visited Pearce and assured him that his place in the programme would be left open for him when he recovered.[5] After he was discharged, Pearce died instantly on 15 December after suffering a second heart attack at his flat in Archway. He was 69 years old.
Sullivan heard the news the following morning and informed Pearce's Only Fools and Horses costars David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst, who were devastated by Pearce's sudden death, as were the entire crew.[5]
When Pearce died, production had begun for the Only Fools and Horses episode "Hole in One."[6] The episode was rewritten around Grandad's death, and scenes that had been filmed on location with Pearce were reshot with Buster Merryfield as the replacement character Uncle Albert.[6] The episode "Strained Relations" begins in the wake of the death of the Grandad character.[6]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | The Wind of Change | Market trader | Uncredited |
| 1976 | Face of Darkness | Edward Langdon |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957–1958 | Our Miss Pemberton | Edward Simpson | 6 episodes |
| 1959 | The Case Before You | Victor Hardwick | Episode: #1.1 |
| 1964 | Melissa | Detective Sergeant Heston | Episode: "Part 4" |
| 1964 | No Hiding Place | 1st Ambulance man | Episode: "Aftertaste" |
| 1958–1964 | Armchair Theatre | Albert Waite Bill Brough | 2 episodes |
| 1964 | Thorndyke | Shenston | Episode: "The Puzzle Lock" |
| 1965 | The Sullavan Brothers | Prison officer Gunter | Episode: "Put Them Away for Keeps" |
| 1965 | Undermind | Gregson | Episode: "Test for the Future" |
| 1965 | Blackmail | George Dickson - Night Watchman | Episode: "Kill Me" |
| 1965 | Dixon of Dock Green | Mr. Kemp | Episode: "Act of Violence" |
| 1966 | The Newcomers | Man in Courtroom | Episode: #1.75 |
| 1966 | Emergency-Ward 10 | Dr. Hammond, MOH | Episode: #1.936 |
| 1966 | The Wednesday Play | Ratepayer | Episode: "Cathy Come Home" |
| 1969 | Market in Honey Lane | Jasper Tewkes | Episode: #3.52 |
| 1969 | The First Lady | Gierson | Episode: "To Hell with Purity" |
| 1969 | Coronation Street | Mr. Bracegirdle | Episode: #1.876 |
| 1967–1969 | Dr. Finlay's Casebook | Consultant John Dow Pearson | 3 episodes |
| 1970 | A Family at War | Cowking | Episode: "Hope Against Hope" |
| 1970 | Nearest and Dearest | Doctor | Episode: "Make Yourself at Home" |
| 1971 | Take Three Girls | Fulton | Episode: "Coda and Resolution" |
| 1971 | Advent of Steam | Trundell | Episode: "The Iron Horse: Part 1" |
| 1971 | Under and Over | Secretary | Episode: "The Chaotic Ceilidh" |
| 1972 | Softly, Softly: Task Force | Pearson | Episode: "The Amateur" |
| 1972 | Sykes | Club Member | Episode: "Uncle" |
| 1974 | Marked Personal | Mr. Potts | 2 episodes |
| 1974 | Antony and Cleopatra | Cleopatra's Schoolteacher | TV movie |
| 1975 | Zigger Zagger | Headmastr | Episode: #1.1 |
| 1976 | Victorian Scandals | Detective Sergeant Simmonds | Episode: "The Fruits of Philosophy" |
| 1976 | Within These Walls | Mr. Kearny | Episode: "The Mystery" |
| 1977 | Seven Faces of Woman | Customer in pub | Episode: "She: The Barfly" |
| 1980 | Hammer House of Horror | Rector | Episode: "Witching Time" |
| 1980 | Play for Today | Patient | Episode: "Name for the Day" |
| 1981 | Second Chance | Registrar | Episode: "April II" |
| 1981 | Bless Me, Father | Clerk of the Court | Episode: "Porgy and Bess" |
| 1981 | Diamonds | Priest | Episode: "My End is my Beginning" |
| 1982 | Only Fools and Horses: Christmas Trees | Grandad Trotter (Edward "Ted" Trotter) | TV Short |
| 1982 | The Funny Side of Christmas | Grandad Trotter (Edward "Ted" Trotter) | TV movie |
| 1981–1983 | Only Fools and Horses | Grandad Trotter (Edward "Ted" Trotter) | 22 episodes |
| 1984 | Miracles Take Longer | Elderly man | Episode: #2.3 |
| 1984 | Crown Court | Ronald Wardle | Episode: "Mother Figures: Part 1" |
| 1984 | Shroud for a Nightingale | Mr. Coles | 3 episodes |
| 1984 | Minder | George | Episode: "The Balance of Power" |
| 1984 | Only Fools and Horses: Licensed to Drill | Grandad Trotter (Edward "Ted" Trotter) | Video |
References
edit- ^ a b c "Only Fools and Horses - the tragedy and heartache that has blighted lovable cast". hulldailymail.co.uk. 1 February 2022.
- ^ a b c "Only Fools and Horses star met Adolf Hitler and 'regretted' not killing him". standard.co.uk. 2 October 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f "Lennard Pearce Past productions". theatricalia.com. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
- ^ a b c d "IMDb > Grandad (Character)". IMDb. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
- ^ a b c d "The only fools and horses story Page 100". archive.org. BBC. 1998. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
- ^ a b c "The only fools and horses story Page 102". archive.org. BBC. 1998. Retrieved 14 November 2022.