Timothy West, acclaimed British actor and lover of UK’s waterways, dies at 90

By Pan Pylas, The Associated Press on November 13, 2024.

From left, actors Sam West, his father Timothy West and his mother Prunella Scales during a photocall in London, July 15, 1999. (Michael Crabtree/PA via AP)

LONDON (AP) – British actor Timothy West, who played the classic Shakespeare roles of King Lear and Macbeth and who in recent years along with his wife, Prunella Scales, enchanted millions of people with their boating exploits on Britain’s waterways, has died, He was 90.

In a statement Wednesday, his children said that West died “peacefully” in his sleep “with his friends and family at the end.”

“After a long and extraordinary life on and off the stage, our darling father Timothy West died peacefully in his sleep yesterday evening,” his children Juliet, Samuel and Joseph said.

West was a regular presence on stage and screen, his versatility allowing him to play a broad range of characters. He excelled as a leading actor in numerous Shakespeare productions, including playing Falstaff in a 1996 production of Shakespeare’s “Henry IV” opposite his son Samuel, who played Prince Hal. Other notable performances include his portrayal of Claudius in a 1977 production of “Hamlet,” in which Derek Jacobi played the titular role.

An array of credits on stage and screen, including short stints in British television’s two most popular soap operas, “Coronation Street” and “Eastenders,” kept him in the public eye in later life.

“Timothy West was an icon of British drama, and at the BBC we feel incredibly privileged that he was on our screens across the decades,” said Lindsay Salt, director of BBC Drama.

West, who was born in the north England city of Bradford, made his London stage debut in 1959, before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in the 1960s, where he earned his acting chops.

On television, he had roles in adaptations of Charles Dickens’ novels, including “Bleak House” and “Hard Times,” the latter which was parodied in ITV’s “Brass” from 1982 to 1990, in which West played a ruthless self-made businessman.

He clearly had the look, as well as the depth, to play Britain’s wartime leader Winston Churchill three times, first in 1979’s “From Churchill and the Generals,” then in “The Last Bastion” five years later and finally in “Hiroshima” in 1995.

West, who was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1984 for his services to drama, was married for 61 years to actress Prunella Scales, who is most famous for her role as Sybil Fawlty in the classic 1970s BBC comedy “Fawlty Towers.”

The couple had two sons, actor Samuel and Joseph. West was also married to actor Jacqueline Boyer from 1956 to 1961, and they had a daughter, Juliet West.

Their long romance was showcased over 10 seasons of Channel 4’s “Great Canal Journeys,” when both were mainly in their 80s. The program, which ostensibly was a love letter to narrowboats and of the British countryside, was widely praised for the way it honestly depicted Scales’ slow deterioration with dementia.

The Carers Trust, which provides help and support to those caring for their loved ones, praised West for being a “devoted carer” for his wife, who is 92.

The Canal & River Trust, which cares for the 2,000 miles of waterways in the U.K., praised West for inspiring countless people to get out there and enjoy the country’s water network.

“He was a dedicated supporter and a compelling advocate for boating who will be sadly missed,” the charity’s chief executive Richard Parry said.

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This story was corrected earlier to state that Timothy West did not perform the role of Hamlet, but rather of Claudius.