(30 November 1922 – 19 October 2010)
Early life
Crowden was born in Edinburgh, the son of Anne Margaret (née Paterson) and Harry Graham Crowden.[3] He was educated at the Edinburgh Academy before serving briefly in the Royal Scots Youth Battalion of the army until he was injured in an accident, he then found work in a tannery.Acting career
Crowden is known for his roles in BBC comedy-dramas, including Dr. Jock McCannon in A Very Peculiar Practice and Tom Ballard in Waiting for God. He also had a long and distinguished theatrical career, most notably at Sir Laurence Olivier's National Theatre where he performed as The Player King in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, the play by Tom Stoppard. Crowden occasionally played mad scientists in film, taking the role of Doctor Millar in the Mick Travis films of director Lindsay Anderson, O Lucky Man! (1973) and Britannia Hospital (1982), and also playing the sinister Doctor Smiles in the film of Michael Moorcock's first Jerry Cornelius novel, The Final Programme (1973). He also played the eccentric History master in Anderson's if.... (1968).
In 1975, Graham made an appearance in 'No Way Out' - an episode of the popular British sitcom Porridge alongside Ronnie Barker, Brian Wilde, Richard Beckinsale and Fulton Mackay, as the prison doctor when Fletcher was complaining of an injured leg.
He was offered the role of the Fourth Doctor in Doctor Who in 1974, when Jon Pertwee left the role, but turned it down, informing producer Barry Letts that he was not prepared to commit himself to the series for three years. The role ultimately went to Tom Baker. He did, however, appear in The Horns of Nimon (1979) as a villain opposite Baker.
In 1990, he appeared as a lecherous peer in the BBC comedy Don't Wait Up and in 1991, he played a modest role in the Rumpole of the Bailey episode "Rumpole and the Quacks", portraying Sir Hector MacAuliffe, the head of a medical inquest into the potential sexual misconduct on the part of Dr. Ghulam Rahmat (portrayed by Saeed Jaffrey).
For many however, it was the role he landed in 1990 as the leading character of Tom Ballard in the new sitcom Waiting for God opposite Stephanie Cole's character Diana Trent, as the two rebellious retirement home residents, that made him a household name. The show ran for five years and was a major success.
Crowden then voiced the role of Mustrum Ridcully in the 1997 animated Cosgrove Hall production of Terry Pratchett's Soul Music.
In 2001, he guest-starred in the Midsomer Murders episode "Ring Out Your Dead" and also played The Marquis of Auld Reekie in The Way We Live Now. In 2003, he made a cameo appearance as a sadistic naval school teacher in The Lost Prince. In 2005, he starred in the BBC Radio 4 sci-fi comedy Nebulous as Sir Ronald Rolands. In 2008, he appeared as a guest star in Foyle's War.
Death
Crowden died on 19 October 2010 in Edinburgh after a short illness.Filmography
Television roles
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1964 | HMS Paradise | Commander Shaw |
| 1964 | Redcap: The Patrol | Major Fraser |
| 1975 | Porridge: Christmas Special - No Way Out | Prison Physician |
| 1977 | 1990: Decoy | Dr. Sondeberg |
| 1979–1980 | Doctor Who: The Horns of Nimon | Soldeed |
| 1986–1988 | A Very Peculiar Practice | Dr. Jock McCannon |
| 1986 | "All Passion Spent" | Herbert |
| 1990–1994 | Waiting for God | Tom Ballard |
Films
- The Bridal Path (1959)
- We Joined the Navy (1962)
- One Way Pendulum (1964)
- Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment (1966)
- If.... (1968)
- The File of the Golden Goose (1969)
- The Virgin Soldiers (1969)
- Leo the Last (1970)
- The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer (1970)
- Up the Chastity Belt (1971)
- Percy (1971)
- The Night Digger (1971)
- Something to Hide (1972)
- The Ruling Class (1972)
- The Amazing Mr Blunden (1972)
- The Final Programme (1973)
- O Lucky Man! (1973)
- Romance with a Double Bass (1974)
- The Abdication (1974)
- The Little Prince (1974)
- Hardcore (1977)
- Three Dangerous Ladies (1977)
- Jabberwocky (1977)
- For Your Eyes Only (1981)
- Britannia Hospital (1982)
- The Missionary (1982)
- The Company of Wolves (1984)
- Out of Africa (1985)
- A Handful of Dust (1988)
- The Innocent Sleep (1996)
- The Sea Change (1998)
- The 10th Kingdom (1999)
- Possession (2002)
- Calendar Girls (2003)
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