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| birth_place = [[Paddington]], London, England
| birth_place = [[Paddington]], London, England
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1984|12|15|1915|2|9|df=y}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1984|12|15|1915|2|9|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Archway, London|Archway]], London, England
| death_place = [[Archway, London|Archway]], London
| alma_mater = [[Royal Academy of Dramatic Art]]
| alma_mater = [[Royal Academy of Dramatic Art]]
| occupation = Actor
| occupation = Actor

Revision as of 17:38, 20 January 2023

For the electrical engineer, see Leonard Pearce.
Lennard Pearce
Pearce as Grandad in Only Fools and Horses
Born(1915-02-09)9 February 1915
Paddington, London, England
Died15 December 1984(1984-12-15) (aged 69)
Archway, London
Alma materRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art
OccupationActor
Years active1930s–1984
TelevisionOnly Fools and Horses (1981–1984, his death)

Lennard Pearce (9 February 1915 – 15 December 1984) was an English actor who worked in theatre and television. He was perhaps best known as Grandad in the BBC television series Only Fools and Horses, in which he starred from 1981 until his death in December 1984.

Early life

Pearce was born on February 9, 1915, in Paddington. He trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.[1]

Career

Theatre

As 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

Pearce'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

In 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] On 12 December 1984, he suffered a heart attack and was rushed to the 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] However, following his discharge, Pearce suffered a second heart attack on 15 December at his flat in Archway and died instantly at the age of 69.

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

Film

Year Title Role
1961 The Wind of Change Market trader
1976 Face of Darkness Edward Langdon

Television

Year Title Role
1957–1958 Our Miss Pemberton Edward Simpson 6 episodes
1959 The Case Before You Victor Hardwick 1 episode
1958 +1964 Armchair Theatre Albert Waite Bill Brough 2 episodes
1964 Melissa Detective Sergeant Heston 1 episode
1964 No Hiding Place 1st Ambulance man 1 episode
1964 Thorndyke Shenston
1965 Dixon of Dock Green Mr. Kemp 1 episode
1965 Blackmail George Dickson - Night Watchman 1 episode
1965 Undermind Gregson 1 episode
1965 The Sullavan Brothers Prison officer Gunter 1 episode
1966 The Wednesday Play Ratepayer 1 episode
1966 Emergency-Ward 10 Dr. Hammond, MOH 1 episode
1966 The Newcomers Man in Courtroom 1 episode
1969 Coronation Street Mr. Bracegirdle 1 episode
1969 The First Lady Gierson 1 episode
1969 Market in Honey Lane Jasper Tewkes 1 episode
1967–1969 Dr. Finlay's Casebook Consultant John Dow Pearson 3 episodes
1970 Nearest and Dearest Doctor 1 episode
1970 A Family at War Cowking 1 episode
1971 Under and Over Secretary 1 episode
1971 Advent of Steam Trundell 1 episode
1971 Take Three Girls Fulton 1 episode
1972 Sykes Club Member 1 episode
1972 Softly, Softly: Task Force Pearson 1 episode
1974 Antony and Cleopatra Cleopatra's Schoolteacher TV Movie
1974 Marked Personal Mr. Potts 2 episodes
1975 Zigger Zagger Headmastr 1 episode
1976 Within These Walls Mr. Kearny 1 episode
1976 Victorian Scandals Detective Sergeant Simmonds 1 episode
1977 Seven Faces of Woman Customer in pub 1 episode
1980 Play for Today Patient 1 episode
1980 Hammer House of Horror Rector 1 episode
1978 Bless Me, Father Clerk of the Court 1 episode
1981 Second Chance Registrar 1 episode
1981 Diamonds Priest 1 episode
1982 The Funny Side of Christmas Grandad TV Movie
1982 Only Fools and Horses: Christmas Trees Grandad TV Short
1981–1983 Only Fools and Horses Grandad Trotter (Edward "Ted" Trotter) 22 episodes
1984 Shroud for a Nightingale Mr. Coles 3 episodes
1984 Crown Court Ronald Wardle 1 episode
1984 Only Fools and Horses: Licensed to Drill Grandad Trotter (Edward "Ted" Trotter) Video
1984 Miracles Take Longer Elderly man 1 episode
1984 Minder George 1 episode

References

  1. ^ a b c "Only Fools and Horses - the tragedy and heartache that has blighted lovable cast". hulldailymail.co.uk. 1 February 2022.
  2. ^ a b c "Only Fools and Horses star met Adolf Hitler and 'regretted' not killing him". standard.co.uk. 2 October 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Lennard Pearce Past productions". theatricalia.com. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d "IMDb > Grandad (Character)". IMDb. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
  5. ^ a b c d "The only fools and horses story Page 100". archive.org. BBC. 1998. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  6. ^ a b c "The only fools and horses story Page 102". archive.org. BBC. 1998. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
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