Iain Cuthbertson

Iain Cuthbertson
Cuthbertson as Charles Endell
Born	(1930-01-04)4 January 1930 Glasgow, Scotland
Died	4 September 2009(2009-09-04) (aged 79) Ayr, Scotland
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1955-2003
Spouse(s)	Anne Kristen ​ ​ (m. 1964; div. 1988)​ Janet Smith
Father	David Cuthbertson

Iain Cuthbertson (4 January 1930 – 4 September 2009) was a Scottish character actor and theatre director. He was known for his tall imposing build and also his distinctive gravelly, heavily accented voice. He had lead roles in The Borderers (1968–70),Tom Brown's Schooldays (1971), Budgie (1971–72), its spinoff Charles Endell Esquire (1979–80), Danger UXB (1979) and Sutherland's Law (1973–76), as well as the films The Railway Children (1970), and Gorillas in the Mist (1988). He guest starred in many prominent British shows including The Avengers, Dr. Finlay's Casebook, The Onedin Line, Survivors, Ripping Yarns, Doctor Who, Z-Cars, Juliet Bravo, Rab C. Nesbitt, Minder, Inspector Morse and Agatha Christie's Poirot.

Early life

Born in 1930, the son of the biochemist Sir David Cuthbertson, and brought up in Glasgow, he was educated at Glasgow Academy. He moved to Aberdeen with his family and attended Aberdeen Grammar School and the University of Aberdeen, where he graduated with an MA honours degree in French and Spanish. His first break as an actor was on radio while at university.

He spent two years' national service in the Black Watch. During that time he was ordered to act as prisoner's friend at the court martial of a soldier accused of appearing late on parade, and then assaulting his superior officer when he eventually did turn up. He managed to get the soldier cleared of the more serious charge.

His original wish was for a job in the Foreign Office, but he became a radio journalist with the BBC in Glasgow.

Theatre career

Cuthbertson started acting at the Glasgow Citizens' Theatre in 1958 and became General Manager and Director of Productions in 1962. In that year the theatre hosted an exhibition of work by the artist Stewart Bowman Johnson Three years later he became Associate Director of London's Royal Court Theatre.

Television career

His most memorable television role was as the eponymous Procurator Fiscal in the long running Sutherland's Law, a television series made by BBC Scotland between 1973 and 1976. The series had originated as a stand-alone edition of the portmanteau programme Drama Playhouse in 1972 in which Derek Francis played Sutherland and was then commissioned as an ongoing series: the producer was Frank Cox. Sutherland's Law dealt with the duties of the Procurator Fiscal in a small Scottish town. The major cast members included Cuthbertson (as John Sutherland), Gareth Thomas, Moultrie Kelsall, Victor Carin, Martin Cochrane, Maev Alexander and Edith MacArthur.

A rather different achievement was his portrayal of the criminal and businessman Charlie Endell in both Budgie (London Weekend Television/ITV) with Adam Faith (1971–72) and its sequel Charles Endell Esquire (Scottish Television/ITV) in 1979.

Other roles include the lead in The Borderers (BBC, 1968–70), Tom Brown's Schooldays (BBC, 1971) (as Thomas Arnold), The Stone Tape (BBC, 1972), Children of the Stones (HTV/ITV, 1977), The Voyage of Charles Darwin, Danger UXB (Thames Television/ITV, 1979), The House With Green Shutters (BBC, 1980). He appeared in the pilot episode of Rab C Nesbitt (1988) as a magistrate.

He suffered a crippling stroke in January 1982, which forced him to give up theatre for fear of forgetting his lines. He resumed television and film work, though, as his lines could be written on crib boards. His first role following his stroke was as the villainous Scunner Campbell in Super Gran (Tyne Tees Television/ITV, 1985). In 1989 he played the villain Brett Savernake in the episode of Campion entitled "Sweet Danger".

Minor parts in ongoing series include appearances in Z-Cars (BBC), The Avengers (ABC/ITV), Inspector Morse (Central Television/ITV), Bulman (Granada Television/ITV), Ripping Yarns (BBC), The Duchess of Duke Street, Colonel Mannering in Adam Adamant Lives! story D For Destruction (1966) and Garron in the Doctor Who story The Ribos Operation. He also appeared in: Diamond Crack Diamond, The Onedin Line (BBC), Survivors (BBC), Scotch on the Rocks, The Adventures of Black Beauty (London Weekend/ITV), Minder (ITV), The Ghosts of Motley Hall (Granada/ITV), Juliet Bravo (BBC), Casualty (BBC), The Mourning Brooch, Casting the Runes and McPhee the Mother and Me.

On film, he appeared as Charles Waterbury in The Railway Children (1970).

Personal life

Cuthbertson's first marriage, to Anne Kristen in 1964, was dissolved in 1988. He is survived by his second wife, Janet Smith.

From 1975 to 1978, he served as Rector of the University of Aberdeen. He listed his hobbies as sailing and fishing, and, after retiring, he lived in Dalrymple, Ayrshire.

He suffered a severe stroke in 1982, which caused paralysis down one side of his body and speech loss. It took him almost two years to recover sufficiently to be able to act again. Although he avoided live theatre work thereafter, owing to a fear of forgetting and/or stumbling on lines, he was still able to take parts in films and television. He died in 2009 at Ayr Hospital and was cremated. in 2023 he is only adult to appear in the railway children that is still alive.

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Director	Notes
1970	The Railway Children	Charles Waterbury	Lionel Jeffries
1972	Up the Chastity Belt	Teutonic Knight	Bob Kellett
1984	John Wycliffe: The Morning Star	Chancellor Rigg	Tony Tew
1985	The Assam Garden	Arthur	Mary McMurray
1986	Smart Money	Mr. Whyte	Bernard Rose
1988	Gorillas in the Mist	Dr. Louis Leakey	Michael Apted
1989	Scandal	Lord Hailsham	Michael Caton-Jones
1989	The Clouds	Voice	Patrick Keiller	Short film
1991	Let Him Have It	Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe	Peter Medak
1994	Chasing the Deer	Tullibardine	Graham Holloway
1998	The Tichborne Claimant	Dr. McKechnie	David Yates
2001	Strictly Sinatra	Connolly	Peter Capaldi
2003	Hamlet	Ghost	Michael Mundell

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1957	The Boy David	Goliath of Gath	Television film
1959	Guilty Together	Jock Macdonald	Television film
1960	Para Handy - Master Mariner	Hurricane Jack	1.03 "A Happy New Year"
1960	ITV Play of the Week	Judd	6.14 "The Accomplices"
1962	BBC Sunday-Night Play	Provost Thomson	3.24 "Storm in a Teacup"
1966	The Wednesday Play	Major Mallet	1.63 "Toddler on the Run"
1966	Adam Adamant Lives!	Colonel Mannering	1.16 "D for Destruction"
1966	ITV Sunday Night Drama	Aegetes	1.12 "Four Triumphant: St Andrew"
1966	This Man Craig	Campbell Maddox	2.13 "Fresh Off the Boat"
1967	Sir Arthur Conan Doyle	Dr. Markham	1.05 "Crabbe's Practice"
1968-1970	The Borderers	Sir Walter Ker of Cessford	26 episodes
1969	The Avengers	Kruger	7.27 "Thingumajig"
1969	Mogul	King Watt	5.24 "This Place Is a Paradise, Mister"
1969	ITV Playhouse	Mr. Campbell QC	2.37 "Justice Is a Woman"
1970	Department S	Kendall	2.15 "Spencer Bodily Is Sixty Years Old"
1970	Manhunt	Helldorf	1.10 "With a Sort of Love"
1970	Thirty-Minute Theatre	William Stead	5.30 "Lilly: Part 1" 5.31 "Lilly: Part 2"
1970	Diamond Crack Diamond	Mark Terson	4 episodes
1971	Dr. Finlay's Casebook	The Provost	8.16 "The Burgess Ticket"
1971-1972	Budgie	Charlie Endell	24 episodes
1971	Tom Brown's Schooldays	Dr. Thomas Arnold	Television miniseries
1971	The Onedin Line	Captain Kirkwood	1.11 "Mutiny"
1972	The Stone Tape	Roy Collinson	Television film
1972	The Adventures of Black Beauty	Sergeant Major Fletcher	1.15 "The Recruiting Sergeant"
1973	The New Road	Colonel Barisdale	1.02 "Col-of-the-Tricks" 1.03 "A Kistful of Muskets"
1973	Scotch on the Rocks	Chief Constable Blair	4 episodes
1973-1976	Sutherland's Law	John Sutherland	46 episodes
1973	The Protectors	Wyatt	2.06 "Petard"
1973	Arthur of the Britons	Bavick	2.09 "Daughter of the King"
1974	Play for Today	Headmaster	4.17 "Pidgeon: Hawk or Dove?"
1974	ITV Sunday Night Theatre	The Doctor	6.07 "Geography of a Horse Dreamer"
1974	The Pallisers	Major Mackintosh	1.14 "Part Fourteen"
1976	Caesar and Cleopatra	Rufio	Television film
1977	Children of the Stones	Rafael Hendrick / Sir Joshua Litten	Television miniseries
1977	The Ghosts of Motley Hall	Godfrey of Basingstoke	2.04 "Godfrey of Basingstoke"
1977	Survivors	McAlister	3.12 "Power"
1977	The Duchess of Duke Street	Vicar	2.04 "Winter Lament" 2.12 "The Legion of the Living"
1977	Ripping Yarns	Dr. Farson	1.04 "Murder at Moorstones Manor"
1977	The Sunday Drama	Gilbert Neilson	1.14 "Caledonian Cascade"
1978	Play for Today	Richard Cleaver	8.15 "Destiny"
1978	The Standard	Sir Henry Lockwood	1.07 "The Name of the Game"
1978	Doctor Who	Garron	16.01 "The Ribos Operation"
1978	Z Cars	Det. Chief Supt. Stanworth	13.02 "Departures"
1978	The Voyage of Charles Darwin	Dr. Robert Darwin	1.01 "I Was Considered a Very Ordinary Boy" 1.03 "How Wide Was the Distance Between Savage and Civilised Man" 1.06 "Suppose That All Animals and All Plants Are Represented by the Branches of a Tree - The Tree of Life"
1979	Danger UXB	Doctor Gillespie	6 episodes
1979	The Mourning Brooch	Dicky Doig	Television miniseries
1979	ITV Playhouse	Julian Karswell	11.09 Casting the Runes
1979-1980	Charles Endell, Esq	Charlie Endell	6 episodes
1979	The Dick Francis Thriller: The Racing Game	Lankester	1.05 "Horsenap"
1980	We, the Accused	Inspector Boltro	Television miniseries
1980	The Dick Emery Christmas Show: For Whom the Jingle Bells Toll	Jock 'The Razor' Fraser	Television film
1981	The Walls of Jericho	Alexander Russell	1.01 "Oh, Sophia!" 1.02 "Order of Battle" 1.03 "Sunshine and Storm"
1981	Vice Versa	Dr. Grimstone	7 episodes
1982	Rep	J.C. Benton	Television miniseries
1983	Storyboard	Editor	1.06 "Lytton's Diary"
1984	The Glory Boys	Minister	1.03 "Episode Three"
1984	Juliet Bravo	Defence Counsel	5.07 "Lost and Found"
1985	Off Peak	Dick Corbett	Television film
1985-1987	Super Gran	The Scunner Campbell	27 episodes
1986	First Among Equals	Colin Dawson	1.02 "Episode Two"
1986	The Return of the Antelope	Dr. McMurdo	2.02 "Philippa's Brave Deed"
1986	The Stamp of Greatness	Sir Arthur Conan Doyle	1.01 "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle the Man Who Was Sherlock Holmes"
1987	Bulman	Desmond Geraldine	2.02 "Death by Misadventure"
1987	The Venus de Milo Instead	Headmaster	Television film
1987	A Perfect Spy	Makepeace Watermaster	1.01 "Episode One"
1988	Hannay	Sheriff Elliston	1.05 "Act of Riot"
1988	Ten Great Writers of the Modern World	Mynheer Peeperkorn	1.05 "Thomas Mann's 'The Magic Mountain'"
1988	The Ray Bradbury Theatre	Prosecuting Counsel	2.07 "Punishment Without Crime"
1988	Rab C. Nesbitt	Drunk Man	1.01 "Seasonal Greet"
1989	Minder	Bernard McKenna	7.06 "The Wrong Goodbye"
1989	The Justice Game	Jack Flynn	4 episodes
1989	Screenplay	Seer of Lublin	4.08 "The Spirit of Man" Segment: "The Night of Simhat Torah"
1989	Hard Cases	Magistrate	2.07 "Episode Seven"
1989	City Lights	Dr. Davis	4.02 "Play It Again, Willie"
1990	Campion	Brett Savanake	2.01 "Sweet Danger"
1990	Inspector Morse	Desmond McNutt	4.04 "Masonic Mysteries"
1990	Rab C. Nesbitt	Sheriff	1.03 "City of Culture"
1990-1991	Screenplay	Edgar / Julian Vlad	5.02 "Antonia and Jane" 5.12 "Shoot the Revolution"
1992	Rab C. Nesbitt	Judge	2.04 "That's Entertainment"
1992	The Guilty	Lord Chancellor	Television film
1993	Agatha Christie's Poirot	Gervase Chevenix	5.07 "Dead Man's Mirror"
1994	Headhunters	Malcolm Standish	1.01 "The Golden Hello"
1994	Moonacre	Father Francis	6 episodes
1994	Seaforth	Lord Scawton	Television miniseries
1995	Oliver's Travels	Davidson	1.05 "Do We Look Like That?"
1995	The Tales of Para Handy	Angus Monroe	2.02 "Para Handy's Piper"
1995	Casualty	Dermot Needle	10.16 "Castles in the Air"
1997	Painted Lady	Charles Stafford	Television miniseries
1997	The Baldy Man		2.03 "Barbecue: China Doll"
1999	Casualty	Albert	14.01 "Calm Before the Storm: Part One" 14.02 "Calm Before the Storm: Part Two"
2000	Brotherly Love	Robert MacDougall	1.05 "Art and Soul"

Radio

• 1981 Hatter's Castle as James Brodie; by A J Cronin; BBC R4 Classic Serial 5 parts 11/1/1981-8/11/1981.
• 1988 Our Roman Cousins by Bruce Stewart; BBC R4 Saturday Night Theatre 30/01/1988.
• 1993 Twelfth Night as Malvolio; BBC R3 3/1/1993.

External links

• Iain Cuthbertson at IMDb