Edward Albert Arthur Woodward, OBE (1 June 1930 – 16 November 2009) was an English stage and screen actor and singer. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), Woodward began his career on stage, and throughout his career he appeared in productions in both the West End in London and on Broadway in New York City. He came to wider attention from 1967 in the title role of the British television spy drama Callan, earning him the 1970 British Academy Television Award for Best Actor. Among his film credits, Woodward starred as Police Sergeant Neil Howie in the 1973 cult British horror film The Wicker Man, and in the title role of the 1980 Australian biopic Breaker Morant. From 1985 Woodward starred as British ex-secret agent and vigilante Robert McCall in the American television series The Equalizer (1985-1989), earning him the 1986 Golden Globe Award for Best Television Drama Actor.
Peter Woodward, Emily Woodward, Tim, Peter, Sarah, Emily
Parents
Violet Edith Woodward, Edward Oliver Woodward
Awards
Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama, British Academy Television Award for Best Actor
Nominations
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, AACTA Award for Best Lead Actor
Movies
The Wicker Man, Breaker Morant, Hot Fuzz, Young Winston, Sitting Target, Mister Johnson, King David, Hands of a Murderer, Who Dares Wins, The File of the Golden Goose, The Man in the Brown Suit, Where There's a Will, Merlin and the Sword, Stand Up, Virgin Soldiers, A Christmas Carol, Deadly Advice, ...
TV Shows
Callan, 1990, Laurence Olivier Presents, The Equalizer, Over My Dead Body, Common As Muck, CI5: The New Professionals, Five Days, Codename: Kyril, Omnibus, Whodunnit?, In Suspicious Circumstances, Nice Work, The Root of All Evil?, Evelyn
Star Sign
Gemini
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Trademark
1
Rich smooth voice
2
Often played law enforcement or government officials who are suffering a crisis of conscience.
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Fact
1
His vocal ability and acting skill enabled him to make a number of appearances when time allowed on the BBC's Edwardian era music hall programme, The Good Old Days.
2
In 1990 Woodward was the narrator for the official FIFA film of the 1990 World Cup entitled 'Soccer Shoot-Out'.
3
In 1967 Woodward played the eventual victim in an episode of The Saint TV series (The Persistent Patriots). The same year he was cast as David Callan in the ITV Armchair Theatre play A Magnum for Schneider, which later became the spy series Callan, one of his early television roles and one in which he demonstrated his ability to express controlled rage. His iconic performance assured the series success from 1967 to 1972, with a film appearing in 1974.
4
Woodward was a wargamer and hosted a series of programmes for Tyne Tees Television in 1978 about the hobby with fellow enthusiast Peter Gilder, who built and owned the beautiful Gettysburg diorama used for one of the gaming scenes from the 1974 film Callan.
5
Woodward was the subject of This Is Your Life on two occasions: in February 1971 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews in the bar of London's White House Hotel, and in February 1995, when Michael Aspel surprised him during a photoshoot at Syon House in West London.
6
Woodward suffered a massive heart attack in 1987 and another one in 1994. He underwent triple bypass surgery in 1996 and quit smoking.
7
In 1993, Woodward appeared in the Welsh language drama, Tan ar y Comin. Versions were made in both English and Welsh, and Woodward appeared in both, being specially coached in the latter since he did not speak a word of the language.
8
His capability as tenor enabled him to record twelve albums of romantic songs, as well as three albums of poetry and fourteen books to tape.
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He is buried in Padstow, Cornwall, UK.
10
Had played conflicted British spy and assassin David Callan on four different series and films: Armchair Theatre (1956), Callan (1967), Callan (1974) and Wet Job (1981).
11
He was only seven years and one week younger than his father-in-law, fellow actor Roy Dotrice.
$5 Million
