Aubrey Woods - wikipedia Aubrey Woods Aubrey Woods Woods as Bill the Candy Man in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory Aubrey Harold Woods ( 1928 - 04 - 09 ) 9 April 1928 Edmonton, Middlesex, England 7 May 2013 ( 2013 - 05 - 07 ) ( aged 85 ) Barrow - in - Furness, Cumbria, England Occupation Actor, singer Years active 1946 -- 1995 Spouse ( s ) Gaynor Woods ( m. 1952 ; his death 2013 ) Aubrey Harold Woods ( 9 April 1928 -- 7 May 2013 ) was a British actor and singer. Contents 1 Biography and career 2 Death 3 Selected filmography 4 References 5 External links Biography and career Woods was born on 9 April 1928 in Edmonton, Middlesex and educated at the Latymer School. His first film role was as Smike in The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby ( 1947 ). On stage he played the role of Fagin in Lionel Bart 's production of Oliver ! at the New Theatre, St Martin 's Lane in the 1960s alongside Nicolette Roeg and Robert Bridges. He played Alfred Jingle in the TV musical Pickwick for the BBC in 1969. Woods ' best remembered film role is in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, where he played the character of Bill, the Candy Store Owner, singing `` The Candy Man '' near the beginning of the film, the single was later a hit for entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. During the early 1970s he collaborated on the musical Trelawny with friend Julian Slade. His television credits include Z - Cars, Up Pompeii !, Doctor Who, Blake 's 7, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and Ever Decreasing Circles. He also appeared as Jacob and Potiphar in the 1991 production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the London Palladium, the soundtrack of which topped the British albums chart in August 1991. Radio credits include the original radio series of The Hitchhiker 's Guide to the Galaxy, appearing in Fit the Sixth. He dramatised E.F. Benson 's 1932 comic novel `` Secret Lives '' in three parts for BBC radio, and was also the narrator. Death Woods died on 7 May 2013, at his home in Barrow - in - Furness aged 85 of natural causes. He was survived by his wife Gaynor, whom he had met at RADA and married in 1952. Selected filmography The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby ( 1947 )... Smike The Queen of Spades ( 1949 )... Dimitri - Officer in the gaming room Guilt Is My Shadow ( 1950 )... Doctor The Greed of William Hart ( 1953 )... Jamie Wilson Father Brown ( 1954 )... Charlie Spare the Rod ( 1961 )... Mr. Bickerstaff A Home of Your Own ( 1964 )... Water Board Inspector San Ferry Ann ( 1965 )... Immigration Officer Just like a Woman ( 1967 )... T.V. Floor Manager Futtocks End ( 1970 ) - Postman Loot ( 1970 )... Undertaker Wuthering Heights ( 1970 )... Joseph All the Right Noises ( 1971 )... Stage Musical Performer : Foreman Up Pompeii ( 1971 )... Villanus The Abominable Dr. Phibes ( 1971 )... Goldsmith Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory ( 1971 )... Bill Up the Chastity Belt ( 1971 )... Vegetable Stall Holder Z.P.G. ( 1972 )... Dr. Mallory The Darwin Adventure ( 1972 )... Bishop Wilberforce Do n't Just Lie There, Say Something ! ( 1973 )... T.V. chairman That Lucky Touch ( 1975 )... Viscount L'Ardey Operation Daybreak ( 1975 ) Quincy 's Quest ( 1979 )... Mr. Perfect Cloak & Dagger ( 1984 )... F.B.I. Agent ( uncredited ) References Jump up ^ `` Aubrey Woods ''. The Times. 14 May 2013. ^ Jump up to : Michael Coveney Obituary : Aubrey Woods, The Guardian, 14 May 2013 External links Aubrey Woods on IMDb Aubrey Woods in Candida at Vienna 's English Theatre, 1977, Arbeiter - Zeitung. ( German ). Aubrey Woods ; Aveleyman.com VIAF : 39571042 ISNI : 0000 0000 5517 4818 BNF : cb13983336b ( data ) MusicBrainz : 59fc0f9c - 3920 - 4c90 - 817e - 61808ee7cb83 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aubrey_Woods&oldid=829991410 '' Categories : 1928 births 2013 deaths Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art English male film actors English male television actors People educated at The Latymer School English male singers Hidden categories : Use dmy dates from September 2012 Use British English from September 2012 Pages to import images to Wikidata Articles with hCards Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Esperanto Italiano Edit links This page was last edited on 12 March 2018, at 01 : 44. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who played the candyman in willy wonka and the chocolate factory
Answer: Aubrey Woods