# Paul McDowell (actor)

Paul William McDowell (15 August 1931 – 2 May 2016) was an English actor and writer who appeared in numerous television productions over a 40-year period.

## Early life and career

McDowell was born in Fulham, south-west London the only son of William a museum guard and shipyard worker. His mother Frances was a landlady and cleaner. He attended several primary schools and was evacuated to Guildford, Rochdale, and Torbay during the second world war. After leaving school, he trained to be a painter at Chelsea Art College. He later attended St Edmund Hall, Oxford. In the early 1960s as "Whispering" Paul McDowell he was a vocalist with the British 1920s-style jazz band The Temperance Seven, who had a No. 1 hit in Britain. He was a member of the pop group 'Guggenheim' which he formed with Granada Television producer and singer Chris Pye, and guitarist Jules Burns. The album Guggenheim was released in 1972 on Indigo Records, and distributed by the British Decca label. He worked at the Establishment Club as an actor/writer, then became a member of the improvisational group the Second City in the United States and was a writer on The Frost Report.

### Television actor

His television roles include: Mr Collinson, a sour-faced prison officer in Porridge, Churchill's butler in Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years, and Mr Phillips in The Two of Us.

### Writer

As a screenwriter he wrote for Sheila Hancock and The Two Ronnies. Later he concentrated on writing and teaching tai chi.

## Later life

Later he lived in Towcester Northamptonshire, where he wrote a letter to The Guardian, published on 11 March 2016, less than two months before his death. His letter was an amusing mild rebuke that The Guardian had omitted to state in their obituary of George Martin that his very first Number 1 hit was the Temperance Seven's "You're Driving Me Crazy".

### Illness and death

On April 23, 2016, McDowell announced he had been diagnosed with lung cancer. He died on May 2, 2016, from complications: heart failure following pneumonia. The immediate cause of death on his death certificate was cardiac arrest with respiratory failure. He was survived by his children Helena, Lola, Sidonie, Milo and his third wife, Trisha.

## Filmography
### Film

Film :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1959 | Food for a Blush | Bit part | Short film Uncredited |
| 1972 | Savage Messiah | Agitator | Uncredited |
| 1978 | The Life Story of Baal | Piller | |
| 1978 | The Thirty Nine Steps | McLean | |
| 1979 | Porridge | Collinson | Released in the United States as Doing Time |
| 1980 | Rough Cut | Postman | |
| 1985 | National Lampoon's European Vacation | English Motorist | |
| 1988 | Dead End City | Gang Member | |
| 2008 | Chemical Wedding | Symonds | Final film role |

### Television

Television :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1966 | Festival | — | Writer Series 7, episode 5: "Westbrook's Man/Ligging About" (Segment: "Ligging About") |
| 1968-1969 | Horne A'Plenty | Guest | 2 episodes |
| 1969 | The World of Beachcomber | | 6 episodes |
| 1969 | Canada Goose | | TV movie |
| 1970 | Frost on Sunday | — | Writer - 9 episodes |
| 1972 | His and Hers | Melvyn | Series 2, episode 6: "Telephone" |
| 1972 | Scoop | Pigge | 3 episodes |
| 1972-1973 | But Seriously, It's Sheila Hancock | Various | 2 episodes Writer - 5 episodes |
| 1973 | Our Kid | Householder | Episode 6: "The Last of the All-Rounders" |
| 1973 | The Protectors | Bank Teller | Series 2, episode 7: "Goodbye George" |
| 1973 | Grubstreet | Various | 6 episodes |
| 1974 | You'll Never Walk Alone | Third Man | TV movie |
| 1974 | No Strings | 2nd Workman | Episode 2: "Grow and Let Grow" |
| 1974 | Crown Court | Frederick Barker | Season 3, episode 148: "Forgive-Me-Not: Part 1" |
| 1974-1977 | Porridge | Mr. Collinson | 4 episodes |
| 1975 | Churchill's People | 1st Guest | Episode 12: "A Wilderness of Roses" |
| 1975 | The Good Life | Telephone Engineer | Series 1, episode 3: "The Weaker Sex?" |
| 1975 | Dawson's Weekly | Dr. Lang | Episode 1: "Les Miserables" |
| 1975 | The Nearly Man | Gordon | Episode 5: "Confrontation: July 1975" |
| 1975-1978 | Wodehouse Playhouse | Hotel Manager / Studio Guide / First Cop | 3 episodes |
| 1976 | One-Upmanship | | 3 episodes |
| 1976 | Victorian Scandals | Samuel James | Episode 4: "A Pitcher of Snakes" |
| 1976-1979 | Dave Allen at Large | Various | 8 episodes |
| 1977 | The Other One | Security Guard | Episode 1 |
| 1977-1985 | The Two Ronnies | Writer - 1 episodes | 3 episodes |
| 1978 | Going Straight | Mr. Collinson | Episode 1: "Going Home" |
| 1978 | Life at Stake | Pierre Laporte | Episode 8: "James Cross Will Be Executed" |
| 1978 | A Soft Touch | Harvey Hornbeam | Episode 1: "Now Take my Wife" |
| 1978 | BBC2 Play of the Week | William | Series 2, episode 7: "Return Fare" |
| 1978 | Bernie | | Episode #1.4 |
| 1978-1980 | Robin's Nest | Doctor | 2 episodes |
| 1979 | Bloomers | 1st Policeman | Episode 3: "The Contract" |
| 1979 | Suez 1956 | Henry Cabot Lodge | TV movie |
| 1980 | Tales of the Unexpected | Schaeffer | Series 2, episode 16: "The Man at the Top" |
| 1980 | The Enigma Files | John Smith | Episode 10: "Why Don't They Tell You These Things?" |
| 1980 | Play for Today | Bill Newsome | Series 11, episode 1: "Pasmore" |
| 1981 | Wolcott | Chief Supt. Cosgrave | 3 episodes |
| 1981 | Never the Twain | Det. Sgt. Talbot | Series 1, episode 4: "A Matched Pair" |
| 1981 | Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years | Butler at Chartwell | Miniseries 7 episodes |
| 1981 | Angels | Mr. Howard | 2 episodes |
| 1981-1984 | Kelly Monteith | | 2 episodes |
| 1982 | Secombe with Music | — | Writer - 1 episode |
| 1982 | Nancy Astor | Lee | 3 episodes |
| 1982 | The Brack Report | Eric Fulton | 2 episodes - 1 uncredited |
| 1982 | Strangers | Detective Inspector O'Rourke | Series 5, episode 1: "A Much Underestimated Man" |
| 1982 | Squadron | Air Commodore Grant | Episode 8: "Operation Hawk" |
| 1983 | The Kenny Everett Television Show | Various | Episode #2.3 |
| 1983 | Blackadder | Herbert, Archbishop of Canterbury | Series 1, episode 3: "The Archbishop" |
| 1983 | R.H.I.N.O.; Really Here in Name Only | Barry Clarke | TV series |
| 1983 | Potter | The Drunk | Episode #3.6 |
| 1983 | Chessgame | Jack Soutar | Episode 1: "The Alamut Ambush" |
| 1984-1986 | Comrade Dad | Man in Queue | 2 episodes |
| 1985 | Mixed Doubles | Estate Agent | Series 1, episode 6: "Such Sweet Sorrow" |
| 1985 | Terry and June | Newsreader | Series 8, episode 11: "Mistaken Identity" |
| 1986 | C.A.T.S. Eyes | Les | Series 2, episode 1: "One Away" |
| 1986 | The Fourth Floor | Purvis | Miniseries 3 episodes |
| 1986 | Slinger's Day | Man | Series 1, episode 1: "New Management" |
| 1986 | Only Fools and Horses | Man in Market | Series 5, episode 7: "A Royal Flush" |
| 1986 | The Alamut Ambush | Jack Soutar | First two episodes of Chessgame edited as a TV movie |
| 1986-1988 | All in Good Faith | Supermarket Manager / Policeman | 2 episodes |
| 1986-1990 | The Two of Us | Colin Phillips | 13 episodes |
| 1987-1989 | The Little and Large Show | Various | 2 episodes |
| 1988 | Carrott Confidential | | Episode #2.1 |
| 1990 | Mr. Bean | The Customer | Episode 2: "The Return of Mr. Bean" |
| 1991 | EastEnders | Mr. Wallace | 2 episodes |
| 1993 | Frank Stubbs Promotes | Featherstone | Series 1, episode 7: "Book" |
| 1994 | Law and Disorder | Edward Powell | Episode 3: "A Night to Remember" |
| 1996 | The Brittas Empire | Man in Pool | Series 6, episode 6: "Mr. Brittas Falls in Love" |
| 1996 | The Legacy of Reginald Perrin | Higgins | Episode 1 Final television appearance |