back to article Edward Woodward dies at 79

Brit thesp Edward Woodward has died at the age of 79, the BBC reports. The actor, who'll be fondly remembered for making an ill-advised 1973 visit to Summerisle, passed away at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro as the result of "various illnesses including pneumonia". Confirming his death, Woodward's agent Janet Glass said …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I'm starting a sweep on how many

    "will he be cremated in a wicker man?" comments there will be.

  2. Winkypop Silver badge
    Unhappy

    Awwww

    Now THAT is sad.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Re:I'm starting a sweep on how many

    I'm betting on just the one, yours.

  4. thefutureboy
    Joke

    EW

    Why does Edward Woodward have so many Ds in his name?

    Cos if he didn't he'd be Ewar Woowar...

    I loved The Equalizer when I was younger. Always wanted one of those long overcoats...

  5. Steve Evans
    Unhappy

    RIP

    RIP Ed and three woods.

  6. King Jack

    His name was Callan.

    I fondly remember the swinging light bulb in the opening credits. I remember getting killed for 'playing' callan and smashing the lights. Such was childhood.

    RIP Edward Woodward.

  7. TRT Silver badge
    Unhappy

    Now that is sad

    What a wonderful gentleman actor.

    And poor, poor Betty.

  8. sT0rNG b4R3 duRiD
    Flame

    RIP

    /salute

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Unhappy

    Hot fuzz

    Nuff said.

  10. Eithafwr
    Joke

    What do you call a man ...

    ... with a wooden head? - Edward

    ... with two wooden heads? Edward Wood

    .... with three wooden heads? Edward Woodward

    ... I'll get my coat.

  11. Andrew Moore
    Coat

    and star of my favourite joke:

    "Why does Edward Woodward have so many D's in his name?"

    "Because otherwise he would be known as E-War Woo-War"

  12. Graham Marsden

    You didn't mention Callan...

    ... one of the best UK dramas from the 1970s, where Woodward played the eponymous Callan who worked for "The Section", a seedy undercover Government intelligence department who would keep an eye on "undesirable elements" and, if necessary, blackmail, bankrupt or assassinate them.

    Woodward was excellent in that role for the way he played Callan as all too human, with doubts and ethical questions about what he was doing, even while he was compelled to do his unpleasant duty.

  13. Alex 32
    Unhappy

    Real Shame

    Rest easy, Sir :-(

  14. OzBob
    Joke

    His best line?

    "We'll be up to our balls in jugglers!"

  15. Rob
    Unhappy

    Tragic loss...

    ... to the entertainment industry.

    A quality actor :(

  16. Flugal

    Bye

    Goodbye Ewar.

    Woowar.

  17. TimNevins
    Unhappy

    Codname Kyril anyone?

    Anyone else remember the Codename Kyril minseries?

    Absolute masterpiece that (AFAIK) has not been repeated.

    RIP Edward. You and your son's contribution B5 will not be forgotten. JMS is probably on his way....

  18. OldBiddie

    Sad news

    But maybe this will mean the series 2, 3 & 4 of the Equalizer will now make it to DVD

  19. Dave Harris
    Dead Vulture

    RIP Ewar Woowar

    @Eithafwr

    And what do you call a man with four wooden heads?

    I don't know, but Edward Woodward would

    Just this weekend, we were watching Hot Fuzz, and I was trying to explain to my missus my joy at seeing Mr Woowar as a torch-and-pitchfork wielder (being from Java, parts of of which would see a Wicker man as a cooking vessel, she is unfamiliar with his work).

    Sadly missed.

    Gravestone, deserved, for the living statue and crusty jugglers

  20. kissingthecarpet
    Black Helicopters

    Callan was excellent

    And anyone remember "1990" (the series, not the year) from 1977 on the Beeb. I loved that when it was on(I was 15 though). Had its prescient moments....

  21. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Repeat the Equalizer

    Perfect excuse to repeat it somewhere... ITV3 or BBC2 perhaps?

  22. Anonymous Coward
    Big Brother

    1990 - by Wilfred Greatorex (BBC, 1977-78)

    "British society has been taken over by bureaucracy. Freedom on all fronts is stifled by the government through bugging, rationing and the invidious presence of the public control department (PCD). Jim Kyle [Woodward], a journalist with the ‘free press’ treads the fine line between exposure of the truth and governmental propaganda - whilst covertly helping to smuggle scientists and doctors abroad, emigration having been all but outlawed."

  23. MinionZero
    Unhappy

    That is very sad news.

    I remember the concern for his health back when he had his first heart attack (if I remember correctly) back when he was in The Equalizer. Its good he managed to go on for so many more years but I'm sorry for his family now. I was such a fan of The Equalizer and his performance especially at the end of The Wicker Man was very memorable. He was also very good in Hot fuzz.

    RIP Edward Woodward AKA The Equalizer.

  24. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Strange coincidence

    I was telling my wife about the Callan series a couple of nights ago. She'd asked what TV I particularly remembered from growing up, and one thing that had really stuck in my mind was a rerun of the Callan series in the 1980's. The swinging light bulb in the credits and the gritty noir feel were really memorable. Another thing that stuck in my mind was the great theme music to The Equalizer, and they way Woodward's character was immensely cool - kind of like the Dad or Grandad you'd want on your side if you ever got into bother!

  25. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I could never watch The Equalizer...

    ...too graphic for me.

  26. joe90

    Repeat tribute!

    Agreed - repeat Callan & The Equaliser!

    (He was also good in La Femme Nikita!)

  27. Anonymous Coward
    Boffin

    Don't tell Count Aurthur Strong

    He'll need a glass of water and a sit-down.

  28. Vulch
    Big Brother

    @kissingthecarpet

    Identity cards, economic hardship and electronic surveillance. Could never really happen here...

    Oh, hang on...

    "It's just a television drama, not a how-to guide".

  29. Nigel Callaghan
    Unhappy

    Tan ar y Comin?

    And who could forget him in 'Tan ar y Comin/Fire on the Common' - filmed twice - once in Welsh

    and once in English (i.e. not dubbed) and he had to learn his Welsh lines phonetically 'cos he didn't speak a word of the language of heaven. Not brilliant, but a damn good try! Heddwch i'w lwch...

  30. Mothballs
    Flame

    Cremation?

    Farewell, Edward Firewood.

  31. Jerome 0

    Re: Repeat the Equalizer

    "Perfect excuse to repeat it somewhere... ITV3 or BBC2 perhaps?"

    Or maybe prime time ITV, since it's better than the crap they've been showing in the last decade or two.

  32. Arctic fox

    E.W.

    Sorry chaps (those of you who are not old enough) - he was Callan, the man. Pure and simple. Nothing more to say.

  33. Michael Fremlins

    @EW

    What do you call a man with a piece of wood on his head? Edward.

    What do you call a man with two pieces of wood on his head? Edward Wood.

    What do you call a man with three pieces of wood on his head? Edward Woodward.

    What do you call a man with four pieces of wood on his head? I don't know, but Edward Woodward would.

    RIP.

  34. Chris Tierney
    Thumb Up

    RIP Edward Woodward

    One of my childhood memories was the equalizer. Nice guy.

  35. John Dougald McCallum
    Big Brother

    who needs a bleedin' title

    "The bleakly enduring vision of a bare light bulb swinging, a plaintively haunting theme tune, a man cursed with a conscience trapped in a remorseless, deadly occupation from which the only true escape is death, David Callan was a genuine television original. A brutal antidote to the over-hyped espionage antics of James Bond and 'The Man From Uncle.'' Quote from televisionheaven.co.uk Callan was first seen as a play in the great series of plays that was Armchair Theatre.and I thiunk this quote sums up our "hero"dosn't make friends easily.....and all his enemies are dead........

  36. Da Weezil

    Repeat please

    A repeat of Callan is long overdue too... I could almost smell "lonely" ..

    Another real Professional lost....

  37. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Callan remake..........

    This time with an energy-saving lightbulb

  38. Nordrick Framelhammer
    Unhappy

    RIP Mr Woodward

    Yet another great actor has died, reducing the quality of the pool to a much lower level of idiocy, banality and lack of greativity, which, alas, tends to reflect the idiocy, banality and lack of creativity of the movie and TV industry in general.

    Rest well, sir. You shall be sorely missed.

  39. Anonymous Coward
    Unhappy

    Tears

    I'm all sad again. Best wishes to family.

  40. Aaron Gilliland
    Coat

    Obligatory Noel Coward reference:

    Edward Woodward. Edward Woodward.

    Sounds like a fart in the bath.

  41. Wrenchy
    Linux

    Ughh :-(

    The Equalizer was one of my favorite shows....

    :-(~~~

    R.I.P Mr. Woodward

  42. d 25
    Pirate

    @MinionZero

    -qu'elle dommage/damage

    -seems EW dropped his 100 fag p.d. habit after his triple bypass at age 65...too little,too late

  43. goggyturk
    Dead Vulture

    One of the most under-rated films of all time...

    Breaker Morant.

    RIP.

  44. Secretgeek
    Dead Vulture

    Not only a quality actor.

    But by all accounts there's one less genuine gentleman in the world today.

    RIP.

  45. Stevie

    Bah!

    Lonely sez it wuz prob'ly that bleeder Toby Meirs wot dun 'im, and I agree.

    The nation must demand a manhunt for the psychotic Meirs so that he may be brought to long-deserved justice!

  46. Mr Larrington
    Coat

    Bah Encore!

    $DEITY has scored a Late Equalizer.

  47. Brett Weaver

    I remember...

    The Callan episodes where his death gets faked.. and then he came back. The pathos of Lonely being at the side of the grave..

    Brilliant. He was one of those very few number of actors where you will watch anything with him in it - simply because you know he is in it.

    I never knew how much of a fan I was till he died..

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