{{Short description|English actor and comedian (1943–2022)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2026}} {{Use British English|date=August 2016}} {{Infobox person | name = Gary Waldhorn | image = | image_size = | caption = | birth_name = Gary Peter Waldhorn | birth_date = {{birth date|1943|07|03|df=y}} | birth_place = Paddington, London, England | death_date = {{death date and age|2022|01|10|1943|07|03|df=y}} | death_place = | spouse = {{marriage|Christie Dickason|2 April 1967}} | children = 1 | occupation = Actor | years_active = 1969–2013 | known_for = ''Vicar of Dibley''<br>''Brush Strokes'' }}
'''Gary Peter Waldhorn'''<ref>{{cite web | title=Actor Gary Waldhorn, who starred in Vicar of Dibley, has died | website=The Sydney Morning Herald | date=13 January 2022 | url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/actor-gary-waldhorn-who-starred-in-vicar-of-dibley-has-died-20220113-p59nws.html | access-date=20 November 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Obituary: Gary Waldhorn, Shakespearean actor who gained fame with role in 'The Vicar of Dibley' | website=independent | date=16 January 2022 | url=https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/obituary-gary-waldhorn-shakespearean-actor-who-who-gained-fame-with-role-in-the-vicar-of-dibley-41243733.html | access-date=20 November 2022}}</ref> (3 July 1943 – 10 January 2022) was an English actor and comedian known for his roles in British television and theatre. He is particularly remembered for his work in the main casts of several British sitcoms. Notable roles and characters played by him included Councillor David Horton in ''The Vicar of Dibley'' and Lionel Bainbridge in ''Brush Strokes''.
==Early life== Waldhorn was born in London on 3 July 1943 to Liselotte ({{née}} Popper) and Siegfried Waldhorn.<ref name="Scotsman obit">{{cite news|title='We will miss him terribly': Vicar of Dibley star Gary Waldhorn dies age 78|url=https://www.scotsman.com/read-this/we-will-miss-him-terribly-vicar-of-dibley-star-gary-waldhorn-dies-age-78-3523848|first=Rhona|last=Shennan|date=12 January 2022|access-date=12 January 2022|newspaper=The Scotsman|location=Edinburgh}}</ref> His parents were Austrian Jews.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lister |first1=David |title=Shylock, unacceptable face of Shakespeare?|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/shylock-unacceptable-face-of-shakespeare-david-lister-reports-on-two-companies-who-have-felt-impelled-to-alter-the-merchant-of-venice-1370735.html |access-date=11 January 2022 |work=The Independent |date=16 April 1994}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Schafer|first=Elizabeth|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9QYggKPVOd4C&dq=%22Gary+Waldhorn,+who+is+Jewish+and+whose+family+escaped+from+Austria%22&pg=PA120|title=Ms-Directing Shakespeare: Women Direct Shakespeare|date=19 May 2000|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-0-312-22746-3|pages=120|language=en}}</ref> He studied acting at the Yale School of Drama (graduated 1967) where he notably performed in new works written by playwright Lillian Hellman in 1966.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/conversationswit00hell|url-access=registration|quote=Gary Waldhorn.|title=Conversations with Lillian Hellman|author=Lillian Hellman|author-link=Lillian Hellman|page=[https://archive.org/details/conversationswit00hell/page/73 73]|year=1986|publisher=University Press of Mississippi}}</ref> While at Yale he met fellow student Christie Dickason, daughter of Indiana University academic David Howard Dickason, who became his wife and an active theatre director and choreographer in London and later a published playwright and novelist.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/bfc/view?docId=B07-1975&chunk.id=d1e95&toc.id=&brand=bfc|title=Memorial Resolution On The Death Of David Howard Dickason|author=Merritt Lawlis and Willis P. Porter|work=Indiana University Bloomington Faculty Council Circular|date=22 October 1974}}</ref>
Waldhorn is known for his work in West End theatre productions and for his collaborations with the Royal Shakespeare Company. In 1972 he toured Australia and New Zealand in Harry M. Miller's production of ''Sleuth'' playing opposite Richard Todd.<ref>{{cite book|title=In Camera: An Autobiography Continued|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cxgrAAAAMAAJ&q=%22gary+waldhorn%22+australia+new+zealand|publisher=Hutchinson|year=1989|last=Todd|first=Richard|page=318|isbn=9780091735340}}</ref><ref name="guide">{{cite web|url=https://officiallondontheatre.com/news/gary-waldhorn-71448/|title=The Big Interview: Gary Waldhorn|date=22 March 2004|publisher=OfficialLondonTheatre.com|access-date=31 October 2017}}</ref>
==Career== Apart from appearing in ''The Vicar of Dibley'', Waldhorn also made many television appearances from the 1970s including ''Softly, Softly'', ''The Sweeney'', ''Space: 1999'', ''The New Avengers'', ''Brideshead Revisited'', ''The Professionals'', ''Minder'', ''Robin of Sherwood'', ''Rumpole of the Bailey'', ''The Bill'', ''Heartbeat'', ''Gallowglass'' and ''Lovejoy''. He also played Lionel Bainbridge in the first three series of ''Brush Strokes'' before the character was written out, and Richard Beamish in the first series of ''All at No 20''.<ref name=guide/>
He also starred as Ralph Apsoland in the 1993 miniseries ''Gallowglass''.<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes">{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/gary_waldhorn|title=Gary Waldhorn|website=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=11 January 2022}}</ref> His other notable television credits include several recurring roles: Caulaincourt in the mini-series ''Napoleon and Love'',<ref name=Mattei/> Greville in ''The Top Secret Life of Edgar Briggs'', Henry Channon in ''Edward & Mrs. Simpson'',<ref name=Morris>{{cite news|title=Gary Waldhorn – The Vicar of Dibley star – dies, aged 78|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/comedy/gary-waldhorn-dead-vicar-of-dibley-newsupdate/|first=Lauren|last=Morris|date=11 January 2022|access-date=11 January 2022|magazine=Radio Times}}</ref> Teddy Lupus in ''Enemy at the Door'',<ref name="TVG Filmography">{{cite web|title=Gary Waldhorn List of Movies and TV Shows|url=https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/gary-waldhorn/credits/3000427106/|website=TV Guide|access-date=11 January 2022}}</ref> John Fearnley in ''Moving'', Gordon Lochhead in ''Campaign'',<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes"/> Cllr. Alec Radcliffe in ''The Chief'',<ref name="Scotsman obit"/> Sergeant Bob Pulver in ''Lovejoy'',<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes"/> and Cmdre. Forrest in ''Longitude''.<ref name=BFI/> His film credits include the roles of Harlich in ''Zeppelin'', Max in ''Sir Henry at Rawlinson End'',<ref name=BFI/> Hauptmann Rainer Mueller in ''Escape to Victory'',<ref name="TVG Filmography"/> and Tornado in ''The Chain''.<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes"/> On stage he was particularly active with the Royal Shakespeare Company.<ref name="Scotsman obit"/><ref name=Stolworthy>{{cite news|title=Gary Waldhorn death: Vicar of Dibley actor who played councillor David Horton dies, aged 78|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/gary-waldhorn-death-vicar-dibley-age-cause-b1991283.html|first=Jacob|last=Stolworthy|date=12 January 2022|access-date=12 January 2022|newspaper=The Independent|location=London}}</ref>
==Personal life and death== Waldhorn was a patron of Malawi Dream, a British registered charity working to help the people of Malawi in Africa.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.malawidream.com/patron.htm | title = Our patron | access-date = 11 February 2010 | publisher = Malawi Dream | archive-date = 14 July 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110714023611/http://www.malawidream.com/patron.htm | url-status = dead }}</ref>
He married Christie Dickason on 2 April 1967; the marriage produced one child.<ref name="Scotsman obit"/>
Waldhorn died on 10 January 2022, aged 78.<ref>{{cite news |editor1-last=Evans |editor1-first=Chris |editor-link=Chris Evans (journalist)| title=Obituary - Gary Waldhorn |work=The Daily Telegraph |issue=51,838 |date=14 January 2022 |page=29|issn=0307-1235}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Vicar of Dibley actor Gary Waldhorn dies |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-59950298 |access-date=11 January 2022 |publisher=BBC News |date=11 January 2022}}</ref><ref name="GuardianObit">{{cite news |last1=Chao-Fong |first1=Léonie |title=Vicar of Dibley actor Gary Waldhorn dies aged 78 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/jan/11/vicar-of-dibley-actor-gary-waldhorn-dies-aged-78 |access-date=13 January 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=11 January 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
===Tributes=== In 2025, Waldhorn appeared on a British postage stamp issued as part of a special set by Royal Mail, which commemorated the series ''The Vicar of Dibley''.<ref>https://shop.royalmail.com/special-stamp-issues/the-vicar-of-dibley/the-vicar-of-dibley-stamp-set</ref>
==Selected filmography== ===Television=== {| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%" |- align="top" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Reference |- | 1969 | ''Take Three Girls'' | Roger | 1 episode |- | 1970–1974 | ''Softly, Softly: Taskforce'' | Bruton/James/Watson | 3 episodes | <ref name=Morris/> |- | 1970 | ''Armchair Theatre'' | TV reporter | 1 episode |- | 1971 | ''Scene'' | Mr. Collett | 1 episode |- | rowspan="2"| 1972 | ''The Lotus Eaters'' | Nat | 1 episode |- | ''Man at the Top'' | Television Instructor | 1 episode |- | rowspan="2"| 1973 | ''Jack the Ripper'' | William H. Druitt | 1 episode |- | ''Crown Court'' | Trevor Sanderson | 1 episode |- | rowspan="2"| 1974 | ''Napoleon and Love'' | Caulaincourt | 2 episodes | <ref name=Mattei>{{cite book|title=Napoléon & le cinéma: un siècle d'images|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MmdZAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Gary+Waldhorn%22+%22Napoleon+and+Love%22|publisher=Editions Alain Piazzola|year=1998|last=Mattei|first=Jean-Pierre|isbn=9782907161329}} {{in lang|fr}}</ref> |- |- | ''The Top Secret Life of Edgar Briggs'' | Greville | 2 episodes |- | rowspan="3"| 1975 | ''Doctor on the Go'' | Mike Sherman | 1 episode |- | ''Whodunnit?'' | Sergeant Channing | 1 episode |- | ''The Sweeney'' | Alan Fowler | 1 episode |- | rowspan="4"| 1976 | ''Space: 1999'' | Winters | 1 episode |- | ''Hadleigh'' | Werner Von Hermsdorff | 1 episode | <ref name=BFI>{{cite web|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba0a7f20c|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170624131033/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba0a7f20c|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 June 2017|title=Gary Waldhorn|publisher=British Film Institute|access-date=11 January 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=A for Andromeda to Zoo Time: Television Holdings of the National Film and Television Archive, 1936–1979|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zWdZAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Gary+Waldhorn%22+Hadleigh|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic|year=1994|page=51|isbn=9780851704203}}</ref> |- | ''Maggie and Her'' | Roger | 1 episode |- | ''The New Avengers'' | Roach | 1 episode |- | 1977 | ''Seven Faces of Women'' | Harry | 1 episode |- | rowspan="4"| 1978 | ''Enemy at the Door'' | Teddy Lupus | 2 episodes | <ref name="TVG Filmography"/> |- | ''The Professionals'' | Turner | 1 episode |- | ''Return of the Saint'' | Anonymous | 1 episode |- | ''Edward & Mrs. Simpson'' | Chips Channon | 3 episodes | <ref name=Morris/> |- | rowspan="3"| 1980 | ''A Sharp Intake of Breath'' | Denis | 1 episode |- | ''The Gentle Touch'' | Tom Scott | 1 episode |- | ''Hammer House of Horror'' | Dr. Bacharach | 1 episode |- | rowspan="3"| 1981 | ''ITV Playhouse'' | Curtis Howard | 1 episode |- | ''The Spoils of War'' | Neville Bryant | 1 episode |- | ''Brideshead Revisited'' | Major Wilson | 1 episode |- | rowspan="4"| 1982 | ''Minder'' | Alex Rowan | 1 episode |- | ''Alexa'' | Robert | 2 episodes |- | ''Harry's Game'' | Commissioner of Police | 1 episode |- | ''Outside Edge'' | Dennis | Television film |- | rowspan="3"| 1983 | ''Perfect Shadows'' | Hank | Television film |- | ''All for Love'' | Michael Pallister | 1 episode |- | ''The Winner'' | Bill Stafford | Television film |- | rowspan="4"| 1984 | ''Robin of Sherwood'' | Hubert Walter | 1 episode |- | ''Squaring the Circle'' | Jagielski | Television film |- | ''Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense'' | Inspector Crane | 1 episode |- | ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' | Smithers | 1 episode |- | rowspan="4"| 1985 | ''Moving'' | John Fearnley | 2 episodes |- | ''Mr. Palfrey of Westminster'' | Garforth | 1 episode |- | ''Drummonds'' | Mr. Steiner | 1 episode |- | ''Mrs. Capper' Birthday'' | Jack | Television film |- | rowspan="3"| 1986 | All at No 20 | Richard Beamish | 6 episodes |- | ''Love and Marriage'' | Geoffrey Sherratt | 1 episode |- | Screen Two | Boris/Deferre | 2 episodes |- | 1986–1991 | ''Brush Strokes'' | Lionel Bainbridge | 26 episodes |- | 1987 | ''After Pilkington'' | Boris | 1 episode |- | 1988 | ''Campaign'' | Gordon Lochhead | 6 episodes |- | rowspan="2"| 1989 | ''ScreenPlay'' | Dr. Buckman | 1 episode |- | ''The Return of Shelley'' | Sir Clive Bastin | 1 episode |- | rowspan="2"| 1990 | ''Haggard'' | The Preacher | 1 episode |- | ''Missing Persons'' | Bernard Shawcross | Television film |- | rowspan="3"| 1991 | ''The Chief'' | Cllr. Alec Radcliffe | 4 episodes |- | ''Titmuss Regained'' | Carus Agnew, QC | 1 episode |- | ''Rumpole of the Bailey'' | Dr. Cogger | 1 episode |- | rowspan="2"| 1993 | ''Gallowglass'' | Ralph Apsoland | 3 episodes |- | ''Comedy Playhouse'' | Mr. Hogson | 1 episode |- | 1993–1994 | Lovejoy | Detective Sergeant Bob Pulver | 3 episodes |- | 1994–2007 | ''The Vicar of Dibley'' | David Horton | 20 episodes | <ref name="Rotten Tomatoes"/><ref name="TVG Filmography"/> |- | 1996 | ''Paul Merton in Galton and Simpson's...'' | Doctor/Company Director | 2 episodes |- | 1996–1998 | ''French and Saunders'' | Bruce Ismay/Gary | 2 episodes |- | 1996 | ''Heartbeat'' | Joss Harrop | 1 episode |- | rowspan="2"| 1998 | ''The Bill'' | Kenny Roberts | 1 episode |- | ''Loved by You'' | Harold Conway | 1 episode |- | 2000 | ''Longitude'' | Commodore Forrest | Television film |- | 2008 | ''Hotel Babylon'' | Donald Stern | 1 episode |- |}
===Films=== * ''Zeppelin'' (1971) – Harlich<ref name="BFI" /> * ''Hanover Street'' (1979) – 2nd German Clerk<ref>{{cite web |title="Hanover Street" (1979) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6bdba5de |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309125805/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6bdba5de/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 March 2016 |website=British Film Institute |access-date=11 January 2022 |language=en}}</ref> * ''Dirty Money'' (1979) – Ministry Man<ref>{{cite web |title=Dirty Money (1988) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b70c4234f |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816185842/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b70c4234f |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 August 2017 |website=British Film Institute |access-date=11 January 2022 |language=en}}</ref> * ''Sir Henry at Rawlinson End'' (1980) – Max<ref>{{cite web |title=Sir Henry at Rawlinson End (1980) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6bf37864 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160811130638/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6bf37864 |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 August 2016 |website=British Film Institute |access-date=11 January 2022 |language=en}}</ref> * ''Escape to Victory'' (1981) – Hauptmann Rainer Mueller<ref name=guide/> * ''The Chain'' (1984) – Tornado<ref>{{cite web |title=The Chain (1984) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b69b5a834 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161024141133/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b69b5a834 |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 October 2016 |website=British Film Institute |access-date=11 January 2022}}</ref>
===Radio=== * "The Carrara Cherub", BBC Radio 4, ''Saturday Night Theatre'', 21 August 1982 – Ray Damon (Private Detective)<ref>{{cite web |title=Saturday-Night Theatre: The Carrara Cherub |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/211380b527a94fc09b1569bde7d5c297 |website=BBC Genome |date=21 August 1982 |access-date=13 January 2022}}</ref> * ''An Actor's Life For Me'', BBC Radio 2, 20 January 1989–9 February 1993, 19 episodes – Desmond Shaw * ''Elastic Planet'', BBC Radio 4, 17 March 1995, 1 episode – Ensemble Actor * ''Tomorrow, Today!'', BBC Radio 4, 28 January–3 March 2008, 3 episodes – Sir Angus McNairn
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|0907161|name=Gary Waldhorn}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20170624131033/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba0a7f20c Gary Waldhorn] at the British Film Institute{{better source needed|reason=Help request: a live link can be searched for at https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/search/expert - if available, replace the archive URL with the live link. Or if none found, remove this 'better source needed' template. | date=October 2023}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Waldhorn, Gary}} Category:1943 births Category:2022 deaths Category:20th-century English male actors Category:21st-century English male actors Category:English male film actors Category:English male stage actors Category:English male television actors Category:Royal Shakespeare Company members Category:David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University alumni Category:English people of Austrian-Jewish descent Category:Male actors from London Category:People from Paddington Category:Jewish English male actors Category:20th-century English Jews Category:21st-century British Jews Category:English male comedians Category:Comedians from the City of Westminster Category:Jewish English comedians Category:Actors from the City of Westminster Category:Jewish male comedians