The actor Bill Simpson was born as William Nicholson Simpson on September 11th 1934 in Ayrshire.
Most famous for his portrayal of Dr Finlay, Simpson was originally an announcer on the BBC before switching channels and being plucked from reading the news with Scottish ITV in Glasgow to start his acting career, his only film role I could find was an uncredited part in The 39 Steps, he did however appear in several TV movies including Green Cars Go East, The Highlander and Mother of Men all in the 50’s.
TV roles for Simpson though are aplenty, Z Cars, The Master of Ballantrae, Scotch on the Rocks, The Mackinnons and The Good Companions are just s few in a career spanning four decades, from the 50’s to the 80’s.
It is Dr Finlay that some of you will remember him from, Bill Simpson hailed from the wee fishing village of Dunure, like Dr Finlay, he was an ex-farmer and the fictional village of Tannochbrae could have passed as a fair replica of his home, in fact the prodigal son returned to Dunure to film an episode in the series. The show made stars of the dapper Bill Simpson, veteran actor Andrew Cruickshank and Barbara Mullen. Dr. Finlay’s Casebook ran for eight seasons over 9 years the final episode, “The Burgess Ticket”, being shown on 3 January 1971, Simpson also took the role for 104 audio episodes broadcast on Radio 4.
After being plagued with heart problems his roles thinned out in the 80’s and he passed away at his house in Mauchline in December 1986 from a bronchopneumonia