I was very sad to learn of the recent passing of Peter Vaughan (4.4.1923 - 6.12.2016), one of the most recognisable faces in genre TV in a career that spanned more than sixty years. Pigeonholed early on as authoritarian figures and villains, Vaughan would go on to carve out a place for himself as a renowned and versatile character actor across all genres.
Born Peter Ewart Ohm in Shropshire to Eva, a nurse, and Max, an Austrian immigrant, Peter would describe his parents’ marriage as an unhappy one, and his own childhood as lonely. In his autobiography he suggests this background left him emotionally repressed and perhaps this contributed to his often stoic screen persona.
After school, the young Vaughan joined Wolverhampton Repertory Theatre, beginning a lifelong career on the stage. His early work was interrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War, and Peter saw service as an officer in Normandy and Belgium before transferring East and witnessing the liberation of Allied prisoners from the horrifying conditions of Singapore’s Changi jail. In later years Vaughan would summerize his wartime experiences as ‘terrifying’.
Back in Britain, Vaughan threw himself back into the theatre and married up-and-coming actress Billie Whitelaw in 1952. Their marriage was not a successful one; her burgeoning success bred a degree of resentment in Vaughan, who was to some degree floundering - his experiences overseas and dawdling career helped to deepen a rift that was cemented by infidelity. In later years he would mellow considerably and embrace his position as a character actor; the young Vaughan, however, was desperate for a leading role.
In 1964 Peter got his break, headlining the cast of a minor crime drama, Smokescreen. The film was one of a number of disposable B-pictures churned out in the UK in the early 60’s, but Vaughan’s turn as an insurance investigator won him some critical notice. In 1967 he starred opposite Frank Sinatra in The Naked Runner, but this time critics were less kind - Vaughan was accused of overacting and the film was poorly received. For the majority of his career from that point on, Vaughan would play only supporting roles on film. He was, however, about to begin perhaps the richest part of his career - that of character actor extraordinaire on British television.
Over the next fifty years, Peter Vaughan became one of the most reliable and familiar faces in genre TV, turning up in almost every major series and displaying an impressive range. He was a vengeful victim of blackmail on Man In A Suitcase (Essay In Evil, 1967), a dual role as both victim and villain in Randall And Hopkirk (Deceased) (Never Trust A Ghost, 1969), disturbed psychiatrist Jaeger in The Avengers (My Wildest Dream, 1969) and a wonderfully deranged antihero Horace Dorrington in two very atypical episodes of The Rivals Of Sherlock Holmes (The Affair Of The Avalanche Bicycle & Tyre Co. Ltd. and The Case Of The Mirror Of Portugal, both 1971). Add to this guest spots in the likes of Strange Report, The Sweeney, The Saint, Adam Adamant Lives! and a sadly lost appearance on Public Eye, by the end of the 1960’s Vaughan was an almost ubiquitous figure on British television.
His first major lead on tv came in 1969, when Peter was cast as Detective Chief Superintendent John Cradock in The Gold Robbers, a thirteen episode crime drama from LWT. The high octane, gritty series boasted an ensemble cast of great character actors, with Vaughan looming large over them all. Cradock is in many ways the archetypal Vaughan character - a hard, determined, almost obsessive man driven to hunt down every participant in a violent bullion robbery. His drive has cost him his marriage and his relationship with his son, but Vaughan does a lot to make Cradock more than just a hard boiled detective cliche. As the series progresses and more and more lives are destroyed, Vaughan subtly introduces elements of weariness and doubt to his performance. The decidedly downbeat ending sees Cradock as thoroughly punished as the men he’s been hunting, his career and his personal life in tatters. Even so, Vaughan never makes him exactly sympathetic - retaining an iron stature, the viewer is left to feel that perhaps Cradock hasnt learnt a thing from his ordeal and, given his time again, wouldn’t do anything differently.
In later decades Vaughan returned to the cinema, making notable appearances in the likes of Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits (1981) and Brazil (1985) and a critically acclaimed performance in The Remains Of The Day (1993). On television he continued to provide sterling performances, as the lead in Fox (1980), and an incredible turn as Paxton in the BBC’s 1972 Ghost Story For Christmas, A Warning To The Curious. He was no stranger to comedy - a defining role of his career was as crime tsar ‘Genial’ Harry Grout in sitcom Porridge; Vaughan became intrinsically linked with the series, despite appearing in only three episodes.
Between screen appearances, Vaughan maintained an impressive stage presence; he originated the role of Ed in Joe Orton’s seminal Entertaining Mr Sloane and spent some time in a company based at the Royal Exchange in Manchester, headed by Robert Lindsay - the two had become friends whilst working together on another sitcom, Citizen Smith.
Peter and Billie divorced in 1966 and that same year he would marry actor Lillias Walker; the union would last the rest of his life. The two lived in Spain for some years before returning to West Sussex. The older Vaughan now appreciated the life of a character actor and the volume of work it allowed him - more than once he would describe himself in interviews as having been ‘lucky, lucky, lucky’. His later work would include some standout roles, including an acclaimed performance in Our Friends In The North. In the new millenium, his sight beginning to fail, he was cast as Maester Aemon Targaryen in monster hit Game Of Thrones, bringing him a whole new audience of fans.
Remembered by his many friends and colleagues (he counted Donald Pleasance and Dudley Sutton amongst his closest friends) as a conssumate professional and a loyal companion, Vaughan leaves an acting legacy that would be the envy of any actor. He is survived by his wife Lillias, children David, Alexandra and Victoria and four grandchildren.
