One of my all time favourite films is ‘All the President’s Men’. This is flawless film with its two main actors, Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman, giving performances that go some way to explaining their longevity in the acting world. However, what also helps lift this film above the norm is the casting of some of the greatest character actors of the 50s, 60s and 70s. The names of these actors will probably not be known to many people and more probable most people will know the faces but not the names. This is a shame as they deserve as much kudos as the main actors. The character actors I refer to are, Martin Balsom, Jack Warden, Hal Holbrook, Jason Robards, Ned Beatty and Jane Alexander. If these names don’t mean anything to you then Google them.
So, what point am I trying to make? Well, I believe that many of the character actors who appeared in Morse helped to lift the Morse series above the wealth of TV detective dramas that populated the airwaves at the same time. Many of the characters even went as far as stealing the scenes they appeared in with John Thaw and Kevin Whately, (Fabia Drake in ‘Last Bus to Woodstock’ to name but one).
So, I have decided to make this video not only as a tribute to those character actors but as a video obituary to those actors who have died since the making of the Morse series. There has been almost eighty actors who have died since the Morse series began so I have decided to split the tribute/obituary into two parts. I hope you enjoy the video and maybe agree with me that these and other character actors helped to make Morse one of TVs greatest shows.