Brook Williams
Overview
- AKA Brookie
- Occupation Actor
- Birthname Brook Richard Williams
- Birthdate January 22, 1938
- Birthplace Chelsea, London, UK
- Education Stowe school and H.M. Tennant contract school
- Died April 29, 2005 (London, England, UK)
- Character Sergeant George Harrod
Biography
Brook Williams (born 1938) was a British stage and screen actor who worked steadily in London theatre and in a large number of films. The younger son of the celebrated actor–playwright Emlyn Williams and brother of novelist Alan Williams, he was educated at Stowe School. As a boy he befriended Richard Burton; in adulthood he became Burton’s personal assistant, adviser and frequent collaborator.
After service in the RAF, Williams joined repertory companies and made his West End debut in 1958. In 1960 he appeared with Sir Donald Sinden in Terence Rattigan’s short-lived musical version of French Without Tears (Joie de Vivre). He earned strong notices in his father’s classic The Corn Is Green (1964) and later toured South Africa in Peter Shaffer’s Five Finger Exercise.
On film he was a prolific character player, often in brief roles. He acted with Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor in The V.I.P.s and ultimately notched more than a hundred screen appearances, among them Hjältarna från Telemarken (1965), Syndernas förlåtelse (1978), Mannen som inte kunde dö (1978), Havets vargar (1980), and Wagner (1983)—Burton’s final film.
When Burton died in 1984, Williams read at the funeral in Switzerland. Broadcaster and writer Melvyn Bragg later remarked that Williams devoted himself unstintingly to his friend—an indication of the high regard in which Burton held him.
Williams married Liz Holloway; the marriage ended after ten years.
Selected films
- Avengers, The (TV-series) - 1961
- V.I.P.s, The - 1963
- Hot Enough for June - 1964
- Heroes of Telemark, The - 1965
- Plague of the Zombies, The - 1966
- Jokers, The - 1967
- Where Eagles Dare - 1969
- Anne of the Thousand Days - 1969
- Raging Moon - 1971
- Villain - 1971
- Raid on Rommel - 1971
- Hammersmith Is Out - 1972
- Rappresaglia - 1973
- Sutjeska - 1973
- Brief Encounter (TV) - 1974
- Wild Geese - 1978
- Medusa Touch, The - 1978
- Absolution - 1979
- North Sea Hijack - 1980
- Sea Wolves, The - 1980
- Wagner (TV) - 1983
- Testimony - 1987
- Pascali's Island - 1988
- England, My England - 1995
Curiosa
- He was a longtime friend of Richard Burton and he acted as Burton's personal assistant, adviser and collaborator for many years.
- Son of actor/writer Emlyn Williams.
- Younger brother of novelist Alan Williams.
- He was christened at Chelsea Old Church.
He played in many of Richard Burtons films
As a huge fan of WED, I was sorry to learn of the death of Brook Williams. I only learned of his death whilst browsing the imDb website today, prior to the showing of WED on BBC1 tonight (16/8/05). As he was still relatively young, I looked for more information on his death. My initial searches only showed that his passing was not widely reported. However, I did eventually find this obituary from the Guardian:
Eric Shorter
Wednesday May 25, 2005
The Guardian
Brook Williams, who has died of cancer aged 67, was one of the most charming, witty and promising exponents of light comedy in postwar Britain. He was the second son of actor-playwright Emlyn Williams and younger brother of Alan Williams, the novelist.
A man of enthusiasms (snooker, pool and golf) and sociability, Brook seemed to match his father in his acting of comedy. Yet he could never, it seems, settle down to a steady career. He was on the London stage in the 1960s – like his father, he worked regularly with the producer Hugh “Binkie” Beaumont – and in more than 100 films, sometimes through his friendship with Richard Burton, although all his parts were more or less minor
Goodbye Brook. God rest your soul. Tell Richard Ha ho!
timothy
Kindest man I’ve ever met. God rest your soul.
Sorry, I confused him with Neil McCarthy… 🙁
Please note his performance in Zulu, arguably his most famous role, in his selected filmography.