Bill Dean

Bill Dean (born Patrick Anthony Connolly, 3 September 1921 – 20 April 2000) was a British actor who was born in Everton, Liverpool, Lancashire.[1] He took his stage name in honour of Everton football legend William 'Dixie' Dean.

For other people named William, Bill or Billy Dean, see William Dean (disambiguation).

Bill Dean
Born
Patrick Anthony Connolly

(1921-09-03)3 September 1921
Everton, Liverpool, Merseyside[1]
Died20 April 2000(2000-04-20) (aged 78)
Wirral Peninsula[2]
Years active1956-1999

Biography

Dean served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, seeing action in North Africa and Italy.[2] His stage name was apparently inspired by being present when an Italian prisoner of war who had been captured by British troops in the Western Desert, told his captors "fuck your Winston Churchill and fuck your Dixie Dean", the latter being the well-known Everton footballer of the day.[3]

He worked variously as a tram driver, pipe fitter, insurance agent, ship's steward, docker and local government officer, while also appearing as a stand-up comedian in Lancashire clubs and pubs, before making his breakthrough in Ken Loach's The Golden Vision.[1] Other work with Loach followed, including a leading role in the film Family Life (1971).[4][5]

Dean was most notable in his later years for playing miserly Harry Cross in the soap opera Brookside.[6] He joined the soap in 1983, a year after its inception, and remained there for seven years before departing in 1990.[7] He briefly returned to the series in 1999 for three episodes, when his character re-appeared in Brookside Close suffering from Alzheimer's disease and wrongly believing that he still lived there.[1] He returned briefly in a cameo for the Brookside Video 'Friday the 13th' having his lawn driven over.

The same character was the inspiration behind the 1980s group 'Jegsy Dodd and the sons of Harry Cross' who hailed from the Wirral.[8]

He also made appearances in numerous other UK soaps and dramas including, When the Boat Comes In, The Sweeney, Minder, Juliet Bravo and Heartbeat, in which he appeared as Harry Capshaw, the ring leader of a group of badger baiters.[9]

His stage work included roles in Trevor Griffiths' play Comedians at The Old Vic, and Howard Brenton's The Churchill Play with the Nottingham Playhouse and then the Royal Shakespeare Company.[10]

Dean also appeared in the video for the single "Groovy Train" by Liverpool band The Farm. He also appeared in the films Kes, Scum, Nightwatch and Let Him Have It.[11]

Filmography

Television

Film

Personal life

Dean was married, and had three children: two sons, one daughter.[12]

Having been ill for some time he suffered a heart attack and, on 20 April 2000, died at the Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral,[2] aged 78.

References
  1. Webster, Richard (21 April 2000). "Bill Dean". The Guardian.
  2. "Brookside favourite dies". BBC News. 21 April 2000.
  3. Keith, John (2003). Dixie Dean: The Inside Story of a Football Icon. Robson Books. p. 6. ISBN 978-1-86105-632-0.
  4. "BFI Screenonline: Big Flame, The (1969) Credits". www.screenonline.org.uk.
  5. Kemp, Philip (2003–14). "Family Life (1971)". BFI Screenonline. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  6. Guardian Staff (22 April 2000). "Brookside star dies of heart attack" – via www.theguardian.com.
  7. "Bill Dean as Harry Cross". www.brooksidesoapbox.co.uk.
  8. "Vote for your favourite soap star in the new Mirror Soap Awards". mirror. 2 August 2009.
  9. "Bill Dean". www.aveleyman.com.
  10. "Bill Dean | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
  11. "Bill Dean". BFI. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017.
  12. Webster, Richard (21 April 2000). "Bill Dean" – via www.theguardian.com.
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