It’s been announced that veteran British actor Edward Woodward has passed away. The BBC reports that his agent has confirmed that the 79-year-old had been suffering from various illnesses, including pneumonia, and died in Truro’s Royal Cornwall Hospital In Truro, close to him home near Padstow.
Woodward is probably best known to film fans for his starring role in the 1973 cult classic, The Wicker Man, in which he played Sergeant Howie, who travels to a remote island village in search of a missing girl, but discovers a strange pagan community there instead. However by the time he made the film, Woodward already had over a decade of TV experience, appearing in numerous British series, and solidly ensuring his stardom with the spy series, Callan, for which he won a BAFTA.
Following The Wicker Man, he mainly returned to television, scoring his biggest international success with the 1980s thriller series The Equaliser (for which he won a Golden Glove). His most recent successful foray into the world of film was as Tom Weaver in the hit comedy Hot Fuzz. Woodward also appeared in several episodes of Eastenders earlier this year, and had completed filming on the upcoming movie A Congregation Of Ghosts, which will now serve as his final film role.
He is survived by his second wife, actress Michele Dotrice (best known as Betty in Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em’) and four children.
Edward Woodward OBE – RIP.