Skip to main content

RIP Roger Lloyd-Pack


I first became aware of British actor Roger Lloyd-Pack several years ago when the local PBS station began running the popular Vicar of Dibley sitcom. Airing from 1994-2007 (with, in my opinion, ever decreasing returns), the program revolved around a progressive, female vicar in the small, conservative town of Dibley. The townsfolk were a colorful lot, among them farmer Owen Newitt, played by Lloyd-Pack, his catchphrase being, "Shame," delivered with the plummy tone that could only emanate from his voice.

Regrettably, Roger Lloyd-Pack died two days ago from pancreatic cancer, aged 69. It's a bit odd to say about someone you've never met and who lived thousands of miles away, but I will miss him. You see, the actor had a habit of turning up in quite a few things over the years, and almost always in something good. I also appreciated his deadpan delivery, his voice, and his choice of projects. Knowing that he will no longer be around, popping-up in this or that production, is kind of a downer.

Aside from Vicar of Dibley, I quite enjoyed Lloyd-Pack in the sitcom The Old Guys, and when he appeared in episodes of Inspector Morse, Hustle, New Tricks, Doctor Who, Poirot, Only Fools and Horses, Dalziel & Pascoe, Murder Most Horrid, and in the feature films Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. That right there is quite a resume, and it doesn't even touch his long and distinguished stage career.

Roger Lloyd-Pack comes from an acting family, as his daughter is actress Emily Lloyd-Pack, and his father was actor Charles Lloyd-Pack, who turned in a memorable performance as a terrified, closeted barber in Basil Dearden's excellent movie Victim, which co-starred Dirk Bogarde. Alas, Charles and Roger's acting is at an end, but I'm glad they did what they did with their lives. I've enjoyed Roger Lloyd-Pack immensely over the years, and will miss his future contributions that are not to be.


Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Yesterday's Restaurants

The local newspaper has a feature from one of Champaign-Urbana's most legendary restaurateur's, John Katsinas, on what his favorite area restaurants were that have now since closed (or will soon be closing).  It's a nice little read, and has made me stop and think about the restaurants that have come and gone that have left an indelible (and edible) impression on me throughout the years. Here we go....
Post a Comment
Read more

Watching The Hours

A Twitter friend named Paula has asked for folks to submit ideas for a blog-a-thon about what we think will be the classic films of the future. In other words, what relatively recent movies (namely, from the 21st century), do we think will be considered classics in the decades to come, possibly airing on such venerable stations as Turner Classic Movies ? While a number of films come to mind for such a category, one in particular stood out from the rest, and thus is my entry for Paula's blog-a-thon.
5 comments
Read more

To the beat of his own Drum

Tonight I learned that Kevin Drum has died. He passed away on Friday, March 7th, from Multiple Myeloma (the same illness that took my uncle Paul several years ago). Drum's diagnosis came in 2014, and he talked about it openly on his blog , up to and including just a few days before his death. I knew of Kevin Drum through his blogging. During the early aughts, when I started to become more politically aware and involved, I began reading certain online musings by folks -- Andrew Sullivan and, on a local level, IlliniPundit, to name a couple. Drum's blog at that time was Calpundit . Eventually, he began blogging at Mother Jones . When they parted ways, he started what would be his final online venture. So, yeah, I've been reading Kevin's musings for over twenty years.
Post a Comment
Read more