Gary Watson(II)
- Actor
- Writer
Gary Watson was born Garrowby Cawthorne Watson in Shropshire, England. He graduated from Cambridge University and spent the early part of his career in academia, teaching English at Westminster City School in London. He began his acting career at the West End Phoenix Theatre and in repertory with the Queen's Theatre in Hornchurch, East London (1957-58). Under the auspices of George Rylands and the Marlowe Society of Cambridge, Watson became noted in the early 60s as a prolific reader/narrator on radio of poetic verse and Shakespearean plays.
Having debuted on screen in 1959, Watson was forthwith utilised as a general purpose player, frequently cast in ITC cult series like Alias le Baron (1966), Le Saint (1962) and Chapeau melon et bottes de cuir (1961). He essayed just about any type of personae, from dependable police officers, doctors and military men to cool double agents and shifty murder suspects. In a rare high profile role, he co-starred for BBC TV as Aramis, one of The Three Musketeers (1966), alongside Brian Blessed and Jeremy Young. Watson also portrayed the Dalek-controlled human Arthur Terrall in the Docteur Who (1963) serial Evil of the Daleks. Other roles of note have included squadron commander Captain Denisov in War & Peace (1972), Vronsky's childhood friend Serpukhovskoy in Anna Karenina (1977) and Detective Inspector Fred Connor, who popped up from time to time in episodes of the long-running police drama series Z Cars (1962).
Under his own name, Watson was one of the hosts reading selected poetry on BBC 1's Five to Eleven (1986). He has also narrated documentaries (The World About Us (1967)) and was featured in many commercials for Loyds Bank and Nescafé. Retired since 1990, he is married to Dutch-born Elsje Maria Jacobsson.
Having debuted on screen in 1959, Watson was forthwith utilised as a general purpose player, frequently cast in ITC cult series like Alias le Baron (1966), Le Saint (1962) and Chapeau melon et bottes de cuir (1961). He essayed just about any type of personae, from dependable police officers, doctors and military men to cool double agents and shifty murder suspects. In a rare high profile role, he co-starred for BBC TV as Aramis, one of The Three Musketeers (1966), alongside Brian Blessed and Jeremy Young. Watson also portrayed the Dalek-controlled human Arthur Terrall in the Docteur Who (1963) serial Evil of the Daleks. Other roles of note have included squadron commander Captain Denisov in War & Peace (1972), Vronsky's childhood friend Serpukhovskoy in Anna Karenina (1977) and Detective Inspector Fred Connor, who popped up from time to time in episodes of the long-running police drama series Z Cars (1962).
Under his own name, Watson was one of the hosts reading selected poetry on BBC 1's Five to Eleven (1986). He has also narrated documentaries (The World About Us (1967)) and was featured in many commercials for Loyds Bank and Nescafé. Retired since 1990, he is married to Dutch-born Elsje Maria Jacobsson.
