Glynn Edwards


Glynn Edwards was a 20th century English television and cinema character actor, who came to national prominence for his portrayal of the barman Dave Harris in the 1970s–1990s British television comedy-drama Minder.

Early life

Edwards was born in Penang, Malaya, on 2 February 1931. His father, who spent little time on him, was a rubber planter at the time of his birth and died later in 1946. His mother died shortly after his birth and he was raised first by his grandparents in Southsea, Hampshire, and then by his father and stepmother, who ran a pub in Salisbury, Wiltshire. He received his early formal education at Clayesmore School in Dorset. In his childhood he read Arthur Ransome's adventure novel Swallows and Amazons, which gave him a life-long passion for river-boating, which began with sailing expeditions along the River Avon in his tenth year.
As a teenager he was an amateur actor, before going to Trinidad where he worked first as a sugar farmer, but having decided that his father's life of plantation farming wasn't for him, he found employment as assistant stage manager and compere of calypso shows for tourists. After returning to England he spent a year at the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama in London, and was then hired as a stage manager at the King’s Theatre in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire.

Career

Edwards trained professionally as an actor with Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop, appearing in its productions of The Good Soldier Švejk and two plays by Brendan Behan, The Quare Fellow and The Hostage, all of which transferred from the Theatre Royal Stratford East to the West End. He also appeared in that company's production of Lionel Bart's musical version of Frank Norman's play Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be, opposite Miriam Karlin and Barbara Windsor.
In 1964 he appeared in the role of Corporal William Allen, V.C. in Cy Endfield's cinema film Zulu, having opted for the part over another offer of a role in Joan Littlewood's stage show Oh! What a Lovely War. He later said: "I earned 10 times as much money from advertising Bran Flakes as I did from the movie Zulu."
From the 1970s to the 1990s, he played the role of Dave Harris, the part-owner and barman of the Winchester Club in ten series of the ITV hit drama Minder. He also appeared in bit parts in numerous British television shows in the 1970s and '80s, including Callan, The Professionals, Public Eye, Spindoe, Steptoe and Son, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, Dixon of Dock Green, Man About the House, Softly, Softly and The Saint. He was also a regular in two series of the ITV legal drama The Main Chance. He played supporting roles in the cinema films Robbery, and the criminal underworld film Get Carter.
During his career Edwards played a number of sinister characters, particularly that of 'Mr Dix', a schoolteacher in the early-1970s sitcom Please Sir!, and a menacing gamekeeper in ITV's Thriller, and was often cast either as policemen or criminals.
In 1985, he appeared in the rock music band Marillion's music video for its single release "Heart of Lothian", in which he played a barman, and starred in a popular TV commercial for McVitie's rich tea biscuits as "Jacko", saying, "Yeah, I'll make a statement. A drink's too wet without one!"

Personal life

His first wife was the actress Yootha Joyce, who also trained at Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop. They were married from 1956 to 1968. After their divorce, he married the former Benny Hill Show performer Christine Pilgrim, the marriage producing a son, Thomas. From the 1980s, he was married to Valerie Edwards.
Edwards retained a life-long interest in river-boating, owning several vessels, and during the nineteen eighties and nineties he resided on a 40ft-long canal boat converted into a houseboat, named 'Winchester' after the fictional private members' bar that he had run in the Minder television series, which was permanently moored on the South bank of the River Thames at Thames Ditton and Surbiton, where he could often be seen in the summer swimming in the river to cool off on hot days.
After the end of the Minder series in 1994 he retired from acting in his mid-sixties, and in his final years divided his time between living in Spain and Scotland.

Death

Edwards died at his home in Edinburgh, Scotland on 23 May 2018 at the age of 87.

Filmography

Film

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1963–1976Dixon of Dock GreenVarious10 episodes
1963The Human JungleAlbert StokesEpisode: The Two Edged Sword
1964Z-CarsMr Cooper / Mr Aldiss2 episodes
1965-1969The NewcomersGeorge Harbottlemany episodes
1966King of the RiverJack ElliotEpisode: Foreign Invasion
1967–1968The SaintLeander / Igor2 episodes
1968–1969Journey to the UnknownBrownEpisode: Stranger in the Family
1969The AvengersBlackieEpisode: The Interrogators
1970Steptoe and SonGeorgeEpisode Steptoe and Son – and Son!
1971Public EyeAlf BainEpisode: Who Wants To Be Told Bad News?
1971Bless This HouseMotor-cycle PolicemanEpisode: For Whom the Bells Toll
1972–1978Crown CourtVarious5 episodes
1975–1976Man About The HouseChrissy's father2 episodes
1977–1978The Fall and Rise of Reginald PerrinMr. Pelham3 episodes
1977–1979The Paper LadsJack Crawford14 episodes
1978Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'EmMr Lewis3 episodes
1979The ProfessionalsAlfred ColeEpisode: Servant of Two Masters
1979–1994MinderDave Harris95 episodes,
1982Legacy of MurderHenchman
1983Jack of DiamondsReg