- Born
- Died
- Height5′ 4″ (1.63 m)
- Lowe, rotund and professionally indefatigable, rightly gained acclaim as an accomplished comedy character actor; fondly remembered as the irascible "Captain Mainwaring" in the Home Guard comedy series Dad's Army (1968-1977), and as Coronation Street (1960)'s "Leonard Swindley". The only child of a Derbyshire railworker, Lowe gained valuable experience by organising shows for a British army field entertainment unit, in the Middle East, during World War Two, before commencing his professional acting career, at the age of 30, in 1945, upon joining the "Manchester Repertory Theatre Company".
In between endless tours for repertory and in major stage performances, Lowe utilised his character actor status - which writers identify as being aided by his bald head - in bit-parts for films including: the inspired "Ealing" black comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) and The Green Man (1956). Later, whilst gathering fame - with the reputedly observational realist soap opera Coronation Street (1960) - he cemented a professional relationship with maverick film director Lindsay Anderson; using left-wing sensibilities for some of his films: including If.... (1968) and several characters in the avant-garde O Lucky Man! (1973) (the latter earning Lowe an SFTA Award, for best supporting performance).
As his son, and biographer, Stephen Lowe, intimated, finances governed and perpetuated his career, in the final stages of his life, in the 1970s; appearing in over 100, and possibly very lucrative, television advertisements and, not surprisingly, a surfeit of comedies including the sit-com Potter (1979) (1979-1983), the ribald film No Sex Please - We're British (1973) and to rave reviews for his stage performance as "Stephano", in "The Tempest" (1974), at the "National Theatre". Although Lowe received excellent notices for straight roles and appearances in plays such as John Osborne's "Inadmissible Evidence" (1963) at the "Royal Court", Dad's Army (1968) assured Lowe enduring appeal, as his character acting skills seamlessly compliment the show's comfortable sit-com structure.
- IMDb mini biography by: Anonymous
- SpouseJoan Cooper(January 10, 1948 - April 15, 1982) (his death, 1 child)
- In his final years, Lowe's alcoholism worsened and he was reduced to acting in pantomimes and touring theatre productions. Graham Lord's biography recalls that by 1979, Lowe was suffering from major health problems but continued to drink increasing amounts of alcohol, sometimes passing out on stage or at dinner. He was also a heavy smoker and his weight ballooned. Lowe had long suffered from narcolepsy.
- He was interviewed live on BBC TV's lunchtime magazine programme Pebble Mill at One (1972), collapsed at 6 PM the same evening just before he was due to go on stage for a performance of Home at Seven in which he was due to appear with his wife, Joan, and died at 5 AM the following morning.
- He is now best known for the role of Captain Mainwaring in the BBC's classic sitcom Dad's Army (1968), although he was not the first choice for it. Thorley Walters and Leonard Rossiter turned it down and Jon Pertwee had also been considered.
- He played the same character (Leonard Swindley) in three different series: Coronation Street (1960), Pardon the Expression (1965) and Turn Out the Lights (1967).
- In January 1982, Richard Burton had his private aeroplane fly Lowe to film a cameo role in the television series Wagner (1983), his last screen performance.
- Acting must be scaled down for the screen. A drawing room is a lot smaller than a theatre auditorium.
- An actor is an actor is an actor. The less personality an actor has off stage the better. A blank canvas on which to draw the characters he plays.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
