- Born
- Died
- Birth nameWilliam Mervyn Pickwoad
- Height6′ (1.83 m)
- The son of a colonial offcial he was brought up in Yorkshire where with no theatrical training he joined the Hull Repertory company where after a short time he was, for the only time in his career, given a juvenile lead and taken off after 2 nights as he had to kiss a girl and she complained. He was never really young. After his demob at the end of WWII in which he served as a military administrator to an African outpost as the oldest 2nd lt. in the army. Bald and dome headed from his early 30's he established himself in a succession of stage and television successes which led to his best known role as Inspector Rose, an upper crust detective, from 1963 to 1968. On BBC he overlapped in the series All Gas and Gaiters. Other series included a 3 year stint as the Judge in Crown Court plus the odd film including The Ruling Class and The Railway Children. He died 6 August 1976 leaving his wife Anne and 3 sons, Michael, Richard and Nicholas
- IMDb mini biography by: Tonymnan 5
- SpouseAnne Margaret Payne-Cook(1943 - August 6, 1976) (his death, 3 children)
- Advertised anything, from cameras to sponge cakes, in numerous television commercials in the 1960's.
- Stage and television actor, born in Kenya. London debut in 1946 in "The Guinea Pig" at the Criterion Theatre, following five years with repertory companies. Best known as Chief Inspector Rose in three television series of the 60's: The Odd Man (1960),It's Dark Outside (1964) and Mr. Rose (1967).
- Drove a Rolls Royce.
- Had a house on Crown property at Windsor and one at The Norfolk Broads.
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