Iain Cuthbertson

Last updated 09 January 2020

Iain Cuthbertson (1930-2009)
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Iain Cuthbertson

Born: Saturday 4th January 1930
Died: Friday 4th September 2009 (age: 79)

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Iain Cuthbertson  was a Scottish character actor

At 6' 4", he was known for his tall imposing build and also his distinctive "gravelly" heavily accented voice

Born and brought up in Glasgow, he was educated at Glasgow AcademyAberdeen Grammar and the University of Aberdeen (where he graduated with a MA Honours in French and Spanish). His first break as an actor was on radio while studying at Aberdeen University.

He spent two years national service in the Black Watch. His original wish was for a job in the Foreign Office, but he became a radio journalist with the BBC in Glagow.

Cuthbertson started acting at the Glasgow Citizens' Theatre in 1958 and became General Manager and Director of Productions in 1962. Three years later he became Associate Director of London's Royal Court Theatre.

His most memorable television role was as the criminal and businessman Charlie Endell in both Budgie (London Weekend Television/ITV) with Adam Faith (1971–72) and its sequel Charles Endell, Esq (Scottish Television/ITV) in 1979.

Other roles include the lead in The Borderers (BBC, 1968-70), Tom Brown's Schooldays (BBC, 1971) (as Thomas Arnold), The Stone Tape (BBC, 1972), Sutherland's Law (BBC, 1973-76), Children of the Stones (HTV/ITV, 1977), and Danger UXB (Thames Television/ITV, 1979), The House With Green Shutters[5] (BBC, 1980). He appeared in the pilot episode of Rab C Nesbitt (1988) as a magistrate.

He suffered a crippling stroke in January 1982, which forced him to give up theatre for fear of forgetting his lines. He resumed television and film work, though, as his lines could be written on crib boards. His first role following his stroke was as the villainous Scunner Campbell in Super Gran (Tyne Tees Television/ITV, 1985). In 1989 he played the villain, Brett Savernake in the episode of Campion entitled "Sweet Danger".

Minor parts in ongoing series include appearances in Z-Cars (BBC), The Avengers (ABC/ITV), Inspector Morse (Central Television/ITV), Bulman (Granada Television/ITV), Ripping Yarns (BBC), The Duchess of Duke Street, Colonel Mannering in Adam Adamant Lives! story D For Destruction (1966) and Garron in the Doctor Who story The Ribos Operation. He also appeared in: Diamond Crack Diamond, The Onedin Line (BBC), Survivors (BBC), Scotch on the RocksBlack Beauty(London Weekend/ITV), The Ghosts of Motley Hall (Granada/ITV), Juliet Bravo (BBC), Casualty (BBC), The Mourning BroochCasting the Runes and McPhee the Mother and Me.

In film, he appeared as Charles Waterbury in The Railway Children.

Cuthbertson's first marriage, to Anne Kristen in 1964, was dissolved in 1988. He was survived by his second wife, Janet Smith.

From 1975 to 1978, he served as Rector of the University of Aberdeen. He listed his hobbies as sailing and fishing, and, after retiring, he lived in DalrympleAyrshire.

Biography from the Wikipedia article, licensed under CC-BY-SA