Edward Wilson (actor)
| Edward Wiliam Wilson | |
|---|---|
| Born |
13 July 1947 South Shields, County Durham, England |
| Died | 2 February 2008 (aged 60) Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Occupation | Actor |
Edward William "Ed" Wilson, FRSA (13 July 1947 – 2 February 2008) was an English actor and the Artistic Director of the National Youth Theatre from 1987–2003; he later moved to Los Angeles.
Born in South Shields, County Durham, the son of Thomasina (née Moore), and William James Wilson, a pitman, he attended the local grammar school.
While still a schoolboy, Wilson performed at the National Youth Theatre (NYT) in London during his summer holidays, having auditioned for its founder-director Michael Croft.
Aged 19, he established the South Shields Youth Theatre in his home town, performing in the Pier Pavilion Theatre to rave reviews from the local papers, though the town councillors were less impressed by his choice of "kitchen sink drama" repertoire.
He read English at Manchester University, then went to the NYT as an actor and director in 1965. During his time at the NYT he appeared in several television series: his most important television role was young Billy Seaton in 35 episodes of When the Boat Comes In (1976–1981).
He appeared briefly in the 1976 film The Likely Lads as Les Ferris, the father of Rodney Bewes' character Bob Ferris. However the claim that he appeared in the TV series appears to be mistaken, although confusingly he did play a minor character, also called Les Ferris, in a 1990 TV mini-series called A Likely Lad.
His NYT production of Murder in the Cathedral by T.S. Eliot, performed in Christ Church, Spitalfields, St Pancras and Westminster Cathedral was widely acclaimed by audiences and praised by Eliot's widow. Ambitiously, he also arranged to take the production to Moscow Arts Theatre in 1989, where it was very well received.
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