Ballard Berkeley

Ballard Blascheck (6 August 1904 – 16 January 1988), known professionally as Ballard Berkeley, was an English actor of stage and screen. He is best remembered for playing Major Gowen in the British television sitcom Fawlty Towers (1975 and 1979).

Life and career The son of Joseph and Beatrice Blascheck, he was born in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent. During the 1930s, he performed regularly in the so-called "quota quickies". One of his earliest roles was as the heroic lead in the 1937 film The Last Adventurers.

He served as a special constable with the Metropolitan Police during the Second World War, witnessing the Blitz at first hand, including the bombing of the Café de Paris nightclub. For his service, he received the Defence Medal and the Special Constabulary Long Service Medal.

He appeared in the film In Which We Serve (1942) and in the Hitchcock film Stage Fright (1950). He featured as Detective Inspector Berkeley in two episodes of Edgar Lustgarten's drama series, Scotland Yard: "Person Unknown" (1956), and "Bullet from the Past" (1957).

Berkeley is best known for the role of bumbling Major Gowen (retired) in the BBC TV comedy Fawlty Towers, and a similar role in the legal drama The Main Chance (1969). He portrayed another retired military man (Colonel Freddie Danby) in BBC Radio 4's The Archers, taking over the role from Norman Shelley.

He played a starring role in Fresh Fields as main character Hester's father Guy, was Hartley in To the Manor Born and played Colonel Culpepper in Terry and June. He had small roles in an episode of Citizen Smith (1977), an adaptation of Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980), and appeared once in Bless This House as a Royal Air Force Group Captain in the episode "Strangers in the Night" (1972), and in The New Avengers as Colonel Foster in the episode "Dirtier by the Dozen". He also had small roles in the BBC sitcoms Hi-de-Hi! ("Empty Saddles," 1983) and Are You Being Served? ("Memories Are Made of This," 1983).

He made a brief appearance in the 1985 film National Lampoon's European Vacation which starred American actor Chevy Chase. In this film, Berkeley played a British man who is involved in a minor road accident with the Griswalds.

Berkeley later performed the role of Winston—a similar character to "The Major"—in the radio comedy Wrinkles by Doug Naylor and Rob Grant. He played Badedas the Blue, a wizard in the radio comedy series Hordes of the Things. His last on-screen role was as the Head of the Army in the animated film version of Roald Dahl's The BFG.

Berkeley died in London on 16 January 1988, aged 83. He had been playing the part of Colonel Brace-Cartwright, owner of Felchester Rovers FC, in the Radio 4 sitcom Lenin of the Rovers starring Alexei Sayle, but he died after recording the first two episodes of the series and was replaced by Donald Hewlett.

Berkeley rose to prominence posthumously in the 2020s as an icon of Hampshire Cricket Club, thanks to a scene in Fawlty Towers in which he joyfully announces, 'Hampshire won!' which the club would tweet to celebrate every victory.

Selected filmography Film Year Title Role Notes1930 The Chinese Bungalow Richard Marquess 1930 London Melody Jan Moor 1933 Trouble Uncredited 1934 White Ensign Cortez 1936 East Meets West Nazim 1937 The Last Adventurers Fred Devlin 1937 Jennifer Hale Richard Severn 1939 The Outsider Uncredited 1939 Dead Men are Dangerous Franklin's publisher's partner Uncredited 1939 The Gang's All Here Detective in Nightclub Uncredited 1939 Black Eyes Diner 1939 The Saint in London Sir Richard Blake 1940 The Flying Squad Smuggler in Aeroplane Uncredited 1942 In Which We Serve Engineer Commander 1946 Quiet Weekend Jim Brent 1947 They Made Me a Fugitive Rockliffe 1949 Third Time Lucky Bertram 1950 Stage Fright Sergeant Mellish 1951 Blackmailed Dr. McCormick 1951 The Long Dark Hall Police Supt. Maxey 1951 Mr Drake's Duck Maj. Deans 1952 The Frightened Man Inspector Bligh 1952 The Lost Hours Doctor 1952 The Night Won't Talk Inspector West 1952 Circumstantial Evidence Det. Insp. Hall 1953 Three Steps to the Gallows Insp. Haley 1953 The Blue Parrot Supt. Chester 1953 Operation Diplomat Inspector Austin 1954 The Weak and the Wicked Police Detective Uncredited 1954 Dangerous Cargo Security Officer Findley 1954 Forbidden Cargo Cooper Uncredited 1954 Delayed Action Insp. Crane 1954 Child's Play Dr. Nightingale 1954 The Men of Sherwood Forest Walter 1955 See How They Run Col. Warrington 1955 The Stolen Airliner Mr. Head 1955 Passport to Treason Inspector Thredgold 1956 My Teenage Daughter Magistrate 1957 The Betrayal Lawson 1957 Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst Lt. Col. Dewar-Durie 1957 After the Ball Andrews 1957 Just My Luck Starter at Goodwood Uncredited 1957 Night of the Demon 1st Reporter Uncredited 1958 The Man Who Wouldn't Talk Court Clerk Uncredited 1958 Chain of Events 1958 Further Up the Creek Whacker Payne 1960 Life Is a Circus 1960 Cone of Silence Commissioner 1963 Impact Bill MacKenzie 1963 A Matter of Choice Charles Grant 1965 The Murder Game Sir Colin Chalmers 1965 Night Caller from Outer Space Cmdr. Savage 1968 Hostile Witness Clerk of Court 1970 The Weekend Murders Peter, the butler 1972 Bless This House RAF officer on train 1976 Confessions of a Driving Instructor Lord Snodley 1978 The Playbirds Trainer 1979 Confessions from the David Galaxy Affair Judge 1979 Queen of the Blues Uncle Fred 1980 The Wildcats of St Trinian's Humphry Wills 1980 Little Lord Fauntleroy Sir Harry 1983 Bullshot Hotel Guest 1985 National Lampoon's European Vacation Second English Motorist 1989 The BFG Head of the Army Voice; posthumous release

Television Year Title Role Notes 1958 Leave It to Todhunter Det. Chief Insp. Moresby 1959 The Invisible Man Manton episode: " Play to Kill" 1961 Deadline Midnight Desmond 7 episodes1963 Maigret Dr Pardon episode: " A Man Condemned"1964 Swizzlewick Major Lamb 1966 United! Dr Newkes 1967–1968 The Newcomers Colonel Renshaw 1968 Sherlock Homes Sir Charles Baskerville episode: " The Hound of the Baskervilles (Part 1)"1971 Coronation Street Colonel Cantrill episode: 1055 1972 The Shadow of the Tower Sir Thomas Tyrrel episode: " A Fly in the Ointment"1972–1980 The Dick Emery Show Various characters 6 episodes1975–1979 Fawlty Towers Major Gowen 12 episodes 1977 Mr. Big Hotel Manager episode: "Going Straight"1981 To the Manor Born Greville Hartley episode: "Connections in High Places"1982–1987 Terry and June Sir Arthur Forster-Carter / Colonel Culpepper episodes: "Swingtime" / "They Also Serve"1983 Are You Being Served? Angler episode: "Memories Are Made of This"1984–1986 Fresh Fields Guy Penrose 10 episodes