Donald Hewlett

Early life Hewlett was born into a wealthy family; his father Thomas Hewlett was Conservative MP for Manchester Exchange from 1940 to 1945 and owned the Anchor Chemical Company based in Clayton, Manchester (now a subsidiary of Air Products and Chemicals). His mother died when he was ten. in Bristol followed by St John's College, Cambridge, where he studied geography and meteorology and was part of the Footlights Revue, but volunteered for the RNVR early in World War II. He later served in the North Atlantic aboard the light cruisers Malaya and Galatea. He rose to the rank of lieutenant. He was subsequently posted to Singapore, in charge of Japanese POWs and as entertainment officer.

His television appearances included The Ronnie Corbett Show, The Ronnie Barker Playhouse, The Saint, The Avengers, The Dick Emery Show, the episode "Beggar on Horseback" from the television series Crown Court and the Doctor Who story The Claws of Axos (1971). However, he gained his most prominent role in the Croft and Perry sitcom It Ain't Half Hot Mum (1974–81) as Colonel Charles Reynolds.

Hewlett also appeared in the episode "Hello Sailor" from the sitcom Happy Ever After in 1977 which starred Terry Scott and June Whitfield. Hewlett made a number of film appearances including Spike Milligan's Adolf Hitler - My Part in His Downfall, A Touch of Class, Carry On Behind and The First Great Train Robbery. Other roles included 'Winkworth' in Morris Minor's Marvellous Motors in 1989 and The Adventures of Brigadier Wellington-Bull. His last TV appearance was in The Upper Hand in 1995. He appeared in several episodes of The Enchanting World of Hinge and Bracket, playing the ship's captain when they embarked on a cruise.

In 1995, he debuted on stage in a production of Mother Goose at the Churchill Theatre, alongside Ronnie Corbett. He had two sons and a daughter by Greenwood. beside Argos Hill Windmill with his third wife Thérèse McMurray-Hewlett, by whom he had a son and daughter.

Hewlett had houses in London and Whitstable and divided his time there, and spent the last two years of his life in Chelsea.

Death Hewlett died from pneumonia on 4 June 2011 at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in West London aged 90. His wife revealed that he had been ill for some time, and also had Alzheimer's disease at the time of his death.

Filmography Film

Television