Catweazle dead
KIDS TV STAR GEOFFREY BAYLDON DIES AT 93:
He was a lovely, talented, charming witty man CATWEAZLE FAN CLUB ANNOUNCING DEATH
ACTOR Geoffrey Bayldon, who starred in the 1970s kids’ TV shows Catweazle and Worzel Gummidge, has died at the age of 93.
The star, who was single, died peacefully at his home on Wednesday having suffered from respiratory problems.
His death was announced in a statement from the Catweazle Fan Club, which described Bayldon as a “lovely, witty, talented and generally charming man”.
The statement continued: “This is utterly heart breaking... it has been a great shock.”
Born in 1924 in Leeds, Bayldon trained at the Old Vic Theatre School before moving into film and television.
ECCENTRIC
Prior to his memorable children’s TV roles, he appeared in several films, including King Rat and To Sir, With Love.
He had TV parts in Z-Cars The Avengers and The Tomorrow People, but will be remembered mostly for playing the eccentric 11th century wizard in 1970s hit, Catweazle.
And he struck fear into the hearts of children around the country as The Crowman in Worzel Gummidge from 1979 to 1981. He also played TV’s Magic Grandad from 1993 to 94, but turned down the chance to play Doctor Who – twice.
In an interview with Sci-Fi Bulletin in 2011, he said: “I’ve never been in love with sci-fi. It doesn’t terribly interest me.”
In recent years, Bayldon had appeared in popular shows such as New Tricks, Casualty and My Family. Paying tribute to the actor, Catweazle Fan Club founder Gary Bowers, 60, said: “I always loved Catweazle as a child.
“Geoffrey was very generous with the club and he would always come along to our annual get-togethers, even after he fell ill.”
Author Stuart Manning, who wrote The Worzel Book, described Bayldon as “a grand old guy”.