David Tomlinson, actor, 83

["Deathwatch Central" <cdw@slick.org>]

...thanks to a loyal subscriber for giving me a swift kick in the ass and
reporting this - ed.

from BBC news -- Saturday, 24 June, 2000, 12:27 GMT 13:27 UK 

Mary Poppins star dies

David Tomlinson, the actor who delighted millions as the father in
children's musical classic Mary Poppins, has died aged 83. 
He died peacefully in his sleep at 0400 BST after a series of strokes over
recent months. 

The son of a solicitor, he served for a year as a Grenadier Guardsman
before making his West End debut in 1938. 

He became famous in the 1960s and starred in over 50 films, including the
first Herbie film, The Love Bug, in 1969, and Bedknobs and Broomsticks in
1971. 

His last film credit was with Peter Sellers in 1979's The Fiendish Plot of
Dr Fu Manchu. 

The Buckinghamshire-based actor died at the King Edward the VII Hospital
just after his eldest son David had left. 

He leaves his wife of 47 years, Audrey, 68, four sons, David, William,
Henry and James, and eight grandchildren. 

James Tomlinson said: "He was a very unusual man who had many talents
outside his profession. He was good with his eyes and talked very well. 

"He was always an actor and that was his passion. And although he chose to
give it up in 1979 and enjoyed spending time with his family he stayed in
touch with the actors of today. 

"It was extraordinary how people knew who he was 20 years after he stopped
working." 

He counted comic Griff Rhys Jones and Private Eye editor Ian Hislop among
his friends. 




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