Michael Medwin was a hugely respected television and film actor who worked alongside most of the biggest stars of the 20th century.
During a long and successful career, he appeared in a string of hit productions including Carry On Nurse and The Longest Day and yet he never sought banner headlines for his performances. The work mattered more than the reviews to him.
Mr Medwin, who has died aged 96 while in hospital in Bournemouth, appeared alongside stars including Sean Connery, Michael Caine and Albert Finney.
Born in London in 1923, the actor was made an OBE for his services to drama back in 2005 and reflected how well respected he was by his peers.
The tributes were led by theatre producer David Pugh, who had produced plays alongside Mr Medwin for three decades, and who said on social media: “To Michael: thank you for everything, I’m going to miss you so much.”
He was best known for his staring role as radio boss Don Satchley in the BBC television detective series Shoestring.
As the radio boss, he often found himself at odds with Trevor Eve’s private investigator, but there was usually a twinkle amid the tantrums.
Running for two seasons and spanning 21 episodes, the well-received show ran from 1979 to 1980.
In the company of Albert Finney, he produced films as Lindsay Anderson’s If…., O Lucky Man! and Charlie Bubbles.
Despite being Mr Finney’s senior by 12 years, he also played the titular character’s nephew in the 1970’s Scrooge.
Widely praised by critics, the adaptation of Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’ was nominated for numerous Baftas, four Oscars and five Golden Globes.
The actor had been trained at the Italia Conti stage school in London.
He eventually made his film debut in 1946, in the Piccadilly Incident.
Over the next six decades he worked in many critically acclaimed feature films such as A hill in Korea and the James Bond movie, Never Say Never Again.
He cited pioneer actors Charles Laughton and Edward G Robinson as his inspiration for the craft and considered his OBE to be his crowning achievement.