RM
Raymond Mason
Actor
Born April 17, 1924Died April 16, 2022 (97 years)
During Raymond Mason’s 20 years of acting in the ITV soap opera Crossroads, he played five different roles. “I don’t think anyone ever noticed,” he said, “and I don’t put it down to versatility.” For trained actors in the days when there was just a handful of drama colleges and fewer vocational courses, the pool of talent was by definition smaller. Many performers found themselves appearing more than once in the same programmes. For Raymond, the roles that he played on British television over 40-odd years numbered more than 1,000, and he appeared in scores of commercials at home and overseas.
One of the reasons for Raymond’s success was that he was comfortable in a supporting role and, crucially, adept at not stealing a scene. Through a combination of timing and practised self-effacement he allowed the main star, or joke, to shine. Modest about taking the credit, he effectively enabled the skit.
In the late 1960s and 1970s, when comedy was spread across just three TV channels, Raymond appeared in Saturday-night programmes including The Morecambe & Wise Show — he described the double act as “a joy”, The Two Ronnies and alongside Frankie Howerd, Les Dawson and the like. In a 1979 episode of Fawlty Towers called The Kipper and the Corpse, his character attempts to retrieve his hat while Basil is trying to hide the body of a deceased guest. John Cleese later described him as “one of my favourite actors”.
The middle child between an older and a younger sister, Raymond was born in 1924 in Great Bridge, Staffordshire, and brought up in Tettenhall near Wolverhampton.
His exposure to light entertainment started at an early age as his father, George, who had fought in the First World War, played the piano and organ, wrote his own compositions and was a local bandleader. After shutting up the fish and chip shop in Wolverhampton that he owned with his wife, Elizabeth, George would stuff a keyboard glockenspiel into his bike’s front carrier and set off
One of the reasons for Raymond’s success was that he was comfortable in a supporting role and, crucially, adept at not stealing a scene. Through a combination of timing and practised self-effacement he allowed the main star, or joke, to shine. Modest about taking the credit, he effectively enabled the skit.
In the late 1960s and 1970s, when comedy was spread across just three TV channels, Raymond appeared in Saturday-night programmes including The Morecambe & Wise Show — he described the double act as “a joy”, The Two Ronnies and alongside Frankie Howerd, Les Dawson and the like. In a 1979 episode of Fawlty Towers called The Kipper and the Corpse, his character attempts to retrieve his hat while Basil is trying to hide the body of a deceased guest. John Cleese later described him as “one of my favourite actors”.
The middle child between an older and a younger sister, Raymond was born in 1924 in Great Bridge, Staffordshire, and brought up in Tettenhall near Wolverhampton.
His exposure to light entertainment started at an early age as his father, George, who had fought in the First World War, played the piano and organ, wrote his own compositions and was a local bandleader. After shutting up the fish and chip shop in Wolverhampton that he owned with his wife, Elizabeth, George would stuff a keyboard glockenspiel into his bike’s front carrier and set off
Filmography
| 2003 | The Afternoon Play (TV Series) · as Thommo |
| 2000 | |
| 1993 | |
| 1993 | Strange But True (TV Series) · as Reconstruction Cast: John Raphael |
| 1992 | Maigret (1992) (TV Series) · as Man With Dog |
| 1991 | Netflix Stand Up Specials (TV Series) · as Mr. Ruddle |
| 1991 | The Darling Buds of May (TV Series) · as Salesman |
| 1990 | House of Cards (TV Series) · as Stoat |
| 1990 | The Chief (1990) (TV Series) · as Pig Farmer |
| 1988 | Colin's Sandwich (TV Series) · as Angry Caller |
| 1988 | Alexei Sayle's Stuff (TV Series) · as Cast |
| 1987 | Hearts of Fire · as Bellboy |
| 1987 | The Ruth Rendell Mysteries (TV Series) · as Mr. Hughes |
| 1986 | Casualty (TV Series) · as Mr. Fenton |
| 1986 | |
| 1985 | All in Good Faith (TV Series) · as Headmaster |
| 1984 | The Bill (TV Series) · as Abercrombie |
| 1984 | Big Deal (1984) (TV Series) · as Town Hall Official |
| 1984 | Alas Smith and Jones (TV Series) · as Various Roles |
| 1982 | Muck and Brass (TV Series) · as Reg Palmer |
| 1981 | The Kenny Everett Television Show (TV Series) · as Various |
| 1981 | Brideshead Revisited (TV Series) · as Organiser |
| 1981 | Loophole · as Porter |
| 1981 | Sense and Sensibility (1981) (TV Series) · as Mr. Harris |
| 1980 | Invasion · as Russian Soldier |
| 1980 | Hamlet · as Reynaldo |
| 1980 | The Gentle Touch (TV Series) · as Arthur Williams |
| 1979 | Kelly Monteith (TV Series) · as Cast |
| 1979 | Terry and June (TV Series) · as Mr. Adams |
| 1979 | The Legend of King Arthur (TV Series) · as Vavasour |
| 1978 | The Talking Parcel · as Cast |
| 1978 | BBC Television Shakespeare (TV Series) · as Reynaldo |
| 1978 | The Morecambe & Wise Show (1980) (TV Series) · as Television Shop Assistant |
| 1978 | Rings On Their Fingers (TV Series) · as Garage Renter |
| 1978 | A Horseman Riding By (TV Series) · as Purchaser |
| 1978 | Grange Hill (TV Series) · as Cinema Manager |
| 1978 | Enemy at the Door (TV Series) · as Bank Manager |
| 1977 | The Other One (TV Series) · as Ron |
| 1977 | 1990 (TV Series) · as Sefton |
| 1977 | Nicholas Nickleby (TV Series) · as Charles Cheeryble |
| 1977 | A Photograph · as Mr. Lightbody |
| 1976 | The New Avengers (TV Series) · as Man With Suitcase |
| 1975 | Fawlty Towers (TV Series) · as Mr. Zebedee |
| 1975 | The Good Life (1975) (TV Series) · as Mr. Chipchase |
| 1975 | Brannigan · as Club Clerk (uncredited) |
| 1975 | The Fight Against Slavery (TV Series) · as Cast |
| 1973 | Alice Through the Looking Glass · as Tweedledee |
| 1973 | The Brontes of Haworth (TV Series) · as Postman |
| 1973 | The Kids from 47A (TV Series) · as Mr. Nolan |
| 1973 | Thriller (1973) (TV Series) · as Bill Gurney |
| 1972 | Crown Court (TV Series) · as Roy Pettit |
| 1972 | Young Winston · as Man In Theatre Gallery (uncredited) |
| 1972 | The Brothers (1972) (TV Series) · as Mr. Barrett |
| 1971 | The Onedin Line (TV Series) · as Exchange Official |
| 1971 | The Two Ronnies (TV Series) · as Bell Ringer |
| 1971 | Budgie (TV Series) · as Clerk Of The Court |
| 1970 | Man At The Top (TV Series) · as Whittaker |
| 1970 | Bartleby · as Landlord |
| 1970 | Play for Today (TV Series) · as Anaesthetist |
| 1970 | Doomwatch (TV Series) · as Nick Critchley |
| 1969 | The Liver Birds (TV Series) · as Store Personnel |
| 1969 | ITV Saturday Night Theatre (TV Series) · as Mr. Lambert |
| 1968 | The Morecambe and Wise Show (TV Series) · as Bailiff |
| 1968 | Nearest and Dearest (TV Series) · as Man In Pub |
| 1967 | Les Misérables (1967) (TV Series) · as Sergeant |
| 1966 | Mystery and Imagination (TV Series) · as Dr. Tomkins |
| 1966 | Softly Softly (TV Series) · as Rogers |
| 1965 | Play of the Month (TV Series) · as Rent Steward |
| 1965 | Public Eye (TV Series) · as Supt. Buchanan |
| 1964 | NET Playhouse (TV Series) · as Cinna |
| 1964 | Crossroads (1964) (TV Series) · as George Petersham |
| 1964 | The Wednesday Play (TV Series) · as Barman |
| 1964 | Theatre 625 (TV Series) · as Telescreen Announcer |
| 1963 | The Dick Emery Show (TV Series) · as Pools Representative |
| 1963 | The Human Jungle (TV Series) · as Vanman |
| 1963 | The Plane Makers (TV Series) · as Bill Fenham |
| 1962 | Z Cars (TV Series) · as Mr. Penrose |
| 1960 | Coronation Street (TV Series) · as Bob Fawcett |
| 1960 | Maigret (1960) (TV Series) · as Superintendent Jaminet |
| 1959 | No Hiding Place (TV Series) · as Stokes |
| 1959 | Probation Officer (TV Series) · as Mr. Stuart |
| 1958 | Our Mutual Friend (1958) (TV Series) · as Boffin's Servant |
| 1957 | Emergency-Ward 10 (TV Series) · as Mr. Henry Fortune |
| 1957 | Theatre Night (TV Series) · as Stanley Griffiths |
| 1956 | Armchair Theatre (TV Series) · as Bill |
| 1955 | Dixon of Dock Green (TV Series) · as Bernard Selwyn |