DEREK NIMMODerek Nimmo, the popular actor famous for his comical roles in clerical series, died on 24 February 1999 aged 63.
He won over critics and audiences alike, playing incompetent aristocrats and bumbling members of the clergy. Viewers warmed to his silly but lovable characters, marked by his distinctive ‘plummy’ voice and traditional upper-class charms.
He was well loved by stage, radio and television audiences worldwide. In a career spanning almost five decades, he was never short of work.
He remains best loved for his humorous, bumbling clerical roles in hit television series such as ‘Oh Brother!’ and ‘Oh Father!’. He will be remembered as a true comic legend.
Derek Robert Nimmo was born in Liverpool on September 19, 1930. He excelled at Drama in school and soon joined a local theatre group, where he was spotted by a repetory company.
He made his debut as a professional actor at the Bolton Hippodrome in 1952. In the 1960s, he came to the public attention in a long-running West End production of ‘Charlie Girl’.
His reputation grew with regular appearances on television and radio. He was an original and popular panellist on the Radio 4 show, ‘Just A Minute’, appearing 310 times between 1967 and 1994.
He had a talent for comedy. He exaggerated his gangly physique and the stammer he had had since a child to play comic authority figures.
He is best remembered for his clerical roles in television comedy series: a Reverend in the massively popular ‘All Gas and Gaiters’ (1966), and the bumbling Father Dominic in ‘Oh Brother!’ (1968) and its 1973 sequel ‘Oh Father!’
Mr Nimmo also played many aristocrats, including the starring role of Bingo Little in ‘The World of Wooster’ (1965). He also appeared in the James Bond spoof film ‘Casino Royale’ (1967). He had a cameo role in The Beatles’ 1964 video ‘A Hard Day’s Night’.
He soon became disillusioned with the changing tastes of television audiences and instead became an impresario, taking his own productions all over the world with a troupe of star performers.
He was happily married to his wife Patricia, with whom he had three sons. They were together for 43 years, until his death from pneumonia on February 24th 1999 at the age of 68.
Mr Nimmo was an immensely popular and talented actor. His portrayal of incapable clergymen made him a household name in the 1960s – even The Goodies referenced him, using a “team of Derek Nimmos” in a spoof game of “Ecclesiastical Rugby Sevens".
He won many awards, including the Royal Television Society's silver medal, and was voted Variety Club Show Business Personality of the year in 1971.
Aside from acting, Mr Nimmo wrote many books about his two passions: theatre and wine. He was in high demand as an excellent after-dinner speaker and in 1990 won the Benedictine After Dinner Speaker Of The Year Award.
He was so skilled at bringing his characters to life that it was often difficult to separate him from his roles. He was so convincing as a monk that he was arrested whilst filming in the Vatican , when a shocked nun saw him posing arm in arm with a young lady fan.
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