Gerald Sim

Gerald Sim
Born
Gerald Grant Sim

(1925-06-04)4 June 1925
Liverpool, England
Died11 December 2014(2014-12-11) (aged 89)
Northwood, Hillingdon, London, England
OccupationActor
Years active1947–1996, 2007
Spouse
Deidre Benner
​
​
(m. 1967; died 1999)​
Relatives

Gerald Grant Sim (4 June 1925 – 11 December 2014) was an English television and film actor who is perhaps best known for having played the rector in To the Manor Born.[1]

Early life

Sim was born in Liverpool, Lancashire. He was the younger brother of the actress Sheila Sim and brother-in-law of the actor/director Richard Attenborough.[2]

Career

Sim made over a hundred film and television appearances, beginning with an uncredited role in the film Fame Is the Spur (1947).[3] Film and TV roles include The L-Shaped Room (1962), Séance on a Wet Afternoon (1964), King Rat (1965), The Avengers (1966), Oh! What a Lovely War (1969), Ryan's Daughter (1970), Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde (1971), Frenzy (1972), Young Winston (1972), The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (episode 7, as the Vicar - 1976), A Bridge Too Far (1977), The New Avengers (1977), Edward & Mrs. Simpson (1978), Gandhi (1982), as Dr George Bagster Phillips in Jack the Ripper (1988), Chaplin (1992) and Patriot Games (1992).[4]

Another occasion in which he played a vicar was when he appeared in an episode of Keeping Up Appearances.[1]

Although he had retired, he agreed to reprise his best-known role and appeared in the 2007 25th anniversary special episode of To the Manor Born.[5]

Personal life and death

Sim was married to the British actress Deidre Benner, from 1967 until her death in 1999. In his later years, Sim lived in Denville Hall, the same north London care home for entertainers as his sister and brother-in-law, who occupied the rooms on either side of him.[6][7] Sim died on 11 December 2014, aged 89.[6]

Filmography

References

  1. ^ a b "Gerald Sim, actor – obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 6 March 2015.
  2. ^ "Obituary: Gerald Sim – Obituaries". The Stage. 11 March 2015. Archived from the original on 16 July 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  3. ^ "Fame Is the Spur (1947)". IMDb. Retrieved 28 December 2008.
  4. ^ "Gerald Sim". Archived from the original on 22 November 2017.
  5. ^ "To the Manor Born[25/12/2007] (2007)". Archived from the original on 20 July 2018.
  6. ^ a b Coveney, Michael (5 March 2015). "Gerald Sim obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  7. ^ Gallagher, Paul (6 November 2014). "Residents at Richard Attenborough's care home 'given wrong drug doses'". The Independent. Retrieved 26 January 2018.