The Guardian (Free subscription) | 11/19/2009
Gavin Gaughan writes: Michael Coveney's account of Timothy Bateson (obituary, 8 November) omitted a minor but noteworthy event in television comedy. The first person to give life on screen to Basil Fawlty was not John Cleese, but the diminutive, inoffensive-looking Bateson. Cleese took the inspiration from the real-life hotel proprietor Donald Sinclair, and before Fawlty Towers...
Times Online (Free subscription) | 11/10/2009
It was one of the most sensational first nights in the history of the London theatre. No one understood it. Even the so-called experts, the critics. Neither the cast nor the audience had any idea what it meant; and Timothy Bateson had a speech of such utter drivel that self-evidently it was, well, gibberish. The play was called Waiting for Godot. Samuel Beckett was its author. It became...
The Oliver Oberservations (Free subscription) | 11/10/2009
I was sorry to learn today that the actor Timothy Bateson died a couple of months ago at the age of 83. The Guardian has a good obituary by Michael Coveney here. Theatre buffs may remember Bateson’s name as he originated the role of Lucky in the 1955 British premiere of Beckett’s ‘Waiting for Godo’, and made [...]
The Guardian (Free subscription) | 11/08/2009
British character actor whose role in Waiting for Godot led to more than 50 years on stage, television and film Timothy Bateson, who has died aged 83, was a character actor of boundless versatility and great warmth of personality who will always be remembered for playing Lucky in the controversial British premiere of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot at the Arts Theatre, London, in...
The Guardian (Free subscription) | 11/11/2009
... all out, Lil, and get a nice set …" David Lodge Birmingham • The obituary for Timothy Bateson ( Obituary , 8 November) mentioned the difficulties that original cast had with grasping the meaning of Waiting for Godot. The author himself was apparently not a lot of help. A friend of mine was assistant stage manager on the first production, and the cast and crew eagerly...
