Veteran actor George Cole – best known as loveable rogue Arthur Daley from the TV series Minder - has died aged 90. Mr Cole passed away in hospital with his wife and son at his bedside, following a short illness. His career has spanned more than 70 years and before his death he had urged a director to 'get a move on,' because he wanted to make one more film.
Minder star George Cole first found fame in the 1950s playing wheeler-dealer Flash Harry in the St Trinian's films, but will be best remembered for his part playing another cockney wideboy decades later. His portrayal of camel-coated, cigar-puffing used car salesman Arthur Daley entertained viewers for more than 10 years with millions tuning in to watch him and Dennis Waterman's Terry McCann - the long-suffering minder of the title.
Cole's character, an ambitious but feckless small-time crook, spent each episode dreaming up another get-rich-quick scheme while avoiding the attentions of the police - in the form of Patrick Malahide's Mr Chisolm - and the never seen but often mentioned 'er indoors.
Waterman eventually left the show, which ran from 1979 to 1994, with Gary Webster stepping into the role for the last two series. Cole's first major role - Flash Harry - saw him share the screen with his mentor Alastair Sim who guided his early career and was a lifelong influence.
The pair met in theatre and Cole was taken under Sim's wing while still a teenager - he plucked the young actor from Blitz-hit London and took him in as an unofficial evacuee in his Oxfordshire home.
Cole never left - he eventually built his own home next door to Sim and his wife - and proceeded to star in a succession of stage shows and films with the Scottish star, including the series based on the fictional girls' school created by cartoonist Ronald Searle.
Cole, who was adopted as a baby and grew up in a council flat in Morden, south London, started performing music hall routines on stage as a child with his parents who were both amateur musicians.
He began acting when he left school aged 14 and got a job as an understudy in a musical in Blackpool, sharing his dressing room with the animal extras - two goats and six pigeons.
He went on to be a regular on stage, screen and radio and worked almost non-stop for more than 70 years. Cole, who was made an OBE in 1992 and was married twice.
Cole's character, an ambitious but feckless small-time crook, spent each episode dreaming up another get-rich-quick scheme while avoiding the attentions of the police - in the form of Patrick Malahide's Mr Chisolm - and the never seen but often mentioned 'er indoors.
Waterman eventually left the show, which ran from 1979 to 1994, with Gary Webster stepping into the role for the last two series. Cole's first major role - Flash Harry - saw him share the screen with his mentor Alastair Sim who guided his early career and was a lifelong influence.
The pair met in theatre and Cole was taken under Sim's wing while still a teenager - he plucked the young actor from Blitz-hit London and took him in as an unofficial evacuee in his Oxfordshire home.
Cole never left - he eventually built his own home next door to Sim and his wife - and proceeded to star in a succession of stage shows and films with the Scottish star, including the series based on the fictional girls' school created by cartoonist Ronald Searle.
Cole, who was adopted as a baby and grew up in a council flat in Morden, south London, started performing music hall routines on stage as a child with his parents who were both amateur musicians.
He began acting when he left school aged 14 and got a job as an understudy in a musical in Blackpool, sharing his dressing room with the animal extras - two goats and six pigeons.
He went on to be a regular on stage, screen and radio and worked almost non-stop for more than 70 years. Cole, who was made an OBE in 1992 and was married twice.
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