Meredith Edwards (actor)

{{Short description|Welsh actor (1917–1999)}}

{{other people|Meredith Edwards}}

{{EngvarB|date=November 2017}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Meredith Edwards

| image = Meredith Edwards in One Step Beyond (Justice).jpg

| caption = Edwards in an episode of One Step Beyond (1960)

| birth_name = Gwilym Meredith Edwards

| birth_date = {{birth date|df=y|1917|6|10}}

| birth_place = Rhosllannerchrugog, Denbighshire, Wales, UK

| death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|1999|2|8|1917|6|10}}

| death_place = Denbighshire, Wales, UK

| restingplace =

| othername =

| occupation = Actor

| yearsactive = 1949–1997

| spouse = Daisy Clark (1942–1999) (his death)

| partner =

| children = 3

}}

Gwilym Meredith Edwards (10 June 1917 – 8 February 1999) was a Welsh character actor and writer.{{cite web|url=http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b9f93e422|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120714094704/http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b9f93e422|url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-07-14|title=Meredith Edwards|work=BFI}}

He was born in Rhosllannerchrugog, Denbighshire, Wales, the son of a collier, and attended Ruabon Boys' Grammar School.{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-meredith-edwards-1071003.html |title=Obituary: Meredith Edwards |last=Stephens |first=Meic |authorlink=Meic Stephens |work=The Independent |date=15 February 1999 |accessdate=28 February 2009}} He became an actor in 1938, first with the Welsh National Theatre Company, then the Liverpool Playhouse. He was a Christian conscientious objector in the Second World War, serving in the Non-Combatant Corps, before being seconded to the National Fire Service in Liverpool and London.

Edwards' film appearances include A Run for Your Money (1949), The Blue Lamp (1950), The Magnet (1950), The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), The Cruel Sea (1953), The Great Game (1953), The Long Arm (1956), Dunkirk (1958) and Tiger Bay (1959).{{cite web|url=http://www.allmovie.com/artist/meredith-edwards-p21272|title=Meredith Edwards movies, photos, movie reviews, filmography, and biography |work=AllMovie}} He appeared as the murderous butler in the cult television series Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) in 1969, and as Tom in the cult children's science fiction serial Sky in 1975.{{cite web|url=http://www.aveleyman.com/ActorCredit.aspx?ActorID=50105|title=Meredith Edwards|publisher=aveleyman.com}} He also played Thomas Charles Edwards in the 1978 BBC drama series Off to Philadelphia in the Morning and Richard Lloyd in the 1981 TV series The Life and Times of David Lloyd George.{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00k1wjn|title=BBC Two – The Life and Times of David Lloyd George, Don't Try, Do It...|publisher=BBC}}

A Welsh nationalist and Welsh speaker, he stood as Plaid Cymru candidate for Denbigh in the 1966 general election. He was awarded an honorary degree in 1997 by the University of Wales, and was a member of the Gorsedd of Bards.[http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storyCode=100460§ioncode=26 Honorary degrees – 1997] Times Higher Education

He married Daisy Clark in 1942. They had two sons and a daughter. He is the father of actor Ioan Meredith and the grandfather of actors Ifan Meredith and Rhys Meredith.