Ray Henwood

{{Short description|Welsh-born New Zealand actor (1937–2019)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}

{{Use New Zealand English|date=August 2019}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Ray Henwood

| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=NZL|ONZM|size=100%}}

| image =

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption = Henwood in 1981

| birth_name = Charles Raymond Henwood

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1937|01|15|df=y}}

| birth_place = Swansea, Wales

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2019|08|26|1937|01|15|df=y}}

| death_place = Wellington, New Zealand

| nationality =

| other_names =

| occupation = Actor

| known_for =

| relatives = Dai Henwood (son)

}}

Charles Raymond Henwood {{post-nominals|country=NZL|size=100%|ONZM}} (15 January 1937 – 26 August 2019) was a Welsh-born New Zealand actor.{{Cite web|url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/4102/ray-henwood-actor|title=Ray Henwood, actor|last=Taonga|first=New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu|website=www.teara.govt.nz|language=en|access-date=11 December 2016}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/culture/73825829/ray-henwoods-and-dylan-thomas-welsh-childhood|title=Ray Henwood's and Dylan Thomas' Welsh childhood|website=Stuff|access-date=11 December 2016}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/stage-and-theatre/79850852/circa-theatre-gives-modern-cloak-to-shakespeares-king-lear|title=Circa theatre gives modern cloak to Shakespeare's King Lear|website=Stuff|access-date=11 December 2016}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1512/S00005/ray-henwood-wales-and-aoteroa-meet-on-stage.htm|title=Ray Henwood: Wales and Aotearoa meet on Stage {{!}} Scoop News|website=www.scoop.co.nz|access-date=11 December 2016}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.nzonscreen.com/interviews/ray-henwood|title=Ray Henwood: The voice... {{!}} NZ On Screen|website=www.nzonscreen.com|language=en|access-date=11 December 2016}} He was married to district court judge Carolyn Henwood, and was the father of New Zealand comedian Dai Henwood.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nzonscreen.com/person/ray-henwood|title=Ray Henwood {{!}} NZ On Screen|website=www.nzonscreen.com|language=en|access-date=11 December 2016}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/stage-and-theatre/83062073/ray-henwood-teams-up-with-old-pal-roger-hall-in-last-legs|title=Ray Henwood teams up with old pal Roger Hall in Last Legs.|website=Stuff|access-date=11 December 2016}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/celebrities/80931202/us-two-ray-and-dai-henwood|title=Us Two: Ray and Dai Henwood|website=Stuff|access-date=11 December 2016}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/stage-and-theatre/74070465/dai-henwood-opens-up-about-making-it-and-making-tea|title=Dai Henwood opens up about making it, and making tea|website=Stuff|access-date=11 December 2016}}

Born in Swansea, Wales, on 15 January 1937, Henwood emigrated to New Zealand at the age of 25, and became a naturalised New Zealander in 1977.{{cite web |url=https://search.ancestry.com.au/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=try&db=NZNaturalisations&h=75638 |title=New Zealand, naturalisations, 1843–1981 |year=2010 |publisher=Ancestry.com Operations |url-access=subscription}} In 1962, Henwood was appointed to the staff of Mana College in Porirua, teaching science and mathematics there for four years. He then joined the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) as a toxicologist and helped to introduce the breathalyser.{{cite news |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/arts/115344741/ray-henwood-an-incandescent-thespian-extraordinaire |title=Ray Henwood: an 'incandescent thespian extraordinaire' |first=Bess |last=Manson |date=28 August 2019 |work=Stuff |access-date=6 February 2022}} In 1971, he published a book on drug use in New Zealand, A Turned On World, that was critical of the Narcotics Act (1965), describing the Act as "using a cannon to kill flies".{{cite web |url=https://natlib.govt.nz/records/22234509 |title=A turned on world: drug use in New Zealand, by C.R. Henwood |website=National Library of New Zealand |access-date=6 February 2022}}

Henwood was one of the founding members of Circa Theatre and kept contributing to Circa until his death.{{Cite book|last=|first=|url=|title=Circa 1976-1996|date=1996|publisher=The Council of Circa Theatre|isbn=0-473-04155-3|editor-last=Reid|editor-first=John|location=Wellington [N.Z.]|pages=|oclc=37434951|editor-last2=Jeffrey|editor-first2=Ruth}} In the 2006 Queen's Birthday Honours, Henwood was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to film and the theatre.{{cite web |url=https://dpmc.govt.nz/publications/queens-birthday-honours-list-2006 |title=Queen's Birthday honours list 2006 |date=5 June 2006 |publisher=Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet |accessdate=26 August 2019}}

Henwood died in Wellington on 26 August 2019, aged 82.{{cite news|url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=12261942 |title=Veteran New Zealand actor Ray Henwood, star of Gliding On, has died |work=New Zealand Herald |date=26 August 2019 |accessdate=26 August 2019}}{{cite news |url=https://deaths.dompost.co.nz/obituaries/dominion-post-nz/obituary.aspx?n=charles-henwood&pid=193751612 |title=Charles Henwood death notice |date=28 August 2019 |work=Dominion Post |accessdate=29 August 2019}}