Actor playwright John Waterhouse dies

ACTOR and author John Waterhouse passed away in Paphos General Hospital on New Year’s Day following a heart attack.  

A loveable man with a brilliant sense of humour he was born in Kings Lynn, Norfolk on February 29, 1928.  

When he left school, and after completing his National Service, went into the theatre.  He became a professional actor for more than 13 years during which time he met and married the actress Jacqueline Bellhouse. 

In 1958, he wrote his first play Off The Rails, which was quickly followed by Pillar To Post, A Drop In The Ocean, Six Of The Best, We’re Frying Tonight and Just The Ticket, which were all performed by popular comedy actors of the day.  During 1960-1980 he went on to co-write the musical Man In The Moon starring Charlie Drake, the film He’ll Have To Go featuring Bob Monkhouse, Alfred Marks and Hattie Jacques plus numerous short plays and sketches for television. 

In 1982 he and his wife came to live in Cyprus since where he wrote a novel Swindley And The Golden Fleece, published two collections of short stories The Paradise Collection and Good Night, Bad Dreams along with 20 one-act plays, the last of which, Fit To Drop was published in 2012.  

John’s wife died in 1987.  His autobiography A Stage In My Life has a poignant ending which reads:  “Every life has to have an end and as much as I may protest it, I am coming to the end of mine. I have said it all and done it all – well, maybe not quite all. But in the telling and the doing I realise the past was not all that long ago, in fact it only seems like yesterday.  Should I have anything that requires to be said and done tomorrow, it would be as well if I were to say and do it quickly. There has been much in my life for which I should thank God, but above all I thank Him for having given me the splendour of an unbridled imagination and the talent to amuse”.

John is survived by his daughter Sarah.

The funeral will take place on Monday at the Paphos Metropolitian Cemetery at 11am.