Patrick Godfrey, 1933 – 2026

What is with all the British actors and actresses dying this week? The latest is Patrick Godfrey, 93, on June 4. The stage, radio, screen, and TV actor appeared in such Big Period Films as The Remains of the Day, A Room with a View, Maurice, The Duchess, and The Count of Monte Cristo, as well as countless TV series and movies (among them Dr. Who, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Inspector Morse, Casualty, Foyle’s War, and Z-Cars). Samuel West, who directed Godfrey in 2003’s Les Liaisons Dangereuses, recalled, “He did a brilliant audition. First of all, he convinced me, quite rightly, that I was very lucky to have him reading. And then he sort of said, ‘Well, why do you think I’m the right person for this part? Why do you think I should do this?’ And he went away for a week and kept me hanging on. As soon as he said, ‘Why do you think I’d want to take such a small part,’ I sort of thought, ‘Right, I’m going to make you want to do this part.’ And between us we managed to convince each other that that was what we wanted.” Godfrey is survived by his wife, actress Amanda Walker, and their daughter, Kate Godfrey, Head of Voice for the Royal Shakespeare Company.