Bill Dean
Acting
1921-09-03 · Everton, Liverpool, England, UK
Bill Dean was a British actor who was born in Everton, Liverpool, Lancashire. He was born Patrick Anthony Connolly, but took his stage name in honour of Everton football legend William 'Dixie' Dean. After a atring of jobs, it was his work as a Lancashire club comedian that saw him spotted by Ken Loach who gave him his breakthrough role in his TV play The Golden Vision. Famous for his flat but penetrating Scouse tones, Dean went on to star as miserable pensioner Harry Cross in the long running Channel 4 soap Brookside from its inception in 1983 to 1990. He briefly returned to the series in 1999 for three episodes, when his character re-appeared in Brookside Close suffering from Alzheimer's disease and wrongly believing that he still lived there. The same character was the inspiration behind the 1980s group 'Jegsy Dodd and the sons of Harry Cross' who hailed from the Wirral and Dean himself appeared in the video of the Liverpudlian band The Farm's Groovy Train as Cross, who was a former train driver. He did of a heart attack aged 78 in 2000.
Filmography
Brookside: Friday the 13th
1998 · Movie
Hillsborough
1996 · Movie
Priest
1995 · Movie
Skallagrigg
1994 · Movie
Heartbeat
1992 · Series
Let Him Have It
1991 · Movie
The Word
1990 · Series
Slayground
1984 · Movie
Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime
1983 · Series
The Gathering Seed
1983 · Series
Going Gently
1981 · Movie
A Turn for the Worse
1981 · Movie
Rising Damp
1980 · Movie
The Mirror Crack'd
1980 · Movie
Minder
1979 · Series
Scum
1979 · Movie
Night People
1978 · Movie
Freedom of the Dig
1978 · Movie
Pennies from Heaven
1978 · Series
BBC2 Play of the Week
1977 · Series
Beasts: What Big Eyes
1976 · Movie
Beasts
1976 · Series
Bag of Yeast
1976 · Movie
Break In
1975 · Movie
In Sickness and in Health
1975 · Movie
Waiting at the Field Gate
1975 · Movie
The Wackers
1975 · Series
Flame
1975 · Movie
The Sweeney
1975 · Series
Oh No, It's Selwyn Froggitt!
1974 · Series
Match of the Day
1974 · Movie
Playhouse
1974 · Series
Night Watch
1973 · Movie
Speech Day
1973 · Movie
The Best Pair of Legs in the Business
1973 · Movie
New Scotland Yard
1972 · Series
Bank Holiday
1972 · Movie
Gumshoe
1971 · Movie
Family Life
1971 · Movie
Justice
1971 · Series
The Rank and File
1971 · Movie
Budgie
1971 · Series
Roll On Four O'Clock
1970 · Movie
Play for Today
1970 · Series
Kes
1970 · Movie
The Big Flame
1969 · Movie
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
1969 · Series
The Expert
1968 · Series
The Golden Vision
1968 · Movie
Man in a Suitcase
1967 · Series
Public Eye
1965 · Series
The Wednesday Play
1964 · Series