The Oldham-born star, who also appeared in cult film A Clockwork Orange, has died today after a short illness
Actor Warren Clarke has died today at the age of 67.
The star, known for his role in TV drama Dalziel And Pascoe, is said to have died after a "short illness".
His death was announced by the agency which handled his career, Independent Talent Group.
A statement issued on behalf of his agent said: "The actor Warren Clarke died peacefully in his sleep on 12 November 2014, after a short illness.
"He will be greatly missed by his family and loved ones. At this time we ask that you respect their privacy in their time of grief."
- Stars including actor David Morrissey, comedian Jack Dee and Richard E Grant have paid tribute.
- He was well-known for his role in TV drama Dalziel And Pascoe, in which he played Detective Superintendent Andy Dalziel.
- Fans also paid tribute to the star on Twitter, describing him as a "wonderful talent".
- He appeared in everything Blackadder to Coronation Street during his career which spanned almost 50 years.
- Warren was a huge supporter of Manchester City FC and his team also posted a touching tribute to him today.
- He leaves behind a wife, Michele, and two children, Georgia and Rowan.
Actor Warren Clarke, known for his role in TV drama Dalziel And Pascoe, died today at the age of 67.
The star, who also appeared in films such as Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange, is said to have died after a "short illness".
Oldham-born Clarke was also known for his starring role in BBC series Down To Earth, about a family who leave the rat race to relocate to rural Devon.
His death was announced by the agency which handled his career, Independent Talent Group.
A statement issued on behalf of his agent said: "The actor Warren Clarke died peacefully in his sleep on 12 November 2014, after a short illness.
"He will be greatly missed by his family and loved ones. At this time we ask that you respect their privacy in their time of grief."
Warren also had two roles in Coronation Street in the late 1960s before working in the movie business.
The British actor was best known for his portrayal of Detective Superintendent Andy Dalziel in long running BBC One drama Dalziel and Pascoe.
He starred alongside Colin Buchanan as Detective Inspector Peter Pascoe in the series for eleven years between 1996 and 2007.
The late star also played the role of Dim in Stanley Kubrick’s controversial 1971 film A Clockwork Orange alongside Halloween star Malcolm McDowell and 70s sitcom It Ain’t Half Hot Mum actor Michael Bates.
He then appeared alongside McDowell again in 1972 film O Lucky Man! and in the 1985 TV movie Gulag.
Clarke was born in Oldham, Lancashire and made his first television appearance in ITV soap Coronation Street as Kenny Pickup in 1966 and later as Gary Bailey in 1968.
More recent roles include his portrayal of Brian Addis – a father who moved his family from the bustle of London to a Devon farm – in the BBC series Down to Earth.
In his personal life, Warren is said to have been a keen golfer and a lifelong supporter of Manchester City Football Club.
Tributes have started to flood in for Warren Clarke.
One fan posted on Twitter: "#RIP Warren Clarke - a tragic loss."
Another wrote on the social media site: "RIP actor warren clarke my thoughts are with his loved ones at such a sad time."
#RIP Warren Clarke - a tragic loss
— Si (@Twohungrymen) November 12, 2014 Actor Reece Shearsmith is among the stars paying tribute on Twitter.
The Shaun of the Dead star posted this afternoon: "RIP Warren Clarke. A very funny and lovely man."
Journalist Tony Parsons also wrote: "Warren Clarke was wonderful for forty years - from Dalziel and Pascoe all the way back to Dim in Clockwork Orange. RIP, droog."
Warren Clarke was wonderful for forty years - from Dalziel and Pascoe all the way back to Dim in Clockwork Orange. RIP, droog.
— Tony Parsons (@TonyParsonsUK) November 12, 2014 The last role Warren completed before his death was as Charles Poldark in a BBC revival of the 1970s TV drama Poldark.
Most TV viewers will know him for his performances as Detective Superintendent Andy Dalziel - opposite Colin Buchanan - in the TV adaptation of Reginald Hill's stories about the chalk-and-cheese colleagues Dalziel and Pascoe.
It ran for 12 series from 1996 until its conclusion in 2007.
Other notable programmes have included the BBC adaptation of Bleak House nine years ago and Channel 4's Red Riding trilogy in 2009.
More recent performances have included a guest role in Midsomer Murders, a part in BBC1 hit Call The Midwife and a stage portrayal of Winston Churchill in Three Days In May.
Assessing his career in one interview, he said: "I got lucky with some of the things I did and happened to make bigger money. But I've never gone into anything thinking 'oh, I'm going to make a fortune here'.
"I want to see the script, the character. I've been offered stuff in Hollywood but it was stuff I didn't want to be involved with."
The star wanted to be a footballer until his passion for acting kicked in.
He said in an old interview: "When I told my parents what I was going to do, they said, 'Good luck, son'.
"They always encouraged me. Looking back now, that was absolutely marvellous. They had no idea what I was getting into."
Clarke’s marriage to his first wife and the mother of his son, Rowan, ended a few years after his parents died.
He said: "Not being there with Rowan (who was 10 at the time) was tough. Nobody has an easy time with divorce. You don’t like what’s happening but you have to get on with it. But I’ve got a happy marriage now."
Warren met then met second wife Michele through friends more than 30 years ago.
They tried for a baby for two decades and had pretty much given up on the idea when Michele became pregnant with Georgia.
"When I thought it would never happen, it did, then I thought, 'Oh my God, I’m old enough to be a grandfather'," he said.
Warren wasn't always a successful TV star.
Despite his career spanning almost 50 years, he went through tough times when he struggled with money and was out of work.
He said: "I remember once, I was doing a TV series in Birmingham called Nice Work, but I'd been out of work for a while before I started and was broke.
"I had to ask people to lend me money, and my wife, Michele, actually flogged her engagement ring so we could feed ourselves.
"She didn't tell me because she didn't want to saddle me with worries. She's a very strong lady."
Warren's parents lived in a council house in a suburb of Manchester where there was little money but plenty of love.
They died within 12 months of one another when Warren was in his 20s.
He was left with his sister Beryl, who is 11 years older than him, along with a "bunch of photographs and happy memories."
Warren said: "It took me a while to get over their deaths. My mother was in her 50s when she died of cancer. My dad died a year later. I think he died of a broken heart.
"I remember forcing him to have a medical and there was no sign of anything wrong with him, but a year later he died of cancer. I have nothing but love and affection for them.
"All they left me and my sister was a bunch of photographs, which are beautiful memories. Because we’d never had money in the first place, money didn't matter.
"All we wanted was love and we've still got their love, which we can see in all the photos."
Watch our video tribute to Warren Clarke.
We look back on the actor's life and career over the past 50 years.
The video includes moments from the actor's most memorable shows.
The star's first taste of movie success was affected by factors out of his control.
As a 20-something actor, he appeared alongside Malcolm McDowell as Dim, a half-witted yet violently evil "droog" in Stanley Kubrick's controversial 1971 dystopian masterpiece, A Clockwork Orange, based on Anthony Burgess's novel.
Kubrick withdrew the movie from cinemas after several court cases implicated the film's brutal violence, including the murder of a tramp in an underpass by a gang featuring McDowell and Clarke's characters.
It remained rarely shown until its re-release following Kubrick's death in 1999.
Warren's other roles have included a Russian dissident opposite Clint Eastwood in 1982 Cold War thriller Firefox.
He also played a violent football hooligan in the 1995 British cult classic ID, and a nouveau-riche, pig-obsessed northern Regency industrialist opposite Rowan Atkinson and Miranda Richardson in Blackadder the Third in 1987.
This appearance spawned some of his best-loved lines, flattering his daughter (Richardson) by telling Blackadder: "I'd no more place her in the hands of an unworthy man than I'd place my John Thomas in the hands of a lunatic with a pair of scissors" and "I love her more than any pig, and that's saying summat".
The TV series ran on BBC One from 1996 to 2007 and clocked up 46 episodes, some of which Warren directed.
Speaking of his curmudgeonly character in 1997, Clarke said: "One of the reasons I did the series was because I loved the fact that he doesn't bow to liberal views of society.
"He's this bloke from the North who's farting, scratching and behaving badly with women."
Actor David Morrissey has posted a touching tribute to Warren on Twitter.
He worte: "So sad to hear about the death of Warren Clarke. He was a very special man/a great actor. We had wonderful times together on Red Riding. RIP."
So sad to hear about the death of Warren Clarke. He was a very special man/a great actor. We had wonderful times together on Red Riding. RIP
— David Morrissey (@davemorrissey64) November 12, 2014 Actor and director Richard E Grant also shared his memories of working with Warren and going on holiday with the late star.
He wrote on Twitter: "Shocked to hear that Warren Clarke has died. Worked with him twice and shared a holiday in the Caribbean.Hilarious and irreverent."
Warren was a huge supporter of Manchester City FC.
Today the team pay tribute to him on Twitter and posted a photograph of the late actor.
They wrote: "Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Warren Clarke following sad news of the actor and mcfc fan's passing."
Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Warren Clarke following sad news of the actor and #mcfc fan's passing pic.twitter.com/Pw4cdxalMs
— Manchester City FC (@MCFC) November 12, 2014 Comedian Jack Dee posted on Twitter: "Really sad news that Warren Clarke has died. A brilliant, funny and generous man who was a joy to work with."
Really sad news that Warren Clarke has died. A brilliant, funny and generous man who was a joy to work with.
— Jack Dee (@TheRealJackDee) November 12, 2014 Actor Will Mellor also posted: "RIP my good friend Warren Clarke!! So sad to here the news!! I can't believe it. Great man!!"
RIP my good friend Warren Clarke!! So sad to here the news!! I can't believe it. Great man!!
— Will mellor (@Mellor76) November 12, 2014 Warren did so much during his 50 year career, you may have forgotten some of his performances.
He appeared in everything Blackadder to Coronation Street and had very memorable moments in a number of other TV shows and films.
Here are some which may have slipped your mind, read our feature HERE.
Fans of Warren's have continued to pay tribute to the star this afternoon.
One Twitter user posted: "RIP Warren Clarke. I, at least, will remember you as Mr Hardwood from Blackadder III with your 'lard butties'."
RIP Warren Clarke. I, at least, will remember you as Mr Hardwood from #Blackadder III with your ‘lard butties’.
— Emma Bembridge (@Emmabem) November 12, 2014 He was also described by fans as a "wonderful talent", with another writing: "Saddened by the news of Warren Clarke's passing. A great talent."
Actor and writer Lee Ingleby also posted: "Had the absolute pleasure working with Warren Clarke, a true gent, so sad to hear of his passing."
Warren worked as a consulting producer on Dalziel and Pascoe from 2000, and has directed several episodes.
According to his BBC profile, he once admitted that despite having to put up with less than complimentary comments about his looks, he receives his fair share of saucy letters from admiring women. One even sent a picture of herself in the nude.
He also claimed to be nothing like his boozy on-screen character Dalziel.
Warren previously told The Mirror: "The man's a chauvinist pig whose idea of a good night out is swilling back ten pints in the pub with his supper waiting for him and the little woman tucked up in bed with a welcoming smile.
"I like going to the pub but my wife goes with me, too. Blokes like Dalziel just see women as sex objects."
The actor left school at the age of 15.
He later joined the Manchester Evening News as a copy boy.
Warren moved onto amateur dramatics and performed at Huddersfield Rep and the Liverpool Playhouse, before taking up acting as a full-time professional.
His first ever stage role was in his late teens, playing a 60-year-old German professor.
The star once reminisced: "I had no idea about make-up, so I put self-raising flour in my hair to make it look grey.
"But under the lights, the flour mixed with my sweat and turned to dough. There were big lumps of it dripping down my face."
Here's the original trailer for A Clockwork Orange, starring Warren Clarke.
It might hurt your eyes a little but it gives you a teaser of the bizarre and controversial movie which has now become a cult classic.
Warren played a half-witted yet violently evil "droog" in Stanley Kubrick's controversial 1971 dystopian masterpiece, based on Anthony Burgess's novel.
TV show host Sanjeev Bhaskar has paid tribute to the actor.
The star recalled his time with Warren when he was a guest on his show The Kumars at No. 42 and posted a tribute on Twitter.
He wrote: "RIPWarrenClarke Kumars guest & got me a part in Dalziel/Pascoe in return. Gruff exterior masked a generous heart. Fine actor, fine man."
#RIPWarrenClarke Kumars guest & got me a part in Dalziel/Pascoe in return. Gruff exterior masked a generous heart. Fine actor, fine man.
— Sanjeev Bhaskar (@TVSanjeev) November 12, 2014 Warren Clarke died today aged 67 and stars lead tributes to the actor.
The Oldham-born star, who also appeared in cult film A Clockwork Orange, passed away after a short illness.
His death was announced by the agency which handled his career, Independent Talent Group.
A statement issued on behalf of his agent said: "The actor Warren Clarke died peacefully in his sleep on 12 November 2014, after a short illness.
"He will be greatly missed by his family and loved ones. At this time we ask that you respect their privacy in their time of grief.
- Stars including actor David Morrissey, comedian Jack Dee and Richard E Grant have paid tribute.
- He was well-known for his role in TV drama Dalziel And Pascoe, in which he played Detective Superintendent Andy Dalziel.
- Fans also paid tribute to the star on Twitter, describing him as a "wonderful talent".
- He appeared in everything Blackadder to Coronation Street during his career which spanned almost 50 years.
- Warren was a huge supporter of Manchester City FC and his team also posted a touching tribute to him today.
- He leaves behind a wife, Michele, and two children, Georgia and Rowan.
