The following remembrance of Bernard Fox is an excerpt from the January 2017 edition of The eBullet.
Bernard Fox
May 11, 1927 -December 14, 2016
OH, THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!–The Exciting Adventures of a Boy and His Bike
Bernard Fox, Mayberry’s charming “Englishster” Malcolm Merriweather died in Van Nuys, Calif., on December 14. He was 89.
The question really is how to even begin to capture the magic of Bernard’s life with mere words. His was a grand life, one lived with a rare combination of grace and gusto. He was the life of every party. If there wasn’t a party before he arrived, there certainly was one after he entered any setting!
MAP QUEST–Must’ve taken a wrong turn at Heckmondwike.
Though he was in just three episodes of TAGS (“Andy’s English Valet,” “The Return of Malcolm Merriweather” and “Malcolm at the Crossroads”), Bernard’s Malcolm Merriweather has remained one of the most memorable and beloved of the entire series.
Bernard participated in numerous Mayberry cast reunion events from the mid-1990s through mid-2000s. From Michigan to Tennessee and from Ohio to North Carolina to Alabama and closer to home in California, Bernard always delighted Mayberry audiences.
OPRY VIEW–Bernard at center stage at the Grand Ole Opry during a Mayberry Cast Reunion visit to Nashville in 2001. And not too shabby of a backup singer behind him!
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Ever the hail fellow well met, Bernard became good friends with many fans over the years. He took a genuine interest in people and took the time to learn more about them. He was naturally curious, a quality that served him well in performing.
As a young chap.
Not actually an Englishman, he was born Bernard Mitchell Lawson on May 11, 1927, in Port Talbot, South Wales, to Queenie Barrett and Gerald Lawson, both of whom were actors.
A “HEROES” WELCOME–And quite a bit different than Bernard’s actual WWII experience.
Bernard began his acting career at the age of 18 months, when he was carried on stage. By age of 14, he was an assistant manager of a theater. After his time in the Royal Navy, including dangerous duty on a minesweeper during World War II, he resumed his acting career. In 1952, he was invited to join London’s Whitehall Farce Players.
DOUBLE DOLLOPS OF LOVE–Bernard and Jacquie on their honeymoon.
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That work lead to broader theater work, both in London and around Europe. He met Jacquie Holt, an American actress and his future bride, when they were both performing in a production of The Amorous Prawn in Rome in 1959. (She played a Cockney maid, and he played a butler.)
A Night to Remember and…
…and Titanic.
Bernard’s theater performances garnered him accolades and attention that dovetailed with his first work in films. Bernard has the distinction of being the only actor to be appear in both A Night to Remember (1958, as crow’s nest lookout Frederick Fleet, who has the memorable line, “Iceberg dead ahead, sir!”) and 1997’s global blockbuster Titanic in which he played survivor Col. Archibald Gracie IV.
SAVING GRACIE–Bernard (center left) dines with all-star cast during an elegant dinner scene aboard the Titanic.
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Bernard met TAGS writers Ray Saffian Allen and Harvey Bullock in 1957 when the two writers were working in London on “Dick and the Duchess” for CBS. After that series wrapped, Ray stayed in London to produce sitcoms for British TV, including “Three Live Wires,” which starred Bernard in all 26 episodes as a character named…Malcolm.
When Ray Allen eventually returned to America to pick up again writing for Danny Thomas and others, he told Bernard that if he ever came to America, he’d write a part in a show for him. Bernard did, and Ray did.
BIKE TO BASICS–Malcolm pedals joy when he rides into Mayberry.
THE WHEEL DEAL–Bernard had gained an extra wheel by the time he cruised on the stage for the Mayberry Cast Reunion at Opryland in 2001.
That led to more doors being opened and more folks in Hollywood lining up to cast Bernard as the outstanding new go-to actor for Englishman roles. Harvey Bullock was at the head of the line wanting to work with Bernard–writing all three Malcolm Merriweather episodes, which spanned from 1963 to 1965.
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CAR 53, WHERE ARE YOU?– Bernard and fellow bad guy Roy Kinnear make their point with Don Knotts and Dean Jones as Herbie revs up for a rescue.
SAY “CHEESE”–We’d recognize that mouse-stache anywhere!
Bernard went on to play heavies in two movie comedies with Don Knotts: Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977) and The Private Eyes (1980). Bernard also supplied the voice of the Chairmouse in The Rescuers and The Rescuers Down Under for Disney. And he traveled to the Sahara to film his role of wacky pilot Winston Havelock in The Mummy, a sequel-spawning hit of 1999.
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THE WRIGHT BROTHERS AREN’T THE ONLY EXPERT CYCLISTS WHO COULD FLY A PLANE, YOU KNOW!–Bernard riding high in The Mummy with Brendan Fraser.
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Though always first and foremost Malcolm Merriweather in the hearts of Mayberry fans, the world beyond Mayberry probably knows and loves him even better for his recurring role as Dr. Bombay, the multi-costumed warlock on “Bewitched” and its sequel “Tabitha” (as well as a cameo in 1999 on the daytime soap opera “Passions”).
VERY CAPE-ABLE ACTOR–And that’s no bull!
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Before and during “Bewitched,” legions of TV fans also first enjoyed watching Bernard in his frequent visits to Stalag 13 as the hilariously pompous and bumbling Colonel Crittendon on “Hogan’s Heroes.”
THE VERY WITCHING TIME OF DAY–Bernard with Kasey Rogers (Louise Tate), director William Asher and Erin Murphy (Tabitha Stephens) at the unveiling of the TV Land Landmark for “Bewitched” in Salem, Mass., in 2005.
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QUICK DRAW–Bernard as a straight-shooting detective in the 1965 “Dick Van Dyke Show” episode titled “Never Bathe on a Saturday.” He’s pictured here with ace TAGS writer as a bellboy (who also looks a lot like Herman Glimscher).
The consummate character actor, Bernard could perform in any type of role, whether comedy or drama. Among his credits were episodes of top shows such as “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” “Perry Mason,” “McHale’s Navy,” “F Troop,” “The Wild, Wild West,” “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,” “I Spy,” “Columbo,” “M*A*S*H,” “Simon & Simon” and “Murder She Wrote.” And it’s no surprise that Bernard could totally own a portrayal of Dr. Watson to anybody’s Sherlock Holmes, as he did with Stewart Grainger as Sherlock in 1972’s The Hound of the Baskervilles.
AND JUST ONE MORE THING…Another encounter with a detective.
THE GAME’S AFOOT–You don’t have to be a detective to know that Bernard is the perfect Dr. Watson to Stewart Grainger’s Sherlock Holmes is “The Hound of the Baskervilles.”
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Even with all of his tremendous success in films, Bernard’s greatest performing love probably remained live theater.
In addition to his many stage productions in Great Britain and Europe before moving to America, Bernard performed numerous plays in North America, including 13 Rue de L’Amour on Broadway in 1978.
RIGHT YOU ARE, GOV’NER– The cast for the Mayberry Cast Reunion at Opryland in 2001 during an official reception at the Tennessee Governor’s Mansion in Nashville. In the back row (l-r) are Bernard, Doug Dillard, Don Knotts and George Lindsey. In front are Gov. Don Sundquist and First Lady Martha Sundquist, Rodney Dillard, Howard Morris, Maggie Peterson and Betty Lynn. Photo by Jed DeKalb.
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Bernard also wrote, directed, acted in and hosted A Night in an English Music Hall, a re-creation of a Victorian Music Hall at Santa Monica’s Mayfair Theatre from 1973 to 1978.
CROWD PLEASER–Bernard entertains at Oxfordfest in Oxford, Ala., in 1995. Photo by Karen Leonard.
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BOSOM BUDDIES–Ernest T. Bass and Malcolm.
TOGETHER AGAIN, AGAIN –On stage in 1995 at the 35th Anniversary “Andy Griffith Show” Cast Reunion in Winston-Salem, N.C. Photo by Steve Keenan.
He later toured with his own one-man Miniature Music Hall with performances everywhere from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas to an arts festival in Santa Fe to even the Queen Mary. He shared routines from his one-man show during his performances at Mayberry cast reunion shows–never failing to delight audiences.
After retiring from acting (an episode of “Dharma & Greg” in 2001 was his last film role), Bernard still performed bits from his Music Hall act for a range of audiences, including large public reunion gatherings for TAGS and “Bewitched.” And he remained in demand for a variety of public appearances and interviews pertaining to Titanic. He also focused on gardening and painting and enjoying time with his family and socializing with his many friends.
TREE-MENDOUS TALENT–Bernard making a paper tree during the Mayberry Cast Reunion in Grand Rapids, Mich., in 1995.
Bernard is survived by Jacquie, his wife of 55 years, daughter Amanda and two grandchildren. Daughter Valerie passed away in 2006. No funeral service is planned for Bernard, but there will be a party to celebrate his life. To that, we can all say, “Cheers to a jolly good fellow!”
Bernard has left us many happy memories and many marvelous performances for generations to enjoy. As Malcolm Merriweather, he taught us about bubble and squeak and roly poly pudding and how to make things out of rolled up newspapers and how to paint faces on eggs.
Bernard Fox, for all time, was indeed a real bobby dazzler.
Bernard Fox, “Weren’t you kind!”
Proceed in close order.
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Editor’s Note: We can’t recall with certainty who took the photographs above from the TAGS cast reunion in Nashville in 2001. We think either Karen Leonard or Bart Boatwright, both great photographers and friends of Bernard’s.
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