Actor David (Cedric) Morris died 29 October 2007. Born in Folkestone, Kent, UK on 11 September 1924, he made his acting debut at the age of 79, and played Grandpa George (the grandfather who doesn’t get out of bed) in the 2005 version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
After serving in World War II, he spent most of his professional life as a painter of portraits and landscapes. He also taught painting in France and England, including 20 years in the Royal Academy Schools. He’d been an amateur actor for many years, but got his big break when, according to The Independent “a television director friend, Sandy Johnson, cast him in an episode of the murder-mystery series Jonathan Creek (2004)—at the age of 79. ‘It was proving impossible to find an aged actor to play the part of a wizened-looking old man—who could remember a lot of lines, important plot stuff,’ recalled Johnson.
“Eventually, I sugggested to the producer, Verity Lambert, and the writer, David Renwick, that we should meet my friend David Morris, an ‘amateur actor’ who looked right and seemed to have a photographic memory. He came into TV Centre, charmed us all with his performance, got the part and started a new career as an actor.”