Stephen Lewis

Acting

Stephen Lewis

Born — Died

1926-12-17 — 2015-08-12

Place of birth

Poplar, London, England, UK

Known for

Acting

Credits

41 titles

Stephen Lewis, credited early in his career as Stephen Cato, was an English actor, comedian, director, screenwriter, playwright. He was best known for his work with Joan Littlewood, including writing the play Sparrers Can't Sing, which was subsequently turned into the movie Sparrows Can't Sing, and his regular roles in the sitcoms On the Buses and Last of the Summer Wine, both of which utilised his morose features to comedic effect.

Known for

Last of the Summer Wine poster
7.2

Unencumbered by wives, jobs or any other responsibilities, three senior citizens who've never really grown up explore their world in the Yorkshire Dales. They spend their days speculating about their fellow townsfolk and thinking up adventures not usually favored by the elderly. Last of the Summer Wine premiered as an episode of Comedy Playhouse in 1973. The show ran for 295 episodes until 2010. It is the longest running comedy Britain has produced and the longest running sitcom in the world.

Last of the Summer Wine

1973

On the Buses poster
7.3

On the Buses is a British comedy series created by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney, broadcast in the United Kingdom from 1969 to 1973. The writers' previous successes with The Rag Trade and Meet the Wife were for the BBC, but the corporation rejected On the Buses, not seeing much comedy potential in a bus depot as a setting. The comedy partnership turned to a friend, Frank Muir, Head of Entertainment at London Weekend Television, who loved the idea; the show was accepted and despite a poor critical reception became a hit with viewers.

On the Buses

1969

The World of Hammer poster
6.8

The World of Hammer is a thirteen-part British documentary series created and written by Robert and Ashley Sidaway for Channel 4. Initially broadcast from 12 August to 4 November 1994, the series is narrated by English actor and frequent Hammer collaborator Oliver Reed.

The World of Hammer

1994

2Point4 Children poster
7.4

They're just your average family. Stressed mum Bill, daft dad Ben, and two troublesome teens. Plus just a few crazy ideas, escapades and mishaps. The classic 90s sitcom.

2Point4 Children

1991

One Foot in the Grave poster
7.7

One Foot in the Grave is a BBC television sitcom series. The series features the exploits of Victor Meldrew and his long-suffering wife, Margaret. The programmes invariably deal with Meldrew's battle against the problems he creates for himself. Living in a typical household in an unnamed English suburb, Victor takes involuntary early retirement. His various efforts to keep himself busy, while encountering various misfortunes and misunderstandings are the themes of the sitcom. Despite its traditional production, the series supplants its domestic sitcom setting with elements of black humour and surrealism.

One Foot in the Grave

1990

Manhunt poster
6.8

Manhunt is a World War II drama series consisting of 26 episodes, produced by London Weekend Television in 1969 and broadcast nationwide.

Manhunt

1970

Film credits

1980s · 3 titles

1970s · 9 titles

The Last Remake of Beau Geste poster
5.7

Brothers Beau, John and Digby Geste join the Foreign Legion, where they fall under the rule of tyrannical Sergeant Markoff. Beau and John are assigned to Fort Zinderneuf, where Markoff tries to break their spirit, aware of a dark family secret concerning a fabulous jewel one of them carries. As tensions rise, Arabs attack the fort and rivalries must be thrown aside in a desperate battle for life.

The Last Remake of Beau Geste

1977

The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins poster
5.0

A septet of satirical vignettes based on the Seven Deadly Sins.

The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins

1971

Adventures of a Taxi Driver poster
5.2

Joe North is a London taxi driver who manages to get himself into any number of sexual situations with various women.

Adventures of a Taxi Driver

1976

Mutiny on the Buses poster
7.3

Bus driver Stan Butler agrees to marry Suzy, much to the anguish of Mum, her son-in-law, Arthur, and daughter Olive. How, they wonder, will they ever manage without Stan's money coming in? Then Arthur is sacked, and Stan agrees to delay the wedding. Meanwhile, he hits on an idea: Arthur should learn to drive a bus. Somehow he does just that, and even gets a job. Stan then blackmails the Depot Manager into giving him the job of driver on the new money-making Special Tours Bus. A great idea ...if only the inspector hadn't taken Stan on his trial run to the Windsor Safari Park

Mutiny on the Buses

1972

Some Will, Some Won't poster
5.2

Four people go to great lengths to obtain the fortune left in a will by a very wealthy practical joker.

Some Will, Some Won't

1970

On the Buses poster
6.2

Stan gets a little annoyed when his Mum and Sister keep buying expensive items on hire purchase, but the money he earns for overtime working as a bus driver means that he can afford it... just! His job is secure, as bus drivers are hard to come by, and his overtime prospects are good, until the bus company decide to revoke a long standing rule and employ women bus drivers. Aghast at the thought of

On the Buses

1971

This Is Love poster
5.3

Tearjerker about an estranged couple and their terminally ill son.

This Is Love

1978

Adventures of a Plumber's Mate poster
4.3

Randy plumber Sid South enjoys a profession which offers him ample opportunity to bed sexy housewives.

Adventures of a Plumber's Mate

1978

Holiday on the Buses poster
7.4

Due to a female passenger falling out of her top whilst running for the bus Stan is distracted and crashes the bus resulting in the depot managers car being written off. As a result Stan, Jack and Blakey are fired. Stan and Jack soon get new jobs as a bus crew at a Pontins holiday resort but discover that Blakey has also gotten a job there as the chief security guard.

Holiday on the Buses

1973

1960s · 5 titles

Series credits

Last of the Summer Wine poster
7.2

Unencumbered by wives, jobs or any other responsibilities, three senior citizens who've never really grown up explore their world in the Yorkshire Dales. They spend their days speculating about their fellow townsfolk and thinking up adventures not usually favored by the elderly. Last of the Summer Wine premiered as an episode of Comedy Playhouse in 1973. The show ran for 295 episodes until 2010. It is the longest running comedy Britain has produced and the longest running sitcom in the world.

Last of the Summer Wine

1973

On the Buses poster
7.3

On the Buses is a British comedy series created by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney, broadcast in the United Kingdom from 1969 to 1973. The writers' previous successes with The Rag Trade and Meet the Wife were for the BBC, but the corporation rejected On the Buses, not seeing much comedy potential in a bus depot as a setting. The comedy partnership turned to a friend, Frank Muir, Head of Entertainment at London Weekend Television, who loved the idea; the show was accepted and despite a poor critical reception became a hit with viewers.

On the Buses

1969

The World of Hammer poster
6.8

The World of Hammer is a thirteen-part British documentary series created and written by Robert and Ashley Sidaway for Channel 4. Initially broadcast from 12 August to 4 November 1994, the series is narrated by English actor and frequent Hammer collaborator Oliver Reed.

The World of Hammer

1994

2Point4 Children poster
7.4

They're just your average family. Stressed mum Bill, daft dad Ben, and two troublesome teens. Plus just a few crazy ideas, escapades and mishaps. The classic 90s sitcom.

2Point4 Children

1991

One Foot in the Grave poster
7.7

One Foot in the Grave is a BBC television sitcom series. The series features the exploits of Victor Meldrew and his long-suffering wife, Margaret. The programmes invariably deal with Meldrew's battle against the problems he creates for himself. Living in a typical household in an unnamed English suburb, Victor takes involuntary early retirement. His various efforts to keep himself busy, while encountering various misfortunes and misunderstandings are the themes of the sitcom. Despite its traditional production, the series supplants its domestic sitcom setting with elements of black humour and surrealism.

One Foot in the Grave

1990

Manhunt poster
6.8

Manhunt is a World War II drama series consisting of 26 episodes, produced by London Weekend Television in 1969 and broadcast nationwide.

Manhunt

1970

The Paradise Club poster
6.2

Focuses on brothers Frank and Danny Kane. Their mother is the matriarch of a South London criminal gang, assisted by Danny. Frank has become a priest but leaves the church; he inherits The Paradise Club following the death of their mother and returns to London to try and steer Danny away from crime.

The Paradise Club

1989

Cilla poster
8.0

A mostly live weekly entertainment show starring Cilla Black and her special guests.

Cilla

1968

The Fosters poster
5.8

The Fosters is a British sitcom created and written by Jon Watkins and Eric Monte. It showcases the early work of Lenny Henry as the budding artist son of easygoing family man Samuel Foster (Norman Beaton). The series follows the day-to-day trials of Samuel, his lively wife Pearl (both immigrants from Guyana) and their three children on a South London housing estate.

The Fosters

1976

Oh, Doctor Beeching! poster
7.4

The trials and tribulations of the staff at Hatley railway station, who are all wondering if Dr Beeching will close them down.

Oh, Doctor Beeching!

1996

No artwork available
9.0

Armchair Mystery Theatre is a 60-minute United Kingdom television anthology mystery series. Thirty-four episodes aired from 1960-65. It was hosted by Donald Pleasence and produced by Leonard White.

Armchair Mystery Theatre

1960

Bodger and Badger poster
6.3

Bodger and Badger is a BBC children's comedy programme which was first broadcast in 1989. It starred Andy Cunningham as Simon Bodger, who had a badly behaved companion, a talking badger with a love for mashed potatoes.

Bodger and Badger

1989

Alexei Sayle's Merry-Go-Round poster
6.7

Alexei Sayle's Merry-Go-Round was a comedy sketch show which ran on BBC2 for a total of 6 episodes over one series in 1998. Alexei Sayle's final series was almost identical in format to The All New Alexei Sayle Show except with yet another change of writers.. Unusually, there was no studio audience. Sketches included the talents of Noel Fielding, Lee Hurst, Paul Putner, Gemma Rigg, Reece Shearsmith, Jessica Stevenson, David Walliams and Peter Serafinowicz The continuing adventures of Bobby Chariot were chronicled. Now free from any obligation to be Alexei's warm-up man, he traversed a series of other career cul-de-sacs under the appalling management of the repulsive "Edna" Denise Coffey. In one episode, the joke was turned on its head as Chariot performed for an audience of students, who enjoyed his act ironically and responded to his catchphrase "How ya diddling?" with an enthusiastic reply of "We're diddling fine!". Meanwhile Alexei Sayle himself was depicted as living in a Teletubbies-style burrow somewhere in the posh part of North London.

Alexei Sayle's Merry-Go-Round

1998

Armchair Theatre poster
6.0

Armchair Theatre is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by Associated British Corporation, and later by Thames Television from mid-1968.

Armchair Theatre

1956

Armchair Theatre poster
6.0

Armchair Theatre is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by Associated British Corporation, and later by Thames Television from mid-1968.

Armchair Theatre

1956

Don't Drink the Water poster
6.2

This short-lived sequel to On the Buses (1969) saw Blakey move to Spain with his sister.

Don't Drink the Water

1974

ITV Christmas Comedy poster
NR

Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without the special edition of your favourtie comedy show to fill the gap between the staggeringly huge Christmas dinner and the Queen's speech, and the ITV network have rolled hours of Christmas's into one with their latest DVD set of ITV comedy. With almost ten hours of classic, festive merriment featuring some of the channel's most memorable Christmas specials the whole family can relive the joys of Christmas past.

ITV Christmas Comedy

1983

The All New Alexei Sayle Show poster
6.3

The All New Alexei Sayle Show was a comedy sketch show broadcast on BBC2 television for a total of twelve episodes, over two series in 1994 and 1995. The title sequence featured Alexei Sayle as an innocent, newly arrived man in London singing cheerful lyrics and dancing around Trafalgar Square in an obvious parody of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. It was the successor to Alexei Sayle's Stuff, and predecessor of Alexei Sayle's Merry-Go-Round. A then-unknown Christoph Waltz appeared in a sketch during its run.

The All New Alexei Sayle Show

1994

Behind the camera