Paul Eddington's Main TV Roles Show Character(s) A Bit of Fry & Laurie (UK) Paul Edding… Yes, Minister (UK) James Hacker Yes, Prime Minister (UK) James Hacker The Good Life (UK) Jerry Leadb… Alice in Wonderland UK White Rabbit Doomwatch (UK) Reynolds The Camomile Lawn (UK) Richard Cut… Frontier (UK) Hamilton Lo… Hine (UK) Astor Harris Let There Be Love (UK) Timothy Love Man at the Top (UK) Clive Kempson Ryan International (UK) Monsieur Bl… Special Branch (UK) Strand That's Showbusiness (UK) Paul Edding… The Days of Vengeance (UK) Power The Spread of the Eagle (UK) Brutus

Main Movie Roles 1968 - The Devil Rides Out

BIOGRAPHY:

Paul Eddington was a tall, debonair actor who achieved international success in the 1970s with "The Good Life" (1975), a popular television series about a young couple farming their backyard in a London suburb. He played the supporting role of neighbor Jerry Leadbetter. It was the hit comedy series "Yes Minister" (1980), later called "Yes, Prime Minister" (1986), in the 1980s that brought him television stardom as the inept politician Jim Hacker. The actor's performances as an incompetent minister and prime minister were so admired by Margaret Thatcher that she awarded him the honor of Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Despite suffering from skin cancer, he continued to perform on stage and television, concealing his illness, until tabloid press began suggesting he had AIDS.


TRIVIA:

• Four children with Patricia Scott: Toby (born 1954), Hugo, Dominic and Gemma.
• Just before he died, Paul Eddington gave a very moving interview in the Face to Face series. With typical modesty, he said that his epitaph should simply be "He did very little harm".
• He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1987 for his services to drama.
• First TV lead was to be in a play called 'On Easy Terms' for Rediffusion TV, written by Ken Taylor and directed by Tania Lieven. He was to play an amorous door-to-door salesman. However the production was cancelled during rehearsals, near the end of Rediffusion's tenure. The play was taken by Belgian TV and made as Facilités de payement (1970) (TV).
• He was awarded the 1992 London Critics Circle Theatre Award (Drama Theatre Award) for Best Actor for his performance in No Man's Land.