Prompted by a comment in Mick’s Ryanair post, I’m putting up the news in case like me, you missed the death of that wonderfully versatile actor Harry Towb. He was equally at home in Greek tragedy and the slapstick of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum or a Sam McCready comedy. Reared in the now very small Jewish community in Belfast, the Jewish Chronicle records that he was thought to be the only Jew ever to be born in Larne! The Times full obit recalls the tough days of war time and his launch with the legendary Hibbie Wilmot. Years ago, I had a cheery green room encounter with Harry and taxed him with frightening the life out of me when a big plastic chair completely swallowed him up in a Doctor Who episode. It scared him too he replied. It was inspiring to know that as a man of 83 suffering from cancer, Harry played the blind prophet Tiresias in Owen McCafferty’s version of Sopocles’ Antigone at the Waterfront studio less than a year ago. Great to know that he experienced the actor’s itch to keep working until near the end.
Former BBC journalist and manager in Belfast, Manchester and London, Editor Spolight; Political Editor BBC NI; Current Affairs Commissioning editor BBC Radio 4; Editor Political and Parliamentary Programmes, BBC Westminster; former London Editor Belfast Telegraph. Hon Senior Research Fellow, The Constitution Unit, Univ Coll. London
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