Edwin Apps

May 14, 1931

Edwin Apps was a familiar face during the early days of British television, at his most prolific as a character actor between 1953 and 1972. In addition, he sidelined as a scripter for the BBC, penning some 33 episodes of the comedy series All Gas and Gaiters (1966). The son of auctioneers and hop farmers, he was born in East Kent. Upon the marital breakup of his parents, he was evacuated to Cornwall at the onset of World War II. At seventeen, he joined a repertory company in the north of England, though his budding career as a thespian was interrupted by national service. Having eventually completed his training at the Central School of Speech and Drama, he resumed his career on the stage as well as doing live television. In 1976, Edwin and his wife, the RADA-trained actress and writer Pauline Devaney, resettled on a farm in the French town of Liez (south-Vendée) in western France. He now appeared only occasionally in French films, devoting time to his life-long passion for painting ("I was a lonely child. At 10, I found a box of paint: since then, I have not let go of the brush"). A successful painter of oils on canvas, he specialised in satirical depictions of bishops in unconventional situations. In 2013, he published a humorous autobiography entitled "Pursued by Bishops - the Memoirs of Edwin Apps". His wife is also an accomplished painter, finalist in the 2017 National Art Competition