Timothy West, who has died aged 90, wrote an autobiography in 2001 in which he quoted a remark of Richard Strauss: “I may not be a first-rank composer but I think I may be a first-rate composer of the second rank.” West argued that since most of the major roles he had played – including King Lear, Falstaff and Prospero – had been in touring or regional theatre, he probably belonged in the second rank. But he was being unduly modest. He had an outstanding career that lasted more than half a century, embraced theatre, film, TV and radio, and made him the kind of actor that directors always wanted to have in their company.
West had a particular gift for playing historical figures. He appeared on screen as Mikhail Gorbachev, Winston Churchill (twice), Edward VII, Lord Reith and the suspected serial killer John Bodkin Adams. On stage he played Josef Stalin, the conductor Thomas Beecham and the literary giant Samuel Johnson. In fact, he played the latter twice for the Prospect Theatre Company and, with his strong jaw and solid figure, he seemed the very embodiment of Dr Johnson. He also exuded an 18th-century quality known as “bottom”, which the OED defines as “physical resources, staying power, substance, stability”. Those were the very attributes that made West such a fine actor.
