Andrew John Maxton Cruickshank (25 December 190729 April 1988Date of birth and death : BFI.org website.Google Books search: "Andrew Cruickshank", "29 April 1988" – listed in Oxford dictionary of national biography (2004, p. 518); Annual Obituary, 1988 (p. 182)) was a Scottish actor, most famous for his portrayal of Dr Cameron in the long-running UK BBC television series Dr. Finlay's Casebook, which ran for 191 episodes from 1962 until 1971.Dr Finlay's Casebook: BBC Scotland website. He was born in Aberdeen and died in London.
Life and career Andrew Cruickshank (Junior) was born to Andrew and Annie Cruickshank (Cadger),Stage performances (1930–1987) and other biography: Filmreference.com website. and was educated at Aberdeen Grammar School. He was to have entered the profession of civil engineering after completing his education, but instead joined provincial repertory theatres, leading to 1930 roles in Othello at the Savoy Theatre in London, as Maudelyn in Richard of Bordeaux at the Empire Theatre on Broadway in 1934,Roles on Broadway, John Maudelyn (Richard of Bordeaux), Earl of Warwick (Saint Joan): IBDB.com website. and culminating in his principal appearance (as three characters) on the London stage in 1935, at the Gate Theatre in the play Victoria Regina. In 1939 Cruickshank played Claudius in Tyrone Guthrie's modern-dress and uncut Hamlet at The Old Vic with Alec Guinness in the title role. He returned to Broadway in 1951 until 1952, as the Earl of Warwick in George Bernard Shaw's play Saint Joan, with Uta Hagen in the lead role.
His first film role followed in 1937, as the poet Robert Burns in Auld Lang Syne. Subsequently, however, he would be typecast into portrayals of formal authority figures, such as judges and doctors.First film role in Auld Lang Syne (1937): Fandango.com website.
He appeared in many television plays and series, amongst them A. J. Cronin's Dr. Finlay's Casebook, containing his most famous characterisation, Doctor Angus Cameron, a crusty but erudite senior partner in the rural general practice run in Tannochbrae, with the help of the much younger Doctor Alan Finlay (Bill Simpson) and "stiff Presbyterian" housekeeper Janet (Barbara Mullen).Dr Finlay's Casebook, more detailed profile: British Film Institute's Screenonline website. The highly popular BBC production ran from 16 August 1962 until 3 January 1971, after which Cruickshank continued with it on BBC Radio 4 for seven years, it having been adapted to that format since 10 March 1970. He finally bade farewell to the character on 18 December 1978, following its parting episode, "Going Home".: from Ian Beard's personal website. In 1963 he played the title role in the BBC sitcom Mr Justice Duncannon, having appeared as that character in the final episode of the 1962 sitcom Brothers in Law.
Later on BBC Radio 4, Cruickshank starred in The Senior Partner, a light legal drama series by Donald Bull. The first series of eight episodes were broadcast in October and November 1980. A second series of 10 episodes were broadcast between October and December 1981.
In August 1985, Cruickshank presented The Auld Alliance: A Personal View as part of the Saltire Society's Edinburgh Festival Fringe programme.Edinburgh International Festival Programme, The Saltire Society, August 1985
His final performance on the stage was as Justice Treadwell in Beyond Reasonable Doubt at the Queen's Theatre in 1987. His last appearance of any kind was at the age of 80, in the first episode ("Kicks")His final role, Mr Hodinett in King & Castle, ITV, 1988: BFI.org website. of series two of the ITV television production, King and Castle,King and Castle, ITV: TV.com website. which starred Nigel Planer and Derek Martin as partners in a debt collection agency, and in which Cruickshank played "Mr Hodinett". It was aired on 10 May 1988, just over a week after his death.
He was chair of the board of directors of Edinburgh Festival Fringe between 1970 and 1983.
Personal life He married actress Curigwen Lewis in 1939, and they had one son and two daughters.
Theatre Year Title Role Company Director Notes 1982 & 1985 Ane Satyre of the Thrie Estaites Abbot Scottish Theatre Company Tom Fleming play by Sir David Lindsay, adapted by Robert Kemp
Memorial He has been immortalised in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, by the naming of a road in his honour (Cruickshank Grove)., the road named after him in Milton Keynes: Crownhill.org.uk website.
Partial filmography
Auld Lang Syne (1937) – Robert Burns The Mark of Cain (1947) – Sir Jonathon Dockwra The Idol of Paris (1948) – Prince Nicholas Forbidden (1949) – Inspector Baxter Paper Orchid (1949) – Inspector Clement Pill Your Witness (1950) – Sir Adrian Horth K.C. – Prosecutor The Angel with the Trumpet (1950) – Otto Alt The Reluctant Widow (1950) – Lord Bedlington Where No Vultures Fly (1951) – Governor (uncredited) The Cruel Sea (1953) – Scott Brown John Wesley (1954) – Trustee of Georgia John and Julie (1955) – Uncle Ben Richard III (1955) – Brackenbury The Secret Tent (1956) – Detective Inspector Thornton The Battle of the River Plate (1956) – Captain Stubbs – 'Doric Star' The Story of Esther Costello (1957) – Dr. Stein Innocent Sinners (1958) – Dr. Lynch-Cliffe A Question of Adultery (1958) – Dr. Cameron Kidnapped (1959) – Colin Campbell The 39 Steps (1959) – Sheriff The Stranglers of Bombay (1960) – Colonel Henderson There Was a Crooked Man (1960) – McKillup Greyfriars Bobby: The True Story of a Dog (1961) – Lord Provost El Cid (1961) – Count Gormaz Live Now – Pay Later (1962) – Vicar We Joined the Navy (1962) – Admiral Filmer Come Fly with Me (1963) – Cardwell Murder Most Foul (1964) – Justice Crosby Alibi For A Judge (1960) - Mr Justice Gerald Carstairs Wagner (1983) – Narrator Strangers and Brothers (1984) – M.H.L. Gay The Body in the Library (1984) – Conway Jefferson
Publications Andrew Cruickshank: An Autobiography (1988) Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London.
References
External links
Memories of Andrew Cruickshank by Haldane Duncan, former Emmerdale director