Acting
Bill Dean was a British actor who was born in Everton, Liverpool, Lancashire. He was born Patrick Anthony Connolly, but took his stage name in honour of Everton football legend William 'Dixie' Dean. After a atring of jobs, it was his work as a Lancashire club comedian that saw him spotted by Ken Loach who gave him his breakthrough role in his TV play The Golden Vision. Famous for his flat but penetrating Scouse tones, Dean went on to star as miserable pensioner Harry Cross in the long running Channel 4 soap Brookside from its inception in 1983 to 1990. He briefly returned to the series in 1999 for three episodes, when his character re-appeared in Brookside Close suffering from Alzheimer's disease and wrongly believing that he still lived there. The same character was the inspiration behind the 1980s group 'Jegsy Dodd and the sons of Harry Cross' who hailed from the Wirral and Dean himself appeared in the video of the Liverpudlian band The Farm's Groovy Train as Cross, who was a former train driver. He did of a heart attack aged 78 in 2000.
Heartbeat
1992 · TV
Minder
1979 · TV
The Sweeney
1975 · TV
Playhouse
1974 · TV
The Wednesday Play
1964 · TV
Public Eye
1965 · TV
The Expert
1968 · TV
Justice
1971 · TV
BBC2 Play of the Week
1977 · TV
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
1969 · TV
Budgie
1971 · TV
Man in a Suitcase
1967 · TV
New Scotland Yard
1972 · TV
Pennies from Heaven
1978 · TV
Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime
1983 · TV
Beasts
1976 · TV
Priest
1995 · Movie
The Mirror Crack'd
1980 · Movie
Kes
1970 · Movie
Night Watch
1973 · Movie
Oh No, It's Selwyn Froggitt!
1974 · TV
Scum
1979 · Movie
Family Life
1971 · Movie
The Gathering Seed
1983 · TV
The Wackers
1975 · TV
Hillsborough
1996 · Movie
Gumshoe
1971 · Movie
Let Him Have It
1991 · Movie
Rising Damp
1980 · Movie
Slayground
1983 · Movie
Flame
1975 · Movie
Going Gently
1981 · Movie
Bag of Yeast
1976 · Movie
Speech Day
1973 · Movie
The Big Flame
1969 · Movie
The Best Pair of Legs in the Business
1973 · Movie
Skallagrigg
1994 · Movie
The Rank and File
1971 · Movie
Beasts: What Big Eyes
1976 · Movie
Night People
1978 · Movie
Freedom of the Dig
1978 · Movie
Roll On Four O'Clock
1970 · Movie
Break In
1975 · Movie
Waiting at the Field Gate
1975 · Movie
Bank Holiday
1972 · Movie
Match of the Day
1974 · Movie
The Golden Vision
1968 · Movie
A Turn for the Worse
1981 · Movie
In Sickness and in Health
1975 · Movie
