| Arnold Yarrow | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1920-04-17)17 April 1920 London, England |
| Died | 9 December 2024(2024-12-09) (aged 104) Herne Bay, Kent, England |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1955–1994 • 2012 |
| Known for | |
| Height | 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in) |
Arnold Yarrow (17 April 1920 – 9 December 2024) was a British actor, screenwriter and novelist best known for his brief role as bricklayer Benny Bloom in television soap opera EastEnders. Like the character, he was Jewish.
Life and career
Yarrow is known to Doctor Who fans for his portrayal as diminutive Exxilon leader Bellal in the 1974 serial Death to the Daleks.
His other television appearances include roles in Crane, Ghost Squad, Coronation Street, Dr. Finlay's Casebook, The Onedin Line and London's Burning, as well as a part in the 1993 film Son of the Pink Panther.
Yarrow's scriptwriting work includes episodes of Crown Court, Warship, Softly, Softly: Task Force and EastEnders. As well as this, Yarrow wrote numerous books such as TV tie–ins like Softly Softly Casebook and Softly Softly Murder Casebook as well as his own novels Death is a Z and The Grease–Paint Monkey.
Yarrow lived in Herne Bay, Kent. He turned 100 in April 2020, and died in Herne Bay on 9 December 2024, aged 104.
Filmography
As story editor
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Second Verdict | 6 episodes |
As script editor
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1968–1969 | Softly Softly | 37 episodes |
| 1969–1971 | Softly Softly: Task Force | 42 episodes |
| 1971 | Barlow at Large | 3 episodes |
As writer
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Suspense | Season 1 Episode 1: "The Tip Off" |
| 1962 | Forræderiet | TV film |
| 1970–1976 | Softly Softly: Task Force | 20 episodes |
| 1973–1974 | Barlow at Large | 3 episodes |
| 1974 | Crown Court | 3 episodes |
| 1976 | Warship | Season 3 Episode 10: "The Buccaneer" |
| Second Verdict | Season 1 Episode 3: "The French Bluebeard" | |
| 1992–1994 | EastEnders | 10 episodes |
As actor
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Mahler | Grandfather | |
| 1993 | Son of the Pink Panther | Uncle Idris | |
| Genghis Cohn | Synagogue Warden |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Without Vision | Emrys | TV film |
| Nom–de–Plume | Sentry | Season 1 Episode 17: "The Free Air" | |
| Over to William | Mr. Carroway | Season 1 Episode 8: "William's Lucky Day" | |
| 1957 | Television World Theatre | Le Fer | Season 1 Episode 1: "The Life of Henry V" |
| ITV Television Playhouse | Shayk of the Labourers | Season 2 Episode 47: "Desert Patrol" | |
| 1958 | Macbeth | First Witch | 2 episodes |
| Doomsday for Dyson | Scientist | TV film | |
| Dial 999 | Sammy Wilson | Uncredited; Season 1 Episode 12: "The Big Fish" | |
| 1959 | The Vise | Blake | Season 6 Episode 21: "Dilemma for Harry" |
| Glencannon | Truck Driver | Season 1 Episode 13: "Crocodile Tears" | |
| ITV Play of the Week | M. Greville | Season 4 Episode 36: "The Age of Juliet" | |
| 1960 | ITV Television Playhouse | Luigi Bonasera | Season 5 Episode 22: "The English Captain" |
| Hotel Imperial | Little man | Season 2 Episode 8: "The Leopardess in 424" | |
| Man from Interpol | Mayli | Season 1 Episode 10: "The Doll Maker" | |
| The Roving Reasons | Unknown | Season 1 Episode 10: "The Gibbering Gibraltarian" | |
| The Haunted House | Misargyrides | Season 1 Episode 1: "Part 1" | |
| Barnaby Rudge | Tailor | Season 1 Episode 10 | |
| Armchair Theatre | Bates | Season 4 Episode 15: "Rain" | |
| 1961 | Manager | Season 4 Episode 30: "The Hero" | |
| Colonel Trumper's Private War | Unknown | Season 1 Episode 1: "Operation Lubenski" | |
| 1962 | The Andromeda Breakthrough | President of Azaran | 3 episodes |
| ITV Play of the Week | Bilton | Season 8 Episode 8: "Major Barbara" | |
| 1963 | Luigi | Season 8 Episode 19: "Darkness at Noon" | |
| Ghost Squad | Dr. Malik | Season 2 Episode 5: "Death of a Sportsman" | |
| BBC Sunday–Night Play | Nikifor | Season 4 Episode 20: "The Fall of Mendel Krick" | |
| Crane | Louis Barreto | Season 1 Episode 4: "My Deadly Friend" | |
| Festival | Doctor of Philosophy | Season 1 Episode 9: "The Fire Raisers" | |
| Boyd Q.C. | Unknown | Season 6 Episode 13: "Fishy Story" | |
| Story Box | Tram Conductor | Episode: "Emil and the Detectives" | |
| 1964 | Balin | Episode: "Books – The Hobbit" | |
| 1965 | Front Page Story | Claude Dupuis | Season 1 Episode 14: "Background Only: Not for Publication" |
| Coronation Street | Surveyor | Season 1 Episode 493 | |
| For Whom the Bell Tolls | Miguel | Season 1 Episode 4: "The Bridge" | |
| 1966 | The Man in the Mirror | Waldo | 6 episodes |
| 1967 | Vacant Lot | Unknown | Season 1 Episode 7: "Criminal Negligence" |
| Theatre 625 | Stevo | Season 5 Episode 6: "The Single Passion" | |
| 1968 | Dr. Finlay's Casebook | The Pope | Season 6 Episode 22: " 'Is there anybody there ?' Said the traveller" |
| Life with Cooper | Various Roles | Season 2 Episode 6: "The Second Holiday" | |
| The Revenue Men | Louie Fisher | Season 1 Episode 4: "I'd Rather Be in Philadelphia" | |
| 1969 | Armchair Theatre | Enrico | Season 9 Episode 3: "What's a mother for ?" |
| 1974 | Doctor Who | Bellal | 3 episodes; serial: Death to the Daleks |
| 1980 | The Onedin Line | Mishin | Season 8 Episode 2: "Revenge" |
| Wainwrights' Law | Inspector | Season 1 Episode 6: "The Party of the First Part" | |
| A Little Silver Trumpet | Mr. Hynes | Season 1 Episode 3 | |
| 1982 | The Chinese Detective | Old man | Season 2 Episode 5: "Bounty Hunter" |
| 1983 | Jemima Shore Investigates | Dr. Otto Hahn | Season 1 Episode 5: "Dr. Ziegler's Casebook" |
| 1984 | Cold Warrior | Graarud | Season 1 Episode 5: "The Immigrants" |
| 1987 | One by One | Dr. Breen | Season 3 Episode 5: "The Monkey in Between" |
| 1988–1989 | EastEnders | Mr. Bloom | 16 episodes |
| 1989 | Benny | Season 1 Episode 413 | |
| 1993 | London's Burning | Shopkeeper | Season 6 Episode 5 |
| 2010 | The Sarah Jane Adventures | Bellal | Uncredited; archive footage; Series 4 Episode 6: "Death of the Doctor: Part Two" |
| 2012 | Beneath the City of the Exxilons | Himself | Short documentary |
References
- "Arnold Yarrow". IMDb. Retrieved 26 October 2022. (Filmography)
- "Television: Not Offensive". The Jewish Chronicle. 30 September 1960. p. 30.
- "BBC – Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide – Death to the Daleks – Details". bbc.co.uk.
- "Arnold Yarrow". BFI. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020.
- DrWhoCastCrewGuide. x.com
- "Doctor Who News – Arnold Yarrow 1920-2024". Doctor Who News. 9 December 2024. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
- Hadoke, Toby (27 December 2024). "Arnold Yarrow obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
External links
- Arnold Yarrow at IMDb
- Arnold Yarrow at Theatricalia
- HAPPY 100TH BIRTHDAY ARNOLD YARROW – Interviewed by Toby Hadoke
- 1920 births
- 2024 deaths
- British male television actors
- British male film actors
- 20th-century British screenwriters
- British men centenarians
- Royal Shakespeare Company members
- Jewish British male actors
- Male actors from London
- Jewish centenarians
- Jewish British writers
- British male novelists
- Writers from London
- 20th-century British novelists
- 20th-century British male writers
- 20th-century British male actors
- 21st-century British male actors