Frederick Bartman and Peter Williams

[susanduic]

Does anyone know what has happened to these actors?



Peter Williams was born in 1915 so.........but doesn't seem to have done anything that imdb know about for decades.



Frederick Bartman also shows no active since 1980- ish. I think I remember something about him on the local London news back in the early 1990's, a dispute relating to an antique shop in South Ken. but ............

[CaptainWaggett]

Former TV soap star is cleared of killing antiques worker

The Guardian (Manchester); Feb 23, 1993;

Full Text:

(Copyright Guardian Newspapers, Limited Feb 23, 1993)



A FORMER actor who starred in the sixties ITV soap opera Emergency - Ward 10 was yesterday cleared of murdering a part-time employee in the basement of his antiques shop.



Judge Brian Smedley directed an Old Bailey jury to acquit Frederick Bartman, aged 67, at the end of the prosecution case because the evidence showed it was "inherently improbable" he was the killer.



Lady Brenda Cross, aged 73, the wife of Air Chief Marshal Sir Kenneth Cross, was repeatedly struck with antique fire irons in the shop in Pimlico, south London, where she had worked part-time for 10 years, in September 1991.



The jury heard that Mr Bartman, who played Dr Simon Forrester in Emergency - Ward 10, had been a friend of Lady Cross for 12 years and had no history of violence.



David Calvert-Smith, prosecuting, said Lady Cross was planning to leave the shop, but had promised to stay until a replacement was found. On the day of the murder Mr Bartman had not found a replacement for Lady Cross, had just had to pay over 40,000 pounds in back rent and new lease arrangements and the business was not doing well.



But he told the jury he could put forward no motive for Mr Bartman or anyone else to murder Lady Cross, who had no known enemies. There was no suggestion she was the victim of a robber or sex attacker.



The judge said it was clear from the evidence of pathologist Dr Iain West that whoever killed Lady Cross would have been drenched in blood from her "hideous" head wounds.



Police had found Mr Bartman's tie label on the floor of the shop but there was no trace of blood on the tie itself or on any other clothes or in his car.



The judge said it was clear police had drawn "the wrong conclusions". Other identification evidence of a man seen outside the shop did not match Mr Bartman.



Mr Bartman was awarded his legal costs out of central funds.



As he left court Mr Bartman said in a statement through his solicitor that he had been "horrified and shocked" by the murder. "It is of note that the judge decided the evidence was inherently weak and inconsistent," said the statement.

[susanduic]

Thank you Captain....I'd half remembered that about Frederick Bartman and several times fruitlessl(ey) tried to 'google' etc to trace the story, so thanks.



I don't have any garbled half-remembered ideas about Peter Williams.....that's a straightforward did he stop acting through death or.....?

[CaptainWaggett]

Couldn't you look for an actor with a more unusual name?



That Frederick Bartman story is right out of Francis Durbridge.

[JamesM]

Frederick Bartman still lives in Kensington and Chelsea.

[susanduic]

Peter Williams is mainly in my memory for something he did on TV when I was at school-SHADOW SQUAD with among others George Moon. But I saw him in I Claudius and Bridge Over/On (having a senior moment there!) the River Quai then nothing.....



Frederick Bartman must be about 82, good to know he's still active even if not acting.



Francis Durbridge could have made a nice story of the Antiques Shop incident, perhaps Peter W. could have starred...................

[ShirlGirl]

I just caught sight of Peter Williams in Private's Progress. He only had one scene and a few lines, but wow! - he sure caught my attention; what a handsome man! Nice voice, too.

He died in 2003 aged 88.




P.S. IMO he resembles John McCallum slightly.
Does anyone else think so?

[Gerald Lovell]

I wasn't that familiar with these actors until recently, as Peter Williams features heavily in the PATHFINDERS/BENEATH THE SEA series and Frederick Bartman is in one of the series three episodes of SERGEANT CORK, all courtesy of Network. Peter comes across as a solid, even stolid, leading man and Frederick rather flighty, but he was playing an affected Frenchman in his episode.