J.G. Devlin

James Gerard Devlin (8 October 1907 – 17 October 1991) was an Irish actor. In a career spanning nearly fifty years, he played parts in productions such as Z-Cars, Dad's Army, The New Avengers and Bread. He also guest starred, alongside Leonard Rossiter, in the most famous episode of Steptoe and Son, "The Desperate Hours". The writers of Steptoe and Son - Ray Galton and Alan Simpson - have since revealed that Devlin was second choice to play the p... more

James Gerard Devlin (8 October 1907 – 17 October 1991) was an Irish actor. In a career spanning nearly fifty years, he played parts in productions such as Z-Cars, Dad's Army, The New Avengers and Bread. He also guest starred, alongside Leonard Rossiter, in the most famous episode of Steptoe and Son, "The Desperate Hours". The writers of Steptoe and Son - Ray Galton and Alan Simpson - have since revealed that Devlin was second choice to play the part of Albert Steptoe in the series, behind Wilfrid Brambell. He also appeared as Father Dooley, a Catholic priest, in several episodes of Carla Lane's Bread. His was Vivian Stanshall's personal choice for the role of Old Scrotum, the Wrinkled Retainer in the Charisma Films version of Sir Henry at Rawlinson End (film), released in 1980. less