Stephen Lewis (Blakey)
Born London 17 December 1926.
Died peacefully aged 88 at 1.50am on
Wednesday August 12 2015 in a Cambridge nursing home
🎭 Stephen Lewis`s Biography
👤 Quick Facts
- Full name: Stephen Lewis
- Born: 17 December 1926 📅
- Birthplace: Poplar, East London, England 🇬🇧
- Died: 12 August 2015 🕊️
- Age: 88
- Profession: Actor, comedian, playwright, screenwriter and director 🎭✍️
- Early professional name: Stephen Cato
- Years active: c. 1958–2007
- Best known as: Inspector Cyril “Blakey” Blake in On the Buses 🚌
- Other famous role: Clem “Smiler” Hemmingway in Last of the Summer Wine 📺
- Never married 💙
Stephen Lewis became one of Britain's most recognisable television comedians, but behind the angry face and comic shouting of Blakey was a much more varied performer who had worked in theatre, film, television and writing.
👶 Early Life
Stephen Lewis was born in Poplar, East London, on 17 December 1926.
His father, Richard Lewis, was a stoker in the Royal Navy, while his mother was Elizabeth Lewis. Lewis grew up in the working-class East End environment that would later provide much of the inspiration for his writing and acting.
Before entering show business, he had several ordinary working-class jobs.
🔨 His early jobs included:
- 🧱 Bricklayer
- ⚡ Electrician's mate
- 🪚 Carpenter
- ⚓ Merchant seaman
His time at sea might have led him into a completely different career, but a chance encounter with theatre changed everything.
🎭 Discovering Theatre Workshop
Lewis went to see a performance by the famous Theatre Workshop, the company associated with director Joan Littlewood.
The company had a distinctive approach to theatre, combining comedy, social observation and working-class stories.
After performances, members of the audience could sometimes meet the actors.
Lewis was encouraged to audition.
⭐ He got the part.
That decision changed his life.
He left his career at sea and became involved with Theatre Workshop, beginning the professional acting career that would eventually lead to On the Buses.
🎭 Stephen Cato
Early in his theatrical career, Lewis was sometimes credited as:
Stephen Cato
The name was used during his early stage work.
However, after he wrote Sparrers Can't Sing, his agent encouraged him to use his real surname professionally.
From then on he became known as:
⭐ Stephen Lewis
🎭 West End Debut
Lewis's major theatrical breakthrough came with Brendan Behan's The Hostage.
The Theatre Workshop production transferred to London's West End in 1958, giving Lewis his West End debut.
This was important because Lewis was now moving from experimental and working-class theatre into the heart of London's professional theatrical world.
✍️ Stephen Lewis — The Writer
One of the most interesting aspects of Lewis's career is that he wasn't merely an actor.
He was also a talented writer.
In 1960, he wrote:
🎭 Sparrers Can't Sing
for Theatre Workshop.
The play was a Cockney comedy-drama centred on working-class East End characters.
It became a major theatrical success.
🎬 Sparrows Can't Sing
The stage play was adapted into the 1963 film Sparrows Can't Sing.
The film starred:
- 👩 Barbara Windsor
- 🎭 Roy Kinnear
- 🎭 Stephen Lewis
Lewis therefore became both writer and performer in the film.
The film is particularly important because it captured the atmosphere of London's East End at a time when the old working-class communities were undergoing enormous changes.
✍️ Other Writing
Lewis continued writing for theatre and television.
His writing credits included:
🎭 Sweet Fanny Adams — 1966
🎭 The Londoners — 1972
🎭 Look Out, It's Sir — 1975
📺 Wagger — 1963
📺 Always Ask for the Best — 1964
📺 The Jugg Brothers — 1970
He also worked with his future On the Buses colleague Bob Grant on The Jugg Brothers.
📺 Early Television
Lewis began appearing regularly on television during the 1960s.
Among his early television work were appearances in:
📺 Armchair Theatre
📺 Probation Officer
📺 The Frightened City
📺 Father, Dear Father
He also appeared in a number of television plays and one-off productions.
This period allowed him to establish himself as a dependable character actor before his breakthrough sitcom role.
🎬 Film Career Before On the Buses
Lewis appeared in several films during the 1960s.
His credits included:
🎬 The Frightened City — 1961
🎬 A Prize of Arms — 1962
🎬 Sparrows Can't Sing — 1963
🎬 Kaleidoscope — 1966
🎬 Negatives — 1968
🎬 Staircase — 1969
🎬 Some Will, Some Won't — 1969
He even appeared alongside major stars such as Richard Burton and Rex Harrison in Staircase.
🚌 ⭐ On the Buses
Then came the role that changed Stephen Lewis's life.
In 1969, he was cast in the new ITV sitcom:
🚌 On the Buses
😠 Inspector Cyril “Blakey” Blake
Blakey was the bus inspector responsible for keeping an eye on the drivers and conductors at the fictional Luxton Bus Company.
Unfortunately for Blakey, his particular obsession was:
🚌 Stan Butler
played by Reg Varney.
Stan constantly irritated Blakey by bending or ignoring the rules, arriving late, chatting up women and generally causing chaos.
😡 “I ’ate you, Butler!”
Blakey's most famous line became one of the great catchphrases of British sitcom history:
😡 “I ’ate you, Butler!”
His relationship with Stan was essentially a never-ending battle.
🚌 Stan:
The cheeky, rule-bending bus driver.
😠 Blakey:
The furious inspector determined to catch him.
😂 Result:
One of British television's most successful comic rivalries.
Lewis's facial expressions, squinting eyes, explosive temper and physical comedy became just as important as the dialogue.
🎭 The Man Behind Blakey
Interestingly, Stephen Lewis was nothing like Blakey in real life.
Contemporary descriptions and photographs show a relaxed, humorous and friendly man.
The Guardian described the angry, grotesque appearance of Blakey as essentially a mask created for the character.
That contrast is one reason his performance worked so well.
😠 Blakey:
Furious, pompous, authoritarian and constantly frustrated.
🙂 Stephen Lewis:
Warm, humorous, direct and socially engaged.
His nephew later remembered him as a funny man, while his niece described him as being in high spirits and still singing and joking near the end of his life.
🚌 On the Buses — 1969–1973
The sitcom became a huge success.
It eventually ran for:
📺 7 series
🎬 74 episodes
🚌 3 cinema films
Lewis appeared throughout the television series as Blakey.
The main cast included:
- 🚌 Reg Varney — Stan Butler
- 🚌 Bob Grant — Jack Harper
- 😠 Stephen Lewis — Inspector Blakey
- 👩 Doris Hare — Mum Butler
- 👩 Anna Karen — Olive Rudge
- 👨 Michael Robbins — Arthur Rudge
Lewis's Blakey became one of the central characters of the entire franchise.
🎬 The On the Buses Films
Lewis also appeared in all three cinema films.
🚌 1. On the Buses — 1971
Blakey attempts to maintain control while Stan and Jack continue causing trouble.
🚌 2. Mutiny on the Buses — 1972
Blakey again finds himself caught up in the increasingly ridiculous adventures of the bus crew.
🚌 3. Holiday on the Buses — 1973
The final film takes Blakey and the gang away from their normal bus routes and into a holiday-camp setting.
Lewis's participation helped maintain the television show's familiar comic formula on the big screen.
✍️ Writing On the Buses
Lewis wasn't simply an actor in the series.
He also co-wrote episodes of On the Buses with Bob Grant.
The pair worked together on 12 episodes.
This is an important part of Lewis's legacy because it shows that his understanding of comedy extended beyond performance.
He understood:
📝 Character
😂 Comic situations
🚌 Bus-world humour
🗣️ Dialogue
🎭 Timing
Don't Drink the Water
After On the Buses ended, Blakey wasn't quite finished.
Lewis returned to the character in the spin-off sitcom:
Don't Drink the Water
which ran from 1974 to 1975.
The premise involved Blakey retiring and moving to Spain with his sister Dorothy, played by Pat Coombs.
It gave Lewis another opportunity to develop Blakey away from the bus depot.
🎬 Later Film Career
Lewis continued appearing in films after On the Buses.
His later credits included:
🎬 The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins — 1971
🎬 The Last Remake of Beau Geste — 1977
🎬 Adventures of a Taxi Driver — 1976
🎬 Adventures of a Plumber's Mate — 1978
🎬 Personal Services — 1987
🎬 Out of Order — 1987
🎬 The Krays — 1990
In The Krays, he returned to the East End environment that had been such an important part of his earlier career.
📺 Rep
In 1982, Lewis starred in the television sitcom:
🎭 Rep
He played Royston Flagg, a stage manager working with a struggling seaside repertory company.
It was another role that drew upon his extensive knowledge of theatre.
🍷 Last of the Summer Wine
In 1988, Lewis took on another hugely successful television role.
📺 Clem “Smiler” Hemmingway
🍷 Last of the Summer Wine
Smiler was a very different character from Blakey, although Lewis's distinctive comic persona remained recognisable.
He stayed with the programme for many years.
His role continued until 2007, when ill health forced him to retire.
This meant Lewis had become a familiar television presence for two generations:
🚌 1970s — Blakey
🍷 1980s–2000s — Smiler
🚂 Oh, Doctor Beeching!
Another important later role came in:
🚂 Oh, Doctor Beeching!
Lewis played:
🚦 Harry Lambert
the railway signalman.
He appeared in the pilot in 1995 and then in the subsequent series from 1996–1997.
The programme was set in the 1960s around the closure of Britain's railway branch lines.
📺 Other Later Television
Lewis also appeared in:
📺 One Foot in the Grave
📺 2point4 Children
📺 The All New Alexei Sayle Show
📺 London's Burning
📺 The Grimleys
📺 Wogan
📺 The Generation Game
In The Grimleys, he even played a bus driver with characteristics reminiscent of Blakey.
🚌 Blakey Returns
Lewis never completely escaped Inspector Blakey.
During the 1980s and 1990s, the character continued to be associated with him.
He even appeared in promotional work for CH Coaches in 1981, effectively bringing Blakey into the world of private bus operation.
The character had become so famous that audiences immediately associated Lewis with buses, inspectors and the phrase:
😡 “I ’ate you, Butler!”
🏆 Variety Club Silver Heart
In 1970, at the height of On the Buses' popularity, Lewis received the:
🏆 Variety Club Silver Heart
This recognised his contribution to British entertainment.
❤️ Political Interests
Away from acting, Lewis was politically active.
He was a lifelong Labour Party campaigner and remained involved in political activism for many years.
He also campaigned alongside Labour politician Tony Benn, who described Lewis in his diaries as extremely direct and amusing.
This was another contrast with Blakey, whose authoritarian bus-inspector persona could hardly have been further removed from Lewis's own political outlook.
👨👩👧 Personal Life
Stephen Lewis never married.
He was nevertheless very close to his extended family.
His sister Connie lived in the same nursing home as him during his final years. He was survived by his nephew Peter and great-niece Rebecca.
His family remembered him as:
❤️ Kind
😂 Funny
🎵 Musical
😊 Warm
🤝 Generous
His niece Rebecca said he was still singing and joking towards the end of his life.
🩺 Later Years and Retirement
Lewis's health gradually deteriorated.
He suffered particularly badly from arthritis, which eventually made continuing his acting career difficult.
After leaving Last of the Summer Wine in 2007, he effectively retired from professional acting.
He spent his final years in a nursing home in Wanstead, East London.
🕊️ Death
Stephen Lewis died peacefully at approximately 1:50 a.m. on 12 August 2015.
He was: 🎂 88 years old.
He died in a nursing home in Wanstead, East London, where his sister Connie was also living.
His funeral included a particularly touching tribute to his most famous role: a floral bus was displayed in his honour.
🚌 Stephen Lewis's Legacy
Stephen Lewis left behind a career that was considerably broader than his famous catchphrase might suggest.
He was:
🎭 Actor
😂 Comedian
✍️ Playwright
📝 Screenwriter
🎬 Film actor
📺 Television performer
🎬 Director
🎭 Theatre Workshop performer
🚌 Blakey
His greatest achievement was arguably creating one of Britain's most instantly recognisable comedy characters.
😠 Inspector Cyril “Blakey” Blake
Blakey was:
- 😡 Permanently furious
- 🚌 Obsessed with bus regulations
- 👀 Constantly watching Stan
- 📝 Determined to catch rule-breaking
- 😂 Frequently humiliated
- 🗣️ Famous for his catchphrases
But the real Stephen Lewis was a very different man — a working-class East End actor who became a successful writer, a politically active campaigner and a much-loved performer.
📊 Stephen Lewis — Career at a Glance
🎭Stephen Lewis🎂 Born17 December 1926
📍 Born Poplar, London
⚓ Early career Merchant seaman
🎭 Theatre Workshop1950s
🎭 West End debut The Hostage, 1958
✍️ Major play Sparrers Can't Sing, 1960
🎬 Film adaptation Sparrows Can't Sing, 1963
🚌 On the Buses1969–1973 😠 Character Inspector Cyril “Blakey” Blake
🚌 Films3
✍️ On the Buses episodes co-written12 Don't Drink the Water1974–1975
🎭 Rep1982
🍷 Last of the Summer Wine1988–2007
🚂 Oh, Doctor Beeching!1995–1997
🏆 Variety Club Silver Heart1970
🕊️ Died12 August 2015❤️ Age88
⭐ Stephen Lewis in one sentence
Stephen Lewis was a gifted East End-born actor, comedian and writer whose long career in theatre, film and television reached legendary status through his unforgettable portrayal of the perpetually furious Inspector Cyril “Blakey” Blake in On the Buses. 🚌😠🎭
"On The Buses was a great show," he says. "We had such a laugh doing it, and it was a real family atmosphere on set." The show, which ran from 1970-5 also spawned three films - the first one, On The Buses, was the biggest grossing British film of 1971. A prestigious blue plaque has been placed at Elstree Studios, Herfordshire, to commemorate the movies made there. The 1970s were a time of classic sitcom - the way they should be. And that isn't the voice of a drunken nostalgic.
How many modern day writers could take a situation so few are familiar to, like working as a bus driver or being in prison (Porridge) and still make a wholly believable, successful, accessible show? Nowadays it's all flatsharing sex people.
"I don't think modern comedy is up to much," agrees Lewis. "I'm not going to name names, but some of them go too far. We didn't need to spell out the rude jokes to make them funny. It was a family show. Some programmes now are on too late, and I would feel uncomfortable watching them with children around." Men Behaving Badly springs to mind. "Like I said, I'm not naming names, but I don't have much time for that.
"We were smutty, for sure but if ever Butler was getting too saucy I'd come along and say 'huh-huh-huh' and stop it before it went too far." And even shows like One Foot In The Grave, which was well written, were on too late at night. Prime sitcom slots should be 7.30pm - and what do you have at the moment? Docusoaps and factual shows. It's very sad," says Lewis. Stan Butler (Reg Varney) and his best pal Jack (Bon Grant) would regularly be smutting up the "new clippy bird", but failing more often than scoring. "See?" says Lewis.
"They weren't sex maniacs. They aspired to be, but Stan still lived with his mother. That was the joke."
Stephen has recently taken up in Last Of The Summer Wine, playing Smiler - essentially an Inspector Blakey without his bus. "I love it," he says. "I feel at home." Buses co-star Anna Karen, who played Olive, recently turned up in EastEnders as Peggy Mitchell's sister. Like Anna, Stephen is keen to prove there's more life in the old dog yet. "I know I'm going to be limited in the roles I get now, but I don't plan to stop acting yet," he says.
"I love it too much. I love the sense of belonging to a family, which is all On The Buses was. It wasn't work. It was too much fun to be work."
Thanks to Steve at Bubblegun
Julien Linsel remembers seeing Stephen Lews/Blakey
The Labour Party in Hartlepool in the late 80's and early 90's hired Stephen Lewis and had him stand on the open deck double decker bus and shout " get that bus out and vote Labour". It was quite a treat when he passed by while I and my father were walking our Labrador and as the bus slowed down he shouted " you two layabouts, stop loitering and get that bus out". I remember i and my dad bursting out laughing as we both loved On The Buses. Stephen smiled back and said " enjoy your day" which made the day for both of us. Happy memories indeed. Ding ding.
TRIVIA -
An article from Leeds Live - On December 7, 1972, actor Stephen Lewis pulled the first pint at The Gaiety super-pub.
Lewis was a household name for his role as "Blakey" in On the Buses, which in 1972, was one of Britain's most popular TV comedies. He was a suitably big name for the big opening of what was hoped to be one of a new generation of Leeds super pubs
(Blakey from on the Buses) Tickets please single by Stephen Lewis.