Colin Welland (born Colin Edward Williams; 4 July 1934 – 2 November 2015) was an English actor and screenwriter. He won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance as Mr Farthing in Kes (1969) and the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for writing Chariots of Fire (1981).
Early life
Welland was born Colin Edward Williams at the Maternity Hospital on 4 July 1934, the son of Norah and John "Jack" Arthur Williams. He spent his earliest years in the Kensington district of Liverpool before moving to Newton-le-Willows in 1941. He passed his eleven-plus in 1945 and attended Newton-le-Willows Grammar School, and, after his National Service, he studied at Goldsmiths College and Bretton Hall College of Education. He gained a teaching diploma and qualified as a teacher, then taught art at Manchester Road Secondary Modern school in Leigh, where he was known as "Ted" because of his Teddy Boy curly hairstyle. (a quotation from Paul Revere).
Welland was a lifelong rugby league fan and player who wrote of his support for the sport in newspaper columns. He stood up for rugby league against rugby union discrimination in the 1980s and 1990s.
Death
Welland died in his sleep at a nursing home in Sunbury on Thames on 2 November 2015, at the age of 81.
On his death, Chariots of Fire producer David Puttnam said Welland was "an unswervingly good man; a fine actor, and a seriously gifted screenwriter". Nigel Havers, who had appeared in the film, told BBC News: "I remember him being great fun with a great sense of humour and a very honest man. He had a tremendous honesty about everything he wrote. I'm just very surprised he never made more films in Hollywood. It's a great loss to us all." Z Cars co-star Brian Blessed described Welland as "a great writer and a very natural actor," adding "He had a tremendous ability for writing. He could write anything, any style."