🎭 Stephen Lewis`s Career
Stephen Lewis (17 December 1926 – 12 August 2015) was an English actor, comedian, playwright, screenwriter and director whose career lasted almost 50 years. Although he became internationally famous as Inspector Cyril “Blakey” Blake in On the Buses, his career began in London's Theatre Workshop and included writing, West End theatre, films, radio and several later television comedies.
👦 Early life and working years
📅 Born: 17 December 1926
📍 Born: Poplar, East London
🕯️ Died: 12 August 2015, aged 88
📍 Died: Wanstead, London
Before becoming an actor, Lewis had several ordinary working-class jobs:
🧱 Bricklayer
⚡ Electrician's mate
🔨 Carpenter/joiner
⚓ Merchant seaman
His life changed when he encountered Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East. Littlewood invited him to audition, and Lewis eventually left the Merchant Navy to pursue acting.
🎭 1950s — Theatre Workshop beginnings
Lewis became closely associated with Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop, which provided an important platform for working-class writers and performers.
⭐ The Hostage — 1958
His West End breakthrough came with Brendan Behan's The Hostage.
🎭 West End debut: 1958
🏛️ Venue: Wyndham's Theatre
Early in his career he sometimes worked under the name Stephen Cato. After becoming established as a writer, he returned to using his real surname, Lewis.
✍️ 1960 — Sparrers Can't Sing
One of Lewis's most important achievements came before On the Buses.
✍️ He wrote the stage play Sparrers Can't Sing for Theatre Workshop.
The play became a major success and transferred to the West End.
🎬 1963 — Sparrows Can't Sing
The play was adapted into a film starring:
👩 Barbara Windsor
👨 Roy Kinnear
🎭 Stephen Lewis
Lewis also wrote the screenplay and appeared in the film.
This established him not only as an actor but as a writer capable of creating working-class comedy and drama.
📺 1960s — Actor and television writer
Lewis began building an impressive television résumé.
📺 Armchair Theatre
📺 Wagger — 1963
📺 Always Ask for the Best — 1964
He wrote and acted in television productions while continuing his theatre career.
🎭 Other theatre writing
During the 1960s he wrote:
✍️ Sweet Fanny Adams — 1966
✍️ The Londoners — 1972
✍️ Look Out, It's Sir — 1975
He also appeared in Mrs Wilson's Diary, including the Theatre Workshop production and its later television adaptation.
🚌 1969 — The role that made him a star
⭐ Inspector Cyril "Blakey" Blake
In 1969, Lewis took the role that would define his career:
🚌 Inspector Cyril "Blakey" Blake
Luxton & District Traction Company
His principal targets were:
🚌 Stan Butler — Reg Varney
🎟️ Jack Harper — Bob Grant
Blakey was:
😠 Short-tempered
📋 Strict about regulations
🚌 Obsessed with bus discipline
😤 Easily frustrated
😂 Constantly defeated by Stan and Jack
His famous catchphrases included:
“I ’ate you, Butler!” and: “I’ll get you for this, Butler!”
Lewis's performance turned Blakey into one of the most recognisable sitcom characters of the era.
📺 On the Buses — 1969–1973
The series ran for 74 episodes between 1969 and 1973.
🚌 Stephen Lewis — Blakey
🚌 Reg Varney — Stan Butler
🎟️ Bob Grant — Jack Harper
👩 Doris Hare — Mum Butler
👩 Anna Karen — Olive Butler
👨 Michael Robbins — Arthur Rudge
Lewis wasn't just an actor on the programme.
✍️ He co-wrote 12 episodes with Bob Grant.
🏆 Award
🏆 1970 — Variety Club Silver Heart
Lewis received the award for his work during the height of his On the Buses fame.
🎬 The On the Buses films
Lewis took Blakey onto the big screen three times.
🎥 1971 — On the Buses
🚌 Inspector Blakey
🎥 1972 — Mutiny on the Buses
🚌 Inspector Blakey
🎥 1973 — Holiday on the Buses
🚌 Inspector Blakey
The first film was particularly successful and was the highest-grossing British film of its year.
📺 1974–1975 — Don't Drink the Water
After On the Buses finished, Lewis immediately returned to television comedy.
Don't Drink the Water
Blakey was given his own spin-off series.
👮 Cyril Blake
👩 Dorothy Blake — Pat Coombs
The story moved Blakey and his sister to Spain, providing a new setting for the character's familiar bad temper.
📅 1974–1975
📺 2 series
It was an attempt to continue the popularity of Blakey after On the Buses.
🎬 1970s — Film work
Lewis continued appearing in films, although his enormous success as Blakey inevitably meant that many roles were variations on his familiar comic persona.
🎬 The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins — 1971
🎬 Adventures of a Taxi Driver — 1976
🎬 The Last Remake of Beau Geste — 1977
🎬 Adventures of a Plumber's Mate — 1978
He also appeared in The Fosters and other television productions.
🎭 1980s — Theatre and television
Lewis continued to work extensively.
📺 Rep — 1982
🎭 Royston Flagg
This comedy was set around a shabby seaside repertory theatre company.
It allowed Lewis to play another frustrated, irritable character while working with an ensemble cast.
🎬 Other 1980s film appearances
🎥 Personal Services — 1987
🎥 Out of Order — 1987
Lewis remained a familiar face in British comedy productions.
🚌 1988 — Last of the Summer Wine
Another major chapter of Lewis's career began in 1988.
⭐ Clem "Smiler" Hemmingway
Lewis first appeared as Smiler in Last of the Summer Wine in 1988.
He subsequently became a regular cast member.
😏 Smiler was another character who frequently found himself involved in ridiculous schemes and difficult situations.
Lewis remained with the series until 2007, making it one of his longest-running television roles.
📺 1990s — Television comedy
Lewis became a familiar face to a new generation.
👴 One Foot in the Grave — 1990
He appeared as Vince Bluett.
🚗 2point4 Children — 1991
He appeared as a driving instructor.
🎭 The All New Alexei Sayle Show — 1994–1995
He played Alf, a comedy writer.
🚂 Oh, Doctor Beeching! — 1995–1997
One of his best later roles was:
🚦 Harry Lambert
Harry was the signalman in this BBC sitcom set around a rural railway station.
The series gave Lewis another memorable transport-related comedy role—remarkably appropriate for an actor whose career had become synonymous with buses and railway humour.
🎬 The Krays — 1990
Lewis also appeared in the gangster film The Krays.
👮 Role: Police officer
It was one of his more unusual film appearances and connected him with a story rooted in the East End of London, the part of the city where he had been born and raised.
🚌 Blakey returns
Lewis never completely escaped Blakey.
During the 1990s he made appearances connected with the character, including Jim Davidson's version of The Generation Game.
His distinctive Blakey persona remained enormously recognisable to British television audiences.
📺 2000s — Final years of acting
Lewis continued working surprisingly late into his life.
🔥 London's Burning — 2000
He appeared in the long-running ITV drama.
📺 The Grimleys — 2000
He played a coach driver, a role deliberately reminiscent of the gruff authority figure audiences associated with him.
🎬 Revolver — 2004
He appeared in the film in several character roles.
🚌 Last of the Summer Wine
His final major television commitment remained Smiler.
He continued appearing in the programme until 2007, when ill health forced him to retire.
🏁 Retirement — 2007
After almost five decades in professional entertainment, Lewis finally retired from acting in 2007.
His career had spanned:
🎭 Theatre
📺 Television
🎬 Film
✍️ Screenwriting
🖊️ Playwriting
🎙️ Comedy
🎪 Live performance
Poor health, including severe arthritis, eventually made continuing work impossible.
🕯️ Death — 2015
Stephen Lewis died peacefully on 12 August 2015, aged 88, in a nursing home in Wanstead, London.
He was remembered as a warm and funny man away from the furious Blakey persona.
That contrast was one of the most interesting things about him:
😠 Blakey on screen → 🙂 Stephen Lewis in real life
His famously angry face was essentially a performance mask; colleagues and friends described him as humorous, warm and generous.
⭐ Stephen Lewis — Career timeline
📅 Year🎭 Career highlight 1926
👶 Born in Poplar, London 1950s
🎭 Joins Theatre Workshop 1958
🎭 West End debut in The Hostage 1960
✍️ Writes Sparrers Can't Sing 1963
🎬 Sparrows Can't Sing 1963
📺 Wagger 1964
📺 Always Ask for the Best 1966
✍️ Sweet Fanny Adams 1969
🚌 First appears as Blakey 1969–73
🎬On the Buses 1971
🎬 On the Buses film 1972
🎬 Mutiny on the Buses 1973
🎬 Holiday on the Buses 1974–75
🎬Don't Drink the Water 1977
🎬 The Last Remake of Beau Geste 1982
🎭 Rep 1987
🎬 Personal Services 1988
🍷 First Last of the Summer Wine appearance 1990
🎬 The Krays 1990
📺 One Foot in the Grave 1995–97
🚂 Oh, Doctor Beeching! 2000
🔥 London's Burning / The Grimleys2004
🎬 Revolver 2007
🏁 Retires from acting 2015
🕯️ Dies aged 88
🏆 Stephen Lewis's legacy
Stephen Lewis had two extraordinarily successful comedy identities:
🚌 Inspector Blakey
On the Buses
1969–1973
😡 Angry
📋 Authoritarian
🚌 Bus inspector
🎯 Stan Butler's nemesis
🍷 Clem "Smiler" Hemmingway
Last of the Summer Wine
1988–2007
😏 Miserable
😂 Comic
🛍️ Often involved with Auntie Wainwright
👴 One of the show's memorable later characters
And behind both characters was a talented writer and playwright who had begun his career creating working-class theatre with Joan Littlewood.
🎭 Stephen Lewis — actor, writer, comedian and the unforgettable man behind Blakey. 🚌😡