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Stars turn out for memorial service
STARS of stage and screen turned out to pay tribute to a South Shields-born actor and director at a memorial service in London.
Edward Wilson, 60, lost his three-year battle with cancer at his Los Angeles home earlier this month.
He became a mentor to the stars as artistic director of the National Youth Theatre (NYT) from 1986 to 2003, helping launch the careers of the likes of Daniel Craig, Orlando Bloom, Matt Lucas and David Walliams.
Lucas and Walliams, who met at the NYT and went on to create the hit comedy series Little Britain, were among those at the service.
Actors Timothy Spall and Paula Wilcox were also present at the requiem mass at Corpus Christi Church in Covent Garden on Friday.
NYT spokesman David Bloom said: "It was a very beautiful ceremony, and there were hundreds of people there. He was a very highly regarded man."
The Avengers star Dame Diana Rigg gave the first reading, from the first letter of St John.
Goodnight Sweetheart and Casualty actress Liz Carling sang I Have A Love, from the musical West Side Story, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, another NYT graduate, read an excerpt from Othello, in which he is currently starring in the West End.
Sid Higgins, executive director of NYT, read the eulogy, charting Wilson's career from dressing up as a child to starring in TV dramas including When The Boat Comes In and Crown Court.
He said: "Ed's ambition was very different to that of so many people in that his was a totally selfless ambition.
"It was an ambition to see others, and particularly young people, realise their own potential and succeed."
Wilson had moved to California, after 16 years at the NYT, to head up the Los Angeles Young Actors Company in Hollywood.
Mr Higgins said: "It will come as no surprise to anyone that he had a very strong circle of devoted friends in Los Angeles.
"When he passed away, he was very peaceful, listening to Debussy on his iPod and surrounded by his friends there."
Wilson's funeral was held in Los Angeles.
A second memorial service is due to take place for other friends and family in North East England.
* The eulogy in full - next page.
Ed Wilson – London Eulogy
Ed was a man of so many talents and had a huge range of abilities, both professionally and personally. One of these was that he was a great orator and had a rare ability to speak with great authority, knowledge and understanding on almost any subject at almost any kind of event whether it be a wedding, baptism, countless corporate presentations, and of course he has hugely in demand to speak at other people's funerals as he was able to bring great sense, meaning sensitivity but also humour and wit to the saddest of occasions. Imagine then, my horror when the reality of speaking at his funeral began to dawn on me – I can feel the notes being written as I speak and no doubt will be delivered to me in a dream sometime later this evening, probably in Ed's most colourful and Anglo Saxon use of the Queen's English!
Ed's interest in the theatre started at a very early age, even though he had no obvious connection or family tradition in the business, his dad, also Edward, known as Bill, being a coal miner in South Shields. He was always dressing up and never seemed to be afraid of getting up and performing in front of other people, or, in the words of his sister, Jean – just showing off! It may have started on the day when his mum Ena dressed him up in girl's clothes, and a passing stranger took a look at him in his new attire and his thick jet black ringlets and exclaimed "Eeh – she's beautiful!" It was perhaps the start of his understanding of an adoring audience!
Ed's career was a remarkable and varied one, ranging from acting to directing to producing. Starting as he did as a member of the National Youth Theatre, it wasn't long until simply being a member of the company was enough for him and at 19 years old, he formed his first company which was the South Shields Youth Theatre. His ambitious nature forged a path for a very successful career in television and the theatre as an actor, but before long he found himself back in his favourite position – that of control and producing and directing many productions and not only just on stage but in huge outdoor site specific locations involving hundreds of actors, extras, musicians and even horses and other livestock – not one for doing things by halves was our Ed.
He frequently directed productions back at the National Youth Theatre now that he was a grown up, but he was in demand well beyond those limits, and was invited to direct productions in several other countries, and in particular for the Spanish Shakespeare Foundation in Madrid and Valencia, where he created several of his highly acclaimed productions.
In 1986 when Michael Croft, the founder director of the NYT died, Ed was a natural successor and he was invited to take over the company as Director. He breathed new life into the NYT, and created a vibrant new policy which pushed the boundaries in every way. With his beloved partner, Brian who was the head of design (and who sadly also died of cancer some years ago) Ed took the NYT on to new challenges which improved the standards in all elements of production – not just in acting or bringing in a big new musical influence, but in all technical areas as well. New courses for young people were created and developed and the NYT then started to offer a more structured programme. During his tenure, he directed over 40 shows, including of course his landmark production of "Murder In The Cathedral" which has played in London, Newcastle, Edinburgh and was the first ever production of the play in Russia, performing at the Moscow Art Theatre in 1989. It was also his final and spectacular swan-song for the NYT in 2003, playing both at Southwark and Westminster Cathedrals.
I mentioned Ed's ambition earlier, but his ambition was very different to that of so many people in that his was a totally selfless ambition. It was an ambition to see others, and particularly young people realise their own potential and succeed. He understood that not everyone could a great actor. But he also understood that everyone could potentially be great at something. He believed that hard work, discipline and a shared set of values amongst a group of young people working in a safe environment would allow them to explore and identify their potential and to flourish in whatever they chose to do, and through this process he believed that not only would they become accomplished in their craft but at the same time become better citizens. He could be infuriating whilst aiming to achieve these goals, but achieve them he did and these remain the core values of the NYT.
During his 16 years at the National Youth Theatre, he produced a canon of work which is unparalleled in its breadth and its exemplary execution. He was able to draw extraordinary performances out of young and then inexperienced actors which few others would be able to do. Some of our best young actors started their career with Ed, some very well-known, but for every well-known alumnus from Ed's period, there are hundreds of others who enjoy equally successful careers in many professions as well as the creative industries.
His selfless ambition for the NYT was possibly highlighted at its most potent, when after running the company for 16 years, he handed it over to Paul Roseby, John Hoggarth and myself in 2003 in the most gracious, generous and dignified way. For us it was a great honour and huge responsibility to hold these posts and we hope that Ed would be proud of what we have been able to achieve, building on the strong foundations which he had set up. I know that he had great ambitions for the Los Angeles Young Actors Company and even though he wasn't able to realise these through to a conclusive stage, it will hopefully be carried forward, creating a legacy of Ed's work in LA.
Most people will have met Ed through a professional connection, but in almost all cases, this translated very quickly into friendship. Ed had many, many friends, and this has been so apparent in the last few months, and most particularly in the last few weeks. I cannot think of another person who knew so many others. But he didn't just know them – they are not simply acquaintances – people you just say "hello darling" to at a first night – these were all genuine friends of Ed's. (But he might also have "Hello Darling" anyway). He was the most loyal of friends and although he might occasionally go a while without being in touch, he would always pick up connections where they had left off with genuine enthusiasm and love. He was sometimes bad tempered, difficult and even belligerent, but it was never long before his razor sharp wit and good humour would shine through. One of his great friends, Ian McKellen said just last week: "He was unique and I can't remember a moment in his company at work or play when it didn't seem special and fun, always fun to be with him."
Ed knew so many people through his work, as literally thousands of young people went through the NYT and he was closely involved with the nurturing of the new young talent. He would frequently bump into former members in various places here and there. In addition he was obviously well known in the theatrical industry and was very familiar with many professionals as well. Knowing this sheer volume of people sometimes led to the occasional and unfortunate case of mistaken identity on his part. Shortly after arriving in LA, he was in book shop on Sunset Boulevard and seeing a man he recognized went up said "Hello, love, what are you up to?" The man then had an enthusiastic 15 minute conversation with Ed about his career, and it was only after Ed had got into his car and on his way home that he realized that he'd been speaking to Ben Affleck, who he had never actually met before and only recognized him off the TV. He managed to repeat the experience shortly after with Sandra Bullock in an elevator!
These were of course isolated incidents and the truth is that he had a great care and interest in everyone who came through the NYT and was always very excited to hear about their progress and successes. He never boasted about these and never took any personal credit, but much of this success was in part due to him.
He had a huge number of great friends, and many have traveled great distances from New York, Los Angeles, Madrid and all over the UK to be here today. As you know, he has spent the last three and a half years in LA. He did feel very comfortable in LA, particularly as he was treated like some visiting Royal dignitary (which he quite liked!) but all of us in the UK missed him terribly.
It will come as no surprise to anyone that he had a very strong circle of devoted friends in Los Angeles, a group of wonderful people who have given day and night over the last few weeks to look after him and make him comfortable. When he passed away, he was very peaceful, listening to Debussy on his i-pod and surrounded by his friends there.
Of course Ed had many great friends of Ed's here too, and from all over the country. It has been a wonderful experience to see so many people freely give their help, time, resources and love to do whatever they could to help make Ed as comfortable as possible and going to extraordinary lengths to making whatever arrangements have been needed recently. There are too many to mention, but you know who you are, and more importantly, so did Ed. The huge scale of the friendship which surrounded him is of course a measure of the man.
Last week, we held a funeral mass for Ed at the church which he loved in los Angeles. In addition to today's service, in two weeks time, there will another one for other friends and family in the North East. We always thought that Ed would put us through putting on a bit of a production for his funeral, but we weren't expecting to mount an international tour!
I have also had the greatest privilege to spend the last ten days with a remarkable woman. Jean has, with the rest of her family, endured enormous loss in recent months. Ed and Jean's father died last August after a long illness during and Jean had looked after him with great devotion. Ed was too ill to travel back for his father's funeral in September which I know was very hard for him, but this was also so hard for Jean too, to have to deal with that without Ed at her side. But for the family, and Jean in particular, to have lost their beloved Ed so soon after has been another terrible blow. Most people would buckle under such circumstances, but not Jean, who has the most extraordinary strength of character and has soldiered on through these extreme periods of suffering with great dignity, strength and courage. Jean, and all the family, your loss must be unimaginable but the love and support which has surrounded Ed is also there for you. You are a great example to us all.
It is so hard to try to capture a full picture of Ed in this short time and do him justice. He was a man of so many dimensions and so much depth. So I'm going to cop out a bit and pass on some of the responsibility to you. I'd like you all to think of one story about Ed which you can tell someone else after the service now, or at any time in the future. It can be funny, it can be sad – it can be anything – but above all it should just be significant for you. It's a sort of do-it-yourself eulogy – one which everyone here can take part in.
What has happened to Ed is terrible and extremely sad. But I know that none of us would have wanted Ed to suffer. He certainly wouldn't have wanted to. He knew that his condition was only going to get worse and I think he knew that it was his time to go. But much greater that not wanting himself to suffer would be his selfless desire for us not to suffer either. I believe he knew much more than he was telling the rest of us and I think that he was probably protecting us from that terrible truth.
It is important that we all grieve for Ed and take the time we all need to do that. But he wouldn't want us to suffer. He would want to be remembered at his best, enjoying a good laugh, enjoying the success of a good show, enjoying a good meal, enjoying great company and of course enjoying the very occasional glass of wine. He knew that he was well loved and it is true that that love was returned by him. Sometimes the brightest lights burn fastest. He is now in a better place, with Brian and his mum and dad, and of course his wonderful dog, The Prune.
Ed was always a man of great faith and this was extremely important to him. He drew much comfort from his faith, and not just while he was ill. He was not the sort of Catholic who only "phoned home" when he needed something. He was the sort of Catholic who was in touch all the time. His faith was the cornerstone of his life and his values. He was a fortunate man who had a great life full of joy and rich experiences. He was able to realize many of his dreams and ambitions – many more than most people. He was surrounded by many wonderful people. For 60 years, he had much to thank God for. And at the same time, from all of us, Thank God for Ed Wilson.
Sid Higgins
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Friday 10 February 2012
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