Full Name: Lynn Aloysius Belvedere
played by Christopher Hewett (1922-2001)
MR.BELVEDERE
is a pragmatic, efficient, and witty Englishman with an air of mystery
about him. He is alternately bemused and alarmed by the Owens' family's
behaviour, specially the "little twit" Wesley. He was hired to cook and
clean, but when problems arise, he is the first one the family turns to.
 It
started out rather innocently enough when stern sportswriter George Owens
and his wife and aspiring lawyer Marsha decide to hire a housekeeper to
take care of their kids Kevin, Heather and Wesley while they work. Typically,
George expected an old fat woman who would meekly do what he asks. Instead,
he got Mr. Belvedere who was proud, opinionated, intelligent and loves
to get himself in between everyone else's problems. George and Mr. Belvedere
didn't see eye to eye, specially in the rearing of Wesley and Mr. Belvedere
almost got fired several times. As the series wore on however, everybody
came to love and need Mr. Belvedere, George included.
His favorite
line: "Weeeesleeey!!!"
Christopher
Hewett,
who stars in the 20th Television Corporation comedy series, Mr. Belvedere,
has for generations been a favorite character of stage, screen and television
audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. He has been the most
quintessential personifier of that delightful character since Clifton Webb
first portrayed "Belvedere" in the 20th Century Fox motion picture "Sitting
Pretty". Hewett is well known both in his native Great Britain and
in the United States, where he has starred in all three mediums--stage,
big screen and television.
CHILDHOOD
Born in Worthing,
Sussex, Hewett is the great, great grandson of Daniel O'Connell,
M.P., the Catholic Emancipator of Ireland. His mother, Eleanor Joyce,
was a famous stage actress; his father, Christopher Fitzsimon Hewett--who
"dabbled" as an actor--was banished to a rubber plantation for his "transgression."
Hewett is the 7th child in a family that includes 3 brothers and 3 sisters.
He made his theatrical debut at the age of 7 in Dublin playing an Indian
prince in "A Midsummer Nights Dream".
He was educated
by the Jesuits at Beaumont College, Windsor, and served in the RAF,
after which he resumed his theatrical career as a member of the Oxford
Repertory Company, doing a play a week over a two year period.His contemporaries
at the Oxford Rep included playwright Christopher Frey, and fellow thesps
Pamela Brown and Lady Redgrave (Rachel Kempson--mother of Lynn and Vanessa
Redgrave).
BRITISH STAGE
After appearing
in the London stage in such productions as "The Millionairess,"
"The Merry Widow", "Sweet and Low", "Kiss Me Kate", and "Wish You Were
Here", and such films as "The Lavander Hill Mob", "Pool of London",
and "The Man With a Million", Hewett went in 1954 to New York on a holiday.
While holiday meant to some Britishers means a rest, to Hewett it meant
an opportunity to explore American theatre--an exploration that hasn't
ceased to this day.
AMERICA
 He
appeared in the Ed Sullivan Television show, starred in such Broadway
hits as "My Fair Lady" where he understudied Rex Harrison and starred
as the original "Zoltan Karpath"; was with Alfred Drake in "Kean", Tammy
Grimes in "The Unsinkable Molly Brown", Alec McGowan in "Hadrian VII",
and performed in "First Impressions", "Music Is", "The Circle", "The Rivals",
and was Capt. Hook to Sandy Duncan's "Peter Pan".
He directed
160 productions including "The Shoestring Revue" whose cast included
Bea
Arthur, Arte Johnson and Chita Rivera; "The Boys From Syracuse",
"By Jupiter", "Almost Crazy", and "No Sex Please, We're British". Among
other well-known stars he directed were Esther Williams, Shirley Booth
and Van Johnson.
Just prior to
leaving Britain for the U.S., Hewett starred in the popular BBC radio series
"Home at Eight". He also starred in the Mel Brooks
movie "The Producers" where he played a gay movie director.
Links to see pictures from this movie below. American television audiences
will best remember him for his role as "Lawrence", a regular on
ABC's "Fantasy Island" television series.
AFTER MR.
BELVEDERE
Christopher
has since appeared in other shows like Murder She wrote, California Dreaming,
and he has since reprised his role as "Mr. Belvedere" in an episode of
Ned and Stacey.
Christopher
died on August 3, 2001. He was 80 years old.
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