Gary Holton

Gary Frederick Holton (22 September 1952 – 25 October 1985) was an English actor and musician from London. He is best remembered for playing the part of Wayne in the UK television comedy Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.

Early life

Holton was born in Londons East End in September 1952. As a child he began working in the theatre with the Sadlers Wells Opera Company and was with them for three years. Soon after leaving the public Westminster School he joined the Old Vic Theatre Company and from there he went on to work with the Royal Shakespeare Company at Stratford.

At seventeen he joined the touring company of Hair and remained with them for two years. When he left the Company his musical talents led him to front the rock band Heavy Metal Kids as vocalist. The band had little commercial success, though in 1976 their single "She's No Angel" was regularly played on Radio 1 and led to an appearance on "Top Of The Pops", so they disbanded and Holton returned to acting. He played the lead part in Stephen Frears film Bloody Kids and smaller parts in Music Machine, Quadrophenia and Breaking Glass.

He played a number of small TV parts including: Dreams of Leaving, Shoestring, The Knowledge, Tiny Revolutions, The Gentle Touch and the Minder episode A Number of Old Wives' Tales. He also appeared in a successful series of TV adverts for Tennants Pilsner lager alongside model Debbie Linden in 1984.

Gary's big break came with the character Wayne in the Central Television production Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.


Auf Wiedersehen, Pet

Playing the part of Wayne Winston Norris in the smash hit comedy drama Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, Holton became a household name. People came to have great affection for all the characters in the show. Holton played a Cockney carpenter who liked his women, music and drink, which was actually very similar to his off-screen personality. The show lasted for two series and was a runaway success. He became very close to his acting colleagues in the show and, touchingly, the remaining members did not want to continue making the show without him after his death.

The show was successfully revived in 2002 with the original writers and all of the surviving cast members. The gap in the line-up left by Holton was filled by Wyman, Wayne's son, played by Noel Clarke.


Death

Holton was discovered by his girlfriend Janet Mclllewan on 25 October 1985. He had died from an overdose of alcohol and morphine. Holton had been a drug user for several years and was addicted to heroin. He also had considerable debts and had two bankruptcy orders over him. He died midway through the second series of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, but the producers used body doubles to allow the series to be completed. They eventually rescripted the series such that Wayne had, supposedly, left his friends to elope with a woman.