Waiting for God actor leaves £640,000 to his wife

SCOTTISH actor Graham Crowden left £645,000 in his will, it has emerged.

The Edinburgh-born star who appeared in TV comedy programmes such as Waiting For God and A Very Peculiar Practice left most of his estate to his wife, Phyllida Hewitt.

Crowden, who turned down the role of Dr Who but later appeared as a villain in the show, died last year aged 87 after a short illness. He starred in the cult 1968 movie If and the James Bond film, For Your Eyes Only.

His actress wife was left 639,972.42 of his estate, but he also left 4,250 to be split between friends and family.

The Crowden School of Berkeley, which offers music lessons to children in California, also received a 500 donation.

Born Clement Graham Crowden on 30 November, 1922, he was the third of four children from a respectable Scottish Presbyterian family. Crowden failed all his exams at Edinburgh Academy before going to work in a tannery.

Crowden's career started on stage in Tom Stoppard's play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.

Between 1990 and 1994, he starred with Stephanie Cole in the BBC comedy Waiting For God, as a sprightly resident of a retirement home.

As well as his wife, he is also survived by his four children.