
Bill Dean was a British actor who was born in Everton, Liverpool, Lancashire. He was born Patrick Anthony Connolly, but took his stage name in honour of Everton football legend William 'Dixie' Dean. After a atring of jobs, it was his work as a Lancashire club comedian that saw him spotted by Ken Loach who gave him his breakthrough role in his TV play The Golden Vision. Famous for his flat but penetrating Scouse tones, Dean went on to star as miserable pensioner Harry Cross in the long running Channel 4 soap Brookside from its inception in 1983 to 1990. He briefly returned to the series in 1999 for three episodes, when his character re-appeared in Brookside Close suffering from Alzheimer's disease and wrongly believing that he still lived there. The same character was the inspiration behind the 1980s group 'Jegsy Dodd and the sons of Harry Cross' who hailed from the Wirral and Dean himself appeared in the video of the Liverpudlian band The Farm's Groovy Train as Cross, who was a former train driver. He did of a heart attack aged 78 in 2000.

Minder
TV • 1979

Heartbeat
TV • 1992

Playhouse
TV • 1974

The Sweeney
TV • 1975

The Expert
TV • 1968

BBC2 Play of the Week
TV • 1977

Public Eye
TV • 1965

Justice
TV • 1971

Budgie
TV • 1971

Man in a Suitcase
TV • 1967

Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime
TV • 1983

Beasts
TV • 1976

Priest
MOVIE • 1995

Pennies from Heaven
TV • 1978

The Wackers
TV • 1975

The Best Pair of Legs in the Business
MOVIE • 1973

The Mirror Crack'd
MOVIE • 1980

Scum
MOVIE • 1979