Patrick Cargill (3 June 1918 – 23 May 1996) was a British actor remembered for his lead role in the British television sitcom Father, Dear Father.

Biography

From the mid-1960s Cargill lived at Sheen Gate Gardens near Richmond, Surrey. He spent his time 'resting' at Spring Cottage, his country retreat situated in Warren Lane, near Cross-in-Hand, East Sussex. For many years Cargill's companion was Vernon Page, an eccentric landscape gardener, poet and lampoon songwriter, until he married in 1984 with Cargill's blessing. Cargill was a private man, who quietly disliked his famous status. He would shun the awards ceremonies in favour of a quiet evening at home playing mahjong. He never made any public acknowledgment of his private life as he felt that to admit to being gay would damage his professional image. Notwithstanding his reluctance to come out in this respect, Cargill was happy being gay in his private life and his wit when not in the spotlight reflected that. Once, whilst lunching with Ray Cooney, the theatrical impresario, Cargill observed, when a particularly handsome waiter mistakenly removed his soup spoon Cargill responded, "aah look Ray, the dish has run away with the spoon." In the later years of his life, Cargill lived in Henley-on-Thames with his last companion, James Camille Markowski.

The love of his life was his Bentley, a black and dark green model of which only six were ever made. Cargill also had a Mini and often told a story about driving through Barnes one day and on seeing one of the other five Bentley Drop-Heads at the traffic lights, waved furiously at the driver, only to realise that he was driving his Mini that day. In the mid-1980s he changed the Bentley for a Rolls Royce.

Cargill had innumerable pets, including a monkey, a parrot and a weathered sheep. His favourite pets were Ra, a cross-border collie, and Charles, a cat that lived at Spring Cottage and often attacked his house guests in their beds early in the morning by attempting to suckle their nipples, much to the alarm of its victims.


Death
At the time of his death at the age of 77, Cargill was suffering from a brain tumour and was being nursed in a hospice in Richmond, London. In 1995, the year before he died, he had been knocked down by a car in Australia; this fact led to incorrect reports that the cause of his death was a hit-and-run accident.