Norman George Painting OBE (23 April 1924 â€" 29 October 2009) was an
English actor, broadcaster and writer. He played Phil Archer in the
BBC Radio 4 soap opera The Archers from the pilot episodes aired on
the BBC Midlands Home Service in summer 1950, after the series went
national on the Light Programme on 1 January 1951, until his death in
2009, when he was the longest-serving member of the cast. His last
episode, recorded two days before he died, was broadcast on 22
November 2009. The character lived on until Phil was "found dead" in
his armchair in February 2010. According to Guinness World Records,
Painting held the world record for an actor playing a continuous role,
a total of 59 years, which has now been surpassed by co-actor Lesley
Saweard and co-star Patricia Greene.Painting was born in Leamington
Spa, the son of a railway signalman. He was educated at Leamington
College and King Edward VI School, Nuneaton, but left school aged 15
to work in a library. He was found to be medically unfit for military
service in the Second World War, and studied English at the University
of Birmingham instead, graduating with a first-class degree. He did
post-graduate research at Christ Church, Oxford, and then became a
tutor in Anglo-Saxon at Exeter College, Oxford.He began to appear on
BBC radio while at the University of Birmingham, and continued while
also performing as an actor with Oxford University Dramatic Society.
He left Oxford University in 1949 to work for the BBC in Birmingham.
English actor, broadcaster and writer. He played Phil Archer in the
BBC Radio 4 soap opera The Archers from the pilot episodes aired on
the BBC Midlands Home Service in summer 1950, after the series went
national on the Light Programme on 1 January 1951, until his death in
2009, when he was the longest-serving member of the cast. His last
episode, recorded two days before he died, was broadcast on 22
November 2009. The character lived on until Phil was "found dead" in
his armchair in February 2010. According to Guinness World Records,
Painting held the world record for an actor playing a continuous role,
a total of 59 years, which has now been surpassed by co-actor Lesley
Saweard and co-star Patricia Greene.Painting was born in Leamington
Spa, the son of a railway signalman. He was educated at Leamington
College and King Edward VI School, Nuneaton, but left school aged 15
to work in a library. He was found to be medically unfit for military
service in the Second World War, and studied English at the University
of Birmingham instead, graduating with a first-class degree. He did
post-graduate research at Christ Church, Oxford, and then became a
tutor in Anglo-Saxon at Exeter College, Oxford.He began to appear on
BBC radio while at the University of Birmingham, and continued while
also performing as an actor with Oxford University Dramatic Society.
He left Oxford University in 1949 to work for the BBC in Birmingham.
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