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Aubrey Woods

Aubrey Harold Woods (9 April 1928 – 7 May 2013) was an English actor. He is best remembered for playing Bill in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, where he sang "The Candy Man".

Biography and career

Woods was born on 9 April 1928 in Edmonton, Middlesex and grew up in nearby Palmers Green. He was educated at the Latymer School. His first film role was at the age of 17 as Smike in The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (1947). On stage he played the role of Fagin in Lionel Bart's production of Oliver! at the New Theatre, St Martin's Lane in the 1960s alongside Nicolette Roeg and Robert Bridges. Woods played Alfred Jingle in the TV musical Pickwick for the BBC in 1969.

His best remembered film role is in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, where he played the character of Bill, the Candy Store Owner, singing "The Candy Man" near the beginning of the film; the single was later a hit for entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. During the early 1970s Woods collaborated on the musical Trelawny with his friend Julian Slade.

Television work

His television credits include Z-Cars, Up Pompeii!, Doctor Who', Blake's 7, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and Ever Decreasing Circles.

Theatre work

He also appeared as Jacob and Potiphar in the 1991 production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the London Palladium, the soundtrack of which topped the British albums chart in August 1991.

Radio work

His radio credits include the original radio series of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, appearing in Fit the Sixth. He dramatised E. F. Benson's 1932 comic novel "Secret Lives" in three parts for BBC radio, and was also the narrator.