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Stephen Lewis (born Stephen Cato 14 November 1936, London) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Inspector Cyril "Blakey" Blake in the LWT Sitcom On The Buses, Clem "Smiler" Hemmingway in the longest running sitcom Last of the Summer Wine and Harry Lambert in BBC Television's Oh Doctor Beeching!.

Lewis began his career as a merchant seaman, but was persuaded to go to a performance by the Theatre Workshop, under their director Joan Littlewood. It was common, after these performances, to invite members of the audience to meet the cast. He was invited to an audition and landed the part, he left the sea, becoming a member of the company, and made his West End debut with the transfer of Brendan Behan's The Hostage in 1958. In 1960 he wrote Sparrers Can't Sing with the Theatre Workshop, which was made into a 1963 film, starring Barbara Windsor, Roy Kinnear and Lewis himself.

In 1969 Lewis starred in his best remembered role as Blakey in the British sitcom On the Buses, which ran for 74 half-hour episodes and spawned three films, On the Buses (1971), Mutiny on the Buses (1972) and Holiday on the Buses (1973).

He also appeared in two British sex comedies Adventures of a Taxi Driver (1975) and Adventures of a Plumber's Mate (1978), both directed by Stanley Long.

In 1988 he took on one of his longest-running roles, playing the ironically-named 'Smiler' Hemingway in the BBC sitcom Last of the Summer Wine. The character recurred in occasional episodes for 17 years before ill health forced Lewis to leave the series in 2007.

In 1995, Lewis played Harry Lambert, the signalman in the BBC pilot of sitcom Oh, Doctor Beeching!, which ran to two further series. Stephen Lewis has also appeared as a guest in sitcoms such as One Foot in the Grave, 2 Point 4 Children and Father, Dear Father, and in the movie The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins. Stephen and Anna Karen are the last surviving members of the regular cast of On The Buses following the death of Reg Varney on 16 November 2008.

Television roles

External links

• Stephen Lewis at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview with Stephen Lewis