Paul Eddington was a tall, debonair actor who achieved international success in the 1970s with _"The Good Life" , in the 1980s that brought him television stardom as the inept politician Jim Hacker. The actor's performances as an incompetent minister and prime minister were so admired by Margaret Thatcher that she awarded him the honor of Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Despite suffering from skin cancer, he continued to perform on stage and television, concealing his illness, until tabloid press began suggesting he had AIDS.
Just before he died, Paul Eddington gave a very moving interview in the Face to Face series. With typical modesty, he said that his epitaph should simply be "He did very little harm".
He was awarded the CBE in the 1987 Queens New Year Honours List for his services to drama.
Four children with Patricia Scott: actor Toby Eddington (born 1954), Hugo, Dominic and Gemma.
He was awarded the 1992 London Critics Circle Theatre Award (Drama Theatre Award) for Best Actor for his performance in "No Mans Land.".
First TV lead was to be in a play called On Easy Terms for Rediffusion TV, written by Ken Taylor and directed by Tania Lieven. He was to play an amorous door-to-door salesman. However the production was cancelled during rehearsals, near the end of Rediffusions tenure. The play was taken by Belgian TV and made as Facilits de payement .
Graduated from RADA in 1951.
People abroad tended to play safe and treat me as a minister, just in,case.
