14 Facts About Lennard Pearce

Leonard "Lennard" Pearce was an English actor who worked in theatre and television.

Lennard Pearce played Grandad in the BBC television sitcom Only Fools and Horses from its first episode in 1981 until his death in December 1984.

Lyndhurst claimed that Lennard Pearce said that he regretted not taking the opportunity to kill Hitler.

Lennard Pearce worked with both Laurence Olivier and Anthony Hopkins on stage.

In 1966, Lennard Pearce starred in Richard Brinsley Sheridan's The Rivals alongside David Jason, but Lennard Pearce and Jason did not meet again until 15 years later.

In 1975, Lennard Pearce played Owl in a theatre adaptation of Winnie the Pooh at the Phoenix Theatre in London, and two years later, Mr Witherspoon in Arsenic and Old Lace at the Westminster Theatre.

Lennard Pearce was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Lennard Pearce appeared in an episode of Crown Court broadcast in February 1984.

In 1981, Lennard Pearce began his role as Grandad in the first three series of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses.

Lennard Pearce appeared in a 1984 episode of Minder named "The Balance of Power" and played Mr Coles in three episodes of Shroud for a Nightingale in March 1984.

In 1980, while Lennard Pearce was a cast member of a play running at the Bristol Old Vic, he began to lose his balance and would frequently fall asleep.

Lennard Pearce was diagnosed with critical hypertension and was prescribed medication.

Lennard Pearce suffered a heart attack on 12 December 1984 and was rushed by ambulance to Whittington Hospital, where his condition improved.

Two days later, Only Fools and Horses scriptwriter John Sullivan visited Lennard Pearce and assured him that his place in the programme would be left open for him when he recovered.