Actor Kevin Miles, best known as Godfrey Carson in the series Carson’s Law, has died peacefully at age 95.
Born one of six children in a working class family in Melbourne, Miles left school at age “either 12 or 13” but had no thoughts of an acting career. He was encouraged to audition for the theatre by his brother-in-law and soon worked for the JC Williamson company and was later on tour in England and Europe with the Royal Shakespeare Company, working with Sir Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh.
It was in the United Kingdom that he gained his first television experience, appearing in plays for BBC.
By the late 1960s he was beginning to appear in guest roles on Australian series including Hunter, Contrabandits and Skippy The Bush Kangaroo before landing the role of Detective Sergeant John Randall in the Nine Network series The Link Men.
He also appeared in Delta and Barrier Reef before his next major role of newspaper publisher David Mason in ABC‘s Dynasty.
Later credits during the 1970s included guest roles in Boney, Ryan, The Evil Touch, Class Of ’75, Silent Number, Behind The Legend, Homicide, Division 4, Luke’s Kingdom, The Young Doctors, Case For The Defence and King’s Men.
YouTube: CrawfordsAustralia
In 1983 he was cast in the leading role of Godfrey Carson, the domineering founder of a prestigious law firm in 1920s Melbourne, in the Network Ten series Carson’s Law. Starring opposite Lorraine Bayly, Carson’s Law ran for two years and earned Miles a Logie Award for Best Lead Actor In A Series.
After appearances in mini-series Nancy Wake and Darlings of the Gods, he returned to a leading series role in the Seven Network daytime drama The Power The Passion.
His last credited TV appearance was in the telemovie The Ripper in 1997.
Source: My Tributes, IMDB. TV Times, 4 March 1970, 4 November 1970. TV Week, 14 April 1984.
Thank you to reader Tim for the tip.
