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He was born in 1904, in Bedminster, Bristol, the son of Wilfrid (a shop assistant) and Elizabeth.
His parents had given him a wonderful stage name that happened to be his real name. He died in 2000, in North Somerset. He had reached the ripe old age of 96. He was a respected actor in the Bristol area and had gained work on BBC radio and later on television. He appeared in the TV series Lorna Doone in 1963. One of Hedley's acting moments is captured for all time, when he appeared in the RKO feature film THE YELLOW CANARY in 1943. He played a Canadian Passport Officer. Whilst he doesn't appear in the film credits, it was a speaking role. The stars of the film were Anna Neagle, Richard Greene and Margaret Rutherford. The scene can be found on the internet. Select 'You Tube' and key in 'Yellow Canary 1943'. Go to approx 44mins.52secs to 46mins.22secs. When he joined St.Brendan's teaching staff, he brought an immeasurable enthusiasm to drama and elocution. There will be hardly a single Old Boy who will forget the experience. "Blow your words forward - from the diaphragm". Here is the programme for the St Brendan's school play in February 1947. Hedley's autograph can be seen on the programme, along with pupils John Blake and Peter Pullin.
In 1972 he made an appearance in the TV Series ARTHUR OF THE BRITONS, episode 4 (The Penitent Invader). He played the role of The Abbot. His appearance can now be seen on YOUTUBE. Go to the YouTube site, then key in 'The Penitent Invader' and hey presto you are about to see and hear Hedley in a splendid (albeit small) role. His appearances are timed at 09:04 and then very briefly at 22:19. His name is boldly included in the credits at 25:10. In 1979 Hedley retired from St. Brendan's. The following six photographs help capture the spirit of the event. (Photographs courtesy of old boy Mike Corrigan).
Tom Roberts has added the following; Hedley had a small walk on role in the BBC TV programme The Two Ronnies which was very popular at the time & gained great respect from us 15 / 16 year olds. He had the pleasure of being pick-pocketed by Madeline Smith - found on YouTube - Search for "Two Ronnies - Hampton Wick". It is entitled "LF0050 Madeline Smith". Andrew Pennington kindly submitted these two excellent photographs of Hedley Goodall (St. Brendan's Dramatic Society) productions:
Andrew Pennington, G Boyeldieu, T Dooley, Richard Gillow, I Sharpe, P Stathers and D Pople. In the foreground is P Derbyshire.
Paul Lavers as Algernon Moncrieff, Andrew Pennington as Lane, the manservant and Karol Smal as Lady Bracknell.
Andrew Pennington provided this wonderful contribution to the Hedley Goodall tribute and just look at the date of the production - 1936. The images are photocopies of newspaper pictures from the Bristol Evening World of 3 Feb 1936 and the Bristol Evening Post of 4 Feb 36 showing the St Brendan's production of "Slaves for Bristol" directed by Hedley Goodall, Andrew's father, Cliff Pennington, is top left. Note: The Bristol Evening World newspaper was launched in 1929. By 1932 there was stiff competition amongst Bristol titles and the Evening World added the Evening Times and Echo to its portfolio. Production of the Evening World ended in 1958. The Bristol Evening Post was launched in 1932.
Andrew Pennington provided this contribution: Clearing papers this morning, I found this image of Hedley Goodall with the cast of a St Brendan's production. Sadly, no date or details, but Hedley looks pretty young with dark hair and beard, so it must have been mid-1930s. My father, Cliff Pennington is the blond at the back, second from right, directly behind Hedley. Please email if you have anything to add to this or any section of the website. |
