ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS' Fred Ridgeway Passes Away

According to published reports, One Man, Two Guvnors' Fred Ridgeway passed away on November 12, 2012, at the age of 59 after being diagnosed with a motor neuron disease.

Ridgeway was a broker on Wall Street before taking on the role of 'Charlie Clench' in Richard Bean's comedy. He took the stage first in Nicholas Hytner's production of One Man, Two Guvnors, alongside star James Corden, on the South Bank in 2011, then continued with the UK tour, in the West End and finally on Broadway, where the show closed in September this year.

After joining the National Youth Theatre through his teens, Ridgeway decided to pursue his business career, which lasted 25 years and led up to his lucrative position as associate director of Exco. He began acting in regional shows throughout the UK before making the choice to act full-time.

His first professional London production was David Haig's My Boy Jack at The Hampstead Theatre. He went on to appear in West Yorkshire Playhouse's Dealer's Choice and the Chichester Festival's Saturday, Sunday, Monday. He made his West End debut in the 1998 revival of Joe Orton's Loot. In 2003 he was cast in Pirandello's Absolutely! (Perhaps) at Wyndham's, followed by a role in the Royal Shakespeare Company's Coriolanus and other productions during the company's 2005 season. He appeared in The National Theatre's England People Very Nice in 2009 and The Big Fellah in 2010 before taking on One Man, Two Guvnors.

Prior to and during his growing presence on the stage, Ridgeway appeared on TV in The Bill, Heartbeat, EastEnders, Casualty and more.