Howard Goorney (1921-2007) enjoyed a long and rewarding acting career in the theatre, on television and in films but was best known for his association with Joan Littlewood and Theatre Workshop.
When a teenager in Altrincham, Goorney went to a theatre in Manchester to see Lope de Vega's Fuente Ovejuna, produced by Joan Littlewood and Ewan MacColl of Theatre Union, a company founded in 1936.
Howard Goorney liked what he saw at Theatre Union and when, in 1938, the company announced it was auditioning, Goorney applied and was cast by Littlewood in Hacek's The Good Soldier Schweik.
So began an association that would endure for more than 30 years.
At first, Theatre Workshop had a peripatetic existence but in 1953 the company found a permanent home in London's East End, at the Theatre Royal, Stratford.
Goorney played a huge string of roles at the Theatre Royal and in a number of successful transfers to the West End. From the 1950s, he worked continuously in television, appearing in many of the popular programmes.