Acting His career as an actor was first established with seasons at Chesterfield, York, Guildford and Bristol Old Vic repertory theatres, and in
London's West End in a variety of roles including
Roar Like A Dove (Phoenix),
The Last Joke (Phoenix),
The Easter Man (title role - Globe),
Misalliance (Royal Court),
One Over The Eight (Duke of Yorks).
The Flying Swan (BBC),
Spasms (co-star with Jonathan Pryce - Thames TV) and
Chalk and Cheese, (co-star with
Michael Crawford -
Thames TV 1977). He appeared in a number of films, including
The Day the Earth Caught Fire,
We Joined the Navy,
Bedazzled (1967),
Zeta One (star) (
The Love Factor in the USA) (1969),
When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (star) (1970),
Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) Episode 26 –
The Smile Behind the Veil as Grant (1970),
The Howerd Confessions, as P.C.Trimble,
Burke & Hare (1971) and
I Want What I Want (1972). He was scheduled by the
James Bond producers to film test for the role, but the test was cancelled when
Roger Moore finally accepted the part. which had a long run at London's Apollo Theatre and played in over 30 countries around the world. and Josef Weinberger. These were followed by his farce ''
Don't Dress for Dinner'' (loosely based on a French play by
Marc Camoletti) which ran for six years in London and subsequently on Broadway, and plays regularly in theatres around the English speaking world. The rights to most of the published plays are owned by Hawdon's company, Hawdon Productions Ltd. Hawdon's comedy
Birthday Suite has played on and off for over thirty-five years across Europe, as it was first played in 1983 at the
Redgrave Theatre, Farnham. His comedy
Shady Business played in Paris for five months at the Michodière Theatre. His most globally performed comedy, with several hundred productions across thirty countries, is
Perfect Wedding His straight play,
God And Stephen Hawking, based on
Hawking’s life and his best-selling book
A Brief History of Time, toured the UK in 2000 starring
Robert Hardy and
Stephen Boxer. He has written several novels, notably
A Rustle In The Grass (
Hutchinson), and
Survival Of The Fittest (Strategic Publishing). 'Number Ten' political thriller short-listed for the International Thriller Prize His memoir
Almost Famous (2021) was published on Amazon. Among his latest stage comedies are
Stage Fright and
A Night in Provence.
Stage Fright is also known as
Coup de Grace and in the United States as
Diamonds and Divas. The comedy was premiered in Germany, in 2017 and later played in Australia and Canada.
A Night in Provence premiered in Germany and United Kingdom and later played in
Zürich, Switzerland and
Massachusetts, United States.
Directing Hawdon directed various plays in the provinces and in London, including
The Magic Of Young Houdini (Phoenix), Suez (Savoy). He founded the
Bath Fringe Festival in the 1980s and subsequently became Director of
Bath Theatre Royal, where he created what later became the Ustinov Theatre, one of UK's most distinguished studio theatres. == Personal life ==