Wolfgang Suschitzky: 1912-2016

I'm sad to report that Worzel cinematographer Wolf Suschitzky has passed away at the incredible age of 104. Wolf was incredibly supportive during work on The Worzel Book and I visited him a couple of times at his flat in London's Little Venice, overlooking the water.

An accomplished stills photographer, Wolf had documented his time on Worzel with many beautiful portraits of the cast and crew, several dozen of which are in the book. His black and white pictures captured the show's curious blend of the whimsical and the macabre perfectly and were shot with an artist's eye.

My favourites are a wonderful ambiguous still of Connie Booth caught unawares, shot through a car window, and a picture of Sean Pertwee as a scarecrow, seemingly taken straight from a German Expressionist silent. If you have the book, look them up – they're wonderful.

Worzel was but a small part of a career that included exhibitions right up until this year, documentary films and big budget movies like Get Carter. During my research for the book, Wolf's Worzel colleagues singled him out for his craftmanship, professionalism and generosity of spirit. Known affectionately on set by the nickname 'Su', quite simply, he was adored and respected.

When it came to interviewing Wolf, although his memories were sharp, he was difficult to tease quotes from, with his tendency to modestly downplay his work as part of "a team effort." In later years, his photography was much in demand for syndication, and in truth, our small press budget couldn't have stretched to licensing pictures at the rate his work commanded. He generously agreed to the most nominal of fees, happy for the pictures to be seen and enjoyed.

For his years, Wolf's health and stamina were remarkable. He was spry, if a little stooped, but on one visit stood unassisted and unwavering for 20 minutes straight while deep in conversation. During one of our meetings, I asked what the secret to a long life was. No doubt having been asked this a great many times, he had a well-rehearsed answer:

"Have good genes from your parents, do some physical exercise in younger life, and, most importantly… have a lot of sex."

Wolf Suschitzky. A gentleman, an artist, and a life well lived.

The Worzel Book is out now!

It's finally happened. After years of mooting the idea and nearly as long researching and writing, The Worzel Book has at last been released, offering a definitive guide to the making of Worzel Gummidge. Weighing in at nearly 350 pages, with a 16-page colour centre section, the book is a labour of love, telling the story of Worzel's conception through in-depth interviews with cast and crew and over 400 photographs, many never-before-published.

Growing up watching Worzel, for years I'd wanted to read about its creation, and I ended up writing the book for the simple reason that I wanted to read it. I began researching the show as a hobby and soon found myself on a roll, piecing together the production through press clippings and contemporary reports. As I discovered more, I knew there was enough material to fill a book, and so off I went, with a vague plan to eventually self-publish it.

The project quickly grew in scale. As I began conducting interviews, the story developed and many of the dozens of interviewees generously scoured their attics and albums, uncovering a haul of photographs. Before long, I'd decided that the material had outgrown my ability to edit it and that a proper publisher was required. My friend Matt West had established Miwk Publishing a few years ago and I'd been impressed by their output. They have an eye for quality and I trusted their taste. Matt took a look at my part-completed manuscript and, within a few short hours, Miwk were on board. That turned out to be one of the best things I could have done. Miwk saw the potential in a Worzel book and came to it with enthusiasm and ambition. They invested in top-notch production, colour printing, and were determined to make this something special.

Throughout the project, I've been amazed by the generosity and enthusiasm of the show's cast and crew. Production designer Hazel Peiser searched high and low and turned up her original photo files from the show, containing hundreds of set pictures and polaroids, along with the original sketches for Worzel and Aunt Sally's costumes. Director of photography Wolf Suschitzky, still going strong at 104 years old, shared many beautiful atmospheric portraits, while New Zealand make-up artist Shayne Radford found a carrier bag with dozens of precious snapshots culled from the show's make-up room wall, complete with tell-tale pinholes and splatter.

I wanted to write a book that explained the strange and unique appeal of Worzel Gummidge – the show's undiluted mixture of slapstick, sentimentality and occasional tinges of folk horror. Speaking to the cast and crew, what shone through was their pride for the work. Hardly anyone gave the impression of Worzel being 'just another job.' Much of the credit for that rests with James Hill, Worzel's tenacious and talented producer/director. James was an elusive figure to capture on the page, having evaded interviews throughout his career, but his clarity of vision for the series cannot be underestimated. By all accounts, James could be charming, demanding, exasperating, formidable and generous. He was a taskmaster and a craftsman. I'd have liked to have met him.

Sherlock creator Mark Gatiss contributed a splendid foreword, drawing on his experiences of working with Jon Pertwee and Una Stubbs, which goes some way to unravelling the macabre, freewheeling appeal of Worzel Gummidge, a character who seems to have enchanted and terrified a generation of children in equal measure. The show's success defies full explanation, but I put much of it down to the alchemy of an incredible pooling of talents, working in harmony and treating a silly idea with absolute sincerity. The Worzel Book is a tribute to them all, and for those of us first charmed by Worzel during our formative years, I hope the book rekindles many happy memories.

The Worzel Book can be ordered from Miwk at a discount price by clicking here.