In November 2009 he was working on an autobiography.
He was a British stage and screen character actor with distinctively deep-set eyes, usually cast as authority figures or heavies. Today he is probably best remembered for his role as Stevens in The Green Death: Episode One (1973), a popular serial from the Jon Pertwee era of the series.
He was paid 9 £ per week when acting (as one of the mariners) in a 1952 production of "The Tempest" in Stratford-upon-Avon for the Royal Shakespeare Company. He returned to the RSC in 2002 for the role of Gonzalo,.
He was the older brother of opera singer Nuala Willis.
He was the brother-in-law of opera singer John Rawnsley.