Paul Ditchfield (b. 1938)
Birthplace:
Manchester, England, UK
Born:
December 30, 1938
Paul Carter Ditchfield is an English-born South African actor, musician, and entertainer best known as one of the founding members of the comedy music group The Bat's. Paul is a prolific songwriter who plays keyboards and bass, and he formed The Bats pop group in 1964 with Eddie Eckstein, the late Barry Jarman and the late Jimmy Dunning. The Bats' first single record - All I Got - made No. 1 on the South African charts. When The Bats played in England and Germany, they made it to No. 8 on the Radio London charts with their own composition, Listen To My Heart. While Paul was in London, he played bass on Eddie Grant's Baby Come Back and some other hits of Eddie Grant's group The Equals. When the The Bats temporarily disbanded in 1980, Paul became a movie and stage actor, and TV presenter. He did live to air presenting, was a talk show host, game show host, and hosted numerous music specials across all TV channels. Feature films he has acted in include Stop Exchange, Follow that Rainbow, Kick or Die, Curse of the Crystal Eye, Stander, Flight of the Phoenix, Number 10, Mountains Of The Moon, Konfetti, Hoof of Africa, Red Tide, and Reconnect. He has also acted in numerous television movies including Operation Delta Force, Shark Attack, and 12 Days of Terror; and has appeared in the mini-series Rhodes and MacGyver, and the new Citan. Television series he has acted in include 102 Paradise, Passeur d'enfants, Scout's Safari, Suburban Bliss, Wild at Heart, Settlers, Miss Candida, Trucking, Mponeng, Erfsondes, Jacob's Cross, and Donkerland. His television presenting credits include Bash Kenako, Kellogg's Jackpot, M-Net Shopping Basket, Gillette Numbers Jackpot, Tele Games, Revue Plus, Escapade, Liquifruit Chit Chat and Video 2. He has an extensive theatre resumé, including performances in the stage musicals Last Great Drive-In Movie Picture Show, Oklahoma, Grease, Ticket to Ride, Pump Boys and Dinettes, Buddy Holly, Hans Christian Anderson, and Barnum. Born in Manchester, England, 9-year-old Paul sailed to South Africa with his father, mother, and younger sister Sandra on the Winchester Castle, a Union Castle Liner, arriving in Durban in January 1947.