he married sheila ratcliffe in august 1948. they had two sons, roger and simon pickles, and daughter, carolyn pickles, who became an actress. she appeared in "emmerdale" on television and most recently in "harry potter and the deathly hallows – part 1". his sister, christina pickles, is also an actress, most famous for her role as a nurse in the hospital drama "st. elsewhere" and for playing the mother of ross and monica in the sitcom "friends", both of which won her emmy nominations. his wife died in 1995, and he was survived by his three children.