Spotlight: Elizabeth Counsell (Mrs Gibson in During Barty's Party)

Elizabeth Counsell was born on 7^th June 1942 in Windsor, Berkshire. She is the daughter of actress Mary Kerridge and stage director / actor John Counsell who ran the Theatre Royal in Windsor. She has a twin sister, Jennifer, who was also an actress for a short period during the 1960s. One of her earliest stage roles was in a production for her father when the twelve year old Counsell appeared alongside her sister as the King and Queen of Gooseland in a version of Mother Goose staged at the Royal Theatre, Windsor during December 1953 and January 1954. After making her screen debut Counsell continued to be actively involved with theatre productions for her parents with credits in productions of Puss in Boots (1964), Little Red Riding Hood (1965) and The Heat of the Moment (1965).

She made her uncredited TV debut in the BBC one-off comedy production On the Brighter Side (15^th June 1961) as a dancer. Una Stubbs and Amanda Barrie are also in the same dance troupe. This was followed by a small role as the character Thora in an episode of the medical drama Call Oxbridge 2000 (11^th November 1962). The following year she made her first steps into cinema with uncredited roles in the Dirk Bogarde starring thriller The Mind Benders (1963), as a young student on a train station platform, and the Bond film From Russia With Love (1963) as a woman in a punt.   

Guest slots in TV quickly followed starting with an episode of the BBC drama anthology First Night. ‘Hunt The Man’ (25^th April 1965) also featured Beasts alumni amongst the cast with roles for Anthony Bate and Richard Bebb both of whom featured in ‘During Barty’s Party’. She possibly bumped into Anthony Bate at rehearsals when they later both appeared in television productions of The Idiot (1966) and Les Miserables (1967). Counsell supplemented her theatre and television work with further small film appearances including the Morecambe and Wise vehicle The Intelligence Men (1965), Carry on Follow That Camel (1967), Hot Millions (1968) and Anne of a Thousand Days (1968). During 1968 she was engaged with an extensive theatre tour of America and Canada with her sister and father appearing in four plays; The Beaux Stratagem, Mrs Warrens Profession, An Ideal Husband and Hay Fever.

During the 1970s Counsell balanced a busy theatre schedule with becoming a familiar face in supporting roles on television, especially within the field of comedy. Prior to Beasts she graced episodes of comedic entertainment such as The Two Ronnies (1972), The Reg Varney Revue (1972), Doctor At Sea (1974) and Bless This House (1976). It was whilst working regularly as the character Helen Woodford in the sitcom The Many Wives of Patrick (1976 – 1978) that she first met the actor, and ‘Murrain’ star, David Simeon. They married in July 1978 and the following year she gave birth to a son. 

In 1978 Counsell appeared as a school teacher, Miss Lilac, in the film Killer’s Moon (1978), cited by some critics as the worst British horror film of the decade before welcoming in a new decade of TV appearances in memorable fashion. As the character Pamela Heslop in the BBC comedy series Partners (1981) she appeared in one episode dressed as Marilyn Monroe singing ‘I Want to Be Loved by You’. Whilst still maintaining a foothold in comedy the decade would see Counsell turn up in more drama based material with guest appearances in episodes of Jemima Shore Investigates (1983), C.A.T.S. Eyes (1986) and Boon (1986). By now she was a dependable comedy character actor so it was no surprise that she had regular roles in the Thames Television’s series Executive Stress (1986 – 1988) and as Veronica Bainbridge, the role she is most commonly associated with, in the BBC sitcom Brush Strokes (1986 – 1991).

Counsell also continued her association with the Royal Theatre in Windsor taking roles in productions of Venus Observed (1980), Babes in the Wood (1984 and 1987), Cinderella (1985 and 1990) and Sleeping Beauty (1993). In 1994 she undertook her final regular television comedy role playing Jackie Spicer in both seasons of Nelson’s Column (1994 – 1995). It would be her last role in the medium for several years whilst she concentrated on theatre work.

She returned to the small screen with two episodes of Lock Stock for Channel 4, a spin-off from the stylised Brit gangster film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998). Counsell’s main TV employer in the last few years has been the BBC afternoon medical soap Doctors. Between 2001 and 2015 she has appeared in six episodes playing different characters. Short films have also featured in her CV with such productions as QuickStop (2010), Room to Let (2011) and The North London Book of the Dead (2010). She triumphed in the stage play Miss Dietrich Regrets (2015) playing an ageing Marlene Dietrich looking back on her life.

Her role as Storm Cloud Woman in the BBC’s Jonathan Strange and Mrs Norrell (2015) has led to a resurgence in her career of late. After the obligatory episode of Casualty (2015) Counsell has gone on to be cast in episodes of Born to Kill (2017), The Split (2020), Unforgotten (2021), Call the Midwife (2022) and The Outlaws (2022). Of particular note is her role as the dementia sufferer Elisabeth Wiley in the Channel 5 thriller Cold Call (2019). This late blooming has also allowed her to return to cinema roles with crime thriller Bull (2021) and the Bram Stoker inspired horror The Invitation.

Spotlight: Alan Dudley (Mr Gibson in During Barty's Party)

Actor Alan Dudley, who voiced the character of Mr Gibson in “During Barty’s Party”, was born as Alan John George Dudley in Greeenwhich, London in 1925. He trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and was active on the stage from the late 1940s as a member of the Saga Repertory Company. By the 1950s he was appearing in West End plays and musicals. It was during this period that he made his television debut as a supporting artist when the BBC broadcast excerpts from the Piccadilly Theatre production of the musical The Two Bouquets (31^st August 1953).

His TV career, often in small supporting roles, was secondary to his theatre career. During the 1960s Dudley established himself as a reliable player, especially in musical theatre productions and operettas. His singing ability also lent itself to radio productions with Dudley gracing such productions as The Duenna (24^th December 1964), a comic operetta which also featured Denis Quilley and Peter Pratt. During 1966 he also featured in a series of radio productions adapting the work of Gilbert and Sullivan presented as complete performances. Of note is his appearance as Sir Despard Murgatroyd in Ruddigore (15th May 1966) opposite Dame Patricia Routledge and Peter Pratt. The clip below demonstrates his skill in such productions. Around this time he began to be a regular presence in radio plays and productions and become a member of the BBC Repertory Company[1]. He would become a familiar voice on radio and remain so until the twilight of his career. During 1970 Anvil Records issued a series of audio adaptations of Sherlock Holmes stories which starred Robert Hardy as Holmes and Nigel Stock as Watson. Dudley was one member of a stock cast which featured as different characters across several productions including “The Blue Carbuncle”, “The Norwood Builder” and “The Speckled Band”. 

Dudley became a National Theatre player in the early 1970s and would remain part of the company for several years. Examples of work during this period included playing Leonardo under director Jonathan Miller in The Merchant of Venice (1970). 

Dudley’s casting as Mr Gibson in Beasts would have helped ground the production in the everyday. He was an extremely familiar voice on the radio and his output in the medium during 1976 was indicative of this with several productions playing directly prior or directly after “During Barty’s Party” broadcast; Radio 3 Drama Now instalment “Bandstand” (27^th April 1976), an episode of Radio 4 anthology drama series The Escapers entitled “The Spiritualists” (17^th June 1976) and a lead role as Inspector Harvey in The Rippers Apprentice (22^nd July 1976).

After his final television appearance in 1980 he continued to feature heavily in radio productions throughout the decade and until the end of his career. In 1981 he had small roles in two films - Chariots of Fire (1981) and Riding High (1981). Dudley died, aged 88, in Campbeltown, Scotland on 7^th January 2013.

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[1] Now known as the Radio Drama Company (RDC) and founded in 1939 to act as a casting resource for radio productions.

Spotlight: Marie Sutherland (Commercial Voice in During Barty's Party)

 

Sutherland studied at the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art and graduated in 1951. She had an extensive stage career before making television appearances and during 1952 she was a member of the Aldershot Repertory Company based at the Royal theatre.

Marie Sutherland’s earliest TV role was playing Mrs Selvedge in the Public Eye episode “A Fixed Address” (19^th June 1969) followed by a small role as a secretary in “They Shall Not Pass” (10^th August 1970), an episode of the hit BBC business drama Mogul.

Another small role, as Janice Brown, was in Say Nothing (6^th July 1976) an episode of the ATV police drama Hunter’s Walk directed by Richard Bramall who would also direct the Beasts episode “Special Offer”. Her next televised role was as one of the voices heard on radio commercials in the Beasts episode “During Barty’s Party”.

Post-Beasts she could be seen in an unnamed role in The Goodies episode “A Kick in the Arts” (28^th November 1980) and as Mrs Ogilvie in the first episode of the mini-series Pictures (11^th February 1983)

Spotlight: Gary Watson (Radio Commercial Voice in During Barty's Party)

Gary Watson was born on June 13, 1930 in Shifnal, Shropshire, England as Garrowby Cawthorne Watson. Sandy haired, with intense blue eyes, he was a popular voice artist who contributed too many television commercials (including Nescafe and Lloyds Bank), training films and documentaries, particularly for British Transport Films. After graduating from Cambridge University he taught English for a while at the Westminster City School in London where he was an active member of the school drama society and directed several stage productions including a version of Treasure Island.

1961 was the gateway year for Watson to appear on our screens and he started by making his his first appearance in The Avengers with the role of Pardoe in the first season episode “Death on the Slipway” (24th June 1961). His next role was in the BBC anthology drama series Yorky which starred Wilfred Pickles in the title role. Watson appears as the Reverend Michael Winyard in the second season episode “How to Move a Mountain” (30th August 1961). Next Watson was cast as Captain Snell in the BBC Sunday Night Play “The Test” (5th November 1961) a cold war drama about a group of scientists about to test a devastating top secret weapon. The Second Mrs Tanqueray (9th March 1962) was a BBC play which featured his “During Barty’s Party” co-star Elizabeth Sellars in the main role. Watson appears as Captain Hugh Ardale. “Pictures Don’t Lie” (11th August 1962) was an episode of the Boris Karloff presented science fiction anthology series Out Of This World. Watson appeared as the radio scientist Nathen, who picks up signals coming from an incoming spaceship and succeeds in communicating with it when he slows the messages down. The aliens are concerned about the threat of humans and their potential violence. Nathen convinces them they are a peaceful species and so they agree to land nearby. When the scientist goes to look for them he cannot see the craft. The simple fact being the aliens are tiny in stature and Nathen has trod on the spaceship.

The Rival Flows East (14th October – 18th November 1962) was a six-part BBC drama series written by Terence Dudley in which Watson played Andrew Giddings opposite Judy Cornwell as a couple searching for a missing girl. His second appearance in The Avengers came in the episode “Immortal Clay” (1963) playing a more substantial role in the form of Allen Marling. The character Bush was his third appearance in The Avengers in the episode “Lobster Quadrille” (1964).

Watson’s first TV appearance for 1965 was in an episode of the John Thaw starring series Redcap. Watson appears as Major Silk in “A Question of Initiative” (2nd January 1965). He was then cast as another authority figure, Detective Sergeant Wimpole, in the Public Eye episode “You Think It’ll Be Marvellous – But It’s Always A Rabbit” (27th March 1965). Next was an appearance as a sailor, Shipman Roberts, in the comedy drama “The Winds of Green Monday” (20th September 1965), an instalment of the ITV Play of the Week. Armchair Mystery Theatre was a spin off anthology series from the much admired Armchair Theatre drama anthology. Watson appears in two episodes; “That Finishing Touch” (18th July 1965) as Geoffrey Baxter and “The Stairway” (26th September 1965) as Max one of a pair of killers alongside Bernard Bresslaw as his fellow murderer Stephen.

Watson’s highest profile role to date was as Aramis in the BBC dramatization of The Three Muskateers (13th November 1966 – 15th January 1967) alongside Jeremy Brett as D’Artagnan, Brian Blessed as Porthos and Jeremy Young as Athos. Following this he appeared as Arthur Terrall in episodes three to five of the Patrick Troughton Doctor Who adventure “The Evil of the Daleks” (3rd June – 17th June 1967). Ten days later he could be seen as Lieutenant Tetteris in the BBC one off drama Death Happens to Other People (27th June 1967).

Watson also provided the English language voice over for the UK release of the Russian film The Snow Queen (1967) based on the Hans Christian Andersen story. Back on television Watson appeared in the BBC drama anthology The Golden Age, in the episode “The Theatres: Richard Burbage” (29th November 1967), playing Burbage who was considered to be the first great actor of British theatre with roles in various Shakespeare productions staged at the Globe Theatre. Contrasts was a BBC arts programme and Watson was one of several readers for the episode “The Pre-Raphaelites” (17th December 1967) which told the story of a group of a new generation of painters in Victorian times that rebelled against the established order.

After a particularly busy year 1968 saw Watson make fewer appearance with the highlight being his fourth and final role in an episode of The Avengers as Stephen Kendrick in the episode “Wish You Were Here” (18th November 1968). The following year was busier; he made his second appearance in the series Public Eye playing Doctor Charles Nourse in the episode “My Life’s My Own” (20th August 1969), made his second Softly Softly appearance playing Harry Owen in the episode “Error of Judgement” (2nd October 1969) and was seen as Bilak, a diplomat of the Czech embassy in London, in the Special Branch episode “Exit A Diplomat” (26th November 1969).

At the start the new decade he appeared in the debut episode of the third season of Callan, playing Henshaw in the episode “Where Else Could I Go?” (8th April 1970). The espionage continued with Watson appearing in the BBC spy thriller Codename playing Tellor in the episode “A Walk with the Lions” (21st April 1970). London Weekend Television produced a series of six plays under the title of Big Brother which was themed around examining if 1970s society was heading towards a dystopian future as depicted in the George Orwell novel 1984. Watson appears in the episode “A Little Bit like a God” (27th September 1970) as Professor Robson. The cast also included Andre Morrell who had been a cast member of the legendary 1954 BBC production of 1984 scripted by Nigel Kneale. Watson then returned to role of Czech diplomat Ladislav Bilak in the Special Branch episode “Sorry Is Just a Word” (14th October 1970).

He undertook the role of storyteller on the Children’s BBC series Jackanory for a week of tales starting with “Preep and the Queen” (19th October 1970) and ending with “The Little Prince and The Tiger Cat” / “The Emperor’s Rhyme" (23rd October 1970). Thames Television produced a five episode version of Macbeth (4th November – 2 December 1970), updating it to the modern era with Michael Jayston as Macbeth. Watson was cast as Macduff.

His second appearance in an episode of Armchair Theatre came in the instalment “Wednesday’s Child” (10th November 1970). Watson played Doctor Charles Nourse who hires a private nurse to look after his wife after her miscarriages. However the two women become increasingly close in their relationship. Watson also had a part as a Scotland Yard police inspector in the film, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970), but his part was deleted from the final print. He returned to classical literature with the role of Creon in a two part version of the play Antigone (16th February and 1st March 1971) for the Thames Television educational programme Heritage. He then narrated the BBC single drama The Snow Goose (15th November 1971) which was adapted from the short story by Paul Gallico and starred Jenny Agutter and Richard Harris.

There were more narration duties for the BBC period drama Mistress of Hardwicke (9th April – 11th June 1972) based on the life of Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury, a notable figure in Elizabethan society due to her shrewd business decisions and four marriages. He made his Z Cars debut as the recurring character Detective Inspector Connor in the episode “Connor” (11th September 1972). Inspector Connor would appear in eleven episodes over the next few years with his final appearance in the episode “Turnabout” (22nd April 1974). He busied himself with guest roles in such fare as “The Secret of the Magnifique” (19th February 1973), an episode of the anthology series The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes, and was the bumbling Inspector Rush in “Once The Killing Starts” (7th January 1974), an episode of the second season of the anthology series Thriller. Possibly one of Watson’s most recalled roles came in the shape of the hitman John Quentin in the hard boiled crime thriller The Hanged Man (15th February – 5th April 1975).

The Poisoning of Charles Bravo was a three part BBC Victorian melodrama starring Paul Darrow as Bravo, who is convinced that someone is trying to kill him. Watson pops up in the third episode, “Public Exposure” (2nd July 1975), as Mr Lewis. He was next seen in an episode of the BBC experimental drama anthology Centre Play. Watson is credited as Stranger in the episode “The Stick Insect” (18th August 1975). His is only TV credit for 1976 is for supplying voices for the commercials heard on the radio in the Beasts episode “During Barty’s Party”, a nod to Watson’s success and familiarity to viewers from his audio work.

The Sunday Drama was a HTV drama anthology strand. Watson appears in the episode “Silver Blaze” (27th November 1977) as Inspector Gregory opposite Christopher Plummer and Thorley Walters as Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson. Murder Most English was BBC crime drama which starred Anton Rodgers as Chief Inspector Purbright. Watson appears in the two part story “Hopjoy Was Here” (8th May and 15th May 1977).

He was cast by the director Don Taylor (who had worked with Watson on “During Barty’s Party”) in the BBC2 Playhouse production “The Achurch Letters” (12th January 1977) as Charles Carrington. Watson then played the ill-fated Polish military attaché Arciszewsky who commits suicide in “The Polish Affaire” (4th March 1978), an episode of the World War Two drama Enemy at the Door. Watson made his second appearance in a BBC 2 Playhouse production under the direction of his old colleague Don Taylor. “A Last Visitor For Mr Hugh Peter” (30th January 1981) saw Taylor cast the actor as the personification of Death alongside such high calibre performers as Peter Vaughan as Hugh Peter, a prisoner reflecting on his forthcoming execution. Don Taylor also wrote the script for the play.

As an established voice artist Watson continued to be much in demand for his vocal skills with duties on the three-part BBC documentary The Flight of the Condor over February 1982, as one of the readers for Thames’ documentary series Six Centuries of Verse (1984) and being heard as a radio reporter in fifth episode of the children’s sci-fi series Chocky (6th February 1984), adapted from a story by John Wyndham. Look and Read was a BBC educational series for primary school children which presented stories in a serialised format with the aim to improve the viewers’ literacy skills. Badger Girl was one of the serialised stories (18th September -27th November 1984) and told the tale of three city living children going on holiday in the countryside. They discover a pony rustling scam and aim to discover who is responsible. Watson acted as the narrator for the entire series.

His final clutch of television appearances took in guest appearances; Roger Hilton in the King and Castle episode “Romance” (1st October 1986), Kelvin Halliday in the Miss Marple story “Sleeping Murder” (1th January 1987) and as Sir Greville Strickland in “The Hazard of the Die” (10th February 1988), an episode of the Robert Powell starring series Hannay. At the time of writing, November 2022, Watson is still with us and enjoying his retirement. 

Spotlight: Manning Wilson (Radio Commercial Voice in During Barty's Party)

 

Slim shouldered and narrow faced with a crop of curly dark hair Manning Wilson was born as Donald Stanley Manning Wilson on 17th February 1918 in Ipswich Suffolk. He married Josephine Harriet Eason Clode, who acted under the name Jo Manning Wilson, in 1940 and the couple remained together until his death in 1997. She is perhaps best known to a generation of viewers as Danny Kendall’s mum in the BBC children’s drama Grange Hill between 1987 and 1989. Manning Wilson was a member of the Liverpool Playhouse repertory company from 1947 until 1953.

Wilson acquired television credits from 1948 onwards with his breakthrough role coming with the BBC adaptation of Walter Scott’s classic novel Kenilworth (1957) as Thomas Ratcliffe, Earl of Sussex. The following year he was back in period costume for the regular role of Lord Sandwich in the BBC series The Dairy of Samuel Pepys (1958) opposite Peter Sallis as the eponymous diarist. Wilson spent the remainder of the decade popping up in guest roles in such series as Emergency Ward 10, The Four Just Men and The Men from Room 13.

Wilson opened the 1960s with his first film role, as Inspector Jagger, in the 1960 version of The Hands of Orlac. The rest of his career would see Wilson become a popular guest actor in continuing series playing a variety of policemen, army commanders, clergymen and other authority figures. Worth noting amongst his CV is Choirboys Unite! (21st December 1961), a seasonal BBC play which sees a local choir go on strike over the Christmas period. Derek Francis played the vicar who sparks the dispute with Wilson popping up as the character Mr Gibbs. The play was directed by Don Taylor who would later helm the Beasts episodes “Buddyboy” and “During Barty’s Party”. He made his final television appearances in the 1980s with roles in the Dramarama story ‘Snoop!’ (25th June 1984) and a doctor in the sixth of the BBC series Bluebell (16th February 1986). Manning Wilson died on 9th December 1997 in Falmouth, Cornwall.

Spotlight: Richard Bebb (Radio Commercial voice - During Barty's Party)

The son of a respected physician Richard Edward Bebb Williams was born in London on 12^th January 1927. He was educated at Highgate School, London and continued his studies at Trinity College, Cambridge University, where he graduated from in 1947 with a degree in English. After developing an interest in acting at school Bebb continued at University appearing in many Marlowe Society theatre productions.

He began his career in local repertory theatre productions where he needed to change his name as there was already a British actor called Richard Williams. So he became Richard Bebb. He became a prolific performer in theatre before breaking into radio due to his mellifluous voice. Possibly his most famous role in the medium is as Second Voice in the 1954 BBC radio production of Under Milk Wood opposite Richard Burton as First Voice. His obituary in The Guardian estimated that he had been heard in over 1,000 broadcast radio plays at the time of his death[2].

Bebb's first professional stage appointment was in a stage production of Macbeth produced by Michael Redgrave at Aldwych. He then joined Buxton Rep under the manager Anthony Hawtrey, the illegitimate son of actor Charles Hawtrey. It was whilst at Buxton that Bebb first met the actress Gwen Watford who would eventually become his wife on 8^th January 1952 following a ceremony in Stoke Newington. They remained married until her death in 1994 from cancer at the age of 66. The couple had two sons.

By the mid-1940s he was put under contract, along with up and coming stars Richard Burton and Bryan Forbes, to the then powerful theatre management group HM Tennant. He toiled in small roles in West End theatre productions and in 1947 he played in Tennant’s production of Macbeth at the Aldwych theatre. His first TV appearance was for the BBC with a live transmission of the play The Fur Coat (19^th September 1949) from the Regent Theatre in Hayes, Middlesex. Bebb played Patrick Graham. His first appearance in a television drama was an edition of the BBC Sunday Night Theatre as David Blake in “Promise of Tomorrow” (16^th April 1950), a study of backstage life written and produced by Michael Barry. The cast also included Marius Goring and John Laurie. His first role in a cinema release came with an uncredited appearance as Frank Weller in The Final Test (1953) which starred Jack Warner as a cricketer playing his last match.

The Actor – Then and Now was the title of lectures given by Bebb at the British Institute of Recorded Sound during April 1972, one of many public lectures throughout his life and career. One his later ones was on The Hamlets of John Gielgud on 3^rd December 1996 for the Society for Theatre Research at the Art Workers Guild situated in Queens Square, London. When Bebb had retired from screen acting he still undertook voice over and audio work and in 2003 he narrated the twelve disc CD release of Forgotten Voices of the Great War. Only six weeks before his death Bebb completed a recording of Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales in the original Middle English. This was his final professional engagement as an actor.

Bebb was also a lifelong collector of gramophone records and was a committee member of the British Institute of Recorded Sound, a forerunner to the British Library Sound Archive. Bebb helped to oversee the launch of the vinyl record label Historic Masters which issued rare recordings of opera singers. Bebb was also a football fan which he described as “just butch ballet, dear boy[3]” He was also an expert on the American Civil War hero Colonel George Gouraud and delivered several lectures on the subject. Bebb died on 12^th April, 2006, aged 79

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[1] http://www.malibran.com/acatalog/AD670.htm (accessed 11th June 2017) Tribute by Patrick Bade (February 2007)

[2] https://www.theguardian.com/news/2006/may/26/guardianobituaries.media (accessed 14th June 2017)

[3] https://www.theguardian.com/news/2006/may/26/guardianobituaries.media (accessed 14th June 2017)

 

Spotlight: Denis Clearly (James Dodge in During Barty's Party)

 

Denis John Cleary, sometimes credited as Dennis, was born in Willesden, London on 21st February 1927 and was active on screen from the late 1950s. One of his earliest credits was a small role in ‘To Win or Lose All’ (15th November 1958), an episode of the BBC period drama The Rebel Heiress, which starred Patrick Troughton. Clearly would go on to have a nearly twenty year career in small supporting roles or voice actor.

His only film role followed a few years later in the Hammer production The Two Faces of Dr Jekyll (1960) with an uncredited bit-part as a waiter. This appears to have been his only big screen appearance with the rest of his eighty or so credits in television. After appearing in several episodes of Maigret during 1960 as an extra Clearly was regularly called upon to play an array of careers; a policeman in the ITV play Johnny Dark (25th May 1961) and the Echo Four Two instalment ‘Hot Money’ (20th September 1961), a Roundhead trooper in episodes of the BBC historical drama Gamble For A Throne (1961) and an ambulance man for The Avengers adventure ‘Dead on Course’ (29th December 1962).

The 1960s would provide Clearly with several roles in cult and genre programmes. Of note is the Doctor Who adventure The Reign of Terror (1964) as a French peasant, ‘Unwelcome Visitor’ (13th July 1965) for the now lost BBC series R3 and several episodes of King of the River (1966) as a radio operator opposite Murrain’s Bernard Lee. He could also be spotted in two episodes of Adam Adamant Lives! – ‘Sing A Song of Murder’ (25th August 1966) and ‘Tunnel of Death’ (25th February 1967) – both for director Moira Armstrong. He continued for the rest of the decade in small roles in a variety of jobs; barmen, porters, bus conductors and fairground attendants. He can very briefly be seen as an uncredited model agency staff member in the movie Darling (1965).

For the Counterstrike story ‘The Lemming Syndrome’ (20th October 1969) he had a rare character name, Everett, but it was soon back to roles defined by their employment with an appearance as a scrap yard dealer for ‘The Old Banger’ (11th December 1970) in the eerie anthology series Tales of Unease. The remainder of his career saw Clearly play more named character roles such as Jim Sadler in episodes of the business drama The Brothers (1974), Smithers in the Churchill’s People episode ‘Death of Liberty’ (23rd June 1975) and Joe Symes in the Softly Softly: Task Force plot ‘There’s Always Tomorrow’ (15th September 1976). His voice only role as James Dodge in the Beasts episode ‘During Barty’s Party’ seems to have actually been his last credited on screen role.

Denis was also an author. One of his books was a comedy western entitled Shameless published in 1971. The book was optioned for a film adaptation by the director Peter Collinson who had made The Italian Job. The film version never materialised, though the book did sell over 10,000 copies. Demand for a reprint led to the book being reprinted in 2016. His other books include The Rattler and with Frank Maher Sahara Strike, Capricorn Run and Wipe-out!

Cleary passed away on 21st November 1984 in Fulham, London.

Spotlight: Norman Mitchell (Police Sergeant in During Barty's Party)

The imposing six foot actor Norman Mitchell Driver, known professionally as Norman Mitchell, was born on 27^th August 1918 in Sheffield, West Yorkshire. His father was a mining engineer and his mother was a concert singer. He was educated at Carterknowle Grammar School and later Sheffield University studying medicine. Mitchell, aged eighteen, then decided to change career and walked from his university to Ealing Studios in London where he petitioned producers and directors to give him a break as an actor. After a few fruitless weeks he was met by his father and his brother Arnold who persuaded him to return to Sheffield where he eventually got his first break in theatre. He soon settled into his role as an Assistant Stage Manager at Sheffield Repertory and was taking on a few minor acting roles when the Second World War broke out. Norman enrolled in the army and saw active service as a member of the Royal Army Medical Corps working in roles such as mortician, operating room assistant and stretcher bearer.

After being demobbed from the army in 1946 Norman returned to acting as a career and also married the actress Pauline Southcombe the same year. His son Christopher[1] was born in 1947 and he too would become an actor. A second child, a daughter called Jackie Mitchell, followed. Norman and Pauline would remain married until her death in 1992. Before the end of the decade Mitchell became a member of the BBC Drama repertory company and in this capacity he would work on more than five hundred radio productions. He made countless television appearances, some sources put it at over two thousand, as well as over two hundred film appearances often in small roles.

He broke in TV in 1951 playing King Henry II in the BBC play The Trial of Andy Fothergill (10^th June 1951) which was adapted from the short story by Talbot Baines Reed. This was followed a few weeks later with the role of Andy, supporting Tony Hancock, in “Fools Rush In”, a drama segment for the fortnightly magazine programme Kaleidoscope (29^th June 1951). Towards the end of the year he then cropped up as a merchant in the children’s drama production The Fate of the City (4^th October 1951). His film debut came with the role of Fungus in the comedy Up to His Neck (1954) and in the Jack Hawkins headlined adventure film The Seekers (1954). This was followed by the role of a market stallholder in the classic Carol Reed film A Kid for Two Farthings (1955), British B movie Police Dog (1955) - which featured an early role for Christopher Lee as a policeman – and an uncredited role as a soldier in the Tommy Trinder comedy vehicle You Lucky People (1955). He completed a successful on screen year with the role of Captain Thomas Hardy in the BBC play The Nelson Touch (21^st October 1955). This was a production screened to mark the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the Battle of Tralfalgar. Future Beasts actor Wolfe Morris also appeared in the production.

He made his first appearance in a Hammer film production with the role of Rooks in the short film Dick Turpin: Highwayman (1956). He would later appear (as a policeman) in Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell (1974) as well as “Last Video and Testament”, an episode of the TV series Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense. He also featured in two other British horror films, both which also starred Beasts actors; And Now the Screaming Starts (1973) with Patrick Magee and Legend of the Werewolf (1975) with Marjorie Yates who had appeared in “Murrain”.

Mitchell appeared in the film Three Sundays To Live (1957) for the Danziger Brothers and later he recalled an amusing incident whilst making the film. “The star was Kieron Moore. It was a serious film, and during one particularly serious scene, someone in the studio farted rather loudly during a take – so loud, in fact, I have no doubt that it could be heard on the soundtrack. So, I thought I’d mention it to the director, Ernest Morris, who responded by saying that they couldn’t do re-takes because of someone farting. They didn’t have the money, nor time. So we carried on. Meaning that somewhere in the history of British celluloid there is this film, Three Sundays To Live, with someone enjoying a good old far during a serious scene.[2]” The film also appears to be the first time that Norman was called upon to play a policeman on the screen. This was a role he would play more times than any other during his career. His Times obituary noted that “Speaking in 1994, Mitchell recalled the halcyon days of BBC bit-part casting. “I used to get phone calls from casting people like Jimmy Liggatt, saying: ‘Are you free?’,
‘What! Now?’
‘No, no, tomorrow. I’ve got a copper with a few lines. What do you feel about that?’
‘I’ll see you in the bar!’ [3]“

It was in small supporting roles in film and television comedies that he became a familiar face to the general public. He took part in four Carry On movies starting with yet another policeman role in Carry on Spying (1964) and continuing with Carry on Cleo (1964), Carry on Screaming (1966) and Carry on Emmannuelle (1978). His television comedy work included such fondly recalled programmes as Hugh and I (1966), Dad’s Army (1969), Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em (1973), George and Mildred (1976) and Are You Being Served? (1978).

Norman passed away on 19^th March 2001, aged 82, in Downham Market, Norfolk, just three weeks after death of his son Christopher. There is some debate that the early death of his son contributed to his own demise as it was a heavy personal blow for the actor. His obituary in The Times newspaper noted that his countless film and TV appearances never “brought him fame, or even much in the way of recognition. For Mitchell was one of the busiest of thespian workhorses; the bit-part player.[4]”

---

[1] Christopher’s most notable role was as Gunner Nigel Parkin in the sitcom It Ain’t Half Hot Mum alongside Beasts actor Stuart McGugan

[2] MGM British Studios: Hollywood in Borehamwood – Celebrating 100 Years of the Film Studios of Elstree / Borehamwood, 1914 – 2014 by Derek Pykett, Bear Manor Media, 2016

[3] Norman Mitchell obituary, The Times, 28^th April 2001

[4] Norman Mitchell obituary, The Times, 28^th April 2001

The Stone Tape screening in Lancaster

 

On Sunday 30th October I will be introducing a screening of Nigel Kneale's 1972 play The Stone Tape at the Duke's Cinema in Lancaster. The screening not only helps mark the centenary of Kneale's birth but is also part of a new horror themed season, Dark Dukes, celebrating the Halloween. 

Details of the screening are here: https://dukeslancaster.org/whats-on/cinema/stonetape
Details of the full Dark Dukes season are here: https://info.dukeslancaster.org/p/777E-649/dark-dukes-film-festival

The Book of Beasts - Cover and publishing date announced

Above is the cover for The Book of Beasts designed by Andrew-Mark Thompson who also provided the cover for the Kneale biography Into The Unknown published by Headpress. They will also be publishing my book currently scheduled for October 2023.

The book will be available exclusively from the Headpress website before appearing in bookshops and other retailers. I recommend subscribing to their mailing for updates and special offers for the book and others in their range. 
https://headpress.com/subscribe/ 
 

Spotlight: John Rhys-Davies (Peter Newell in During Barty's Party)

Acclaimed character and voice actor with an imposing build and a rich, deep voice John Rhys-Davies (JRD) was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire on 5^th May 1944, but spent his childhood in Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, Wales. His mother was a nurse and his father was a colonial police officer and due to this role JRD spent several years in the early 1950s living in Tanzania. He was educated at Truro School in Cornwall and at The University of East Anglia from 1963 where he helped in establishing the university dramatic society.

On graduation he spent a while teaching at Watton County School in Norfolk before auditioning and winning a place at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. In February 1969 he was a cast member of a student production of the Euripides tragedy Heracles followed by a production of A Month in the Country during June the same year. Early professional roles included the stage play Removal Day at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry during August and September 1969, The Royal Hunt of the Sun in November and a version of Cinderella during December 1969 and January 1970. He was also cast as Owen Glendower in a production of Henry IV Part One at the Mermaid theatre during March and April 1970.

Don Taylor’s play The Roses of Eyam premiered at the Northcott theatre in Exeter during the end of November 1970. JRD was cast in the dual role of puritan Edward Thornley and as Sir George Saville. The Stage described his acting as “immensely impressive[1]” and his work was also noted by Don Taylor who would later utilise his vocal talents in the Beasts episode 'During Barty’s Party'. 

JRD made his television debut in 'This Is Quarmby' (21^st August 1971), an episode of the dystopian ITV drama The Guardians,  briefly seen as one of the fascist military Guardians. His first notable role on TV came with the Adam Faith starring drama Budgie when Rhys-Davies took on the semi-regular role of Laughing Spam Fritter, an imposing East End gangster. He occupied himself with theatre work for the majority of 1972 including a production of Rosencratz and Guildenstern during April and May in Liverpool. 

He was next seen on television in The Incredible Robert Baldick (6^th October 1972), an attempt by screenwriter Terry Nation to create a new series featuring Robert Hardy as a Victorian investigator who deals with incidents of the odd or paranormal. JRD played Baldick’s manservant Caleb Selling who was mainly on hand to fetch and carry various heavy objects. He next appeared on television only a few days later in an episode of Dixon of Dock Green, 'Trial and Error' (14^th October 1972), as Dunlop, another early role as a thug or heavy. He finished October with a stint in the Oxford Playhouse Company’s staging of Moliere’s The Misanthrope.

JRD made his film debut in the British police drama Penny Gold (1973) as a rugby player and after this began to accrue television credits that started to steer away from his standard casting as a heavy. During this period he had guest roles in a variety of continuing series; Detective Sergeant Hill in 'Property, Dogs and Women' (28^th July 1973), an episode of police drama New Scotland Yard, Danton in a production of 'Buttons' (19^th August 1973) for the anthology series Once Upon A Time and as circus conman Alfred Kidney in 'Where’s Jonah?' (6^th January 1974), for the family drama The Adventures of Black Beauty.

More drama anthology work came with 'Up and Under' (20^th January 1974), an episode of the BBC series Sporting Scenes which collected plays around a sports theme umbrella. This was followed by a role in the first episode of Zodiac, an offbeat detective series co-created by Roger Marshall and Jaqueline Davis, starring Anton Rodgers as Detective Inspector David Gradley who teams up with the astrologer Esther Jones (Anouska Hempel). Rhys-Davies appears as Aikman in the episode 'Death of a Crab' (25^th February 1974). Stage work for early 1974 included Alan Ayckbourn’s How the Other Half Lives at The Liverpool Playhouse and a revival of Hedda Gabler at the same venue.

His second film appearance came with an uncredited role as a fake military policeman in the espionage thriller The Black Windmill (1974) headlined by Michael Caine as British Secret Service agent John Tarrant. JRD's final television credit for the year came in the BBC period drama Fall of Eagles which depicted the decline of the Russian royal family, subsequent revolution and the rise of Lenin. JRD can be seen as the Gregory Zinoviev, a leading member of the Bolshevik Party and supporter of Lenin, in the penultimate episode 'The Secret War' (31^st May 1974). During June 1974 Rhys-Davies could be seen on stage in a production of Under Milk Wood at the Shaw Theatre, London. His performance was singled out for praise in contemporary reviews: “There is some uncommonly fine work, particularly by John Rhys-Davies who lets the minister’s poems speak for themselves without condescension.[2]”
1975 saw JRD undertake several guest roles in popular TV series. He was an underworld accomplice of a violent criminal in The Sweeney story 'Poppy' (20^th October 1975), a police inspector in Within These Walls episode 'Getting Out' (8^th November 1975) and just under two weeks later he could be seen in Quiller episode 'Thundersky' (21^st November 1975) as Leindorf. His final piece of television for the year was in the celebrated feature length single drama The Naked Civil Servant (17^th December 1975) which brought John Hurt acclaim for his role as Quentin Crisp. Rhys-Davies appears as the character Barndoor.

Into 1976 and the BBC naval drama Warship fashioned JRD with the role of Chief Petty Officer Cook Mantell in the episode 'Heart of Oak' (23^rd March 1976). His next role saw him appear opposite 'Murrain' actor David Simeon in the ATV police series Hunter’s Walk followed by his vocal performance as Peter Newell in 'During Barty’s Party'. To round off the year Rhys-Davies joined the prestigious cast of the BBC period drama I Claudius, which reunited him with John Hurt. October saw him busy in a stage production of Macbeth at the Theatre Royal in York. During December 1976 he could be seen on stage in the children’s play Christmas Crackers, written by Willis Hall, and presented at the Shaw Theatre

He was billed as Authority in 'William and the Wonderful Present' (27^th March 1977), an episode of the children’s series Just William. He is in fact an unnamed police inspector in the episode that sees William become involved with thieves. Less light hearted was the dystopian BBC drama series 1990 which starred Edward Woodward as a journalist in a future Britain under a totalitarian regime. Rhys-Davies features as Ivor Griffith in the first season episode 'Health Farm' (26^th September 1977). Over the summer of 1977 he was attached to the Royal Shakespeare Company appearing in several productions including playing Cardinal Beaufort in Henry VI Part Two.

During April 1978 he was a cast member of the Warehouse Theatre’s production of The Lorenzaccio Story and this was followed in June with a production of David Rudkin’s The Sons of Light at the same venue. His fellow cast included Charlotte Cornwell, Nigel Terry and Edwin Richfield and both were Royal Shakespeare Company productions. Back in the world of television he was cast as Terry Larkin in the Z Cars episode 'Fat Freddie BA' (9^th August 1978) and in the BBC 2 Play of the Week episode 'Fearless Frank' (4^th October 1978) he portrayed the French writer Guy de Maupassant.

Target was the BBC’s answer to The Sweeney headlined by Patrick Mower as Detective Superintendent Steve Hackett. JRD played a character called Hecht in the episode 'Fringe Banking' (13^th October 1978) before  moving on to his final television engagement of the year in an American TV movie retelling The Nativity (17^th December 1978). He played Nestor in a role that took advantage of his middle-eastern looking complexion, an attribute that would bring him worldwide recognition for a film role he would undertake at the start of the next decade…

The following year Rhys-Davies undertook the role of the ambassador Capucius in a BBC production of Shakespeare’s Henry VIII (25^th April 1979) which featured John Stride as the titular king and Claire Bloom as Katharine of Aragon. The Danedyke Mystery (3^rd June 1979 – 15^th July 1979) was a six part Granada mystery thriller starring Michael Craig as policeman turned man of the cloth Reverend Septimus Treloar. JDR appears in all six episodes as the descriptively titled character Armchair. Cinema wise JDR had a fleeting role as a solicitor in the crime drama A Nightingale Sang in Berkley Square (1979). His first role of the new decade was in Enemy at the Door, a series which depicted life under the Nazis on the Channel Islands during World War Two,  as one of the islanders in the second season episode 'Committee Man' (2^nd February 1980). Fox was a gritty production which depicted the loves and lives of a family headed by Peter Vaughan. JRD appeared in two episodes; 'Big F Family' (5^th May 1980) and 'Just another Villain in a Cheap Suit' (19^th May 1980) as the character Warleigh. He then appeared opposite Richard Chamberlain in the American mini-series Shogun (15^th September – 18^th September 1980), based on the period novel by James Clavell. JRD portrayed the 17^th Century Portuguese seafarer Vasco Rodrigues. His final TV credit for the year was in a BBC production of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice (17^th December 1980).

Sphinx (1981) was an American adventure film which starred Lesley Ann Down and Frank Langella. Rhys-Davies was on hand to essay one of a trio of characters of Middle Eastern ethnicity he would undertake this year. This was followed by Peter and Paul (1981), a Biblical epic, which told the story of Paul of Tarsus (Anthony Hopkins) and Peter The Fisherman (Robert Foxworth). Rhys Davies, as Silas, joined an interesting line up of thespians including Raymond Burr as King Herrod, Herbert Lom as Barnabas and Downtown Abbey creator Julian Fellowes as the Emperor Nero. Rhys-Davies' third cinema role was to be one of his most enduring and went a considerable way to cementing his later career. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) saw him cast as Sallah, an indigenous sidekick for archaeologist adventurer Indiana Jones.

His movie roles for 1982 include the children’s film Island of Adventure (1982), based on the Enid Blyton book of the same name and the epic Douglas Camfield directed TV movie version of Ivanhoe (1982). Rhys Davies was cast as Front-de-boeuf. In cinemas he was seen as Andre Cassell in the Blake Edwards and Julie Andrews comedy Victor Victoria (1982).

On TV he guest starred in 'Force Seven' (23^rd May 1982), an episode of the popular show CHiPs, playing the baddie of the week, Nakura, who is blackmailing an expert into arming a missile. He stuck with American TV by playing Gamal Abdel Nasser, in the mini-series Sadat (April 1983). Grizzly 2: The Predator AKA Grizzly 2: The Concert (1983) was a belated sequel to the 1970s horror film Grizzly and was one of the many exploitation horror films that Rhys Davies would go on to make as his career progressed. The film was shot in Hungary and was beset by production difficulties and a lack of money according to those who worked on it. JRD plays a character called Bouchard and George Clooney has a small, very early role as Ron.

Back to British television and JRD was cast as another ethnic character, Tanyatos, in the first episode of the Euston Films period adventure series Riley Ace of Spies, 'An Affair with a Married Man' (5^th September 1983). Yet another ethnic role, as Rasoul, was in the cheesy action adventure flick Sahara which also featured Brooke Shields in the cast. He then played Deakins, one of the witnesses in the first episode of the Crown Court case 'Whisper Who Dares' (24^th January 1984) and continued to be much in demand for the rest of 1984; he was an impostor King Richard in the Robin of Sherwood episode 'The King’s Fool' (29^th March 1984), played Babu in the film Kim (1984) and was Grimshaw in the TV movie No Man’s Land (27^th May 1984). He was cast alongside Peter Cushing, Trevor Howard as an almost senile King Arthur and a menacing Sean Connery as The Green Knight in the 1984 cult British fantasy film Sword of the Valiant: The Legend of Sir Gawain and The Green Knight. Rhys Davies was on hand to play Baron Fortinbras. His final TV role for the year was in the American series Scarecrow and Mrs King. He plays Lord Ralph Bromfield in the episode 'Affair at Bromfield Hall' (26^th November 1984).

He made only one appearance on screen in 1985 as Dogati in the action film King Solomon’s Mines (1985) which was headlined Richard Chamberlain and Sharon Stone. December 1985 saw him appearing in a stage production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute at the ICA in London. His next screen credits were all in cinema; In The Shadow of Kilimanjaro (1986) was horror film that featured marauding baboons. Firewalker (1986) was a Cannon Films action comedy starring Chuck Norris and Louis Gossett Jnr as treasure hunters on the trail of lost ancient gold treasures. The James Bond film The Living Daylights (1987) cast Rhys-Davies as General Leonid Pushkin who had replaced General Gogol as the head of the KGB in the film series.

Marjorie and the Preacherman (9^th June 1987) was a one-off comedy drama for the BBC co-written by Jim Broadbent and Stephen Bill with JRD appearing as Seymour Littlejohn. Next was an appearance in the TV movie Perry Mason: The Case of the Murdered Madam (4^th October 1987) as Edward Tremaine, the first of two appearances opposite Raymond Burr’s lawyer. He was then cast as Police Chief Murphy in the seasonal American TV movie The Little Match Girl (21^st December 1987).This was followed by the film Tusks (1988) which he also co-wrote alongside director Tara Moore as well as starring in the lead role as Roger Singh. Waxwork (1988) is a classic 80s horror film that has acquired a cult following and has the spectacle of JDR as a werewolf. More TV movie work followed with Goddess of Love (20^th November 1988) in which the god Zeus (Rhys-Davies) sends the goddess of love Venus to Earth to find her own love.

JRD then appeared alongside his 'During Barty’s Party' co-star Anthony Bate in the US television mini-series War and Remembrance which continued the saga of the Henry family begun in The Winds of War. He appears as Sammy Mutterperl, a Jew interned at Auschwitz who is part of a work detail that have been ordered to find any valuables on the bodies of the dead. Mutterperl eventually goes insane and snatches a gun from a prison guard and is killed in a hail of bullets. JRD continued to work in American TV movies with a role as Milton Fisk in The Trial of the Incredible Hulk (7^th May 1989), a character otherwise known in the Marvel Comics world as the super villain Kingpin.

His major role for 1989 was his return to the character of Sallah in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). Other credits include the NBC TV movie The Gifted One (25^th June 1989) as Carl Boardman in the story of a boy who finds he can heal sick people with the power of his mind. Another TV movie followed, this time a western, Desperado: Badlands Justice (17^th December 1989) with JRD as Richard Marriott. The Princess and the Dwarf (1989) was a family fantasy filmed that was lensed in Colorado Springs with Rhys-Davies as part of a cast that also featured Warwick Davis, Dom DeLuise and Richard Kiel. The production appears to have run of funding before completion and has never been released in any format. Rhys-Davies was reunited with his Raiders of the Lost Ark co-star Karen Allen in his only on screen appearance for 1990. This was an Australian TV movie called Secret Weapon (19^th March 1990) which featured Griffin Dunne as the Israeli nuclear technician Mordechai Vanunu who committed treason when he leaked information about Israeli plans to make a nuclear weapon. In response Israel sent Ruth (Karen Allen), one of their top agents, to assassinate him. JRD makes an appearance as the head of Mossad, the Israeli secret service.

The Strauss Family (1991) was a mini-series produced by German and American companies. John Rhys-Davies plays Prince Gribov as part of a star studded cast that also includes Edward Fox, Alice Krige and Cherie Lunghi.  Under Cover was a short-lived series that was cancelled after just six weeks which revolved around the lives of a husband and wife spies. The series can be considered to prescient when it comes to some of the events depicted, especially the two-part story “Sacrifices”, which featured an American incursion into Iraq. I Misteri Della Giungla Nera (AKA The Mystery of the Black Jungle) was a three-part Italian television mini-series transmitted between 3^rd and 17^th February 1991 and adapted from the 1895 novel of the same name by Emilio Salgari. Stacey Keach headlined as Colonel Edward Corishant with JRD supporting him as O’Connor. Journey of Honor AKA Kabuto or Shogun Warrior (1991) was an epic period adventure film set in 17^th Century Japan. Christopher Lee and David Essex headlined with Rhys-Davies roped in to play another ethnic character, El Zaidan.

JRD then managed to squeeze in another TV guest appearance with 'Dead Wait' (3^rd July 1991), an episode of the third season of the horror anthology series Tales from the Crypt. Great Expectations was a six part series first broadcast between 21^st June 1991 and 25^th August 1991. Rhys-Davies played Joe Gargery, the blacksmith brother-in-law to central character Pip, with the other roles filled by Jean Simmons, Ray McAnally and Anthony Hopkins. The Double O Kid (1992) was a direct to video family film, a spoof of spy films, in which JRD was the villain, with the unlikely moniker Rudi Von Kseenbaum. He spent the next few months in Canada and completed several projects. The actor joined forces with his colleague David Warner to bring the Arthur Conan Doyle characters Professor’s Challenger and Summerlee to life for a Canadian film production of The Lost World (1992). JRD was well cast as Challenger against Warner’s equally well fitting Summerlee, though the dinosaur effects are poorly executed and stilted looking. This didn’t stop a sequel being lensed back to back on location in South Africa, Return to the Lost World (1992), which sees both Warner and Rhys-Davies reprise their roles. This time the adventurous duo return to the isolated plateau to stop big business drilling for oil. Canvas (1992) continued his run of Canadian films with JRD cast as Nick, together with Gary Busey as Ozzy Decker, as a pair of art thieves. 

His next role helped pave a new stream of work for the actor when he appeared as the guest voice artist in 'The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy' (14^th October 1992), an episode of Batman: The Animated Series. In the coming years JRD’s dulcet tones would be heard regularly on animated series and video games.

Rhys-Davies is a jobbing actor and he has proved this with his ability to never seemingly turn down a role. He can shine in a big budget Hollywood film or help give a little gloss and respectability to the cheaper end of genre output and his role in The Unnameable II: The Statement of Randolph Carter (1992) is definitely in the latter category. Rhys-Davies plays an educated man, Professor Warren, and is paired again with David Warner who pops up as Thayer, a college chancellor. His next role is possibly one of the worst productions on his extensive CV. JRD is Maurice Treville in the execrable TV movie Ring of the Musketeers (1^st December 1992) which updates The Three Musketeers to the modern day. The descendants of the original trio, Peter Porthas (Thomas Gottschalk), John Smith D’Artagnan (David Hasselhoff[3]) and Anne-Marie Athos (Alison Doody) who run around rescuing kidnapped children and bashing local gangsters. Cheech Marin also pops up as the missing fourth musketeer, Burt Aramis whilst Rhys-Davies’ Treville is on hand as their handler much like the Bosley character in Charlie’s Angels.

Sunset Grill (1993) was directed by Kevin Connor who had begun his directorial career with the horror anthology From Beyond the Grave (1974). JRD plays the leader of a nasty bunch of terrorists who become entangled with a local detective played by Robocop himself, Peter Weller.  The Seventh Coin (1993) had Peter O’Toole filling the villain’s role in the tale of a hunt for a rare gold coin which once belonged to King Herod. JRD supplied some much needed entertainment as the Israeli policeman Captain Galil. Voice over duties followed with the animated TV movie The Magic Paintbrush (22^nd April 1993), various voices for episodes of the animated series The Pirates of Dark Water (1992 – 1993), King Hugo in animated series The Legend of Prince Valiant (1992 – 1993) and a single episode of Animaniacs – 'Piano Rag / When Rita Met Runt' (21^st September 1993) as the voice of Tympannini.

Cyborg Cop (1993) is schlock of the highest order with JRD as Kessel, a mad scientist who is creating an army of cyborg policemen. Next Rhys-Davies undertook the regular role of Agent Michael Malone in twenty eight episodes of the TV series The Untouchables (1993 – 1994), a reinvention of the Desilu TV series which ran from 1959 - 1963. Still in villain mode JRD's next film appearance was in the family friendly adventure film Robot In The Family (1994) which featured him as the main baddie in a vaguely Raiders of the Lost Arkish hunt for a valuable relic involving a father, son and robot.

German sci-fi comedy film The High Crusade (1994), based on the book by Poul Anderson, and produced by Roland (Independence Day) Emmerich, cast JRD as Brother Parvus, the narrator of a story of a band of Crusaders who come into contact with an alien spaceship and set off to conquer the Holy Land with it. There are apparently two versions of the film; in the first version the aliens speak in an alien language with English subtitles whilst in version two the alien dialogue and subtitles are removed and it is redubbed with Pythonesque dialogue  and silly voices. The movie was heavily criticised for changing several elements of the novel and is considered a poor rendition of the story.

JRD returned to Wales to appear in the popular Welsh detective series A Mind to Kill in the first episode, 'Black Silence' (13^th November 1994). Distinguished actor Philip Madoc played the downbeat Detective Chief Inspector Bain with Rhys-Davies as Roderick Taylor. The episode was actually filmed in two versions, one in English language and one in Welsh.  Voice only duties resumed for his next role in A Flintstones Christmas Carol (21^st November 1994) as Charles Brickens!

Video game voice work also provided a regular income with Wing Commader III: Heart of the Tiger (1994) which also recruited the talents of Mark Hamill and Malcolm McDowell. He was the narrator on the video game Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness (1994). He also recreated the role of Sallah for his narration of a short film specially created for the Disneyland ride Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye which was launched in 1994. Blood of the Innocent (1995) was a straight to video low thrills action film filmed featuring a Chicago cop who goes to Poland to seek the gangsters who killed his brother. JDR stars alongside Rutger Hauer. His main role for the next few years was as Professor Maximillian Arturo in the science fiction TV series Sliders. Rhys-Davies would appear in forty episodes of the first two seasons starting with the pilot episode transmitted on 22^nd March 1995. A return to video game voice work was followed with the Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom (1996). Voice only roles continued with the semi-regular character Macbeth in the animated TV series Gargoyles (1995-1996). JRD also provided voices for other characters in the programme including Arthur Morwood Smith.

JRD then joined Paul McGann, Catherine Zeta Jones, Ian Richardson and Brian Blessed among others in the American TV movie Catherine The Great (28^th April 1996). Rhys-Davies appears as Pugachev. Next was a role in the comedy film Great White Hope (1996) which starred Samuel L Jackson and Jeff Goldblum. Voice over work continued to be extremely lucrative for JRD and he clocked up several credits in animated series such as 'The Road To Dendron' (11^th May 1996), an episode of the animated series Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man. He also supplied the voice of Cassim for the Walt Disney film Aladdin and the King of Thieves (1996). He reprised the role of Macbeth in 'The Journey' (7^th September 1996), an episode of the animated series Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles (a sequel to the original Gargoyles series) and continued with Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm supplying the vocals for the character Asgarth in the episode 'Overthrown' (14^th December 1996). Cats Can’t Dance (1997) was an animated feature which sees various animals play out of work actors and musicians trying to overcome obstacles to their career in Hollywood. JDR voices the character Woolie Mammoth, an elephant pianist. Further vocal work during this period took in children’s animated series Aaahh!! Real Monsters, acting as the narrator for the Pinky and the Brain episode 'Brainie The Pooh / Melancholy Brain' (7^th February 1998) and Oberon in an episode of Mickey Mouse Works (25^th September 1999) which adapted Shakespeare’s A Midsummer’s Night Dream.

He also played a hologram version of Leonardo Da Vinci in two episodes of Star Trek Voyager – 'Scorpion: Part One' (21^st May 1997) and 'Concerning Flight' (26^th November 1997) - as well as continuing to be ubiquitous on American television with the role of Mustafa in four episodes of the US comedy series You Wish (1997) and TV movie romcom Au Pair (22^nd August 1999). 

Into the new century and JRD popped up in the TV movie Britannic (9^th January 2000) followed by two episodes of The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne, a low budget steampunk science fiction TV series with Rhys-Davies appearing the author Alexandre Dumas. More direct to video action fodder followed with Delta Force One: The Lost Patrol (2000) which also starred Robert Mitchum’s grandson Bentley Mitchum and Mike Norris, the son of martial arts cinema star Chuck Norris. However, most of JRD's time was taken up with the role he is now most associated with, Gimli, in Peter Jackson’s epic Lord of the Rings trilogy which began with The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).

Scorcher (2002) was a terrible straight to video disaster flick with Rhys-Davies appearing alongside an equally slumming it Rutger Hauer. Following underground nuclear tests the Earth’s tectonic plates have shifted creating enormous pressure which threatens to blow the world apart. Rhys Davies plays Dr Matthew Sallin who has a plan to save the world by detonating an atomic bomb in Los Angeles! Sabretooth (2002) was more direct to video tosh with JRD on hand to play Anthony Bricklin. He was then back in the role of Gimli to supply voice work for the video game The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002). Endangered Species (2002) was a direct to video science fiction horror film which Rhys Davies in a yawn inducing tale of an alien killing machine landing on Earth to hunt humans. Just in time to rescue him from sinking further into the direct to video mire along came The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) with Rhys-Davies playing not only Gimli, but also supplying the vocal tones of Treebeard.

2003 saw Rhys-Davies still very much in demand with the actor supplying voice work to a variety of projects such as the role of Ranjan’s father in the Walt Disney film The Jungle Book 2 (2003), video game The Freelancer (2003) and narration for the direct to video film Vlad (2003). As well as appearing in the role of Gimli in the film version of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) he also supplied the voices of Gimli and Treebeard for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) video game. He was the villain Hakim in bargain bin direct to video film with Never Say Never Mind: The Swedish Bikini Team (2003) and was cast as the despotic Presidente Hugo Luis Ramos in the German adventure comedy film Coronado (2003). Slightly more respectable and with higher production values was the Jackie Chan film The Medallion (2003) with JRD cast as the unwieldy named Commander Hammerstock-Smythe. On TV he could be seen as King Priam of Troy in the US TV mini-series Helen of Troy (20^th April 2003).

The following year bought more B movie badness with the sci-fi TV movie Dragon Storm (24^th January 2004) with Rhys-Davies on hand to play King Fastrad. He was also seen as Viscount Mabrey in The Princess Dairies 2: Royal Engagement (2004) and was once again cast as Porthos in the Hallmark mini-series The Lady Musketeer (2004). Finally there was voicing Gimli once more for the video game The Lord of the Rings: The Battle For Middle Earth (2004) and then back to direct to video roles with Chupacabra Terror (2005) as Captain Randolph. More roles in films you’ve never heard of followed; The Game of Their Lives (2005) was based on the true story of 1950 American football team that beat England 1 – 0 against all odds, The Lost Angel (2005) which also featured Clint Eastwood’s daughter Alison in a lead role and a supporting role as Andrew Benton in Shadows in the Sun (2005) which was headlined by Harvey Kietel. He continued to be a ubiquitous voice over artist; The Legend of the Sasquatch (2006) was a family animated film which Rhys Davies voiced Ranger Steve, Thorton in the family animated film Shark Bait (2006) and returning to voice Gimli and Treebeard in the video game The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle Earth (2006). Another clutch of voice acting roles; Captain Proteus in the kid’s animated series Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! and video game The Lord of the Rings: The Battle For Middle Earth II – The Rise of the Witch King (2006) playing Gimli and Tree Beard once again. He also acted narrator on the six part animated mini-series Takezo Kensei: Sword Saint.

2007 was a fairly quite year for the actor compared to previous years. He graced the New Zealand horror film The Ferryman (2007) with a short guest role. He then rocked up in the awkwardly titled In The Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale (2007), an Uwe Boll film based on a video game. The only merit the film has is in its eclectic casting which includes not only Rhys-Davies but Jason Statham, Ray Liotta, Burt Reynolds and Ron Perlman. The quality of the productions that JRD appeared in continued to be poor. Kiss Me Deadly AKA The Delphi Effect (2008) a low powered action film starring Shannen Doherty. Anaconda: The Offspring (26^th July 2008) was a Sci-Fi Channel TV movie sequel to the theatrical film Anaconda (1997). Rhys-Davies plays the industrialist J D Murdoch who is funding a genetic research facility experimenting with the giant anacondas seen in the previous films. Needless to say one of the giant snakes escapes (thanks to Murdoch provoking it) and eats lots of people. 

Filmed back to back with the previous Anaconda film was the further sequel Anacondas: Trail of Blood (28^th February 2009). Rhys-Davies reprised his role as the evil industrialist Murdoch. Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire (9^th April 2009 – 7^th May 2009) was a misfiring spoof sword and sorcery series co-produced by the BBC and Comedy Central. JRD played the rebel wizard Grimshank in the six-part series. He then played a fictional British prime minister, John Hammond, who compromises the position of the SAS during an arms deal to help ensure his re-election, in the film 31 North 62 East (2009). His video game voice work for the year included Risen (2009) alongside his Lord of the Rings colleague Andy Serkis.

By now Rhys-Davies had settled into a pattern of voice work and appearances in low budget movies. He was cast as Elliott Carbon in the horror TV movie Medium Raw: Night of the Wolf (6^th August 2010), could be seen as circus owner Alistair Winston in the family film Sophie and Sheba (2010) and appeared in the time travel romantic drama Three Wise Women (2010). Another clutch of voice work credits for the year included Dr Watson in the straight to video animated film Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes (2010) and portraying Gimli again in the video game The Lord of the Rings: Aragon’s Quest (2010).

Sci-Fi Channel TV movie Ferocious Planet (9^th April 2011) was next. Rhys Davies played Senator Jackson Crenshaw, part of a group of people who find themselves transported to an alternate dimension full of hungry beasts! His Raiders of the Lost Ark appearance led to him being cast in Spanish film Treasure Hunters (2011)  whilst Psych was a detective series which featured Rhys Davies in the episode Indiana Shawn and the Temple of the Kinda Crappy, Rusty Old Dagger (29^th February 2012), an affectionate tribute to the Indiana Jones films. Rhys Davies played the curator of a museum.

More film roles followed; as Malcolm Andrews, an Englishman held captive for ransom in Thailand, in the film Escape (2012), Colonel Ralph Dillard in the cheapo disaster movie 100 Degrees Below Zero (2013) and Kostas Jakobatos in the crime thriller Concrete Blondes (2013). His Indiana Jones appearance continued to influence his career when he was cast as Professor Hayden Masterton in the science fiction fantasy film Prisoners of the Sun (2013). Professor Masterton is the leader of an expedition to a lost city hidden beneath a pyramid where ancient gods reawaken and threaten to destroy Egypt. Worse still was the direct to video disaster film Apocalypse Pompeii (2014) made the same year as sci-fi film Time Lapse (2014) which saw Rhys Davies role as Mr Bezzerides hit the cutting room floor. More worthy of his talents was the BBC Wales production of Under Milk Wood (5^th May 2014) which benefitted from Rhys Davies’ booming narration. In recent years Rhys Davies has also featured in several religious or biblical themed productions including Saul: The Journey to Damascus (2014) which cast him as Caiphas, Killing Jesus (29^th March 2015), a National Geographic mini-series that chronicled the life of Jesus, in which he was seen as in the role of Annas, and The Apostle Peter: Redemption (2^nd August 2016) as the eponymous Peter.

Given that Rhys Davies featured as a voice actor in Beasts it is notable that he is still much in demand in the field given the decades since he made 'During Barty’s Party'. His more recent voice over work takes in acting as the narrator for the animated TV movie Once Upon A Time: Storybrooke Has Frozen Again (28^th September 2014), vocal work for animated programmes The Barefoot Bandits and Harvey Breaks (2015) and Disney animated TV series The Lion Guard (2016). His most recent high profile voice acting has been for The Adventures of Puss in Boots, a Netflix animated series that featured the adventures of the famous cat seen in the Shrek franchise. RD lends his booming vocals to the character Goodsword in the episode 'Sword' (8^th May 2015). Rhys-Davies is also a popular casting choice in science fiction or fantasy flavoured productions and in recent years he has graced such series the sci-fi anthology Metal Hurtlant Chronicles (playing Holgarth in the episode “Loyal Khondor” (5^th May 2014) and a regular role as Eventine Elessedil in The Shannara Chronicles (2015 – 2016). 

Being so much in demand his CV is constantly growing and this resume of his career will quickly go out of date. As this piece is being written he has several projects either in post-production, filming or in the early planning stages. On 8^th October 2017 he was awarded the BAFTA Cymru Lifetime Achievement Award. He married Suzanne Wilkinson in December 1966 and had two sons, Tom and Ben. They separated in 1985 but remained married until her death in 2010. Wilkinson suffered from Alzheimer’s in her final years and Rhys-Davies remained as her companion and carer until she was overcome by the illness. In 2004 he began a relationship with Lisa Manning and they have a daughter called Maia.

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[1] The Stage, Thursday 1^st October 1970, page 18

[2] Birmingham Daily Post, Tuesday 25^th June 1074, page 26

[3] WTF? Yep Knight Rider himself.