Actor Michael Sheard, who carved a career playing villains – he played Hitler five times and Himmler three time - was born as Michael Lawson Perkins in Aberdeen on 18th June 1938. His father, Donald Marriott Perkins, was a Church of Scotland minister. As a child he performed in school drama productions though he truly caught the urge to become an actor after watching the World War Two prisoner of war escape drama
The Wooden Horse (1950). Sheard later reflected in the first of his memoirs that “from the very first moment that I saw the very first frame of The Wooden Horse I knew that there was only one thing I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to be an actor.
[1]”
He took his mother’s maiden name when he attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and lost his natural Scottish accent as part of his training. However, he was called up to complete his National Service, so he decided to break his studies at RADA and complete his two years of military service in The Royal Air Force. Whilst stationed at RAF Chivener in North Devon Sheard established an amateur dramatics group called CADS (The Chivener Amateur Dramatic Society). In later life Sheard often reflected that if he had completed the course at RADA National Service would have ended and he would not have been called up.
[2] During his time at RADA he was awarded the Tennant’s Contract for all round ability. The award came with guaranteed work in London’s West End theatres, but on discovering it would mostly be as an understudy and backstage assistant, Sheard turned it down. He didn’t want small roles “I wanted, desperately, to play big important roles.
[3]”
On graduating he instead took the standard route of working in local rep theatre starting with Perth before moving onto as Carlisle and Bromley. It was at Perth that Sheard met the love of his life, Rosalinde Alloway, who was the assistant stage manager for the repertory company. The couple moved into together and shared their lodgings with a young member of the rep company, Donald Sutherland, who was destined to find screen fame in later years. The couple married on 9th December 1961 Putney, London. Whilst working at Perth Sheard contributed to several productions including a version of Juno and the Paycock during February 1961. Sheard had a small supporting role in the play alongside Donald Sutherland.
Sheard moved into television in the early 1960s and quickly established himself as a reliable and efficient character actor earning himself the industry nickname “One take Mike.” He was extremely prolific in the TV medium though he made a smattering of film appearances in some of the biggest film franchises in the industry including Star Wars and Indiana Jones. He made his television debut in an episode of the anthology series Suspense in a small supporting role without a character name. The story, 'Needle Point' (18th June 1962), had a cast that also featured Frazer Hines. However, in his memoirs Sheard thought that his TV debut came with an uncredited appearance, alongside his wife Ros, as supporting artistes in bar scenes for the variety show The Country and Western Show. This was a BBC series of eight half hour programmes transmitted between June and September 1963. This was the only time that Sheard and his wife appeared in a production together.
Sheard also recalls his first speaking role on TV, as a Nazi interrogator who stubs his cigarette out on the face of a captured Allied agent, being in an episode of the BBC series Moonstrike which was transmitted between 21st February and 22nd August 1963. His next role was as the character Finch in 'Guilty' (13th October 1963), an episode of the drama anthology First Night. The cast was led by Anthony Bate who would later appear in the Beasts episode 'During Barty’s Party'. Sheard then made the first of thirteen separate appearances in the long running BBC police drama Dixon of Dock Green when he appeared as the character Stan Moore in the episode 'Mrs Conroy’s Goldmine' (28th December 1963).
The following year saw Sheard mainly engaged in the theatre with credits such as Bassanio in a production of Shakespeare’s
The Merchant of Venice at the Shaftesbury Theatre. Television supplied more drama anthology work for the BBC in an episode of
The Indian Tales of Rudyard Kipling, playing The Blind Mullah in 'The Head of the District' (24th October 1964). His first appearance in the BBC sitcom
The Likely Lads was in the fourth episode of the first season, 'Other Side of the Fence' (6th January 1965) playing the role of Nesbit. This was followed three days later with his second appearance in
Dixon of Dock Green in the small supporting role as a reporter in the episode 'Edward the Confessor' (9th January 1965). The cast also included the actor T P McKenna who would later feature in the
Beasts episode 'Baby'. Sheard then undertook the first of many medical roles when he played a hospital doctor in the
Doctor Finlay’s Casebook episode 'An Evening Out' (27th June 1965) followed by him revisiting the role of Nesbit for his second appearance in an episode of
The Likely Lads – 'Last of the Big Spenders' (7th July 1965).
Additional small roles made up the body of his work for the rest of the year with a turn as a garage attendant on a further episode of Dixon of Dock Green – 'Saturday Night' (16th October 1965) and a driver in 'The Cold Equation' (26th November 1965), an episode of the espionage series The Mask of Janus which had a cast lead by future 'The Dummy' co-star Simon Oates. Also noteworthy was a new production of George Orwell’s 1984 (28th November 1965) for the anthology series Theatre 625 which dusted down and reused Nigel Kneale’s script from renowned 1954 version. Sheard had a small role in the proceedings credited as “man in white coat.” BBC crime thriller Ransom for a Pretty Girl provided Sheard with the recurring role of Shaw in three episodes (10th and 24th September and 1st October 1965). He followed this with the role of a tyrannical bus conductor in an episode of Jennings – 'The Rattling Relic' (10th October 1965). Just three days later Sheard played an army major in the Adam Adamant Lives! episode 'D Is for Destruction' (13th October 1965). The storyline’s villain was played by Patrick Troughton who would shortly become the second Doctor Who.
A total of five separate appearances in Dixon of Dock Green during 1966 began with Sheard playing '2nd Cabbie' in the episode 'Routine Check' (15th January 1966). Next was a small role as a second patrol officer in the episode 'The Heister' (5th February 1966). He was promoted to first patrol officer for his appearance in the next story, 'You Can’t Buy A Miracle' (12th March 1966). His next appearance was as a taxi driver in 'Mr X' (23rd April 1966). His final credit for the year on the series was in the episode 'The World of Silence' (1st October 1966). Sheard played a postman. He ended the year with a small role as a ticket collector in 'The Ice Cream Man' (16th December 1966), an episode of the espionage drama Vendetta. This was followed by the role of Jack Farrar in 'The Vision' (26th December 1965), his second appearance of the year in Doctor Finlay’s Casebook.
The New Year brought the first of Sheard’s many appearance in
Doctor Who when he played the character Rhos in 'The Plague' (12th March 1966), an episode of the William Hartnell era adventure 'The Ark'. Further roles for the year included playing a mechanic in the
Mogul episode 'When You Gotta Go' (7th May 1966) and his debut appearance in the BBC police drama
Softly Softly with the two-part story 'Barlow Was There' (21st and 28th December 1966). Following a third appearance in
Doctor Finlay’s Casebook in the episode 'Bird Seeds and Begonias' (12th February 1967) Sheard played a driver in 'The Brown Hand' (5th March 1967), an instalment of BBC anthology series
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The same night viewers could also see Sheard in his fourth and final appearance in
Doctor Finlay’s Casebook when he had a minor role as a railway porter in the episode 'Possessed' (5th March 1967). After his extensive use during 1966 in the series
Dixon of Dock Green Sheard made only one appearance in the series during 1967 playing the character Taunton in the episode 'The Run' (2nd December 1967). Scheduled erratically during 1966 and 1967 was
Ways With Words, an educational series aimed at helping children to learn English grammar. As well as featuring Sheard the cast also included future 'The Dummy' co-star Clive Swift in the series.
The first of five separate appearances in
Z Cars came with a brief supporting role as a man in car park in the episode 'Out of the Frying Pan: Part Two' (20th February 1968). Sheard was a fluent speaker of German and this was utilised with his role as an East German interrogator in
The Wednesday Play episode 'Coincidence' (21st February 1968). Following this came another small role as a doctor
Dixon of Dock Green with the story 'The Hard Way' (14th September 1968). His final television for the year was in the fourth season of
Softly Softly. Sheard appeared in two episodes as the character Sergeant Jefferson; 'An Old Song' (7th November 1968) and 'Going Quietly' (19th December 1968). Sheard also made his feature film debut in 1968 in a small, uncredited role as a reporter in the thriller
Nobody Runs Forever (1968) AKA
The High Commissioner which starred Christopher Plummer, Rod Taylor and Lilli Palmer.
1969 was a busy year for the actor kicking off with the BBC period drama
The Borderers which provided Sheard with the role of Alan Hume in the episode 'Hero' (11th February 1969). The following month he was cast as Doctor Gowan in the
ITV Sunday Night Theatre story 'Machine' (22nd March 1969). Next was the role of a Police Sergeant in 'The Battle of Waterloo Street' (24th April 1969) for the drama series
The First Lady. Sheard’s ability with the German language led him to be cast as the succinctly credited 'German' in the
Mogul episode 'Over The Hill' (14th July 1969) and nine days later Sheard was seen as Police Constable Muir in the first of two episodes of
The Expert – 'The Blue Spot' (25th July 1969) and 'Lethal Weapon' (1st August 1969). Sheard then made his final appearance in
Softly Softly playing PC Rivers in the episode 'Recovery' (11th September 1969). Sheard then undertook the recurring role of Arthur Pringle in Yorkshire Television’s sitcom
Dear Mother…Love Albert appearing in four episodes of the first season between 22nd September and 20th October 1969. Next was
The Strange Report story 'Report 7931: Sniper – When Is Your Cousin Not?' (14th December 1969) which featured Sheard as 'TV manager' alongside a young Martin Shaw who would later appear in the
Beasts episode 'Buddyboy'.
For the World War Two drama
The Mackenzie Break (1970) Sheard was cast once again due to his fluency in German language when he played Ingenieur-Offizier Unger, though he was puzzled by this in his memoirs: “To play the Germans they’d get the very best German actors from Germany, and me. My whole part was in German, my character couldn’t even speak English!
[4]”
Biography was a BBC drama anthology which dramatized the lives of notable figures. Sheard played the character Spangenburg in the episode 'I Measured the Skies' (4th November 1970) which looked at the life of the pioneering Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe played by Richard Vernon. Science fiction comedy series The Adventures of Don Quick provided Sheard with the role of Broul in the episode 'People Isn’t Anything' (6th November 1970). The episode is notable as it features Colin Baker in his TV debut. After an absence of five years Sheard made his second appearance in a Doctor Who story. Having played against the First Doctor Sheard was now paired with the third incarnation played by Jon Pertwee. Sheard was cast as Doctor Summers in the story 'The Mind of Evil' (30th January – 6th March 1971). Midway through the transmission of the Doctor Who story he played a night porter in yet another Dixon of Dock Green episode – 'Nightmare Hours' (13th February 1971).
Sheard continued to make guest appearance in established series and in 1971 he featured as a doctor in the Z Cars episode 'Say Two Hellos' (29th April 1971), Ken Harrow, boyfriend of Sylvia Sims’ character Ann Molyneux, in the Paul Temple episode 'The Guilty Must Die' (4th August 1971), an electrician in the Jason King episode 'A Page Before Dying' (22nd September 1971) and as Constable John Walden in The Persuaders episode 'A Home of One’s Own'. The New Year started with Sheard making his third Z Cars appearance in another bit part role as a fingerprint officer in the episode 'Last Bus To Newtown' (3rd January 1972). He then made a guest appearance as Smethurst in The Onedin Line episode 'Blockade' (1st January 1972) followed by an appearance in the role of John Lindsay in the Dixon of Dock Green production 'First Offenders' (5th February 1972). To Encourage the Others (28th March 1972) was a one off BBC drama which depicted the events around the case of Derek Bentley who was executed for a murder committed by someone else. The execution provoked a public outcry and was later the basis for the film Let Him Have It (1991) which cast Christopher Eccleston as Bentley. For the BBC play Sheard was cast in the role of Fairfax, a police sergeant who became one of the most hated men in the country due to his damning evidence he gave at the trial. Fairfax’s testimony led to Bentley being executed.
Credited simply as 'man' Sheard appears in the opening airport scenes of the film
Universal Soldier (1972) as a passport official checking the details of star George Lazenby (who is sporting a haircut and moustache combination you could only get away with in the early 1970s). He also made an uncredited appearance as Jim in the Alfred Hitchcock film
Frenzy (1972). According to his memoirs Sheard didn’t enjoy the experience finding Hitchcock “uncaring, old fashioned” summing him up with a succinct “what a fart!
[5]” His future 'The Dummy' co-star Clive Swift was also in the cast. His third film appearance was in a small role credited simply as 'man #1' in the film
The Darwin Adventure (1972).
Back on television Sheard appeared in 'Doubts Are Traitors' (28th July 1972), an episode of the crime thriller series
The Man Outside. He then appeared as Jackson in 'The Hostage' (30th September 1972), an episode of the family drama
The Adventures of Black Beauty. Dutch based detective series
Van Der Valk featured Sheard twice during its production. The first episode was 'Elected Silence' (4th October 1972) which featured the actor as the character Paul Harkemer. Next was playing the first of many on screen Nazis or German army officers with the role of a Kommandant in the
Colditz episode 'The Undefeated' (19th October 1972).
Madigan was a short lived Universal television series, based on the character seen in the 1968 Don Siegel film of the same name, with Richard Widmark played the eponymous character. Each of the six episodes were set in a different location or country taking in areas including Naples, Lisbon and Manhattan. Sheard appears in the episode 'The London Beat' (8th November 1972) in the uncredited role of a coroner.
1973 began with Sheard’s first crack at playing Heinrich Himmler with the
ITV Sunday Night Theatre production 'The Death of Adolf Hitler' (7th January 1973). Frank Finlay played Hitler. Next was another medical role, Doctor Jones, in an episode of
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes. The first episode of season two, 'The Mysterious Death on the Underground Railway' (29th January 1973), starred Judy Geeson as Polly Burton, a Victorian investigative reporter. Film wise Sheard made an appearance in the Italian crime film
Mafia Junction (1973) in the uncredited role of Williamson. After a guest role in an episode of drama series
Adam Smith (11th March 1973) Sheard acquired the role of the bus depot manager in the seventh season of the successful ITV sitcom
On the Buses (25th February – 20th May 1973). He continued the role in the film spin off
Holiday on the Buses (1973). His second film role for the year made use of his German language ability when he played Fromm in
England Made Me (1973) which was based on the novel by Graham Greene. Back on television Sheard appeared for the first time in the courtroom drama
Crown Court playing yet another police sergeant, this time Sergeant Goss, in the story 'The Thunderbolts' (12th – 14th September 1973). He was cast as another doctor in 'Bowler’s Analysis' (14th October 1973), an episode of the sitcom
Bowler, before finishing the year with a guest spot
The Persuaders.
1974 was a typically busy year for television roles with a combination of small roles and cameos making up the majority of his workload. The year began with Sheard making his final appearance in an episode of Dixon of Dock Green with the role of Bernard Moss in 'Harry’s Back' (12th January 1974). Sheard followed this with an appearance as a prison officer in the ITV Playhouse production 'Lucky' (5th February 1974) and, just over a fortnight later, he could be seen in the Special Branch instalment 'Catherine the Great' (21st February 1974) as Adrian Penfold. Sheard then had another role as a policeman, a detective inspector this time, in 'Something in the Night' (22nd March 1974), an episode of the sitcom Not On Your Nellie. A few weeks later he was seen as Losehek in 'Requiem for A Crown Priest' (3rd April 1974), an episode of the BBC period drama Fall of Eagles. Next he could be seen as police doctor in 'Both Hands Free' (15th July 1974), an episode of the BBC crime drama anthology series Dial M for Murder. He was also the villain Number Two in 'Cloud Burst' (24th September 1974) a story that was part of the educational series Look and Read. Just over a week later he appeared in Microbes and Men, a BBC series of plays that examined the life and scientific discoveries of leading scientists. Sheard played Loeffler in the episode 'Men of Little Faith' (2nd October 1974) which turned the spotlight on Louis Pasteur who was played by Arthur Lowe. During October Sheard popped up in a fourth episode of Z Cars, 'Night Train' (7th October 1974) with a small role as a ticket collector. Five days later Sheard appeared in sketches for the Dick Emery Show episode broadcast 12th October 1974 playing a civil servant and a barman. He then went on to appear as Philip Aylmer in the Father Brown story 'The Dagger With Wings' (7th November 1974) which also featured Beasts colleague T P McKenna. His only film credit for the year was an uncredited role as a military governor in the Peter Sellers film Soft Beds, Hard Battles (1974).
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Erotic Inferno AKA Adam and Nicole (1975) was a British sexploitation film which featured the starlet Mary Millington. Sheard had a cameo role as the solicitor Eric Gold in the film that also features a young Chris Chittell (Eric Pollard in Emmerdale) in the cast. A second cinema role was the holocaust picture The Hiding Place (1975) with Sheard cast in a German role once more when he was recruited to play the Nazi Kapteyn. The film was produced by the evangelist Billy Graham’s own film company, World Wide Pictures, and was based on real events during the Second World War. Back on television Sheard popped up in a cameo role as an archbishop in the Churchill’s People episode 'A Wilderness of Roses' (17th March 1975). This was followed by another small role, as an analyst, in The Main Chance episode 'Process' (18th April 1975).
Armchair Cinema was a bid by ITV to produce feature length high quality drama production. Sheard appears in the instalment 'In Sickness and in Health' (21st May 1975) playing the character of Mr Turnish. The play, which had the potential to be commissioned as a series, starred Patrick Mower as a financially destitute doctor working in a poor area of London. Sheard played his bank manager whilst his five year old daughter, Susannah, appeared as one of Mower’s patients. Next was another role as a policeman, Inspector MacPherson, in the
Lord Peter Wimsey storyline 'Five Red Herrings' (23rd July – 13th August 1975) which allowed him to use a natural Scottish accent. Just under a fortnight later he was seen as another policeman, PC Breamwater, in 'Called to the Bar' (29th August 1975), an episode of the sitcom
Not on Your Nellie. He then followed this with a role on the other side of the law for his appearance as Mr Penketh in
The Sweeney episode 'Hit and Run' (29th September 1975).
Sheard continued to be exceptionally busy for the last quarter of 1975. Director Terence Dudley cast him as John McAllister in the Oil Strike North story 'It Depends Where You Stand' (7th October 1975) and he undertook yet another police role, Inspector Tweedie, in the Shades of Greene instalment 'A Little Place of Edgware Road' (14th October 1975). The following week audiences could enjoy Sheard in his second Softly Softly: Task Force appearance playing the role of Doctor Janes in the episode 'A Person Unknown' (22nd October 1975). Also in the cast was Ian Thompson who would go on to appear alongside Sheard in the Beasts episode 'The Dummy'.
His next appearance was a personal favourite of mine. Sheard was cast once again in the medical profession, as Doctor Darwin King, in the Space 1999 story 'Dragon’s Domain' (23rd October 1975). Sheard is one of several Moonbase Alpha crew members who are digested and reduced to husks by a horrible tentacle alien with a single glowing eye. Outside of Beasts this episode was another memorable highlight of my younger viewing years. Sheard was experiencing something of a golden age with a run of appearances in programmes that would acquire a cult status. He continued in this vein with his third Doctor Who appearance playing the ill-fated Laurence Scarman who is dispatched by the reanimated corpse of his brother Marcus in the sublime Tom Baker era story 'The Pyramids of Mars' (25th October – 8th November). Sheard is killed in the third episode and didn’t appear in the fourth and final instalment. Sheard completed a busy year with an appearance in the women’s prison drama Within These Walls portraying a chaplain in the episode 'Get The Glory Down' (22nd November 1975).
1976 began with Sheard playing another medical man, Doctor Arnold Anderson, in the Crown Court case '…Or Was He Pushed?' (14th – 16th January 1976). He would also make two appearances in the BBC business drama The Brothers during 1976. His first appearance was in a small role as customs officer in the episode 'Red Sky in the Morning' (8th February 1976). After appearing as Rear Admiral Chandy in the episode 'The Buccaneer' (9th March 1976) for the BBC drama Warship he played Doctor Bunger in the Second Verdict episode 'Who Burned the Reichstag?' (1st July 1976).
For the first, and by no means the last time, Sheard was cast as Adolf Hitler for the BBC single drama
Rogue Male (22nd September 1976). Next was another policeman role in 'Stones' (27th October 1976), an episode of the BBC 2
Playhouse which had a run of supernatural flavoured stories under the banner title of
The Mind Beyond. His second appearance in an episode of
The Brothers within the space of year was in the storyline 'Windmills' (14th November 1976). Sheard plays an underwriter, Harvey McKay, who investigates an accident to ascertain if the insurance is liable for a claim. Just five days later Sheard appeared in his third episode of the series
The Expert playing Mr Justice Cadwell in the episode 'Hour of the Snake' (19th November 1976). His role as the police sergeant in the
Beasts episode 'The Dummy' was next.
Post-
Beasts Sheard finished the year with another burst of television roles; he popped up in the
New Avengers episode 'Faces' (17th December 1976) as the character Peters whilst his role in the drama series
The Cedar Tree capitalised on both his skill with a German accent and also his ability to convincingly play a medically qualified character. Sheard was cast as Doctor Edelmann in the episodes 'The Treatment: Part 1' (27th December 1976) and 'Part 2' (28th December 1976). ATV one-off musical drama
The Dancing Years (30th December 1976) was directed by Richard Bramall, who had directed the
Beasts episode 'Special Offer'. Bramall cast Sheard as another German character, Captain Goetzer, his final TV role for the year.
Romance was a Thames Television themed drama anthology and Sheard was drafted in to play the German character Sommelier for the episode 'Three Weeks' (9th March 1977) which was directed by Waris Hussein. Amongst the cast was Simon MacCorkindale who had appeared in the
Beasts episode 'Baby'. His fifth, and final, role in an episode of
Z Cars saw him undertake his most substantial appearance for the programme playing Paul Denham in the instalment 'The Man Who Killed Songbirds' (5th April 1977).
The Foundation would see Sheard working once more for the broadcaster ATV who had produced
Beasts. The franchise had also previously made the business drama
The Power Game and this wasn’t that dissimilar though the lead male characters gender became female. Sheard appeared as Bobby Anderson in two episodes; 'Finesse' (15th July 1977) and 'Priorities' (22nd July 1977).
Sheard’s final television roles for 1977 came in the month of October. His fourth Doctor Who role was a second appearance alongside Tom Baker as The Doctor. Sheard appeared in 'The Invisible Enemy' (1st October – 22nd October 1977) as Lowe who is possessed by an alien infection. Sheard then made his second appearance in the series Van Der Valk playing the role of Ruytens in the episode 'Face Value' (17th October 1977). He started the following year back in a policeman’s uniform for his next television role in the sitcom Mind Your Language and the episode 'The Best Things in Life' (27th January 1978). Sheard then reprised his role as Doctor Arnold Anderson for a single episode of the Crown Court storyline 'Still Life' (21st February 1978). Three days later he was back on ITV, though he moved from daytime drama to the prime time action series The Professionals, portraying the role of Merton in the story 'When The Heat Cools Off' (24th February 1978). More police work for his next appearance with the role of Detective Constable Finch in the Nicholas Ball starring detective series Hazell. The episode was directed by Don Leaver who had directed 'The Dummy', and he had evidently remembered that Sheard gave a dependable performance as a policeman, as he called upon the actor to play another one in the episode 'Hazell and the Weekend Man' (6th March 1978). The following week Sheard guest starred in an episode of the family friendly drama series All Creatures Great and Small. He was seen as the character Adderley in the first season episode 'Sleeping Partners' (12th March 1978).
After appearing in episodes of Law and Order and the sitcom The Many Wives of Patrick Sheard had a rare chance to use a Scottish brogue in the very first episode of the BBC Scotland drama anthology Scottish Playbill. The episode, 'If the Face Fits' (20th May 1978), cast Sheard as part of an all Scottish cast of actors as the character James Dinsdale. Sheard then took on the role of Hitler again, but with the twist that Hitler is really an alien called Neebor from the planet Vashir, in The Tomorrow People adventure 'Hitler’s Last Secret' (5th and 12th June 1978). He was in another children’s drama for his next policeman appearance in The Famous Five episode 'Five Go to Mystery Moor' (11th September 1978). The following month for the period drama Lillie he was seen as Colonel Hertzl in the episode 'Let Them Say' (29th October 1978). His final roles for the year took in an ITC produced a version of Les Miserables (27th December 1978) and the very next day he was in the BBC single drama Plain Murder (28th December 1978) based on a story by C S Forester.
Film roles included Force 10 from Navarone (1978), a belated sequel to The Guns of Navarone, with Sheard in a small role as the German soldier Sergeant Bauer. He also featured as German soldier Sergeant Mann in the World War Two drama Escape to Athena (1979) which starred Roger Moore and David Niven amongst a cast of American character actors as the POWs and an array of British character actors as the German soldiers. The same year he was another German soldier, called Bohme and from World War One this time, in the British adventure thriller Riddle of the Sands (1979) which also starred Simon MacCorkindale. Sheard remained in the World War One period for his next cinema role as the father of Paul Baumer in the remake of All Quiet on the Western Front (1979).
Television work for 1979 included playing yet another police inspector in the Danger UXB episode 'Butterfly Winter' (12th March 1979) and appearing in the forgotten London Weekend Television sitcom Lovely Couple as Henry Penrose in the episode 'Cuckoo in the Nest' (28th April 1979) which also featured Pauline Quirke, who had appeared in the Beasts story 'Special Offer', in the cast. After an appearance in children’s comedy series Granddad he played the character Elliot in the Minder story 'A Tethered Goat' (19th November 1979). Three days later and he had a tiny supporting role in the children’s fantasy series The Enchanted Castle playing a man in the street in episode three 'Magic Life' (21st November 1979). Eight days later he popped up in the BBC schedules with a small role as a prison officer in the Play For Today drama 'A Hole in Babylon' (9th November 1979). Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson was a shot in Poland British co-production starring Geoffrey Whitehead as Holmes, Donald Pickering as Doctor Watson and Patrick Newell as Inspector Lestrade. Sheard appears in the episode 'The Case of the Other Ghost' (1980) as a butler. Val Guest, who had directed the first two Quatermass films for Hammer, oversaw the episode.
Sheard’s cult cache was given a further boost with his appearance in 'Powerplay' (14th January 1980), a season three episode of Blake’s 7. Sheard plays the Federation trooper Klegg. He was next seen in the role of barrister Conrad Tucker in the Play For Today episode 'Murder Rap' (31st January 1980), another role courtesy of director Peter Duffell. An Enemy of the People (2nd February 1980) was a one-off BBC production based on a novel by Henrick Ibsen. Sheard played the provost of a European town. A fortnight later Sheard was back on the small screen in another role as a German soldier, Oberstleutnant Koerner, in 'The Raid' (16th February 1980), an episode of Enemy at the Door which detailed the events of the Nazi occupation of the Channel Islands during the Second World War. The following month Sheard was cast as Colonel Morgan in the episodes three and four of the Armchair Thriller story 'Fear of God' (4th and 6th March 1980).
The summer months of 1980 saw Sheard continue to be in demand with roles in episodes of
Tales of the Unexpected ('The Umbrella Man' – 10th May 1980), two episodes of BBC period drama
Buccaneer ('Intruders' – 22nd June and 'Feet of Clay' – 29th June) and espionage thriller
The Sandbaggers ('Sometimes We Play Dirty Too' – 7th July 1980). One appearance worth highlighting was in the BBC crime anthology
Square Mile of Murder. Sheard played another medical man, Doctor Patterson, in the episode 'The Human Crocodile' (19th June 1980) which also featured roles for fellow
Beasts actor Anthony Bate. Gregor Fisher, the son in law of Lillias Walker who appeared in 'The Dummy', was also in the cast.
The BBC 2
Playhouse presentation 'Caught on a Train' (31st October 1980) featured Michael Kitchen (who had appeared in the
Beasts episode 'What Big Eyes') and Peggy Ashcroft in a script by Stephen Poliakoff. Sheard appeared as the character Preston, a role he was offered by the director Peter Duffell who had worked with Sheard on the feature film
England Made Me. The production won three BAFTA Awards in 1981 Best Single Play, Film Cameraman and Peggy Ashcroft was won the Best Actress award. Also at some point during 1980 he appeared in the Scottish soap opera
High Road (later
Take the High Road) as the character Nikki Zaharoff, a Russian double agent sent to Scotland for vetting by MI6! His final television credit was for
The Squad, a Thames Television drama which followed police cadets through their training. Sheard appeared as Detective Sergeant Willett in the episode 'Diplomatic Incident' (10th December 1980).
Sheards’s role as Admiral Ozzel in the Star Wars film
The Empire Strikes Back (1980) ensured continued cult cache for Sheard. Being choked to death by Darth Vader using the power of The Force has become one of the most famous death scenes in cinema history. The role, along with his appearances in
Doctor Who and
Blake’s 7, would ensure he was a regular on the fan and convention circuit providing a vital income stream in his later years. He also made a small uncredited cameo as a man at the airport in the film
Rough Cut (1980) which starred Burt Reynolds. Further film appearances during the start of the 1980s took in
The Bunker, a French and American television co-production which depicted the final days of Adolf Hitler (27th January 1981), played by Anthony Hopkins. Sheard reprised his role as Heinrich Himmler as did Tony Steedman paying General Alfred Jodl. Both had previously played the roles in the 1972
ITV Sunday Night Theatre production 'The Death of Adolf Hitler'.
From A Far Country (1981) was a Polish biographical feature film that dramatized the life of Pope John Paul II. Sheard supplied character voices for the UK dub of the film replacing the voices of Polish actors.
Green Ice (1981) was a heist movie starring Ryan O’Neal and Omar Sharif. Sheard has a small role as the character Jaap. He also appeared as a U-Boat captain in scenes cut from the blockbuster movie
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).
Television appearances during 1981 encompassed the play 'Thieves' (28th May 1981) which screened as part of the drama anthology presentation Preview in Scotland. Written by Andrew Smith the play examined the behaviour of different types of pick pockets. Sheard also appeared as a psychiatrist in a sketch starring Cannon and Ball episode transmitted 23rd May 1981 as well as being one member of a large cast that was included in the one-off docu-drama The End of the End of the Pier Show (4th May 1981). He was also be seen as Mr Bailey in the 'The Interview' (5th September 1981), the first episode of the John Inman starring sitcom Take A Letter Mr Jones. His largest role of the year was in Maggie, a BBC drama series depicting the life and times of a teenage girl growing up in Glasgow, which ran for two seasons between February and March 1981 and March and May 1982. Sheard appeared in seventeen of eighteen episodes as a Glaswegian plumber, Mr McKinley the father of the title character.
Sheard helped to welcome in the Fifth
Doctor Who with his appearance as Megrave in the third and fourth episode of the new Doctor’s inaugural adventure 'Castrovalva' (11th and 12th January 1982). He then appeared as an official in the drama series
Airline in the episode 'Captain Clarke Plus One' (7th February 1982). He had a small role as Charlie in the adventure film High Road to China (1983), a star vehicle for Tom Selleck. Sheard had also been lined up to portray Hitler again, this time for the American mini-series
The Winds of War (1983). However, a delay in a start date for the production lead to a clash with Sheard’s availability so he had to withdraw. Patrica Hayes and Pat Coombes played two friends who were down and outs living in a derelict car in the forgotten Channel Four sitcom
Lady Is a Tramp. Sheard has a cameo in one episode (5th February 1983) as a man at a bus stop.
The Captain’s Doll (11th February 1983) was a single television drama that was based on the short story of the same name by D H Lawrence and was a co-production between the BBC and German and America television networks. Sheard has a small role as an army colonel, but more notable is the appearance of Tacey Kneale, the daughter of Nigel Kneale, in the role of Angelina. The four part BBC drama Shackleton depicted the Antarctic explorations of Sir Ernest Shackleton played by David Schofield. Sheard has a role in the first episode only, 'A Merchant Navy Man' (13th April 1983), as Doctor Koettlitz. Storyboard was a Thames Television drama anthology series. Sheard appears in the episode 'The Traitor' (23rd August 1983) as the character Dorian. Dark Side of the Sun was an occult themed BBC drama penned by Michael J Bird and starring Patrick Mower. Sheard has a small role in the very first episode, 'Into the Shadows' (13th September 1983), as the ex-Nazi Colonel Dietrich Von Reitz. Sheard then played the role of printer Reuben Flaxman in the Yorkshire Television drama series The Outsider (30th September – 4th November 1983).
His second appearance in children’s comedy Grandad started the year of 1984. Sheard played Mr Morton in the fifth episode of the fourth season (1st February 1984). One of his most familiar roles during this period was as Herr Grunwald, the brusque German foreman, in the first season of Auf Weidersehen, Pet (11th November 1983 – 10th February 1984). Several production staff who had worked on Beasts helped to make the series, including cameraman Roy Simper. Two weeks after Auf Weidersehen finished transmission Sheard was reunited with his old colleague Anthony Valentine to appear in the Yorkshire Television single drama Killer Exposed (24th February 1984) playing Detective Superintendent Harrison.
Murder Not Proven was a BBC Scotland crime drama anthology series. The opening episode, 'Open Season' (17th May 1984), featured Sheard in the role of a solicitor. Sheard then dusted off his German accent for the role of Herr Uwe Braun in the Shine on Harvey Moon story 'Sisters and Brothers' (15th June 1984). Sheard then appeared as the Reverend Edward Bunting in the BBC adaptation of The Invisible Man (4th September – 9th October 1984) for the classic serials strand. Whilst this was being broadcast Sheard also appeared in an episode of the spy drama Cold Warrior playing the role of Professor Berner in the storyline 'The Man From Damascus' (3rd October 1984).
1985 would see Sheard employed to once again perform as Hitler and Himmler as well as make his debut in what was to become his signature role. His Hitler appearance came in the American TV film
The Dirty Dozen: The Next Mission (1985), a belated sequel to the 60s film
The Dirty Dozen. He played Himmler for the American TV series
Space which, adapted James A Michner’s fictionalised account of the American space programme after the Second World War. Sheard appears in episodes one (14th April 1985) and three (16th April 1985). The character of Mr Bronson made his first appearance with the start of the eighth season of children’s drama series
Grange Hill (18th February 1985) and Sheard made the part his own from the word go. In their obituary for Sheard.
The Guardian newspaper felt that “his stern countenance, barked orders and ill-fitting toupee made him a television icon
[6]”. Mr Bronson would appear in over ninety episodes of
Grange Hill with his exit coming in the last episode of season twelve (10th March 1989). Sheard would forever be associated with the role.
Aside from his regular role as Mr Bronson Sheard made appearances in Bulman as the character Joe Wright in the episode 'Pandora’s Many Boxes' (19th June 1985) and in Dawn French and Jennifer Saunder’s comedy anthology Happy Families as a court judge in the episode 'Edith' (17th October 1985). He had a brief role as a medical officer in two episodes of Knights of God (27th September and 6th December 1987) and also popped up in the forgotten crime movie Murder Rap as a defence counsel in an uncredited appearance. For the series adventure Hannay he was cast in the role of Perrin for the episode 'The Hazard of the Die' (10th February 1988).
Sheard’s final televised
Doctor Who adventure was in 'Remembrance of the Daleks' opposite Sylvester McCoy as the latest incarnation of the Time Lord. Sheard appeared as the headmaster
[7] of Coal Hill School who is controlled by the Daleks. His character only lasts the first two episodes transmitted 5th and 12th October 1988 before his Dalek controllers dispose of his services in a graveyard.
Sheard just never seemed to stop working. Even as his role as Mr Bronson was coming to an end Sheard appeared in an episode of
Coronation Street (13th March 1989) as Arthur Dabner who, despite being already married, attempts to date Emily Bishop.
A Touch of Spice was BBC sitcom that never made a lasting impression though Sheard turned up in episode four (30th March 1989). He also made an uncredited appearance as Adolf Hitler in the adventure film
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), signing an autograph for Jones and his father (Sean Connery) when they accidentally wind up at a Nuremberg rally. His final credits for a busy year took in
Saracen, an ITV action drama series. Sheard appears in the instalment 'Girls’ Talk' (18th November 1989) as Doctor Alex Hamilton.
Doombeach (1989) was a Children’s Film Unit production which starred Glenda Jackson. Possibly inspired by his Mr Bronson character he was cast as school headmaster in the film.
He made no appearances the following year and returned with a cameo as a building society manager in
The Darling Buds of May episode 'When the Green Woods Laugh: Part One' (21st May 1991). He was then cast as Doctor Clipstone in an episode of the children’s drama series
Press Gang, 'UnXpected' (14th January 1992) written by Steven Moffat. His next role was in the BBC sitcom
Allo Allo playing Goering’s double in the episode 'Hitler’s Last Heil' (19th January 1992). Sheard was by now slowing down and roles were becoming rarer with only a few television appearances per year now coming his way. Instead Sheard found a new outlet for his talents and a welcome income by attending fan conventions and autograph fairs. His next television appearance was in an episode of the detective series
The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries playing Juniper in 'The Final Curtain' (2nd May 1993). He also appeared opposite a young David Tennant in the BBC drama
Takin’ Over the Asylum in the first episode (27th September 1994).
In the world of theatre he directed a stage adaptation of Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black at the Ryde Theatre on the Isle of Wight during September 1999. He was Mr Justice Shearman in the little seen British film Another Life (2001). His most interesting role for some time was as the Duke Orsino in the Big Finish Doctor Who audio adventure 'The Stone of Venice' (released March 2001). Written by Paul Magrs the references many literary sources with the play’s title derived from a collection of essays published by John Ruskin in the 1850s. Sheard’s character was named after a character from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. He also returned to stage directing with the production Breaking Through, staged at the QEH Theatre, between July and August 2001. For the Isle of Wight based Ryde Theatre Sheard directed a production of Maureen at the Zanzibar during October 2002. The cast was led by Gwen Glover who Sheard had also used in his previous stage production Breaking Through. The production impressed the critic from The Stage who frothed; “Much of the success of this production is the directing of Sheard. He is also a hard task master and it shows. Sheard has great vision and is a master of innovation.[8]”
He acted as narrator for the fan made short film
Order of the Sith: Downfall (2006) which also featured Dave Prowse and Jeremy Bulloch in the cast and appeared in the low budget American B movie
Shadows in the Woods (2006) which was released straight to video. The film was a deliberate schlock fest in the spirit of legendary film maker Ed Wood and actually featured a surviving actor, Conrad Brooks, from Wood’s movies made in the 1950s. Sheard appears with fellow
Star Wars actor Eric Walker alongside Lloyd Kaufman of Troma Entertainment.
Together with fellow actor Michael York, writer Robert Banks Stewart and director Peter Grimwade Sheard set up the production companies ArTec Ltd (Artist’s and Technicians) and Torgrade Film Productions Limited. The closest the companies got to getting a programme commissioned was for a proposed six-part series for Westward Television in Plymouth. The series, written by Peter Grimwade, was called
Dark Treasure and was set in the tin mining industry in Cornwall. The deal eventually fell through due to a dispute over revenue from advertising breaks.
Sheard died on 31st August 2005, aged 67, at his home on the Isle of Wight after a short battle with cancer. He was outlived by his wife and three children. Before his passing Sheard wrote four volumes of memoirs starting with
Yes, Mr Bronson: Memoirs of a Bum Actor in 1997. It was very popular and was followed by
Yes, Admiral in 1999,
Yes, School’s Out! In 2001 and
Yes, It’s Photographic! published in 2004. Sheard was by all accounts an extremely generous, cheerful and friendly man. “He found the word “fan” pejorative, referring instead to his aficionados as “appreciators”, eschewing backstage hospitality to mingle and chat affably, remembering faces, establishing genuine friendships, and waiving remuneration to appear at charitable events. He treated everyone the same, reserving scorn only for lofty actors who treated extras or the public with disdain.
[9]”
The Stage, when reviewing his book
Memoirs of a Bum Actor, concluded the review with a fitting tribute “Few actors can have enjoyed their careers more.
[10]”
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