Jack Hedley
| Jack Hedley | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Jack Hawkins 28 October 1930 London, England |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Spouse(s) | Jean (divorced 1984); two sons |
Jack Hedley (born 28 October 1930 as Jack Hawkins; he changed his name to avoid confusion with his namesake) is an English actor, best known for his performances on television.
Early life
Hedley was born in London and educated at Emanuel School. His screen career began in 1950 with a 13-minute drama-documentary about polio called A Life to be Lived. In the 1950s he made a number of appearances in films and on television, such as Left Right and Centre, Fair Game and the Alun Owen-scripted No Trams to Lime Street with Billie Whitelaw.
Career
He became a TV star in the Francis Durbridge-scripted BBC series The World of Tim Frazer (transmitted from November 1960 to March 1961), the 18 instalments of which comprised three separate serials of six episodes each. He also played Corrigan Blake in Alun Owen's BBC play You Can't Win 'Em All (1962) the role being taken over by John Turner in the series Corrigan Blake that resulted the following year. He was also in Alun Owen's A Little Winter Love (1965), part of the Theatre 625 series.
He appeared in a number of British films of the 1960s, including Lawrence of Arabia (1962), The Scarlet Blade (1963), Witchcraft (1964), Of Human Bondage (1964), The Secret of Blood Island (1964) and The Anniversary (1968). He also had a lead role as Lt. Colonel Preston in Colditz (1972–74).
Hedley later appeared in the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only (1981) as Sir Timothy Havelock, also voicing Havelock's parrot. Soon after this, in the autumn of 1981 he played the lead role (cynical investigative cop Fred Williams) in Lucio Fulci's The New York Ripper (Lo squartatore di New York, 1982), in which his voice was dubbed. He also starred with Stanley Baker and Jean Seberg in the film of Irwin Shaw's In The French Style (1963).
His other TV appearances include: The Saint (1965), Gideon's Way ("The Alibi Man", 1965), Softly, Softly (1967), Dixon of Dock Green (1969), The Buccaneers (1957), the ex-serviceman Alan Haldane in Who Pays the Ferryman? (1977), Return of the Saint (1979), One by One (1984), Remington Steele (also 1984), Only Fools and Horses ("A Royal Flush", 1986), 'Allo 'Allo (1992), Dalziel and Pascoe (1998) and the TV film version of Brief Encounter (1974).
Selected filmography
- Behind the Mask (1958) - Dr. Galbraith
- Room at the Top (1959) - Architect (uncredited)
- Left Right and Centre (1959) - Bill Hemmingway
- Cone of Silence (1960) - First Officer
- Make Mine Mink (1960) - Jim Benham
- Never Back Losers (1961) - Jim Matthews
- The Longest Day (1962) - RAF Briefing Officer (uncredited)
- Lawrence of Arabia (1962) - Reporter at Lawrence's Funeral (uncredited)
- Nine Hours to Rama (1962) - Kilpatrick
- The Very Edge (1963) - Inspector McInnes
- In the French Style (1963) - Bill Norton
- The Scarlet Blade (1963) - Edward Beverley, The Scarlet Blade
- Witchcraft (1964) - Bill Lanier
- Of Human Bondage (1964) - Griffiths
- The Secret of Blood Island (1964) - Crewe
- How I Won the War (1967) - Melancholy Musketeer
- The Anniversary (1968) - Terry Taggart
- Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969) - William Baxter
- Brief Encounter (1974) - Graham Jesson
- The Devil's Advocate (1977) - Vatican Doctor
- For Your Eyes Only (1981) - Sir Timothy Havelock
- New York Ripper (1982) - Lt. Fred Williams
- Thrre Kinds of Heat (1987) - Kirkland
- Karakter (1997) - Mr. Forester