André van Gyseghem (18 August 1906 – 13 October 1979) was an English actor and theatre director who also appeared in many British television programmes.

Early life

Van Gyseghem was born on 18 August 1906 in

Eltham Eltham ( ) is a district of South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three ...

, Kent, the son of Georges Emil van Gyseghem and his wife Minnie Evison (née Offord). He went to school in

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

, then studied for the stage at

RADA The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central Lond ...

. He worked initially in a music-publishing business.Who's Who in the Theatre: Van Gyseghem, André
archive.org. Retrieved 3 June 2017. He made his stage debut at the Theatre Royal, Bognor, in September 1927, as Peveril Leyburn in '' The Constant Nymph'', then in January 1928 toured as Lewis Dodd in the same play. From September 1928 to July 1930 he was engaged at the Hull Repertory Theatre, then under the direction of A.R. Whatmore, playing a round of leading juvenile parts.

Return to London

At the 4Arts Theatre in July 1930 he played Vitek in '' The Macropulos Secret''. He then joined the repertory company at the Embassy Theatre, and remained there from September 1930 until October 1934. He continued to take parts in plays, such as Florindo in '' The Liar'' and Master Klaus in '' The Witch'', but also began his long career as director, starting with the

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...

play '' Black Coffee'' in December 1930. Other subsequent productions which he directed at the Embassy included: *''Miracle at Verdun'' by Hans Chlumberg, September 1932 *''The Glass Wall'' (premiere), by E. M. Delafield, February 1933 *'' All God's Chillun Got Wings'', March 1933, with

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for h ...

and Flora Robson *''The Brontes of Haworth Parsonage'', November 1933 *''Windfall'' by R. C. Sherriff, February 1934 *''Stevedore'', May 1935, with

and Robert Adams Between 1933 and 1935 he made several trips to the Soviet Union, including a year's work at Nikolay Okhlopkov's ''Realistic Theatre'' in Moscow. He attributed much of his own acting expertise to the education he received there. He became a member of the Communist Party and president of the Unity Theatre's "Management Committee". In 1939 he appeared in a short BBC television play ''Rehearsal for a Drama''. In 1944 played Cecil Tempest in the film '' Candles at Nine'', and in 1949 Oblensky in ''Warning to Wantons''. In 1953 he played the Stage Door Keeper in '' The Limping Man''. Between 1951 and his death in 1979 he appeared in over 50 British television dramas. These included in 1963 as Vennekohl in

Rudolph Cartier Rudolph Cartier (born Rudolph Kacser, renamed himself in Germany to Rudolph Katscher; 17 April 1904 – 7 June 1994) was an Austrian television director, filmmaker, screenwriter and producer who worked predominantly in British television, excl ...

's production of ''Stalingrad'' for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's ''

Festival A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

'' series. He appeared in '' The Adventures of William Tell'' as the Grand Duke in episode 24, "The Ensign". He also appeared in several episodes of the TV series ''

Crown Court The Crown Court is the criminal trial court, court of first instance in England and Wales responsible for hearing all indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals of the decisions of magistrates' courts. It is ...

'' as the presiding Judge Mr. Justice Barclay. In the 1960s, Van Gyseghem was one of several actors to portray Number Two on the cult classic television series ''

The Prisoner ''The Prisoner'' is a British television series created by Patrick McGoohan. McGoohan portrays Number Six (The Prisoner), Number Six, an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a The Village (The Prisoner), mysteri ...

''. He portrayed the retiring Number Two in the December 1967 episode " It's Your Funeral". Van Gyseghem also appeared in an episode of '' The Saint'' in 1968 with

Roger Moore Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 192723 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the actor to portray Ian Fleming's fictional secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in the Eon Productions/MGM Studios film series, playing the ...

Personal life

He married actress Jean Forbes-Robertson in 1940. Actress Joanna Van Gyseghem is their daughter.

Filmography

Publication

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Gyseghem, Andre 1906 births 1979 deaths Communist Party of Great Britain members English male stage actors English male film actors English male television actors English people of Belgian descent Actors from the Royal Borough of Greenwich Male actors from Kent 20th-century English male actors Forbes-Robertson family People from Eltham