Jack Shepherd (born 29 October 1940) is an English actor, playwright, and theatre director. He is known for his television roles, most notably the title role in Trevor Griffiths' series about a young Labour MP, '' Bill Brand'' (1976), and the detective drama '' Wycliffe'' (1993–1998). His film appearances include '' All Neat in Black Stockings'' (1969), '' Wonderland'' (1999) and '' The Golden Compass'' (2007). He won the 1983 Olivier Award for Best Actor in a New Play for the original production of '' Glengarry Glen Ross''. He was also nominated for the

British Academy Television Award for Best Actor This is a list of the British Academy Television Awards for Best Actor. The Best Actor award was initially given as an "individual honour", without credit to a particular performance, until 1962, when Rupert Davies won for his performance in ''Mai ...

in 1977.

Biography

Early life

Shepherd attended Roundhay School in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

and then studied fine art at Kings College,

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick university and a mem ...

. During his time in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

he was an amateur actor with the People's Theatre. After gaining a BA he went on to study acting, first at the

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, commonly shortened to Central, is a drama school founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for ...

and then as a student founder of the

Drama Centre London Drama Centre London (often abbreviated as Drama Centre) was a British drama school in Kings Cross, London, King's Cross, London, where it moved in 2011 after a major reshaping of the University of the Arts London. It was part of Central Saint ...

. He was a talented musician also, playing in a jazz ensemble with fellow drama student, Jon Lord, later of

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...

and

Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1978. The group were originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their ow ...

. Lord said of him in a 1982 interview, "In my early days I had a band with a line up of piano, bass, drums, vibes, alto sax and clarinet so we were able to do some quite weird things. The alto sax player was Jack Shepherd who later turned to acting. For me he was one of the best alto players and he introduced me to

Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz Double bass, upright bassist, composer, bandleader, pianist, and author. A major proponent of collective Musical improvisation, improvisation, he is considered one of ...

and that school." Shepherd married Judy Harland; they had two children together before divorcing. In 1975, he married Ann Scott, a television and film producer, with whom he had three further children, including Catherine Shepherd.

Career

Shepherd worked at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...

from 1965 to 1969, making his first appearance on the London stage as an Officer of Dragoons in '' Serjeant Musgrave's Dance''. In July 1967 he played Arnold Middleton in

David Storey David Malcolm Storey (13 July 1933 – 27 March 2017) was an English playwright, screenwriter, award-winning novelist and a professional rugby league player. He won the Booker Prize in 1976 for his novel '' Saville''. He also won the MacMillan F ...

's '' The Restoration of Arnold Middleton'', which transferred to the Criterion Theatre, a performance for which he received the ''Plays and Players'' London Critics' Award as most promising actor of the year. In 1969 he starred in the satirical comedy series '' World in Ferment''. During the 1970s Shepherd appeared in many television dramas, including several appearances in the series '' Budgie'' (1971–72). In '' Ready When You Are, Mr McGill'' (1976), by

Jack Rosenthal Jack Morris Rosenthal (8 September 1931 – 29 May 2004) was an English playwright. He wrote 129 early episodes of the ITV (TV network), ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' and over 150 screenplays, including original television plays, featur ...

, he played a television director struggling to maintain his composure during a doomed location shoot, and in Trevor Griffiths's Thames TV series '' Bill Brand'' (also 1976), a radical Labour MP. Both performances gained Shepherd

Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...

(RTS) Awards. He appeared as Renfield in ''

Count Dracula Count Dracula () is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. He is considered the prototypical and archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by some to have been i ...

'' (1977), with

Louis Jourdan Louis Jourdan (born Louis Robert Gendre; 19 June 1921 – 14 February 2015) was a French film and television actor. He was known for his suave roles in several Hollywood films, including Alfred Hitchcock's '' The Paradine Case'' (1947), '' Let ...

in the title role. Shepherd also spent the decade running a drama studio in

Kentish Town Kentish Town is an area of northwest London, England, in the London Borough of Camden, immediately north of Camden Town, close to Hampstead Heath. Kentish Town likely derives its name from Ken-ditch or Caen-ditch, meaning the "bed of a waterw ...

, north London along with fellow actor Richard Wilson, and during that time became interested in scriptwriting. He devised several plays for the theatre including ''The Sleep of Reason'', ''Real Time'', ''Clapperclaw'' and ''Half Moon''. In 1972, Shepherd was a founding member, along with

Ian McKellen Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. He has played roles on the screen and stage in genres ranging from Shakespearean dramas and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. He is regarded as a British cu ...

and Edward Petherbridge, of the democratically run Actors' Company, playing Vasques in ''

'Tis Pity She's a Whore ''Tis Pity She's a Whore'' (original spelling: ''Tis Pitty Shee's a Who'' 'o'''re'') is a tragedy written by John Ford (dramatist), John Ford. It was first performed or between 1629 and 1633, by Queen Henrietta's Men at the Cockpit Theatre. ...

'', Inspector of Police in '' Ruling the Roost'' (

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...

and tour) and Okano in '' The Three Arrows'' at the Arts, Cambridge in October 1972. In December 1972 he played Ben in David Mercer's ''Let's Murder Vivaldi'' at

The King's Head Theatre The King's Head Theatre, founded in 1970 by Dan Crawford, is an off-West End venue in London. The original venue was the oldest operating pub theatre in the UK. In 2024, the pub theatre, and the King's Head Theatre now operates from a purpose- ...

, and in January 1973 took the title role in ''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...

'' at the

Bush Theatre The Bush Theatre is located in the Passmore Edwards Public Library, Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 as a showcase for the work of new writers. Artistic Directors * Brian McDermott ...

, also collaborating in the writing. His television work in the 1970s included ''All Good Men'', ''Through the Night'' and ''Occupations'', all by Trevor Griffiths. From 1977 to 1985 he was a member of Bill Bryden's Cottesloe Theatre Company at the National Theatre, playing Teach in '' American Buffalo'', Judas in '' The Passion'', Boamer in '' Lark Rise'', Thomas Clarkeson in '' The World Turned Upside Down'', Smitty in ''

The Long Voyage Home ''The Long Voyage Home'' is a 1940 American drama film directed by John Ford. It stars John Wayne, Thomas Mitchell and Ian Hunter. It features Barry Fitzgerald, Wilfrid Lawson, John Qualen, Mildred Natwick, and Ward Bond, among others. The ...

'', The Correspondent in '' Dispatches'' and Hickey in '' The Iceman Cometh''. Shepherd originated the stage role of Richard Roma in '' Glengarry Glen Ross'' at the Cottesloe in 1983, for which he received a Society of West End Theatre award (later known as the

Laurence Olivier Awards The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of West End Theatre Aw ...

) as Actor of the Year in a New Play. Shepherd's first written work for the stage was '' In Lambeth'', an imaginary conversation about revolution between the poet and artist

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...

, his wife Catherine and

Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In ...

, author of '' The Rights of Man''. He first directed it at the Partisan Theatre in July 1989 before its transfer to the

Donmar Warehouse The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit Off-West End theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977. Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage, Josie Rourke and Michael Longhurst have all served as artistic direc ...

, winning the 1989 '' Time Out'' Awards for Best Directing and Best Writing. Shepherd's work in television during the 1980s and 1990s included ''Blind Justice'', a miniseries by Peter Flannery, and culminated in his acclaimed role as the eponymous Detective Superintendent Charles Wycliffe in the HTV television series '' Wycliffe'' from 1993 to 1998. He appeared as Butler the

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...

in the 1996 television miniseries ''Over Here''. As a theatre director, Shepherd has staged several productions at the

Shakespeare's Globe Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse first built in 1599 for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays. Like the original, it is located on the south bank of the River Thames, in Southwark, Lon ...

, including his 'Prologue Production' of ''

The Two Gentlemen of Verona ''The Two Gentlemen of Verona'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1589 and 1593. It is considered by some to be Shakespeare's first play, and is often seen as showing his first ten ...

'', starring

Mark Rylance Sir David Mark Rylance Waters (; born 18 January 1960) is an English actor, playwright and theatre director. He is known for his roles on stage and screen, having received numerous awards including an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Oliv ...

as Proteus, which opened the Globe to the theatregoing public in August 1996, a year before the formal opening Gala. In 1998 at the Globe he played

Antonio Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan language, Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language–speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top ...

in Richard Olivier's production of ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan taken out on behalf of his dear friend, Bassanio, and provided by a ...

''. Shepherd's epic drama about the

Chartist movement Chartism was a working-class movement for political reform in the United Kingdom that erupted from 1838 to 1857 and was strongest in 1839, 1842 and 1848. It took its name from the People's Charter of 1838 and was a national protest movement, wi ...

, '' Holding Fire!'', was commissioned by the Shakespeare's Globe Theatre as part of its Renaissance and Revolution season, and was first staged there by Mark Rosenblatt in August 2007. He played the part of the Father in Rupert Goold's production of '' Six Characters in Search of an Author'' in 2009, the Doctor in ''

The Master Builder ''The Master Builder'' () is a play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It was first published in December 1892 and is regarded as one of Ibsen's more significant and revealing works. Performance The play was published by Gyldendal AS in C ...

'' at the Almeida, and Melchior, one of the Magi, in the four-part TV drama '' The Nativity'', broadcast on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

in December 2010. He played Ralph Palmer (from a 1980s case) in the 2011 episode "Solidarity” of TV series '' Waking the Dead''. In 2013 he played Harry in "Home" by David Storey at the Arcola Theatre and Joe in the BBC TV series'' The Politician's Husband''. In 2014 Serebryakov in "Uncle Vanya at the St James Theatre. Also in 2014/15 he toured in three ghost stories, Whistle and I'll Come to You, and The Signalman for Middleground Theatre Company, and in 2015/6 with the same company he toured in a stage adaptation of the film ''The Verdict''. 2017/2018 he played Art Hockstadder in Gore Vidal's play ''The Best Man'', first on tour and then at the Playhouse Theatre London. Shepherd's interest in community theatre led to adaptations of ''Dorian Gray'' and of Hardy's ''Under the Greenwood Tree'' for the Players Collective in

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider Lewes (district), district of the same name. It lies on the River Ouse, Sussex, River Ouse at the point where the river cuts through the Sou ...

. His version of the latter was performed by the Hardy Players in Dorchester in December 2016. He has written and directed a new play, ''The Cutting Edge'', which was due to run in 2020.

Plays

Plays by Jack Shepherd include: *''The Incredible Journey of Sir Francis Younghusband'' (Royal Court Upstairs) *''The Sleep of Reason'' (

Traverse Theatre The Traverse Theatre is a theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded as The Traverse Theatre Club in 1962 by John Calder, John Malcolm, Jim Haynes, Richard Demarco, Terry Lane, Andrew Muir, John Martin and Sheila Colvin. The Traverse Th ...

, Edinburgh) 1973 *''Clapperclaw'' (BBC Two) 1981 *''Real Time'' (directed and devised with the Joint Stock Theatre Company) 1982 *''Revelations'' (Bridge Lane, London) 1983s. *'' In Lambeth'' (Partisan Theatre and

) 1989. Published by Methuen. *''Comic Cuts'' (Derby Playhouse, Salisbury Theatre and Lyric Studio, Hammersmith) 1995 *''Chasing the Moment'' (Southwark Playhouse) 1994 and (BAC1 London) 1995 dir. Janos Bruck, (revived Arcola, Dalston) 2007 dir. Mehmet Ergen. Published by First Write *''Half Moon'' (Southwark Playhouse) 1998 *''Through a Cloud'' (Birmingham Rep and Drum, Plymouth) 2004), revived Arcola) 2005. Published by Nick Hern Books. *''Man Falling Down: A Mask Play'' (devised and co-written with Oliver Cotton, Shakespeare's Globe) 2005 *'' Holding Fire!'' (Shakespeare's Globe) 2007. Published by Nick Hern Books * ''The Cutting Edge'' 2020 Co-wrote with Keith Dewhurst ''Impossible Plays'', an account of his years in Bill Bryden's Cottesloe Company at the National Theatre. Published by Methuen. His two recently completed plays are ''Against the Tide'', about William Morris, and ''The Valley of the Shadow'', about World War I.

Theatre

Filmography

*'' Two and Two Make Six'' (1962) .... Grand Hotel Night Receptionist (uncredited) *'' All Neat in Black Stockings'' (1969) .... Dwyer *'' The Bed Sitting Room'' (1969) .... Under Water Vicar *''

The Virgin Soldiers ''The Virgin Soldiers'' is a 1966 comic novel by Leslie Thomas, inspired by his own experiences of National Service in the British Army. It was Thomas' debut novel; he had previously published an autobiography. ''The Virgin Soldiers'' sold mill ...

'' (1969) .... Sergeant Wellbeloved *''

Special Branch Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security and Intelligence (information gathering), intelligence in Policing in the United Kingdom, British, Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, ...

'' (1969) .... Peter Watson *'' The Last Valley'' (1971) .... Eskesen *'' ''Budgie'''' (1971, TV Series) .... PC Donnelly *'' Something to Hide'' (1972) .... Joe Pepper *''

Crown Court (TV series) ''Crown Court'' is a British television courtroom drama series produced by Granada Television for the ITV network. It ran from 1972, when the Crown Court system replaced Assize courts and Quarter sessions in the legal system of England and Wal ...

'' (1974) ('How to Steal a Memory Bank')....Sam Warren 1974 TV Movie..... "Occupations" with Donald Pleasance. *'' Ready When You Are, Mr. McGill'' (1976,) (episode 1 of Red Letter Day (TV series)) – Phil Parish – Director *''

'' (1977, TV Movie) .... Renfield *'' The Devil's Crown'' (1978, TV Series) .... Thomas Becket *''

Scoop Scoop, Scoops or The Scoop may refer to: Artefacts * Scoop (machine part), a component of machinery to carry things * Scoop (tool), a shovel-like tool, particularly one deep and curved, used in digging * Scoop (theater), a type of wide area l ...

'' (1987, TV Movie) .... The Journey – Corker *'' Escape from Sobibor'' (1987, TV Movie) .... Itzhak Lichtman *'' Body Contact'' (1987) .... Dickie Finn *'' Lights and Shadows'' (1988) *'' Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story'' (1989, TV Movie) .... Brodi *'' Ball Trap on the Cote Sauvage'' (1989, TV Movie) .... Joe Marriot *'' Shoot to Kill'' (1990, TV Movie) .... John Stalker *'' The Big Man'' (1990) .... Referee *''Crimestrike'' (1990) *'' The Object of Beauty'' (1991) .... Mr. Slaughter *'' Twenty-One'' (1991) .... Kenneth *'' Blue Ice'' (1992) .... Stevens *''Blue Black Permanent'' (1992) .... Philip Lomax *'' Wycliffe'' (1993–1998, TV Series) .... Det. Supt. Wycliffe *'' No Escape'' (1994) .... Dysart *'' Over Here'' (1996, TV Movie) .... Butler *''The Scarlet Tunic'' (1998) .... Dr. Edward Grove *'' Wonderland'' (1999) .... Bill *'' The Martins'' (2001) .... DI Tony Branch *'' Charlotte Gray'' (2001) .... Paul Pichon *''

Silent Witness ''Silent Witness'' is a British crime drama television series produced by the BBC that focuses on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes. The series was created by Nigel McCrery, a former murder squa ...

'' episode '' Closed Ranks'' (2002) .... ACC Richard Dyer *''

Boudica Boudica or Boudicca (, from Brittonic languages, Brythonic * 'victory, win' + * 'having' suffix, i.e. 'Victorious Woman', known in Latin chronicles as Boadicea or Boudicea, and in Welsh language, Welsh as , ) was a queen of the Iceni, ancient ...

'' (2003) .... Claudius *'' A Cock and Bull Story'' (Tristram Shandy) (2005) .... Surgeon *''Lipstick'' (2005, Short) .... Man *'' All About George'' (2005, TV Series) .... Gordon Kinsey *'' A Dad from Christmas'' (2006, TV Movie) .... Bert *'' The Golden Compass'' (2007) .... Master *'' God on Trial'' (2008, TV Movie) .... Khun *'' Thorne'' (2010, TV series) .... Jim Thorne *'' The Nativity'' (2010, TV Mini-Series) .... Melchior *'' The Politician's Husband'' (2013, TV Mini-Series) .... Joe Hoynes *''Greyhawk'' (2014) .... Howard *''

New Tricks ''New Tricks'' is a British television police procedural comedy drama, created by Nigel McCrery and Roy Mitchell, produced primarily by Wall to Wall (until its final year, when it was handled by Headstrong Pictures), and broadcast on BBC On ...

'' (2014, TV Series) .... William Taskerland *''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British Mystery fiction, mystery television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the ''Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series created by Caroline Graham (writer), Caroline Graham. ...

'' (2015, TV Series) .... Magnus Soane *'' Greed (2019 Film)'' .... Eric Weeks *'' ''Manhunt'' : The Night Stalker, Part 2'' (2021, TV Series) .... Dave Sutton

References

* ''

Who's Who in the Theatre ''Who's Who in the Theatre'' is a British reference work, first published in 1912 with sixteen new editions from then until its last issue in 1981. The book was a successor to ''The Green Room Book'', of which four editions were published bet ...

''. 17th edition, Gale Publishing (1981) *

Halliwell's Film Guide Robert James Leslie Halliwell (23 February 1929 – 21 January 1989) was a British film critic, encyclopaedist and television rights buyer for ITV, the British commercial network, and Channel 4. He is best known for his reference guides, '' Fi ...

* Halliwell's Who's Who in the Movies *

Theatre Record ''Theatre Record'' is a periodical that reprints reviews, production photographs, and other information about the British theatre. Overview ''Theatre Record'' was founded in 1981 by Ian Herbert and has been published fortnightly since January 1 ...

indexes

External links

*
Theatrical agent
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shepherd, Jack 1940 births Male actors from Leeds Alumni of Newcastle University English male television actors English male stage actors English male radio actors English dramatists and playwrights English television writers English theatre directors English male Shakespearean actors Royal Shakespeare Company members Living people Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama Alumni of the Drama Centre London People educated at Roundhay School English male writers English male dramatists and playwrights Laurence Olivier Award winners English male television writers