Christopher de Lerisson Cazenove (17 December 1943 – 7 April 2010) was an English film, television and stage actor.

Early life and career

He was born Christopher de Lerisson Cazenove, on 17 December 1943, the son of Brigadier Arnold de Lerisson Cazenove and Elizabeth Laura (née Gurney, 1914–1994) in

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

, but was brought up in

Bowlish Shepton Mallet is a market town and civil parish in the Mendip District of Somerset, England, some south-west of Bath, south of Bristol and east of Wells. It had an estimated population of 10,810 in 2019. Mendip District Council is based t ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

. He was educated at the Dragon School,

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills ( Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_cha ...

's College of the Venerable Bede and the

Bristol Old Vic Theatre School The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School is a drama school in Bristol, England. The institution provides training in acting and production for careers in film, television and theatre. BOVTS is an affiliate of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama. ...

.Anthony Haywar
Obituary: Christopher Cazenove
''The Guardian'', 8 April 2010 Cazenove often portrayed British aristocrats, and first made his name in the 1972 drama series, ''

The Regiment The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...

''. Other notable roles included Charlie Tyrrell in the 1976-77 period drama series ''

The Duchess of Duke Street ''The Duchess of Duke Street'' is a BBC television drama series set in London between the late 1800s and 1925. It was created by John Hawkesworth, previously the producer of the ITV period drama '' Upstairs, Downstairs''. It starred Gemma ...

'', and in 1986 he appeared as

Ben Carrington '' Dynasty'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 12, 1981 to May 11, 1989. The series, created by Richard and Esther Shapiro and produced by Aaron Spelling, revolves around the Carringtons, a wealthy ...

in the US soap opera ''

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

'', which he played until the following year. From 2001-03, he had a recurring role in the British drama series ''

Judge John Deed ''Judge John Deed'' is a British legal drama television series produced by the BBC in association with One-Eyed Dog for BBC One. It was created by G.F. Newman and stars Martin Shaw as Mr Justice Deed, a High Court judge who tries to seek real ...

'', playing Row Colemore. On the stage, he appeared as Henry Higgins in the British and American productions of ''

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play '' Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons ...

'' from 2005 through to 2008. He also starred in the London West End production of ''

The Importance of Being Earnest ''The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious ...

'' in 1994 alongside Susannah York.

Personal life

Cazenove was married to actress

Angharad Rees Angharad Mary Rees, The Hon. Mrs David McAlpine, CBE (16 July 1944 – 21 July 2012) was a British actress, best known for her British television roles during the 1970s and in particular her leading role as Demelza in the 1970s BBC TV costume d ...

from 1973 until their divorce in 1994. They had two sons, Linford James (20 July 1974 — 10 September 1999); and Rhys William (born 1976); Linford died in a car crash on the M11 in

Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...

. From 2003 until his death, Cazenove's partner was Isabel Davis.

Death

In February 2010, Cazenove collapsed at his London home. He was taken to

St Thomas' Hospital St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. It is one of the institutions that compose the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS ...

in London, suffering from

septicaemia Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...

. He died on 7 April 2010 from the effects of the illness at St Thomas's Hospital, aged 66. The actor "died peacefully surrounded by his loved ones", said a statement released by his agent, his family and girlfriend.Notice of Cazenove's death
, 7 April 2010 Cazenove's funeral on 16 April 2010 was held at

St Paul's, Covent Garden St Paul's Church is a Church of England parish church located in Bedford Street, Covent Garden, central London. It was designed by Inigo Jones as part of a commission for the 4th Earl of Bedford in 1631 to create "houses and buildings fit fo ...

, London.

Filmography

Film

Television

* 1972-1973 ''

'' * 1973 '' Omnibus: The British Hero'' ( BBC TV documentary/selected dramatised scenes) as Heroes: Tom Brown /

Richard Hannay Major-General Sir Richard Hannay, KCB, OBE, DSO, is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist John Buchan and further made popular by the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock film '' The 39 Steps'' (and other later film adaptations), very loosely b ...

Beau Geste ''Beau Geste'' is an adventure novel by British writer P. C. Wren, which details the adventures of three English brothers who enlist separately in the French Foreign Legion following the theft of a valuable jewel from the country house of a re ...

Bulldog Drummond Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond is a fictional character, created by H. C. McNeile and published under his pen name "Sapper". Following McNeile's death in 1937, the novels were continued by Gerard Fairlie. Drummond is a First World War veteran who, ...

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors hav ...

* 1974 ''

Thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

'' Episode: "K is for Killing" as Sunny Garrick * 1974 '' Jennie, Lady Randolph Churchill'' as George Cornwallis-West * 1976-1977 ''

Duchess of Duke Street ''The Duchess of Duke Street'' is a BBC television drama series set in London between the late 1800s and 1925. It was created by John Hawkesworth, previously the producer of the ITV period drama '' Upstairs, Downstairs''. It starred Gemma Jo ...

'' as Charlie Tyrrell * 1980 '' Hammer House of Horror'' Episode: "Children of the Full Moon" as Tom Martin * 1981 ''Ladykillers'' Episode: ''A Smile is Sometimes Worth a Million Dollars'' as

Ronald True Ronald True (17 June 1891 – 8 January 1951) was an English murderer who was convicted of the 1922 bludgeoning and murder by asphyxiation of a 25-year-old prostitute and call girl named Gertrude Yates. He was initially sentenced to death for Ya ...

* 1982 ''

The Letter (1982 film) This 1982 television movie, starring Lee Remick, Ronald Pickup, Jack Thompson, Ian McShane and Christopher Cazenove and directed by John Erman. It is the third film version of the 1927 play of the same title by W. Somerset Maugham. It screened as ...

'' as Officer Withers * 1984 ''

Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense ''Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense'' is a short-lived (one season) anthology television series produced in Britain in 1984/85 by Hammer Film Productions. Though similar in format to the 1980 series ''Hammer House of Horror'', the ''Mystery a ...

'' Episode: "In Possession" as Frank Daly * 1985 '' Kane & Abel'' as The Baron * 1986-1987 ''

'' as

* 1989 '' A Fine Romance (1989 TV series)'' as Michael Trent * 2001-2003 ''

'' as "Row" Colemore * 2005 '' Dalziel and Pascoe'' Episode: " Dead Meat", Parts 1 and 2 as Guy Latimer

References

External links

*
BBC profile

Obituary in ''The Times''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cazenove, Christopher 1943 births 2010 deaths 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors Alumni of Bristol Old Vic Theatre School Deaths from sepsis English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors Infectious disease deaths in England People educated at The Dragon School People educated at Eton College Actors from Winchester Male actors from Hampshire People from Shepton Mallet Male actors from Somerset Gurney family Alumni of the College of the Venerable Bede, Durham