Edmund Jeremy James Walker (3 February 1935 – 19 July 2019), known professionally as Jeremy Kemp, was an English actor. He was known for his significant roles in the miniseries ''

The Winds of War ''The Winds of War'' is Herman Wouk's second book about World War II (the first being ''The Caine Mutiny''). Published in 1971, ''The Winds of War'' was followed up seven years later by ''War and Remembrance''; originally conceived as one volume, ...

'' and ''

War and Remembrance ''War and Remembrance'' is a novel by Herman Wouk, published in October 1978 as the sequel to Wouk's ''The Winds of War'' (1971). ''The Winds of War'' covers the period 1939 to 1941, and ''War and Remembrance'' continues the story of the extended ...

'', the film ''

The Blue Max ''The Blue Max'' is a 1966 British war film directed by John Guillermin and starring George Peppard, James Mason, Ursula Andress, Karl Michael Vogler, and Jeremy Kemp. The film was made in DeLuxe Color and filmed in CinemaScope. The plot is a ...

'', and the TV series ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it debuted ...

''.

Early life

Kemp was born 3 February 1935 in

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

, the son of Elsa May (daughter of Dr James Kemp, of Sheffield) and Edmund Reginald Walker, an engineer, of a Yorkshire landed gentry family that had owned at various times Aldwick Hall at

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

, Silton Hall at

Northallerton Northallerton ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England. It lies in the Vale of Mowbray and at the northern end of the Vale of York. It had a population of 16,832 in the 2011 census, an increase ...

, Ravensthorpe Manor, and Mount St John, at

Thirsk Thirsk is a market town and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England known for its racecourse; quirky yarnbomber displays, and depiction as local author James Herriot's fictional Darrowby. History Archeological fin ...

."Jeremy Kemp Biography (1935–)"
Film Reference. Retrieved 27 January 2017. Kemp attended Abbotsholme School in Staffordshire from 1943 to 1953. He studied acting at the

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was 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 young actors and other students. It became a ...

Career

In 1958, Kemp joined the

Radio Drama Company The Radio Drama Company is a company of actors formed by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in 1939, at the beginning of the Second World War. It is sometimes referred to as RDC, or the Rep, a survival from its original name, the Drama Re ...

by winning the Carlton Hobbs Bursary He was an original cast member of ''

'' playing PC Bob Steele, but left after just over a year in the role. His other television credits include ''

Colditz Colditz () is a small town in the district of Leipzig, in Saxony, Germany. It is best known for Colditz Castle, the site of the Oflag IV-C POW camp for officers in World War II. Geography Colditz is situated in the Leipzig Bay, southeast of the c ...

'', '' Space: 1999'' and a number of other series, such as ''

Hart to Hart ''Hart to Hart'' is an American mystery television series that premiered on August 25, 1979, on ABC. The show stars Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers as Jonathan and Jennifer Hart, respectively, a wealthy couple who lead a glamorous jetset lifes ...

'', ''

The Greatest American Hero ''The Greatest American Hero'' is an American comedy-drama Superhero fiction, superhero television series that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. Created by producer Stephen J. Cannell, it premiered as a two-hour pilot movie on March 1 ...

'', ''

The Fall Guy ''The Fall Guy'' is an American action/adventure television series produced for ABC and originally broadcast from November 4, 1981, to May 2, 1986. It starred Lee Majors, Douglas Barr, and Heather Thomas as Hollywood stunt performers who moonli ...

'', ''

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes ''The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'' is a collection of twelve short stories by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle, first published on 14 October 1892. It contains the earliest short stories featuring the consulting detective Sherlock Holmes, w ...

'', '' Conan the Adventurer'', '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', ''

'', ''

'' and ''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...

''. He played King Leontes in the BBC Television production of ''

The Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some criti ...

'' (1981). He also appeared as Cornwall in the 1983 TV movie version of ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...

'' opposite

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the Theatre of the U ...

as Lear. From the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s, Kemp had a prominent film career, usually appearing as second male leads or top supporting roles. His films include ''

Dr. Terror's House of Horrors ''Dr Terror's House of Horrors'' is a 1965 British anthology horror film from Amicus Productions, directed by veteran horror director Freddie Francis, written by Milton Subotsky, and starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. It was the fi ...

'', ''

Operation Crossbow ''Crossbow'' was the code name in World War II for Anglo-American operations against the German V-weapons, long range reprisal weapons (V-weapons) programme. The main V-weapons were the V-1 flying bomb and V-2 rocket – these were launched aga ...

'', ''

Darling Lili ''Darling Lili'' is a 1970 American romantic-musical spy film, written by William Peter Blatty and Blake Edwards, the latter also directing the film. It stars Julie Andrews, Rock Hudson, and Jeremy Kemp, with music by Henry Mancini and lyrics by ...

'', '' A Bridge Too Far'', ''

The Seven-Per-Cent Solution ''The Seven-Per-Cent Solution: Being a Reprint from the Reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D.'' is a 1974 novel by American writer Nicholas Meyer. It is written as a pastiche of a Sherlock Holmes adventure, and was made into a film of the same ...

'', ''

Top Secret! ''Top Secret!'' is a 1984 American action comedy film written and directed by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker ( ZAZ). It stars Val Kilmer (in his film debut role) and Lucy Gutteridge alongside a supporting cast featuring Omar Shari ...

'' and ''

Four Weddings and a Funeral ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' is a 1994 British romantic comedy film directed by Mike Newell. It is the first of several films by screenwriter Richard Curtis to feature Hugh Grant, and follows the adventures of Charles (Grant) and his circle ...

''.

Personal life and death

Kemp was an avid bird watcher. Private about his personal life, at various times he lived in Britain and California. Kemp's long-term partner was an American woman, Christopher Harter. Her parents, who had expected a boy, named her in honour of a family friend. Kemp was quoted as saying he found the idea of marriage to be "too tying". Jeremy Kemp died on 19 July 2019 aged 84, Harter having predeceased him.

Partial filmography

*''

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...

'' (1963) as Agitator *''

Edgar Wallace Mysteries The ''Edgar Wallace Mysteries'' is a British second-feature film series mainly produced at Merton Park Studios for Anglo-Amalgamated. There were 48 films in the series, which were released between 1960 and 1965. The series was screened as ''The E ...

'' (1964 film) as Vince Howard - "Face of a Stranger" episode *''

'' (1965) as Jerry Drake (segment 2 "Creeping Vine") *''

'' (1965) as Phil Bradley *''

Cast a Giant Shadow ''Cast a Giant Shadow'' is a 1966 big-budget action film based on the life of Colonel Mickey Marcus, and stars Kirk Douglas, Senta Berger, Yul Brynner, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra and Angie Dickinson. Melville Shavelson adapted, produced and dire ...

'' (1966) as Senior British Officer *''

'' (1966) as Willi von Klugemann *''

Assignment K ''Assignment K'' is a 1968 British neo noir thriller film directed by Val Guest in Techniscope and starring Stephen Boyd, Camilla Sparv, Michael Redgrave, Leo McKern, Robert Hoffmann and Jeremy Kemp. The film was based on the 1964 novel '' Dep ...

'' (1968) as Hal *''

The Strange Affair ''The Strange Affair'' is a 1968 British crime drama film directed by David Greene and starring Michael York, Jeremy Kemp and Susan George. Plot Peter Strange (Michael York) is an idealistic young police recruit who gets mixed up with the mac ...

'' (1968) as Det. Sgt. Pierce *''

A Twist of Sand ''A Twist of Sand'' is a 1968 British adventure film directed by Don Chaffey and starring Richard Johnson, Jeremy Kemp, Honor Blackman and Peter Vaughan based on the novel by Geoffrey Jenkins. Plot A former British naval officer now makes hi ...

'' (1968) as Harry Riker *'' Eyewitness'' (1970) as Inspector Galleria *''

'' (1970) as Colonel Kurt Von Ruger *'' The Games'' (1970) as Jim Harcourt *''

Pope Joan Pope Joan (''Ioannes Anglicus'', 855–857) was, according to legend, a woman who reigned as pope for two years during the Middle Ages. Her story first appeared in chronicles in the 13th century and subsequently spread throughout Europe. The s ...

'' (1972) as Joan's Father *''

The Belstone Fox ''The Belstone Fox'' is a 1973 British film directed by James Hill, and based on David Rook's 1970 novel, ''The Ballad of the Belstone Fox''. Plot The Belstone Fox is the nickname given to Tag, a fox cub rescued from the woods and adopted by hu ...

'' (1973) as John Kendrick *''

The Blockhouse ''The Blockhouse'' is a 1973 drama film directed by Clive Rees and starring Peter Sellers and Charles Aznavour. It is based on a 1955 novel by Jean-Paul Clébert. It was filmed entirely in Guernsey in the Channel Islands and was entered into t ...

'' (1973) as Grabinski *''

Lips of Lurid Blue ''Lips of Lurid Blue'' ( it, Labbra di lurido blu, also known as ''With Lips of Lurid Blue'' and ''With Lips of Filthy Blue'') is a 1975 erotic drama film written and directed by Giulio Petroni. Plot Traumatised when they were children - she b ...

'' (1975) as George Stevens *''

'' (1976) as Baron Karl von Leinsdorf *''

The Rhinemann Exchange ''The Rhinemann Exchange'' is a novel of suspense by Robert Ludlum, set in the middle of the Second World War. Plot summary On the eve of the Second World War, David Spaulding, a radio voice actor, is recruited by Colonel Ed Pace to run a secret ...

'' (1977, TV movie) as Geoffrey Moore *'' A Bridge Too Far'' (1977) as R.A.F. Briefing Officer *''

East of Elephant Rock ''East of Elephant Rock'' is a 1977 British independent drama film directed by Don Boyd and starring John Hurt, Jeremy Kemp and Judi Bowker. It was Boyd's second feature film following his little-noticed 1975 '' Intimate Reflections''. Like Willi ...

'' (1977) as Harry Rawlins *''

Leopard in the Snow ''Leopard in the Snow'' is a 1978 British drama film directed by Gerry O'Hara and starring Keir Dullea, Susan Penhaligon, Kenneth More and Billie Whitelaw. It was based on the 1974 novel ''Leopard in the Snow'' by Anne Mather. Plot summary In ...

'' (1978) as Bolt *'' Caravans'' (1978) as Dr. Smythe *'' The Treasure Seekers'' (1979) as Reginald Landers *''

The Prisoner of Zenda ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' is an 1894 adventure novel by Anthony Hope, in which the King of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus is unable to attend the ceremony. Political forces within the realm are such that, in order ...

'' (1979) as Duke Michael *''

The Return of the Soldier ''The Return of the Soldier'' is the debut novel of English novelist Rebecca West, first published in 1918. The novel recounts the return of the shell shocked Captain Chris Baldry from the trenches of the First World War from the perspective ...

'' (1982) as Frank *''

'' (1982, TV series, episode: "Divorce, Venusian Style") as Franz Zedlocker *''

'' (1983, TV miniseries) as Brigadier General Armin Von Roon *''

Uncommon Valor ''Uncommon Valor'' is a 1983 American action war film directed by Ted Kotcheff and starring Gene Hackman, Fred Ward, Reb Brown, Randall "Tex" Cobb, Robert Stack, Patrick Swayze, Harold Sylvester and Tim Thomerson. Hackman plays a former U.S. Mar ...

'' (1983) as Ferryman *''

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

'' (1984, TV miniseries) as General Gates *''

'' (1984, episode: " The Speckled Band") as Dr. Grimesby Roylott *''

'' (1984) as General Streck *''

Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

'' (1986, TV miniseries) as Col. Patrick Gordon * ''

Slip-Up ''Slip-Up'' is a 1986 British television film directed by James Cellan Jones and starring Jeremy Kemp, George Costigan and Larry Lamb.Singer p.577 the film recounts the unsuccessful attempts of Jack Slipper to extradite the Great Train Robber Ron ...

'' (1986, TV movie) as Jack Slipper *''

'' (1988, TV miniseries) as Brigadier General Armin Von Roon *''

When the Whales Came ''When the Whales Came'' is a 1989 British drama film directed by Clive Rees and starring Helen Mirren, Paul Scofield, David Suchet, Barbara Jefford, David Threlfall, John Hallam, Barbara Ewing, and Jeremy Kemp. It is based on the 1985 children ...

'' (1989) as Mr. Wellbeloved * ''

Summer's Lease ''Summer's Lease'' is a novel by Sir John Mortimer, author of the Rumpole novels, which is set predominantly in Italy. It was first published in 1988 and made into a British television mini-series, first shown in 1989. The title "Summer's Leas ...

'' (1989) as Buck Kettering *'' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1990, TV series) as Robert Picard *''

Prisoner of Honor ''Prisoner of Honor'' is a 1991 British made-for-television drama film directed by Ken Russell and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Oliver Reed and Peter Firth. It was made by Warner Bros. Television and distributed by HBO, and centers on the famous D ...

'' (1991, TV movie) as Gen. de Pellieux *''

'' (1994) as Sir John Delaney *''

Angels & Insects ''Angels & Insects'' is a 1995 romantic drama film directed by Philip Haas and starring Mark Rylance, Patsy Kensit, and Kristin Scott Thomas. It was written by Philip and Belinda Haas with A. S. Byatt after her 1992 novella '' Morpho Eugenia'' (i ...

'' (1995) as Sir Harald Alabaster

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kemp, Jeremy 1935 births 2019 deaths English male film actors English male television actors People from Chesterfield, Derbyshire Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama 20th-century English male actors