Simon Lack (19 December 19138 August 1980) was a Scottish actor. He was born Alexander MacAlpine, in

Cleland, North Lanarkshire Cleland is a village near Motherwell and Wishaw in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. As of 2018, it has a population of about 3,000. The village has a strong coal mining heritage, and is a typical example of a working class village in North Lanarksh ...

, Scotland. Known locally as Alec, he was the youngest child and only son of his father, Alexander McAlpine (known as Sandy) and his mother, Euphemia Ritchie. His sisters were Charlotte (Lottie), Mary, Euphemia (Euphie), Agnes (Nan), and Jenny. Another sister, Jessie, died in childhood. Sandy McAlpine was a stonemason but worked down the mines when there was no masonry work available, making Simon Lack's later role in Proud Valley particularly poignant to those who knew him from his youth. Euphemia Ritchie's family were somewhat wealthier, but she was disowned on account of her choice of husband, and the family lived for many years in a one-room flat (known in Scottish working class language as a 'single end'), although it seems eventually one of her uncles relented and came to their aid. Alec's earliest ventures into acting were in local theatres. He seems to have chosen the pseudonym Simon Lack when he embarked upon the London stage. He lost five years during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

(as did so many British actors). He served in the European theatre and was present at Monte Cassino. After the war he returned to acting, getting back into stage work. He was also a member of the BBC Radio company during the late 1950s/early 1960s, and notably guest-starred in all but two of the Paul Temple serials (mysteries) that starred Peter Coke and Marjorie Westbury. His television roles included two '' Doctor Who'' serials; '' The Mind of Evil'' (1971) and '' The Androids of Tara'' (1978). He also guest-starred in episodes of ''The Saint'', ''Jason King'', and ''

Doomwatch ''Doomwatch'' is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC, which ran on BBC1 between 1970 and 1972. The series was set in the then present day, and dealt with a scientific government agency led by Doctor Spencer Quist ...

''. He had co-starring roles in '' Telford's Change'', '' Enemy at the Door'' and ''The Borgias''.

Filmography

References

External links

*
The Simon Lack Affair
1913 births 1980 deaths People from Cleland, North Lanarkshire Scottish male film actors Scottish male television actors 20th-century Scottish male actors British military personnel of World War II {{UK-film-actor-stub