Alan Fernand Badel (; 11 September 1923 – 19 March 1982) was an English actor who appeared frequently on stage, in film, on radio and on television.

Early life

Badel was born in

Rusholme Rusholme () is an area of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England, two miles south of the Manchester city centre, city centre. The population of the ward at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 13,643. Rusholme is bounded by Chorl ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, and educated at Burnage High School. He fought in France and Germany during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, serving as a paratrooper on D-Day. He partially lost his hearing when a shell exploded near him.

Career

Badel's earliest film role was as

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

in the

Rita Hayworth Rita Hayworth (born Margarita Carmen Cansino; October 17, 1918May 14, 1987) was an American actress, dancer, and Pin-up model, pin-up girl. She achieved fame in the 1940s as one of the top stars of the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of ...

version of '' Salome'' (1953), a version in which the story was altered to make Salome a Christian convert who dances for Herod in order to save John rather than have him condemned to death. He portrayed

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

in '' Magic Fire'' (1955), a biopic about the composer. He also played the role of Karl Denny, the impresario, in the film '' Bitter Harvest'' (1963). Around the same time he played opposite

Vivien Merchant Ada Brand Thomson (22 July 1929 – 3 October 1982), known professionally as Vivien Merchant, was an English actress. She began her career in 1942, and became known for dramatic roles on stage and in films. In 1956 she married the playwright Ha ...

in a television version of

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A List of Nobel laureates in Literature, Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramat ...

's play '' The Lover'' (also 1963) and as Edmond Dantès in a BBC television adaptation of

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...

' '' The Count of Monte Cristo'' (1964). Badel also played the villainous sunglasses-wearing Najim Beshraavi in '' Arabesque'' (1966) with

Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, 12th-greatest male ...

and Sophia Loren. He played the French Interior Minister in '' The Day of the Jackal'' (1973), a political thriller about the attempted assassination of President

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

. In the political television drama '' Bill Brand'' (1976) he played David Last, the government's Employment Minister, a left-wing former backbench MP who had recently joined the front bench after 30 years in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

. One of his last roles was that of Baron

Nicolas de Gunzburg Nicolas Louis Alexandre de Gunzburg (; 12 December 1904 – 20 February 1981), also known as Baron Nicolas de Gunzburg, was a French-born magazine editor and socialite. He became an editor at several American publications, including ''Town & Cou ...

in the

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. **Paramount Picture ...

film '' Nijinsky'' (1980). A television adaptation for the BBC of '' The Woman in White'' (1982) by Wilkie Collins, in which Badel played the role of Count Fosco, was shown posthumously.

Personal life

Badel married the actress Yvonne Owen in 1942 and they remained married until his death from a heart attack in

Chichester Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...

, aged 58. Their daughter, Sarah Badel, is an actress.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Badel, Alan 1923 births 1982 deaths 20th-century English male actors Best Actor BAFTA Award (television) winners British Army personnel of World War II British Parachute Regiment soldiers English male film actors English male stage actors Male actors from Manchester Military personnel from Manchester People from Rusholme