Alan Brown (23 March 1926 – 7 September 1979), known professionally as Alan Browning, was an English actor. Whilst working by day as a reporter for a local paper in Newcastle in the 1950s, he began acting as an amateur at the People's Theatre. He then moved to London to work for a news agency and was sent abroad to Cairo, where he met his first wife (Anne) who was serving in the

Women's Royal Naval Service The Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS; popularly and officially known as the Wrens) was the women's branch of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. First formed in 1917 for the World War I, First World War, it was disbanded in 1919, then revived in ...

(Wrens). On their return to the UK, and following encouragement from Anne, he began to seek work as an actor. Very soon he was cast as King John in a pair of educational films made for

Encyclopedia Britannica An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into article (publishing), articles or entries that are arranged Alp ...

, and then became a regular 'extra' playing bit parts in TV series such as ''

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 and CID detectives in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by ...

'', '' The Saint'', and '' The Avengers''. He also starred as Chief Officer Steve Rettar in the ABC series ''Jezebel'' in 1963. He became a household name in the UK when he was cast as Ellis Cooper in '' The Newcomers'' (1965-1968), but is best remembered for portraying Alan Howard in the television series ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'', a role he played from 1969 to 1973. He was married to his ''Coronation Street'' co-star

Pat Phoenix Patricia Phoenix (born Patricia Frederica Manfield; 26 November 1923 – 17 September 1986) was an English actress who became one of the first sex symbols of British television through her role as Elsie Tanner, an original cast member of '' ...

from 23 December 1972, until his 1979 death from

liver failure Liver failure is the inability of the liver to perform its normal synthetic and metabolic functions as part of normal physiology. Two forms are recognised, acute and chronic (cirrhosis). Recently, a third form of liver failure known as acute- ...

as a result of his heavy alcohol intake. Phoenix also played his onscreen wife,

Elsie Tanner Elsie Tanner (also Howard) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Pat Phoenix from the series' inception in 1960 to 1973, and again from 1976 until 1984. Elsie Tanner was one of the original c ...

, in ''Coronation Street''. The pair left The Street in 1973 and toured the UK and New Zealand with theatrical productions of '' Gaslight'' and '' Night Must Fall'', both directed by Browning, before Phoenix rejoined the cast of The Street. Browning also recorded an LP of jazz standards called "Whisky & Milk" (a reference to his preferred drink, being easier on the stomach than neat whisky) with the Tony Hayes Quartet in 1975. Browning's other television appearances included '' Interpol Calling'' (1960), ''

Dr. Finlay's Casebook ''Dr. Finlay's Casebook'' is a television drama series that was produced and broadcast by the BBC from 1962 until 1971. Based on A. J. Cronin's 1935 novella ''Country Doctor'', the storylines centred on a general medical practice in the fiction ...

'' (1962), ''

Maigret Jules Maigret (), or simply Maigret, is a fictional French police detective, a '' commissaire'' ("commissioner") of the Paris ''Brigade Criminelle'' ('' Direction Régionale de la Police Judiciaire de Paris:36, Quai des Orfèvres''), created ...

'' (1963), ''

The Plane Makers ''The Plane Makers'' is a British television series created by Wilfred Greatorex and produced by Rex Firkin. ATV made three series for ITV between 1963 and 1965. It was succeeded by ''The Power Game'', which ran for an additional three ...

'' (1964), '' The War of Darkie Pilbeam'' (1968), ''

Big Breadwinner Hog ''Big Breadwinner Hog'' is a British television thriller serial devised by Robin Chapman, produced by Granada TV and transmitted in eight parts, starting at 9.00pm on 11 April 1969 on the ITV network. Overview The series focussed on the rut ...

'' (1969), ''

The Onedin Line ''The Onedin Line'' is a BBC television drama series that ran from 1971 to 1980. The series was created by Cyril Abraham. The series is set in Liverpool from 1860 to 1886 and covers the rise of a fictional shipping company, the Onedin Line, nam ...

'' (1971), ''The Fear Is Spreading'' (an episode of the TV series '' Thriller'', 1975), ''

When the Boat Comes In ''When the Boat Comes In'' is a British television period drama produced by the BBC between 8 January 1976 and 21 April 1981. Across the whole series, events are set in the time period from 1919 to 1937. The series stars James Bolam as Jack Fo ...

(1976)'', and a leading role in '' The Cedar Tree'' (1976-77). His final credits were in 1978 in the episode '1914, Call to Arms' of '' A Horseman Riding By'' as Fred Purcell and an episode of ''

Return of the Saint ''Return of the Saint'' is a British action-adventure television series that aired for one series in 1978 and 1979 in Britain on ITV, and was also broadcast on CBS in the United States. It was co-produced by ITC Entertainment and the Italian b ...

''. His film credits included '' Feet of Clay'' (1960), '' Fury at Smugglers' Bay'' (1961), ''

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (; The name Cleopatra is pronounced , or sometimes in both British and American English, see and respectively. Her name was pronounced in the Greek dialect of Egypt (see Koine Greek phonology). She was ...

'' (1963), '' Guns at Batasi'' (1964), and ''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

'' (1970).

Filmography

References

External links

*
Alan Browning at Corrie.netCome Out, Alan Browning, We Know You're In There
1971 documentary, Tyne Tees Television on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Browning, Alan 1926 births 1979 deaths Male actors from Sunderland English male film actors English male soap opera actors 20th-century English male actors