Charles Gray (born Donald Marshall Gray; 29 August 1928 – 7 March 2000) was an English actor and voice artist. Appearing in around 140 films and TV series, he was best known as the arch-villain

Ernst Stavro Blofeld Ernst Stavro Blofeld is a fictional supervillain in the ''James Bond'' series of novels and films, created by Ian Fleming. A criminal mastermind with aspirations of world domination, he is the archenemy of British MI6 agent James Bond. Blofel ...

in the James Bond film '' Diamonds Are Forever''; Dikko Henderson in a previous Bond film, '' You Only Live Twice'';

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...

's brother

Mycroft Holmes Mycroft Holmes is a fictional character appearing in stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle from 1893 to 1908. The elder brother (by seven years) of detective Sherlock Holmes, he is a government official and a founding me ...

in '' The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes''; and The Criminologist in ''

The Rocky Horror Picture Show ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' is a 1975 independent musical comedy horror film produced by Lou Adler and Michael White, directed by Jim Sharman, and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The screenplay was written by Sharman and Richard O ...

'', as well as Judge Oliver Wright in its 1981 sequel '' Shock Treatment''.

Early life

Gray was born in

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, the son of surveyor Donald Gray (died 1975), who had served as a Captain in the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

, and Maude Elizabeth (née Marshall). Gray attended Bournemouth School alongside

Benny Hill Alfred Hawthorne "Benny" Hill (21 January 1924 – 18 April 1992) was an English comedian, actor and scriptwriter. He is best remembered for his television programme, ''The Benny Hill Show'', a comedy-variety show whose amalgam of slapstick, bu ...

, whose school had been evacuated to the same buildings, 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 ...

. Some of his friends remember that his bedroom walls were plastered with pictures of film stars.

Stage career

By his mid-twenties, Gray had left his first job as a clerk for an estate agent to become an actor. He began his stage experience at the theatre club next to the Palace Court Hotel in Bournemouth, where he was a last-minute cast replacement in ''

The Beaux' Stratagem ''The Beaux' Stratagem'' is a comedy by George Farquhar, first produced at the Theatre Royal, now the site of Her Majesty's Theatre, in the Haymarket, London, on 8 March 1707. In the play, Archer and Aimwell, two young gentlemen who have falle ...

''. Gray surprised everyone, including himself, with the quality of his performance. He later made his first professional stage appearance under his given name, Donald Gray, as Charles the Wrestler in Roger Atkins' production of ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wil ...

''. He moved away from Bournemouth in the late 1950s, but his parents remained at the family home until their deaths. On becoming a professional actor he had to change his name, as there was already an actor named Donald Gray. He chose Charles Gray partly because Charles was the name of his maternal grandfather, partly because he had a close friend named Charles, and partly because he thought it sounded nice. For his first appearance on Broadway, in the 1961 musical '' Kean'', he went under the name Oliver Gray. Charles Gray distinguished himself in theatrical roles, in the

Regent's Park Open Air Theatre Regent's Park Open Air Theatre is an open-air theatre in Regent's Park in central London, established in 1932. Originally known for its Shakespearean productions, the theatre now features a wide variety of performances, including musicals, ope ...

, London, at the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

Stratford-Upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon (district), Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of Engl ...

and at the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

. He received his vocal training at the RSC and became noted for his imposing presence.

Film and television

He played Bob Gringle in the TV Western ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...

'' in the 1958 episode "Lynching Man" (S4:E10). During the 1960s, Gray established himself as a successful

character actor A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting character (arts), characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrie ...

and made many appearances on British television. Work in this period included ''

Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again ...

'', with

Patrick McGoohan Patrick Joseph McGoohan (; March 19, 1928 – January 13, 2009) was an Irish-American actor of film, television, and theatre. Born in New York City to Irish parents, he was raised in Ireland and England. He began his career in England during t ...

, and '' Maigret''. Gray also appeared opposite

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

in the film version of '' The Entertainer'' (1960) as a reporter. He played Jack Baker that same year in the '' Perry Mason'' episode, "The Case of the Bullied Bowler". His breakthrough year was 1967, when he starred with Peter O'Toole and

Omar Sharif Omar Sharif (, ; born Michel Yusef Dimitri Chalhoub ; 10 April 1932 – 10 July 2015) was an Egyptian actor, generally regarded as one of his country's greatest male film stars. He began his career in his native country in the 1950s. He is bes ...

in the Second World War murder-mystery film '' The Night of the Generals''. The same year, he played Dikko Henderson, a British intelligence officer assigned to their Embassy in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, in the Bond film '' You Only Live Twice'' (1967). Four years later, he appeared as

in the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

film '' Diamonds Are Forever'' (1971), both films starring

Sean Connery Sir Thomas Sean Connery (25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to Portrayal of James Bond in film, portray the fictional British secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in motion pic ...

. Gray's most prolific work as an actor was between 1968 and 1979, when he appeared in more than forty major film and television productions. From this period, he is perhaps best known for portraying the Criminologist (the narrator) in ''

'' and a similar character, Judge Oliver Wright, in its sequel '' Shock Treatment'' (1981). This more expansive role is said to be the same character (the Criminologist in ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' is not named). In 1973, he played Lord Seacroft in the television series ''The Upper Crusts'' opposite Margaret Leighton, and in 1983, he starred alongside Coral Browne and

Alan Bates Sir Alan Arthur Bates (17 February 1934 – 27 December 2003) was an English actor who came to prominence in the Cinema of the United Kingdom#The 1960s, 1960s, when he appeared in films ranging from ''Whistle Down the Wind (film), Whistle Down ...

in the award-winning made-for-TV film '' An Englishman Abroad''. In 1985, he starred in an episode of the BBC-TV detective series '' Bergerac'', entitled "What Dreams May Come?". Other well-known film work includes '' The Devil Rides Out'', ''

Mosquito Squadron ''Mosquito Squadron'' is a 1969 British war film made by Oakmont Productions, directed by Boris Sagal and starring David McCallum. The raid echoes Operation Jericho, a combined RAF–Maquis (World War II), Maquis raid which freed French prison ...

'', '' Cromwell'' and '' The Beast Must Die''. In 1991, Gray co-starred with Oliver Tobias in the science-fiction film ''Firestar – First Contact'' for Ice International Films.

Later work

Gray portrayed

in both the film '' The Seven-Per-Cent Solution'' (1976) and opposite

Jeremy Brett Peter Jeremy William Huggins (3 November 1933 – 12 September 1995), known professionally as Jeremy Brett, was an English actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes from 1984 to 1994 in 41 episodes of a Sherlock Holmes (1984 TV ...

's Sherlock in four episodes of the

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...

series '' The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'' (1984). In two episodes of the final Brett series, ''The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes'', he had leading roles as Mycroft, the first because Edward Hardwicke, who played Doctor Watson, was busy on another project and the second as a result of Brett's illness. Other television appearances included roles in Dennis Potter's '' Blackeyes'', '' The New Statesman'', '' Thriller'', '' Upstairs, Downstairs'', '' Bergerac'', '' Porterhouse Blue'' plus a range of

Shakespearean William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

roles, such as Caesar in ''

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 ...

'' and Pandarus in ''

Troilus and Cressida ''The Tragedy of Troilus and Cressida'', often shortened to ''Troilus and Cressida'' ( or ), is a play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1602. At Troy during the Trojan War, Troilus and Cressida begin a love affair. Cressida is forc ...

''. He dubbed for Jack Hawkins in the films '' Theatre of Blood'', '' When Eight Bells Toll'', '' Tales That Witness Madness'' and others after Hawkins's

larynx The larynx (), commonly called the voice box, is an organ (anatomy), organ in the top of the neck involved in breathing, producing sound and protecting the trachea against food aspiration. The opening of larynx into pharynx known as the laryngeal ...

was removed to combat

throat cancer Head and neck cancer is a general term encompassing multiple cancers that can develop in the head and neck region. These include cancers of the mouth, tongue, gums and lips ( oral cancer), voice box ( laryngeal), throat ( nasopharyngeal, orophar ...

Death

Gray died of cancer at a London hospital, on 7 March 2000, at the age of 71.

Selected filmography

* '' I Accuse!'' (1958) as Capt. Brossard * '' Heart of a Child'' (1958) as Fritz Heiss * '' Official Detective'' (1958) Episode: "Extortion" as King * '' The Desperate Man'' (1959) as Dawson * '' Follow a Star'' (1959) as Taciturn Man at Party (uncredited) * '' Tommy the Toreador'' (1959) as Gomez * '' The Entertainer'' (1960) as Columnist * ''

Man in the Moon In many cultures, several pareidolic images of a human face, head or body are recognized in the disc of the full moon; they are generally known as the Man in the Moon. The images are based on the appearance of the dark areas (known as lunar m ...

'' (1960) as Leo * '' Masquerade'' (1965) as Benson * '' The Night of the Generals'' (1967) as General Herbert von Seidlitz-Gabler * '' You Only Live Twice'' (1967) as Dikko Henderson * '' The Man Outside'' (1967) as Charles Griddon * '' The Secret War of Harry Frigg'' (1968) as Gen. Adrian Cox-Roberts * '' The Devil Rides Out'' (1968) as Mocata * ''

The Nine Ages of Nakedness ''The Nine Ages of Nakedness'' (also known as ''The 9 Ages of Nakedness'') is a 1969 British sex film, directed by Harrison Marks, and starring Marks as himself and featuring Bruno Elrington, June Palmer, Julian Orchard, Max Wall and Cardew Ro ...

'' (1969) as Narrator (voice) * '' The File of the Golden Goose'' (1969) as The Owl * ''

'' (1969) as Air Commodore Hufford * '' The Executioner'' (1970) as Vaughan Jones * '' Cromwell'' (1970) as The

Earl of Essex Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new cre ...

* '' When Eight Bells Toll'' (1971) as Sir Anthony Skouras (voice, uncredited) * '' Diamonds Are Forever'' (1971) as

* '' Theatre of Blood'' (1973) as Solomon Psaltery (voice, uncredited) * '' Tales That Witness Madness'' (1973) as Jack Hawkins Voice Double (voice, uncredited) * ''

On the Game ''On the Game'' is a 1974 British comedy drama film directed by Stanley Long and starring Charles Gray. It was written by Suzanne Mercer, who spent two years researching it. The film is a dramatised comedy documentary about prostitution throug ...

'' (1974) as Narrator (voice) * '' The Beast Must Die'' (1974) as Bennington * ''

Fall of Eagles Autumn, also known as fall (especially in US & Canada), is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March (Southern Hemisphere ...

'' (1974) as Mikhail Rodzianko * ''

'' (1975) as The Criminologist – An Expert * '' Seven Nights in Japan'' (1976) as Henry Hollander * '' The Seven-Per-Cent Solution'' (1976) as

* ''

Three Dangerous Ladies ''Three Dangerous Ladies'' is a 1977 British-Canadian horror film, horror anthology film composed of three episodes of the six-part ITV Wales & West, Harlech Television and TVOntario, The Ontario Educational Communications Authority co-produced ...

'' as Mr. Santander (segment: ''The Island'') * '' Silver Bears'' (1978) as Charles Cook * ''

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Joan, Countess of Kent. R ...

'' (1978) as Duke of York * '' The Legacy'' (1978) as Karl Liebnecht * '' The Mirror Crack'd'' (1980) as Bates, The Butler * ''

Ticket to Heaven ''Ticket to Heaven'' is a 1981 Canadian drama (film and television), drama film directed by Ralph L. Thomas and starring Nick Mancuso, Saul Rubinek, Meg Foster, Kim Cattrall, and R.H. Thomson. The plot concerns the recruiting of a man into a group ...

'' (1981) as Musician * '' Shock Treatment'' (1981) as Judge Oliver Wright * '' Charles & Diana: A Royal Love Story'' (1982) as John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer * '' The Jigsaw Man'' (1983) as Sir James Chorley * ''The Gourmet'' (1984) as Manley Kingston *Bergerac (1985) Bart Bellow * ' (1990) as Satan * ''Firestar: First Contact'' (1991) as Commodore Vandross * ''The Beano Video'' (1993) as Narrator #4 (voice) * '' The Tichborne Claimant'' (1998) as Arundell

Explanatory notes

References

External links

*
Obituary in ''The Guardian''
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Charles 1928 births 2000 deaths Deaths from cancer in England English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors English male musical theatre actors People educated at Bournemouth School Male actors from Bournemouth 20th-century English male actors