Dennis Alaba Peters (1927-1996) was a Gambian actor who worked in the United Kingdom. He is known for his portrayal of Sir Curtis Seretse in the TV series '' Department S'' (1969–70).

Early life

Dennis Alaba Peters was born in

The Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

. Peters was the son of a successful newspaper publisher Ingram Peters, and Rosemary Kezia, both from Sierra Leone. He was the youngest of five children; his siblings included Dr Lenrie Peters (1932-2009), a surgeon, poet and novelist. He studied Economics at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. Before finishing his studies, Peters left Cambridge to attend the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music school, music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz al ...

to study voice instead. His switch to Guildhall was against his father's wishes, and his family stopped supporting him. In need of employment, Peters became a BBC reporter. Upon graduation from Guildhall School of Music and Drama, he appeared in operas. He eventually concentrated entirely on acting. He was active during the 1960s and early 1970s.

Sir Curtis Seretse

Little background information describes the character of Sir Curtis Seretse in the '' Department S'' television series. The character heads Department S of Interpol and team leader Stewart Sullivan reports directly to him. The show left his role in Interpol undefined, but his contacts include senior members of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

and the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. Sir Curtis has access to information that the Department S team does not (for instance in the episode "Last Train to Redbridge"). He has a mostly hands-off approach to managing, but can become accidentally ("Six Days") or personally involved ("The Bones of Byrom Blain", "Death on Reflection"). He may exercise authority, standing Sullivan down for becoming too emotionally involved ("A Fish Out of Water"). Casting Peters, a black African, as a sophisticated and urbane senior diplomat, was extremely uncommon in 1960s television. Though the significance of Lieutenant

Uhura Nyota Uhura (), or simply Uhura, is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise. In the Star Trek: The Original Series, original television series, the character was portrayed by Nichelle Nichols, who reprised the role for the first six L ...

, a character with a leading and central role in '' Star Trek: The Original Series'' being portrayed by an

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

actress drew much commentary, this was not the case with Sir Curtis. In a 2008 Documentary about the series,

Kate O'Mara Kate O'Mara (born Frances Meredith Carroll;Michael CoveneObituary: Kate O'Mara ''The Guardian'', 30 March 2014 10 August 1939 – 30 March 2014) was an English film, stage and television actress, and writer. O'Mara made her stage debut in a 19 ...

stated that she believed casting Peters in an authority role "did a lot for the black community in the acting world".

Death

He died in the US in 1996.

Filmography

*1964 ''Once a Spy...'' (as Police Capt) *1965 '' The Curse of Simba'' (as Saidi) *1966 ''

The Defiant Ones ''The Defiant Ones'' is a 1958 American drama film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer. The film was adapted by Harold Jacob Smith from the story by Nedrick Young, originally credited as Nathan E. Douglas. It stars Tony Curtis and Sidney ...

'' (as cast member) *1967 '' The White Bus'' (as Mr Wombe) *1967 ''Goodbye, Nobby Clarke'' (as Kanaro) *1968 ''Praise Marx and Pass the Ammunition'' (as Reporter) *1969–70 ''Department S'' (28 episodes, as Sir Curtis Seretse)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Peters, Dennis Alaba 1927 births 1996 deaths 20th-century British male actors British male film actors British male television actors Gambian emigrants to the United Kingdom Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama