Donald Gray (born Eldred Owermann Tidbury, 3 March 1914 – 7 April 1978) was a South African actor, well known for his starring role in the British TV series '' Mark Saber'', for providing the voices of Colonel White, Captain Black and the

Mysteron The Mysterons are a fictional race of extraterrestrials and the antagonists in the 1960s British Supermarionation television series ''Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons'' (1967–68) and its 2005 animated remake, ''New Captain Scarlet''. The ...

s in ''

Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons ''Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons'', often shortened to ''Captain Scarlet'', is a British science fiction television series created by Gerry Anderson, Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company AP Films#Century 21, Centu ...

'', and for being the reason that Donald Marshall Gray changed his name to Charles Gray when he became an actor. Perhaps not coincidentally, in some spin-off media Colonel White's real name is stated to be Charles Grey.

Life and career

Early years

Gray was born on an ostrich farm in Cape Province, South Africa.

Early life

In 1933, film company

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

wanted to re-juvenate and diversify its contract players, and launched a competition known as the "Search for Beauty"; heats took place in nations across the English-speaking world. Eldred Tidbury entered in his native South Africa and was selected with Lucille du Toit, a dental nurse from

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

, as one of the winners. Colin Tapley, who would later appear opposite Gray in the TV series '' Mark Saber'', was the

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

male winner. In total, there were 30 finalists worldwide, who were screen-tested over six weeks at the end of 1933. Of the 30,

bit player In acting, a bit part is a role in which there is direct interaction with the principal actors and no more than five lines of dialogue, often referred to as a five-or-less or under-five in the United States, or under sixes in British television, ...

contracts were awarded to 10, and Tidbury was selected as the overall male winner with a bonus of

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

1,000, with which he bought a car. The overall female winner was Scottish actress Gwenllian Gill, who later followed Tidbury to

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

and became engaged to him; however, their engagement was broken off 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 ...

. All the winners appeared in the 1933 film '' Search for Beauty'', whose distribution was complicated by a ruling that it violated the

Hays Code The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as th ...

. Paramount kept Tidbury's contact during 1934, but in 1935, when his passport expired, Tidbury left; he did not wish to become an American citizen. By late 1935, he had re-appeared in Britain under the name Don Tidbury, and by the following year was calling himself Donald Gray. He became an engineering salesman selling a boiler preparation, acted in

repertory theatre A repertory theatre, also called repertory, rep, true rep or stock, which are also called producing theatres, is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom ...

, and appeared in several films for Paramount's UK subsidiary, British & Dominions Film Corporation. In 1936, he encountered director Albert Parker and was given the leading role in '' Strange Experiment'' after

James Mason James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, three Golden Globes (winning once) and two ...

quit the production. In 1938, he was chosen for a supporting role in

Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; ; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)

's film '' The Four Feathers'', and appeared in other films before returning to repertory theatre in

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in 1939 and 1940.

Military service

Initially turned down for military service owing to a

duodenal ulcer Peptic ulcer disease is when the inner part of the stomach's gastric mucosa (lining of the stomach), the first part of the small intestine, or sometimes the lower esophagus, gets damaged. An ulcer in the stomach is called a gastric ulcer, while ...

, Gray later managed to enlist in the Gordon Highlanders, who had their barracks in Aberdeen, and succeeded in becoming what he called an "ordinary Jock" (having claimed some Scottish ancestry). In 1941, he was commissioned into the

King's Own Scottish Borderers The King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSBs) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. On 28 March 2006 the regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Scots, the Royal Highland Fusiliers, Royal Highland Fusiliers ...

, becoming battalion education officer at

Llanberis Llanberis () is a village, community (Wales), community and electoral ward in Gwynedd, northwest Wales, on the southern bank of the lake and at the foot of Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. It is a centre for outdoor activity, outdoor ac ...

North Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...

. Gray left the Army briefly to appear with Dame

Vera Lynn Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 1917 – 18 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is Honorific nicknames in popular music, honorifically known ...

in the film ''

We'll Meet Again "We'll Meet Again" is a 1939 song by English singer Vera Lynn with music and lyrics composed and written by English songwriters Ross Parker and Hughie Charles. The song is one of the most famous of the Second World War era, resonating with ...

'' (1943). In 1944, he was wounded by a German anti-tank shell in

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and his left arm was amputated.

Later life

After the war, Gray toured South Africa with his own repertory company, appeared in other films, and was contracted by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's radio repertory company. He left to appear in ''

Saturday Island ''Saturday Island'' is a 1952 British south seas adventure romance film directed by Stuart Heisler and starring Linda Darnell, Tab Hunter, and Donald Gray. The film was produced by independent company Coronado Productions with the financial ba ...

'' (1952) and then returned to the BBC, this time as a

continuity announcer In broadcasting, continuity or presentation (or station break in the U.S. and Canada) is announcements, messages and graphics played by the broadcaster between specific programmes. It typically includes programme schedules, announcement of the ...

. Gray then starred as the one-armed detective Mark Saber in the British TV series of the same name, which ran for 156 episodes from 1955 to 1961. It was originally titled ''Mark Saber'', or '' The Vise'' in the United States, but was later known as ''Saber of London'' and ''Detective's Diary''. In 1957, ''The Vise'' was renamed, redeveloped, and transferred from ABC to

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

under the new title ''Saber of London''. Following ''Mark Saber'', Gray appeared in episodes of ''

Dixon of Dock Green ''Dixon of Dock Green'' is a BBC police procedural television series about daily life at a fictional London police station, with the emphasis on petty crime, successfully controlled through common sense and human understanding. It ran from 1955 ...

'' and '' Emmerdale Farm''. In his later years, his voice, based on that of fellow South African actor

Basil Rathbone Philip St. John Basil Rathbone MC (13 June 1892 – 21 July 1967) was an Anglo-South African actor. He rose to prominence in the United Kingdom as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in more than 70 films, primarily costume drama ...

, brought him work in voice-overs, advertisements and the TV series ''

''. He died of a coronary in South Africa in 1978.

Selected filmography

* '' Search for Beauty'' (1934) – South Africa Talent Contestant (uncredited) * '' Come On, Marines!'' (1934) – Marine (uncredited) * '' Wagon Wheels'' (1934) – Chauncey (as Eldred Tidbury) * '' Father Brown, Detective'' (1934) – Don (as Eldred Tidbury) * '' Here Is My Heart'' (1934) – Young Yacht Guest (uncredited) * '' Rumba'' (1935) – Watkins (uncredited) * '' Well Done, Henry'' (1936) – Jimmy Dale * '' The Belles of St. Clements'' (1936) – Albert de Courcey (as Don Tidbury) * '' Strange Experiment'' (1937) – James Martin * '' Murder in the Family'' (1938) – Ted Fleming * '' 13 Men and a Gun'' (1938) – Johann * ''

Sword of Honour The ''Sword of Honour'' is a trilogy of novels by Evelyn Waugh which loosely parallel Waugh's experiences during the World War II, Second World War. Published by Chapman & Hall from 1952 to 1961, the novels are: Men at Arms (Waugh novel), ''M ...

'' (1939) – Stukely * '' The Four Feathers'' (1939) – Peter Burroughs * ''

'' (1943) – Bruce McIntosh * '' The Idol of Paris'' (1948) – Police Inspector * ''

'' (1952) – William Peck * '' The Diamond'' (1954) – Commander Gilles * '' Burnt Evidence'' (1954) – Jimmy Thompson * '' The End of the Affair'' (1955) – Party guest who is seen in the mirror kissing Sarah (uncredited) * ''

Timeslip ''Timeslip'' is a British children's television series, children's science fiction television series made by Associated TeleVision, ATV for the ITV (TV network), ITV network, and broadcast in 1970 and 1971. It was first shown on Monday evenings ...

'' (1955) – Robert Maitland * ''

The Quatermass Xperiment ''The Quatermass Xperiment'' (a.k.a. ''The Creeping Unknown'' in the United States) is a 1955 British science fiction horror film from Hammer Film Productions, based on the 1953 BBC Television serial '' The Quatermass Experiment'' written by ...

'' (1955) – TV Announcer (uncredited) * '' Flight from Vienna'' (1955) – Colonel George Gordon * '' The Vise / Saber in London'' – Mark Saber (TV series; 1955–1960) * '' The Secret Tent'' (1956) – Chris Martyn * ''Supersonic Saucer'' (1956) – Headmaster * ''

Satellite in the Sky ''Satellite in the Sky'' is a 1956 British CinemaScope science fiction film in Warner Color, produced by Edward J. Danziger and Harry Lee Danziger, directed by Paul Dickson, and starring Kieron Moore (Irish actor), Kieron Moore, Lois Maxwell, Do ...

'' (1956) – Capt. Ross * ''

Around the World in Eighty Days ''Around the World in Eighty Days'' () is an adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne, first published in French in 1872. In the story, Phileas Fogg of London and his newly employed French valet Passepartout attempt to circumnavigate ...

'' (1956) – Extra (uncredited) * ''Schemer'' (1956) * '' Out of the Shadow'' (1961) – Inspector Wills * ''

'' (TV series; 1967–68) – The Mysterons / Colonel White / Captain Black * ''

The Golden Bowl ''The Golden Bowl'' is a 1904 novel by Henry James. Set in England, this complex, intense study of marriage and adultery completes what some critics have called the "major phase" of James's career. ''The Golden Bowl'' explores the tangle of in ...

'' (1972, TV series) – Sir John Brinder

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Donald 1914 births 1978 deaths 20th-century South African male actors BBC newsreaders and journalists Expatriate male actors in the United Kingdom Gordon Highlanders soldiers King's Own Scottish Borderers officers Paramount Pictures contract players Radio and television announcers South African amputees South African expatriates in the United Kingdom South African expatriates in the United States South African male film actors South African male radio actors South African male soap opera actors South African male stage actors South African male television actors South African male voice actors South African military personnel of World War II South African people of Scottish descent Actors with disabilities