Earl Rhodes (born July 1962) is an English former television and cinema actor, who was active professionally from the mid-1970s to the late 1980s.

Acting career

Rhodes first appeared on British television at the age of 14 years old in the

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

series '' I, Claudius'' (1976), playing Emperor Augustus's grandson

Gaius Caesar Gaius Caesar (20 BC – 21 February 4 AD) was a grandson and heir to the throne of Roman emperor Augustus, alongside his younger brother Lucius Caesar. Although he was born to Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder, Julia, Augustus' only ...

. The same year he played Chief in the film '' The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea'', opposite

Sarah Miles Sarah Miles (born 31 December 1941) is a retired English actress. She is known for her roles in films '' The Servant'' (1963), '' Blowup'' (1966), '' Ryan's Daughter'' (1970), '' The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing'' (1973), '' White Mischief'' (19 ...

and

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (June 22, 1936 – September 28, 2024) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a pioneering figure in the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, moving away from the polished Nashville sound and toward a m ...

. In 1978 he played the character of 'Willi Frisch' in two episodes of the

science-fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, sp ...

television series ''

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'' in a storyline concerning

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during

World War II 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 ...

. He also had a role in '' The Medusa Touch'', starring

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his mellifluous baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s and gave a memor ...

, and appeared in the 1982 Vietnam war film '' How Sleep the Brave''. In the mid-1980s he appeared on British television in several roles. He played the character of 'Jiff' in the mini-series ''

Johnny Jarvis ''Johnny Jarvis'' is a 1983 British television drama series created and written by Nigel Williams, adapted from his novel of the same title. The series was directed by Alan Dossor and produced by Guy Slater for the BBC. The principal actors wer ...

'' (1983); appeared in the television film ''Thank You, Mrs. Clinkscales'' (1984), and played role of 'Kennard', a schoolboy in a television mini-series dramatisation of ''

Goodbye, Mr. Chips ''Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' is a novella about the life of a school teacher, Mr. Chipping, written by English writer James Hilton (novelist), James Hilton and first published by Hodder & Stoughton in October 1934. It has been adapted into two featu ...

'' (1984). He also acted in the role of 'Ben Golding' in several episodes of the medical soap opera ''

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'' (1985). In 1985 he played the biggest role of his career as 'Dudley', the schoolboy rival of

Arthur Conan Doyle's Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...

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's early years, in the cinema film ''

Young Sherlock Holmes ''Young Sherlock Holmes'' (also known with the title card name of ''Young Sherlock Holmes and the Pyramid of Fear'') is a 1985 American mystery adventure film directed by Barry Levinson and written by Chris Columbus, based on the characters ...

''. In the late 1980s he appeared in the role of 'Foxton' in the

Cambridge University 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 ...

based historical comedy television series ''

Porterhouse Blue ''Porterhouse Blue'' is a novel written by Tom Sharpe, first published in 1974. A satirical look at Cambridge life and the struggle between tradition and reform, ''Porterhouse Blue'' tells the story of Skullion, the Head Porter of Porterhouse ...

'' (1987).

Post-acting life

In the 1990s Rhodes abandoned professional acting and moved into television production as a

cameraman A camera operator, or depending on the context cameraman or camerawoman, is a professional operator of a film camera or video camera as part of a film crew. The term "cameraman" does not necessarily imply that a male is performing the task. ...

. From 2000 to 2003, Rhodes was the director of the United Kingdom Falun Gong Association. In 2002 Rhodes was arrested in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, and he was detained for questioning by the Chinese police for activities related to the

Falun Gong Falun Gong, also called Falun Dafa, is a new religious movement founded by its leader Li Hongzhi in China in the early 1990s. Falun Gong has its global headquarters in Dragon Springs, a compound in Deerpark, New York, United States, near t ...

religious movement in China. He was subsequently deported to the United Kingdom by the Chinese government.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rhodes, Earl British male television actors 1962 births Living people