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Alan Leonard Hunt (7 February 1942 – 14 March 2007), known as Gareth Hunt, was a British television actor best remembered for playing footman Frederick Norton in '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' and Mike Gambit in '' The New Avengers''.


Early life

Alan Leonard Hunt was born in
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, London, in 1942. His father was killed in 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 ...
when he was two years old, and he was brought up by his mother, Doris, and his stepfather. At the age of 15, he joined the Merchant Navy. After six years, he jumped ship in
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 ...
and worked in a car plant for a year before he was caught and served three months in a military prison. Hunt was then deported back to Britain, and while taking a
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 ...
design course he held a variety of jobs, including
stagehand A stagehand is a person who works backstage or behind the scenes in theatres, film, television, or location performance. Their work includes setting up the scenery, lights, sound, props, rigging, and special effects for a production. General ...
, road digger, butcher's assistant and door-to-door salesman. Having had an interest in acting since his early years, he subsequently trained at the
Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art The Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, formerly the Webber Douglas School of Singing and Dramatic Art, was a drama school, and originally a singing school, in London. It was one of the leading drama schools in Britain, and offered comprehen ...
. Following that, he did rep across the United Kingdom and joined 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 ...
and National Theatre in the early 1970s. Among the many stage productions he appeared in were ''
Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night, or What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Viola an ...
'', ''
Oh! What a Lovely War ''Oh! What a Lovely War'' is a 1969 British epic comedy historical musical war film directed by Richard Attenborough (in his directorial debut), with an ensemble cast, including Maggie Smith, Dirk Bogarde, John Gielgud, John Mills, Kenneth Mo ...
'' and ''
West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...
''.


Career

Hunt began his television career in 1968, playing Private Kitson in one episode of the UK series ''Frontier''. In 1972, he played a policeman in '' For the Love of Ada'', the same year he appeared in ''
A Family at War ''A Family at War'' is a British drama series that aired on ITV from 14 April 1970 to 16 February 1972. It was created by John Finch and made by Granada Television for ITV. The original producer was Richard Doubleday, and with 13 directors dur ...
'' and '' The Organisation''. In 1974, he had roles in the ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
'' story '' Planet of the Spiders'' and '' Bless This House'', and the following year played Thomas Woolner in '' The Love School''. In 1974, Hunt appeared in the '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' episode " Missing Believed Killed" as Trooper Norton,
batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
to James Bellamy. The character was a minor one; however, his performance led producers John Hawkesworth and Alfred Shaughnessy to ask him to come back as a regular for the fifth series in 1975. Hunt continued playing Frederick Norton, who had by now become the
footman A footman is a male domestic worker employed mainly to wait at table or attend a coach or carriage. Etymology Originally in the 14th century a footman denoted a soldier or any pedestrian, later it indicated a foot servant. A running footman deli ...
, until the eleventh episode of the fifth series, "
Alberto Alberto is the Romance languages, Romance version of the Latinized form (''Albertus'') of Germanic languages, Germanic ''Albert (given name), Albert''. It is used in Italian language, Italian, Portuguese language, Portuguese and Spanish language, ...
". In 1975, he made appearances in '' The Hanged Man'', '' Softly, Softly'' and '' Space: 1999''. In 1976, the year after leaving ''Upstairs, Downstairs'', Hunt starred alongside
Joanna Lumley Dame Joanna Lamond Lumley (born 1 May 1946) is an Indian-born British actress, presenter, author, television producer, activist and former model. She has won two BAFTA TV Awards for her role as Patsy Stone in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulo ...
and
Patrick Macnee Daniel Patrick Macnee (6 February 1922 – 25 June 2015) was a British-American actor best known for his breakthrough role as secret agent John Steed in the television series ''The Avengers (TV series), The Avengers'' (1961–1969). Starting out ...
in '' The New Avengers''. The show's producers said Hunt was cast because of his part in ''Upstairs, Downstairs''. He played secret agent Mike Gambit and starred in the show until its end after two series in December 1977. In 1979 he appeared in the films '' Licensed to Love and Kill'', in which he portrayed secret agent Charles Bind, and '' The World Is Full of Married Men''. During the late 1970s and 1980s Hunt made appearances in ''Sunday Night Thriller'', ''
Minder A minder is the person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e. a person who " minds". Government-appointed persons to accompany foreign visitors are of ...
'' and '' Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense''. He appeared alongside Julia McKenzie in ''That Beryl Marston...!'' in 1981, and also in the films '' Funny Money'' (1983) and '' Bloodbath at the House of Death'' (1984) as well as the children's film '' Gabrielle and the Doodleman''. In 1988 he played many parts in the
Pet Shop Boys Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and were listed as the most successful duo in UK music h ...
' film '' It Couldn't Happen Here''. Hunt starred in a series of television adverts for the
instant coffee Instant coffee is a beverage derived from brewed coffee beans that enables people to quickly prepare hot coffee by adding hot water or milk to coffee solids in powdered or crystallized form and stirring. The product was first invented in Inver ...
brand
Nescafé Nescafé is a brand of instant coffee sold by the multinational food and drink corporation Nestlé. It comes in many different forms. The name is a portmanteau of the words "Nestlé" and "café". Nestlé first introduced their flagship coffee br ...
in the 1980s, with a trademark move: to shake his closed hand then open it, to reveal coffee beans, and smell the aroma. He also starred in a Territorial Army recruitment film titled ''One of Us'', set in the early 1980s. In it, he plays a Corporal Barrett; the story concerns a small anti-tank platoon from the 3rd Battalion (V) Royal Regiment of Wales going to Germany on exercises. The unit in question was located in the village of Pentre, Rhondda Fawr, South Wales. Like many other TA units it no longer exists. From 1992 to 1993 Hunt had a leading role in the sitcom '' Side by Side''. Hunt continued to have minor roles in many television programmes in the 1990s and 2000s, with appearances in ''
The New Adventures of Robin Hood ''The New Adventures of Robin Hood'' is an action adventure television series that premiered on January 13, 1997, on TNT. The show was based on the legend of Robin Hood, the English folk hero, and was filmed in Vilnius, Lithuania. It was produc ...
'', '' Harry and the Wrinklies'', '' Absolute Power'' (as himself), ''
New Tricks ''New Tricks'' is a British television police procedural comedy drama, created by Nigel McCrery and Roy Mitchell, produced primarily by Wall to Wall (until its final year, when it was handled by Headstrong Pictures), and broadcast on BBC On ...
'', '' Sooty & Co.'', '' Powers'' and ''
Doctors Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...
''. He appeared in the TV movie ''The Incredible Adventures of Marco Polo'' and the films ''
Fierce Creatures ''Fierce Creatures'' is a 1997 farcical comedy film. While not literally a sequel, ''Fierce Creatures'' is a spiritual successor to the 1988 film '' A Fish Called Wanda''. Both films star John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline and Michae ...
'' (1997), '' Parting Shots'' (1998) and '' The Riddle'' (2007), and in 2001 played Ritchie Stringer, a crime boss who was an unlikely suspect in the shooting of Phil Mitchell, in ''
EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...
''. He had a main role in the short-lived soap opera '' Night and Day'' in 2001. For a brief time he abandoned acting and started a project called Interactive Casting Universal, a computer system that presented actors' details and showreels. Hunt suffered a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
in December 1999, and withdrew from a
pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...
in Malvern. In July 2002, he collapsed while performing on stage in
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.


Death

Hunt died of
pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...
, from which he had suffered for two years, on 14 March 2007 at the age of 65, at his home in Redhill,
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. He was married three times and had a son by each marriage. His last wife, Amanda, is the mother of his youngest son, Jason.


Partial filmography

*'' For the Love of Ada'' (1972) - Policeman *'' The World Is Full of Married Men'' (1979) - Jay Grossman *'' Licensed to Love and Kill'' (1979) - Charles Bind *'' Funny Money'' (1983) - Keith Banks *'' Bloodbath at the House of Death'' (1984) - Elliot Broome *'' Gabrielle and the Doodleman'' (1984) - Mike / King / Baron Hardup *'' It Couldn't Happen Here'' (1987) - Uncle Dredge / postcard seller / ventriloquist *'' A Chorus of Disapproval'' (1989) - Ian Hubbard *''
The Lady and the Highwayman ''The Lady and the Highwayman'' is a 1989 United Kingdom romantic adventure television film based on Barbara Cartland's 1952 romance novel ''Cupid Rides Pillion''. The working title of the film was ''Dangerous Love''. The film stars Hugh Gr ...
'' (1989) - Coachman *'' Riders'' (1993) - Sports commentator *''
Fierce Creatures ''Fierce Creatures'' is a 1997 farcical comedy film. While not literally a sequel, ''Fierce Creatures'' is a spiritual successor to the 1988 film '' A Fish Called Wanda''. Both films star John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline and Michae ...
'' (1997) - Inspector Masefield *''The Incredible Adventures of Marco Polo'' (1998) - Grand Master *'' Parting Shots'' (1998) - Inspector Bass *'' The Riddle'' (2007) - Roy McBride (final film role) *''
EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...
'' (2001) - Ritchie Stringer - 2 episodes


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Gareth 1942 births 2007 deaths Alumni of the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts Alumni of the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art Deaths from pancreatic cancer in England British Merchant Navy personnel English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors People from Battersea Royal Shakespeare Company members