Jeffrey Richard Shankley (born 17 November 1947) is a British actor, singer and a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company who has had a long career as a television and stage actor particularly in the musicals of

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musica ...

for whom he originated several roles, including Munkustrap in the original London production of ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

'' at the New London Theatre in London in 1981 and Greaseball in '' Starlight Express'' at the Apollo Victoria Theatre in 1984.

Early life

Jeff Shankley was born in London in 1947, the son of Louisa Mary ''née'' Bundy (1922–1991) and Frederick John Shankley (1920–2006). He trained from 1966 to 1968 at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Sena ...

(RADA), where he won a silver medal for acting, and prizes for diction and expressiveness in movement.

Television

His first television role was as Sydney in an episode of ''

No Hiding Place ''No Hiding Place'' is a British television series that was produced at Wembley Studios by Associated-Rediffusion for the ITV network between 16 September 1959 and 22 June 1967. It was the sequel to the series ''Murder Bag'' (1957–1958) ...

'' in 1963. His other appearances include Alec Law/Tom/Walker/George Ward in ''

Dixon of Dock Green ''Dixon of Dock Green'' was 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 19 ...

'' (1963–1966); Lionel in ''

ITV Play of the Week ''Play of the Week'' is a 90-minute British television anthology series produced by a variety of companies including Granada Television, Associated-Rediffusion, ATV and Anglia Television. Synopsis From 1955 to 1967 approximately 500 episodes a ...

'' (1964); Peter in ''

Our Man at St. Mark's ''Our Man at St. Mark's'' is a British comedy television series which originally aired on ITV between 1963 and 1966. Today the series is largely lost, with only four out of forty six episodes remaining in the archives. It focuses on the parish o ...

'' (1964); Peter in ''The Barnstormers'' (1964); Ken in ''You and the World'' (1965); 1st Soldier/Devil/Third Shepherd in ''Mysteries and Miracles'' (1965); Cox in '' Redcap'' (1965); Apprentice in ''Let's Go Out'' (1966); Private Boakes in '' A Family at War'' (1971); Jimmy Dunn in '' The Expert'' (1971); Mark in '' ITV Sunday Night Theatre'' (1971); Clive Savage in '' Beryl's Lot'' (1974); Captain Bidet in ''

T-Bag ''T-Bag'' is a British television series about the eponymous witch-like character and her assistant, T-Shirt. The series ran from 1985 to 1992 on '' Children's ITV''. Written by Grant Cathro and Lee Pressman, each series adopted a different ti ...

'' (1992); Barry from the Shop in '' Sean's Show'' (1992–1993); Gerry Summers in '' Love Hurts'' (1994); Jeff Brodie in '' Peak Practice'' (1995); Chief Superintendent Spencer/Dan Paley in ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused on ...

'' (1994–1998), Des in '' Playing the Field'' (2000); Boss in ''

My Family ''My Family'' is a British sitcom created and initially co-written by Fred Barron, which was produced by DLT Entertainment and Rude Boy Productions, and broadcast by BBC One for eleven series between 2000 and 2011, with Christmas specials broa ...

'' (2000), and Uriah Rhodes/Harry Irwin in '' Holby City'' (2009).

Theatre roles

A baritone, his theatre credits include Pilate in ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

'' at the Palace Theatre in London (1972); Eric Birling in '' An Inspector Calls'' at the

Alexandra Theatre Alexandra Theatre may refer to: * Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham, a theatre in Birmingham, England, now the New Alexandra Theatre * Alexandra Theatre, Bognor Regis, a theatre in the British town of Bognor Regis * Alexandra Theatre, London, a theat ...

, Birmingham and the

Grand Theatre, Swansea Swansea Grand Theatre is a performing arts venue in the centre of Swansea, Wales. The theatre stages plays, pantomimes and touring theatrical acts visiting Swansea. Swansea Grand Theatre was the base for the UK's only Russian ballet company ...

(1974);

Frank-N-Furter ''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to the science fiction and horror B movies of the 1930s through to the early 1960s, the musical tells the story of a newly engaged couple ...

in a German production of ''

The Rocky Horror Show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to the Science fiction film, science fiction and Horror film, horror B movies of the 1930s through to the early 1960s, the ...

'' in 1980, and Necheave in ''The Revolutionary'' at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal ...

. Puck in ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict ...

'', Don John in ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...

'' and Laertes in ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depi ...

'' at The New Shakespeare Company. For the

Birmingham Repertory Company Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theat ...

in 1969 he appeared in '' Waiting for Godot'', '' Toad of Toad Hall'' and ''Quick, Quick, Slow'' and was Prince Hal in ''

Henry IV, Part 1 ''Henry IV, Part 1'' (often written as ''1 Henry IV'') is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. The play dramatises part of the reign of King Henry IV of England, beginning with the battle at ...

'' and Fred in '' Saved''. In 1980 he returned to the company to play Victor Prynne in '' Private Lives''. His

West End West End most commonly refers to: * West End of London, an area of central London, England * West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England West End may also refer to: Pl ...

credits include Frank Schultz in ''

Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 Show Boat (novel), novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the pe ...

'', Jed in '' West of Suez'',

Pontius Pilate Pontius Pilate (; grc-gre, Πόντιος Πιλᾶτος, ) was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official who presided over the trial of ...

in ''

'', Al in ''

A Chorus Line ''A Chorus Line'' is a 1975 musical with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and a book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante. Set on the bare stage of a Broadway theater, the musical is centered on seventeen Broadway dan ...

'' and Endicott in '' Windy City''. He originated the roles of Munkustrap in ''

'' at the New London Theatre in London (1981), Greaseball in '' Starlight Express'' at the Apollo Victoria Theatre (1984), Lord Melchisedic The Time Lord in ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...

'' at the Dominion Theatre (1986), and Lorry Driver/Bruce Tick/Motorcyclist in Alan Ayckbourn's '' The Revengers' Comedies'' at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough (1989) and at the Strand Theatre in London in 1991. Alan Ayckbourn
''Alan Ayckbourn Plays 4''
Faber and Faber (2011) – Google Books He was Gary Strong in ''Radio Times'' at the Queen's Theatre in London with Tony Slattery (1992), and was the Ghost of Christmas Present for the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Barbican Theatre in London in 1995.''A Christmas Carol'' – Performances
by the Royal Shakespeare Company RSC website Shankley played George in '' Spend Spend Spend'' at the

Piccadilly Theatre The Piccadilly Theatre is a West End theatre located at 16 Denman Street, behind Piccadilly Circus and adjacent to the Regent Palace Hotel, in the City of Westminster, London, England. Early years Built by Bertie Crewe and Edward A. Stone ...

(1999); Gus/Growltiger in ''

'' in Germany in 2002; Sir Henry Baskerville in '' The Hound of the Baskervilles'' at the

Nottingham Playhouse Nottingham Playhouse is a theatre in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England. It was first established as a repertory theatre in 1948 when it operated from a former cinema in Goldsmith Street. Directors during this period included Val May and F ...

(2004), while in 2005–2006 and 2016 he played Pop in '' We Will Rock You'' at the Dominion Theatre. 2008 saw him playing John Wilkes/Dr Meade in the musical '' Gone With the Wind'' at the New London Theatre.Shankley's Profile
on Spotlight

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shankley, Jeff 1947 births People from Stepney Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art English male musical theatre actors English male stage actors English male television actors English male film actors Royal Shakespeare Company members Living people