Michael Jeremy Thomas Clyde (born 22 March 1941) is an English actor and musician. During the 1960s, he was one-half of the folk duo Chad & Jeremy (with Chad Stuart). Their first song was the 1963 hit " Yesterday’s Gone". The duo became more successful in America than in their native country. Clyde has enjoyed a long television acting career, often playing upper-middle class or aristocratic characters.

Early life

Clyde was born in the village of Dorney in the English county of

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

and is the son of Lady Elizabeth Wellesley and her then-husband Thomas Clyde. Through his maternal line, Clyde is the great-great-great-grandson of

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (; 1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was a British Army officer and statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures in Britain during t ...

, and is a cousin of the current

Duke of Wellington Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ar ...

. In 1953, he participated in the

coronation of Queen Elizabeth II The Coronation of the British monarch, coronation of Elizabeth II as queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. Elizabeth acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon th ...

as a Page of Honour for his grandfather and carried his grandfather's

coronet In British heraldry, a coronet is a type of crown that is a mark of rank of non-reigning members of the royal family and peers. In other languages, this distinction is not made, and usually the same word for ''crown'' is used irrespective of ra ...

during the ceremony. Clyde was educated at two independent schools, Ludgrove and Eton, and then at the

University of Grenoble The (, ''Grenoble Alps University'', abbr. UGA) is a Grands établissements, ''grand établissement'' in Grenoble, France. Founded in 1339, it is the third largest university in France with about 60,000 students and over 3,000 researchers. Es ...

Television

In 1970, he played Teddy, the prospective buyer of a haunted house, in the 'Suspicious Ignorance' episode of '' Tales of Unease'', alongside Tessa Wyatt. Clyde once guest-starred in an episode of the American sitcom ''

My Three Sons ''My Three Sons'' is an American television sitcom that aired from September 29, 1960, to April 13, 1972. The series was filmed in black-and-white and broadcast on ABC during its first five seasons, before moving to CBS for the remaining seve ...

'' (season 8 episode 16, "Liverpool Saga"), when Chip Douglas is introduced to their neighbor's cousin, Paul Drayton, as a well known folk guitarist in Britain, excited that someone from

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

was coming to visit and expecting him to be a talented musician (implying the success of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

; the episode aired during the height of

Beatlemania Beatlemania was the fanaticism surrounding the English rock band the Beatles from 1963 to 1966. The group's popularity grew in the United Kingdom in late 1963, propelled by the singles " Please Please Me", "From Me to You" and " She Loves Yo ...

). He appeared in the BBC TV adaptation of ''

Moll Flanders ''Moll Flanders'' is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published in 1722. It purports to be the true account of the life of the eponymous Moll, detailing her exploits from birth until old age. By 1721, Defoe had become a recognised novelist, wit ...

'' in 1975. In 1979, he played Godfried Schalcken in the BBC's television horror story '' Schalcken the Painter''. In the late 1970s he appeared alongside Lorraine Chase in a series of television advertisements for

Campari Campari () is an Italian alcoholic liqueur, considered an aperitif, apéritif of the ''bitter'' variety (and not an amaro) by Italians while considered an apéritif of the Amaro (liqueur), amaro variety by Americans, obtained from the infusion of ...

. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of villainous Austrian Imperial Governor Hermann Gessler, in the action series ''

Crossbow A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an Elasticity (physics), elastic launching device consisting of a Bow and arrow, bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar f ...

'' (1987–1989), which incorporated Clyde's ability to convey evil in a distinctly aristocratic way. His other notable acting role was as Dick Spackman in the ITV sitcom '' Is it Legal?''. Clyde also portrayed King Charles I in the BBC series '' By the Sword Divided'' (1983–85), which depicted the English Civil War. Clyde also starred as Algernon Moncrieff in 1985 in the ''

Great Performances ''Great Performances'' is a television anthology series dedicated to the performing arts; the banner has been used to televise plays, musicals, opera, ballet, concerts, as well as occasional documentaries. It is produced by the PBS member statio ...

'' production of

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

's ''

The Importance of Being Earnest ''The Importance of Being Earnest, a Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde, the last of his four drawing-room plays, following ''Lady Windermere's Fan'' (1892), ''A Woman of No Importance'' (1893) and ''An Ideal Husban ...

'', opposite Gary Bond as Jack Worthing and Dame Wendy Hiller as Lady Bracknell. In the same year, he played the civil servant Densher in '' Blott on the Landscape''. In 2002, Clyde appeared in '' The Falklands Play'' (a BBC dramatisation of the

Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...

) as Sir Nicholas Henderson, the British ambassador to the United States at the time. In 2004, he appeared in the BBC drama series '' The Alan Clark Diaries'' as British Conservative politician Jonathan Aitken, and also appeared in the BBC drama series '' Ashes To Ashes'' as the Superintendent, which was aired in 2008.

Radio

He has also acted on the radio, portraying the gentleman thief A. J. Raffles in the BBC radio series '' Raffles'' (1985–1993). He has also portrayed Ngaio Marsh's fictional detective Inspector Roderick Alleyn.

Theatre

In 1965, Clyde appeared in a stage production of '' The Passion Flower Hotel'', a musical adaptation written by John Barry and Trevor Peacock, at the

Prince of Wales Theatre The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre in Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in London. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. The theatre ...

in London. It also featured

Jane Birkin Jane Mallory Birkin ( ; 14 December 1946 – 16 July 2023) was a British and French actress, singer, and designer. She had a prolific career as an actress, mostly in French cinema. A native of London, Birkin began her career as an actress, ...

, Francesca Annis, Pauline Collins,

Nicky Henson Nicholas Victor Leslie Henson (12 May 1945 – 15 December 2019) was a British actor. Early life Henson was born in London, the son of Harriet Martha (née Collins) and comedian Leslie Henson, a few days after VE Day, hence his middle name, Vi ...

, and Bill Kenwright. In 1969, he appeared in '' Conduct Unbecoming'' as part of the original cast, which included Paul Jones. He also travelled to the US as part of the original Broadway cast. In 2011, Clyde played Lord Halifax in ''Three Days in May'' at Trafalgar Studios in London. The play, which featured actor Warren Clarke as Prime Minister Winston Churchill, was set during May 1940, at a point in WWII when the idea of negotiating peace with Hitler was being floated around. In 2017 he played Dennis in '' The Girls'' at the Phoenix Theatre in the West End.

Other performances

He also played in'' The Iron Lady'', in (2011). Since 2018, Clyde has been performing with Peter Asher of Peter & Gordon fame.

Personal life

Clyde is the oldest of three sons born to Lady Elizabeth Clyde and Captain Thomas Clyde. Clyde is divorced from Vanessa Field, whom he married in 1970 at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City. They have two children.

Partial filmography

*'' The Dick Van Dyke Show'' ("The Redcoats Are Coming") (1965) – Freddy *'' The Patty Duke Show'' ("Patty Pits Wits, Two Brits Hits") (1965) – Nigel *''

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 ...

'' ("The Bat's Kow Tow") (1966) – himself *'' The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery'' (1966) – Monty *'' Laredo'' (“That’s Noway, Thataway“) (1966) – Newton Weeks *''

'' ("Liverpool Saga") (1967) – Paul Drayton *'' The Felony Squad'' ("Kiss Me Kill You") (1968) - Tony Sloan *'' Doctor Watson and the Darkwater Hall Mystery'' (1974) – Miles *'' The Pallisers'' (1974) – Gerard Maule * ''The Flight Fund'' (1975) - Tony *'' Silver Bears'' (1977) – Nick Topping *'' Raffles'' (1977) – Alick Carruthers *'' The Duchess of Duke Street'' ("The Patriots") (1977) – Mr Appleby *'' Sexton Blake and the Demon God'' (1978) -

Sexton Blake Sexton Blake is a fictional British detective, whose adventures captivated readers for over eight decades from 1893 to 1978. Blake featured in more than 4,000 stories by approximately 200 different authors, making him one of the most prolifica ...

*'' North Sea Hijack'' (1979) – Tipping *'' Charles & Diana: A Royal Love Story'' (1982) – Andrew Parker Bowles * Magnolia Blossom (1982) Richard Darrell *''Invitation to the Wedding'' (1983) – Teddy Barrington *'' Bergerac'' (1986) Series 5, Episode 1: “Memory Man” – Smythe *'' Bust'' (1988) Series 2, Episode 4: "Love Bait" – Hon. Marcus Creighton *'' Wilt'' (1990) – Hugh *'' Splitting Heirs'' (1993) – 14th Duke *''Kaspar Hauser'' (1993) – Lord Stanhope *'' Is It Legal?'' (1995-1996) 14 episodes - Dick Spackman *''The Moth'' (1997) – Reginald Thorman *''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British Mystery fiction, mystery television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the ''Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series created by Caroline Graham (writer), Caroline Graham. ...

'' (1999) – Bill Mitchell - Strangler’s Wood *''Bodywork'' (2001) – Boss *'' The Musketeer'' (2001) – Duke of Buckingham *'' Mangal Pandey: The Rising'' (2005) – Maj.-Gen. John Hearsey *'' The Iron Lady'' (2011) – James T *''

Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. It first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV (TV network), ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United St ...

'' (2011) – General Robertson *''Candle to Water'' (2012) – Boothy

References

External links

*
Official site of Chad Stuart & Jeremy Clyde / History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clyde, Jeremy 1941 births Actors from South Bucks District Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama English folk musicians English male singer-songwriters English singer-songwriters English male television actors Grenoble Alpes University alumni Living people Male actors from Buckinghamshire People educated at Ludgrove School People educated at Eton College