Jeremy Mahony Sinden (14 June 1950 – 29 May 1996) was an English actor who specialised in playing eccentric military men and overgrown schoolboys.Times Obituary 31 May 1996

Early life

Sinden was born on 14 June 1950 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

into a theatrical family; both his parents were actors. His father was Sir Donald Sinden and his mother was Diana Mahony. He was educated at Edgeborough and

Lancing College Lancing College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school) for pupils aged 13–18 in southern England, UK. The school is located in West S ...

Career

Theatre

Sinden went to the

Pitlochry Pitlochry (; or ) is a town in the Perth and Kinross council area of Scotland, lying on the River Tummel. It is historically in the county of Perthshire, and has a population of 2,776, according to the 2011 census.Scotland's 2011 census. (n.p. ...

Festival Theatre to train as an assistant stage manager and then spent two seasons in

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon (district), Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of Engl ...

with 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 ...

in 1970-71, also as an assistant stage manager and understudied 45 parts. He appeared in

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 ...

and rep in

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

Farnham Farnham is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a tributary of the ...

Leatherhead Leatherhead is a town in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England, about south of Central London. The settlement grew up beside a ford on the River Mole, from which its name is thought to derive. During the late Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon ...

and Windsor and he spent one season at the

Chichester Festival Theatre Chichester Festival Theatre is a theatre and Grade II* listed building situated in Oaklands Park in the city of Chichester, West Sussex, England. Designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, it was opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Mart ...

. He then decided to enrol at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) where he spent three years and won the Forsyth Award. Whilst still at drama school he made his West End stage acting début in 1972 at the

Cambridge Theatre The Cambridge Theatre is a West End theatre, on a corner site in Earlham Street facing Seven Dials, London, Seven Dials, in the London Borough of Camden, built in 1929–30 for Bertie Meyer on an "irregular triangular site". Design and const ...

as Private Broughton in R. C. Sherriff's '' Journey's End'' and then returned to the

and appeared in four plays there. Jeremy played 'Baloo' the bear in a 1984 West End production of

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...

The Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' is an 1894 collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, who ...

, at the Adelphi Theatre, a production that also featured

Fenella Fielding Fenella Fielding (born Fenella Marion Feldman; 17 November 1927 – 11 September 2018) was an English stage, film and television actress who rose to prominence in the 1950s and 1960s, and was often referred to as "England's first lady of t ...

as Kaa the Python. In 1994 he appeared at the

Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

as Major Swindon in Shaw's '' The Devil's Disciple'' and his last performance was also for the National the following year at the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

playing

Toad Toad (also known as a hoptoad) is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. In popular culture (folk taxonomy ...

Alan Bennett Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. He has received numerous awards and honours including four BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and two Tony Awards. In 2005 he received the Socie ...

's adaptation of ''

The Wind in the Willows ''The Wind in the Willows'' is a children's novel by the British novelist Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. It details the story of Mole, Ratty, and Badger as they try to help Mr. Toad, after he becomes obsessed with motorcars and get ...

''. ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' reviewer described his performance as "a nice smug Toad, who wears everything down to his convict's arrows like a model on a Paris catwalk."

Film

Sinden made his film debut as rebel fighter pilot "Gold Two" in ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

'' (1977). His character was later identified as Dex Tiree in the 2015 reference book, ''Ultimate Star Wars''. He appeared in such films as '' Rosie Dixon – Night Nurse'' (1978); ''

Chariots of Fire ''Chariots of Fire'' is a 1981 historical drama, historical Sports film, sports drama film directed by Hugh Hudson, written by Colin Welland and produced by David Puttnam. It is based on the true story of two British athletes in the 1924 Summer ...

'' (1981) playing the president of the

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) and to the works they jointly created. The two men collaborated on fourteen com ...

society; '' Ascendancy'' (1983); '' Madame Sousatzka'' (1988); '' The Object of Beauty'' (1991); '' Let Him Have It'' (1991) and '' The Innocent'' (1993).

TV

Sinden's work on television included playing Anthony Mortimer in '' Crossroads'' for two years, '' The Expert'', '' Danger UXB'', Henry Weldon in '' Have His Carcase'', 'Boy' Mulcaster in '' Brideshead Revisited'', '' The Far Pavilions'', '' Never the Twain'', '' Robin of Sherwood'', '' Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy'', ''

Middlemarch ''Middlemarch, A Study of Provincial Life'' is a novel by English author George Eliot, the pen name of Mary Ann Evans. It appeared in eight installments (volumes) in 1871 and 1872. Set in Middlemarch, a fictional English Midlands town, in 1829 ...

'', ''The House of Windsor'' and '' As Time Goes By''. His last role was as Mr Barling in '' The Famous Five'' series episode ''Five Go To Smugglers Top'', which was dedicated to him following its broadcast in 1996.

Personal life

Sinden married actress Delia Lindsay in 1978. They had two daughters. On 4 September 1968, Sinden and his brother Marc were part of the "Na-Na" chorus on "

Hey Jude "Hey Jude" is a song by the English rock music, rock band the Beatles that was released as a non-album single in August 1968. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The single was the Beatles' fir ...

", recording and filming the song with

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 ...

Twickenham Film Studios Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

.Pinchabout, Emma (6 March 2009). He can be seen directly behind Ringo in an orange shirt and tan jacket. . ''

Liverpool Daily Post The ''Liverpool Post'' was a newspaper published by Reach plc, Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. The newspaper and its website ceased publication on 19 December 2013. Until 13 January 2012 it was a daily morning newspaper, wi ...

''.

Death

In the mid 1990s Sinden developed lung cancer. This occurred at the same time as his best friend, Simon Cadell, was diagnosed with

non-Hodgkin lymphoma Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), also known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, is a group of blood cancers that includes all types of lymphomas except Hodgkin lymphomas. Symptoms include enlarged lymph nodes, fever, night sweats, weight loss, and tiredn ...

. Cadell's father, John Cadell, had been Donald Sinden's theatrical agent for more than 30 years. On 29 May 1996, twelve weeks after Cadell's death, Sinden died aged 45.''Croydon Life'', 14 June 2008

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sinden, Jeremy 1950 births 1996 deaths Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art Deaths from lung cancer in England English male film actors English male soap opera actors English male stage actors People educated at Edgeborough School People educated at The Hall School, Hampstead People educated at Lancing College Royal Shakespeare Company members Jeremy 20th-century English male actors Male actors from London