John Henry George Forgeham (14 May 1941 – 10 March 2017) was an English actor known for his television work, notably the role of businessman Frank Laslett in the
ITV series ''
Footballers' Wives
''Footballers' Wives'' is a British television drama about fictional Premier League football club Earls Park F.C., its players, and their wives, broadcast on ITV from 2002 to 2006. The show initially focuses on three very different couples, bu ...
''.
Born in
Kidderminster
Kidderminster is a large market and historic minster town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester. Located north of the River Stour and east of the River Severn, in the 2011 census, it h ...
, Worcestershire, Forgeham moved to
Erdington
Erdington is a suburb and ward of Birmingham in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Warwickshire and located northeast of central Birmingham, bordering Sutton Coldfield. It was also a council constituency, managed by its o ...
, Birmingham as a child,
[John Forgeham obituary]
''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide ...
'', 13 March 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2017. and trained 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) on a two-year scholarship (1962–1964) and graduated with a RADA Silver medal for Best Performance student. He was a member of the
Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) (from 1966 until 1972) and toured with the company both nationally and internationally. Whilst on tour in Australia he decided to stay longer than anticipated and founded the Globe Shakespeare Theatre in Sydney.
[
His many TV credits include: '' The Avengers'', '']Z-Cars
''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it debut ...
'', '' The Stone Tape'', '' Crossroads'' (as Jim Baines) ''The Sweeney
''The Sweeney'' is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London. It stars John Thaw as Detective ...
'', ''Ivanhoe
''Ivanhoe: A Romance'' () by Walter Scott is a historical novel published in three volumes, in 1819, as one of the Waverley novels. Set in England in the Middle Ages, this novel marked a shift away from Scott’s prior practice of setting st ...
'', ''Beau Geste
''Beau Geste'' is an adventure novel by British writer P. C. Wren, which details the adventures of three English brothers who enlist separately in the French Foreign Legion following the theft of a valuable jewel from the country house of a re ...
'', ''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 ...
'', '' The Professionals'', ''Shoestring
Shoelaces, also called shoestrings (US English) or bootlaces (UK English), are a system commonly used to secure shoes, boots, and other footwear. They typically consist of a pair of strings or cords, one for each shoe, finished off at both e ...
'', ''Juliet Bravo
''Juliet Bravo'' is a British television police procedural drama series, first broadcast on 30 August 1980, that ran for six series and a total of 88 episodes on BBC1. The theme of the series concerned a female police inspector who took over c ...
'', '' C.A.T.S. Eyes'', '' Give Us a Break'', ''Lovejoy
''Lovejoy'' is a British television comedy-drama mystery series, based on the novels by John Grant under the pen name Jonathan Gash. The show, which ran to 71 episodes over six series, was originally broadcast on BBC1 between 10 January 19 ...
'', '' Bergerac'', ''The Governor
A governor is an official, usually acting as the executive of a non-sovereign level of government.
Governor may also refer to:
Leadership
* Governor (China), the head of government of a province
* Governor (Japan), the highest ranking executive ...
'', ''Pulaski
Pulaski may refer to:
Places
* Pulaski Heights, a section of the city of Little Rock, Arkansas
* Pulaski Shoal, an underwater landform west of the Florida Keys
* Pulaski, Georgia, a town
* Pulaski Square, one of the "Squares of Savannah" in t ...
'', ''Making Out
Making out is a term of American origin dating back to at least 1949, and is used to refer to kissing, including extended French kissing or heavy kissing of the neck (called ''necking''), or to acts of non-penetrative sex such as heavy pet ...
'', ''Nice Work'', ''Prime Suspect
''Prime Suspect'' is a British police procedural television drama series devised by Lynda La Plante. It stars Helen Mirren as Jane Tennison, one of the first female Detective Chief Inspectors in Greater London's Metropolitan Police Service, ...
'', '' London's Burning'', '' Casualty'', ''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 ...
'' and '' Doctors''.
Film appearances include: ''The Italian Job
''The Italian Job'' is a 1969 British comedy caper film, written by Troy Kennedy Martin, produced by Michael Deeley, directed by Peter Collinson, and starring Michael Caine. The film's plot centres around Cockney criminal Charlie Croker, r ...
'' (1969), '' Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall'' (1973), '' Spy Story'' (1976), '' Sheena'' (1984), ''Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
'' (1984), ''The Laughter of God'' (1990), '' King of the Wind'' (1990), ''The Young Americans
The Young Americans is a non-profit organization and performing group based in Southern California. First founded in 1962 by Milton C. Anderson, the group was credited with being the first show choir in America, mixing choreography with choral s ...
'' (1993), ''Staggered
Stagger or staggered may refer to:
* Stagger (aeronautics), the horizontal positioning of a plane's wings
*Stagger, a motorsport term for the difference in size between right and left tires
* ''Stagger'' (EP), by Poppy, 2022
* ''Staggered'' (f ...
'' (1994), ''The Road to Ithaca'' (1999), ''Kiss of the Dragon
''Kiss of the Dragon'' (''Le Baiser mortel du dragon'' in French) is a 2001 French-American action film directed by Chris Nahon, written and produced by French filmmaker Luc Besson, and starring an international cast of Jet Li, Bridget Fonda, and ...
'' (2001), ''Mean Machine'' (2001), ''Torture Room
''Torture Room'' (also known as ''Pledge of Allegiance'' ) is a 2007 American political horror thriller film written and directed by Eric Forsberg. A direct-to-video release, it stars Lena Bookall as Anoush Karagozian, a woman whose suspected tie ...
'' (2007) and '' Dead Man Running'' (2009).
In 2004 he appeared in the second series of the ITV weight loss show, '' Celebrity Fit Club.'' He replaced Freddie Starr as team captain, but was demoted five weeks later, the role being taken by James Whitaker.
Forgeham died suddenly from internal bleeding
Internal bleeding (also called internal hemorrhage) is a loss of blood from a blood vessel that collects inside the body. Internal bleeding is usually not visible from the outside. It is a serious medical emergency but the extent of severity depen ...
after breaking a collarbone
The clavicle, or collarbone, is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately 6 inches (15 cm) long that serves as a strut between the scapula, shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on the left and one on ...
when falling out of bed at his home in Worthing
Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and H ...
, West Sussex on 10 March 2017, aged 75.
Filmography
*''The Partner'' (1963) – Adrian Marlowe (''Edgar Wallace Mysteries
The ''Edgar Wallace Mysteries'' is a British second-feature film series mainly produced at Merton Park Studios for Anglo-Amalgamated. There were 48 films in the series, which were released between 1960 and 1965. The series was screened as ''The ...
'')
*''The Italian Job
''The Italian Job'' is a 1969 British comedy caper film, written by Troy Kennedy Martin, produced by Michael Deeley, directed by Peter Collinson, and starring Michael Caine. The film's plot centres around Cockney criminal Charlie Croker, r ...
'' (1969) – Frank
*'' Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall'' (1973) – Wally
*'' One Hour to Zero'' (1976) – Sam Rogers
*'' Spy Story'' (1976) – Security Guard
*''Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...
'' (1977) – Captain Bolvan (Imperial Officer) (uncredited)
*''Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
'' (1984) – Officer Moljek
*'' Sheena'' (1984) – Jorgensen
*''The Inquiry
The Inquiry was a study group established in September 1917 by Woodrow Wilson to prepare materials for the peace negotiations following World War I. The group, composed of around 150 academics, was directed by the presidential adviser Edward Hou ...
'' (1986) – Marco
*'' King of the Wind'' (1990) – Blacksmith
*''The Young Americans
The Young Americans is a non-profit organization and performing group based in Southern California. First founded in 1962 by Milton C. Anderson, the group was credited with being the first show choir in America, mixing choreography with choral s ...
'' (1993) – Detective Gray
*''Staggered
Stagger or staggered may refer to:
* Stagger (aeronautics), the horizontal positioning of a plane's wings
*Stagger, a motorsport term for the difference in size between right and left tires
* ''Stagger'' (EP), by Poppy, 2022
* ''Staggered'' (f ...
'' (1994) – Inspector Lubbock
*'' Remember Me?'' (1997) – Police inspector
*''The Road to Ithaca'' (1999) – Kemal Ahmed
*''Kiss of the Dragon
''Kiss of the Dragon'' (''Le Baiser mortel du dragon'' in French) is a 2001 French-American action film directed by Chris Nahon, written and produced by French filmmaker Luc Besson, and starring an international cast of Jet Li, Bridget Fonda, and ...
'' (2001) – Max
*'' Mean Machine'' (2001) – Charlie Sykes
*''Torture Room
''Torture Room'' (also known as ''Pledge of Allegiance'' ) is a 2007 American political horror thriller film written and directed by Eric Forsberg. A direct-to-video release, it stars Lena Bookall as Anoush Karagozian, a woman whose suspected tie ...
'' (2007) – Mr. Green
*'' Dead Man Running'' (2009) – Terry Biggs
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forgeham, John
1941 births
2017 deaths
English male film actors
English male television actors
Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
People from Kidderminster
Male actors from Worcestershire
20th-century English male actors
21st-century English male actors
Accidental deaths from falls