John Turner (born 7 July 1932) is a British television and film actor.

Career

One of Turner's most recognisable roles was that of

Roderick Spode Roderick Spode, 7th Earl of Sidcup, often known as Spode or Lord Sidcup, is a recurring fictional character in the Jeeves novels of English comic writer P. G. Wodehouse. In the first novel in which he appears, he is an "amateur dictator" and the ...

(6 episodes, 1991–1993) in the ITV television series ''

Jeeves and Wooster ''Jeeves and Wooster'' is a British comedy television series adapted by Clive Exton from P. G. Wodehouse's "Jeeves" stories. It aired on the ITV network from 22 April 1990 to 20 June 1993, with the last series nominated for a British Aca ...

'', based on the

P. G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse ( ; 15 October 1881 – 14 February 1975) was an English writer and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Je ...

novels. He had performed the same role earlier in his career at

Her Majesty's Theatre His Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated in the Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The building, designed by Charles J. Phipps, was constructed in 1897 for the actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who ...

, London in

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 theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...

's musical flop ''

Jeeves Jeeves (born Reginald Jeeves, nicknamed Reggie) is a fictional character in a series of comedic short stories and novels by English author P. G. Wodehouse. Jeeves is the highly competent valet of a wealthy and idle young Londoner named Bertie W ...

''. At the

Prince Edward Theatre The Prince Edward Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Old Compton Street, just north of Leicester Square, in the City of Westminster, London. History The theatre was designed in 1930 by Edward A. Stone, with an interior designed by Mar ...

he performed in the role of

Juan Perón Juan Domingo Perón (, , ; 8 October 1895 – 1 July 1974) was an Argentine military officer and Statesman (politician), statesman who served as the History of Argentina (1946-1955), 29th president of Argentina from 1946 to Revolución Libertad ...

in the

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

show ''Evita''. He later returned to the West End playing Molokov in

Tim Rice Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English songwriter. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ''Jesus C ...

’s ''Chess''. He also portrayed Charlemagne in the original West End cast of ''Pippin'' at His Majesty's Theatre. Turner made his television debut in 1957, playing a

hillbilly ''Hillbilly'' is a term historically used for White people who dwell in rural area, rural, mountainous areas in the United States, primarily in the Appalachian region and Ozarks. As people migrated out of the region during the Great Depression, ...

in ''Operation Fracture''. In 1963 he appeared in 5/13 episodes of '' The Sentimental Agent'' as Bill Randall and in four episodes replaced the lead character played by Carlos Thompson. In a career that lasted more than 40 years, he also appeared in 36 episodes of ''Knight Errant Limited'' as Adam Knight (1959–1960), as well as in episodes of ''

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 and CID detectives in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by ...

'' (1967), '' The Saint'' (1968), ''

The Champions ''The Champions'' is a British espionage thriller/science fiction/occult detective fiction adventure television series. It was produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company, and consists of 30 episodes broadcast in the UK on ...

'' (1968), ''

Fall of Eagles Autumn, also known as fall (especially in US & Canada), is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March (Southern Hemisphere ...

'' (1974), the TV mini series ''

Lorna Doone ''Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor'' is a novel by R. D. Blackmore, first published in three volumes in London in 1869. It is a romance based on a group of historical characters and set in the late 17th century in Devon and Somerset, particu ...

'' (1976), '' Heartbeat'' (1992), '' The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones'' (1999) and ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...

'' (2000). Film roles include John in '' Behemoth the Sea Monster'' (1959), Lieutenant Pattinson in '' Petticoat Pirates'' (1961), Sir Richard Fordyke in ''

The Black Torment ''The Black Torment'' (a.k.a. ''Estate of Insanity'') is a 1964 British gothic horror film directed by Robert Hartford-Davis and starring John Turner, Heather Sears and Ann Lynn. It was scripted by brothers Donald and Derek Ford. Plot The ...

'' (1964), Joab in '' Captain Nemo and the Underwater City'' (1969), The Major-domo in ''

The Slipper and the Rose ''The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella'' is a 1976 British musical retelling the classic fairy tale of Cinderella. The film was chosen as the Royal Command Performance motion picture selection for 1976. Directed by Bryan Forbes, th ...

'' (1976), the Afrikaner Minister in '' The Power of One'' (1992), '' Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny'' (1996) and Lord Lot in ''

Merlin The Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) is an interferometer array of radio telescopes spread across England. The array is run from Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire by the University of Manchester on behalf of UK Re ...

'' (1998).

Selected filmography

* '' Nowhere to Go'' (1958) * '' The Giant Behemoth'' (1959) * '' Petticoat Pirates'' (1961) * ''

'' (1964) * '' Captain Nemo and the Underwater City'' (1969) * ''

'' (1976) * '' The Power of One'' (1992) * '' Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny'' (1996) * ''

'' (1998)

References

External links

* 1932 births Living people English male television actors English male film actors People educated at Nottingham High Pavement Grammar School {{UK-tv-actor-1930s-stub