Jonathan Adams (14 February 1931 – 13 June 2005) was an English television, film and theatre actor. He was also a visual artist whose works were exhibited throughout his life.

Biography

Born John Adams in

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

, he trained as an artist at Northampton Art College and

Chelsea College of Art Chelsea College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art and design university in London, England. It offers further and higher education courses in fine art, graphic design, interior design, produ ...

. He became an actor in 1959, changing his name to Jonathan Adams, but continued working as an artist. He was especially known for his surrealist cartoons and collages. His work has been exhibited at a wide range of venues including London University's Dixon Gallery, the

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London, England, and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings a ...

Northampton Museum and Art Gallery Northampton Museum and Art Gallery is a public museum in Northampton, England. The museum is owned and run by West Northamptonshire Council and houses one of the largest collection of shoes in the world, with over 15,000 pairs,South London Gallery The South London Gallery, founded 1891, is a public-funded gallery of contemporary art in Camberwell, London. Until 1992, it was known as the South London Art Gallery, and nowadays the acronym SLG is often used. Margot Heller became its direct ...

and the

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...

Arts Festival (where in 1996 he was Resident Artist). His final exhibition, "Jonathan Adams in Wonderland", opened at the

Riverside Studios Riverside Studios is an arts centre on the north bank of the River Thames in Hammersmith, London, England. The venue plays host to contemporary performance, film, visual art exhibitions and television production. Having opened in May 1976, th ...

in London, the April before his death. As an actor, Adams is best known for his role as the Narrator in the original 1973

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 ...

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 various B movies associated with the Science fiction film, science fiction and Horror film, horror genres from the 193 ...

'', and is featured on the original cast soundtrack. He is also well known for portraying Dr. Everett Von Scott in the 1975 film version of ''

The Rocky Horror Picture Show ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' is a 1975 independent musical comedy horror film produced by Lou Adler and Michael White, directed by Jim Sharman, and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The screenplay was written by Sharman and Richard O ...

''. He played a number of roles in British theatre, TV and film, including work with The Actor's Company and 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 ...

. On television, he played Adam the shepherd in the TV mini-series ''

Jesus of Nazareth Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the central figure of Christianity, the world's largest religi ...

'' (1977), and Reverend Quiverful in the BBC serial ''

The Barchester Chronicles ''The Barchester Chronicles'' is a 1982 British television serial produced by Jonathan Powell for the BBC. It is an adaptation by Alan Plater of Anthony Trollope's first two Chronicles of Barsetshire, '' The Warden'' (1855) and '' Barchester Tow ...

'' (1982). In the TV serial ''

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes ''The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'' is a collection of short stories by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle, first published on 14 October 1892. It contains the earliest short stories featuring the consulting detective Sherlock Holmes, which h ...

'', he played Jonas Oldacre in " The Norwood Builder" episode (1985) and Carter in the Miss Marple episode "

Nemesis In ancient Greek religion and myth, Nemesis (; ) also called Rhamnousia (or Rhamnusia; ), was the goddess who personified retribution for the sin of hubris: arrogance before the gods. Etymology The name ''Nemesis'' is derived from the Greek ...

" (1987). He also played Professor Marriott in the 1986–88 sitcom '' Yes, Prime Minister''. He appeared in British comedy films such as '' Eskimo Nell'' (1975), '' Three for All'' (1975), ''It Could Happen to You'' (1975), ''

Adventures of a Private Eye ''Adventures of a Private Eye'' is a 1977 British sex comedy film directed by Stanley Long and starring Christopher Neil, Suzy Kendall, Harry H. Corbett and Liz Fraser. It followed '' Adventures of a Taxi Driver'' (1976), and was followed b ...

'' (1977) and ''

Adventures of a Plumber's Mate ''Adventures of a Plumber's Mate'' is a 1978 British sex comedy film directed by Stanley Long and starring Christopher Neil as Sid South. It was written by Stephen D. Frances and Aubrey Cash. Following '' Adventures of a Taxi Driver'' (1976) a ...

'' (1978). In 1993 he played Inspector Lejeune in '' The Pale Horse'', a

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

adaptation of the novel by

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...

. It was specially adapted to mark the 50th anniversary of the

Saturday Night Theatre __NOTOC__ ''Saturday Night Theatre'' was a long-running radio drama strand on the BBC Home Service and its successor, BBC Radio 4. Launched in April 1943 the strand showcased feature-length, middlebrow single plays on Saturday evenings for mor ...

strand. Adams was also a member of the London cast of '' Tom Foolery''. Adams died in

, England, of a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

at the age of 74. A portrait of Adams by British artist David Gommon is displayed on the BBC Paintings online gallery.

Filmography

*'' The Assassination Bureau'' (1969) - French President (uncredited) *'' Eskimo Nell'' (1975) - Lord Coltwind *'' Three for All'' (1975) - Dr. Sparks *''

'' (1975) - Dr. Everett V. Scott - A Rival Scientist *''It Could Happen to You'' (1975) - Henry VIII *''

'' (1977) - Inspector Hogg *''

'' (1977) - Adam *''

'' (1978) - Rent Collector *''

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

'' (1985) - Chaplain *'' Two Evil Eyes'' (1990) - Hammer (segment "The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdemar")

References

External links

*
Jonathan Adams obituary

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

(retrieved 21 September 2010, updated 16 November 2017) {{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Jonathan 1931 births 2005 deaths English male stage actors English male film actors English male television actors Male actors from Northampton English contemporary artists