Mark Farmer (22 May 1962 – 26 April 2016) was an English actor and musician. He is probably best remembered for his childhood role of Gary Hargreaves in series 2 to 4 of the popular children's television programme ''

Grange Hill ''Grange Hill'' is a British Children's television series, children's television drama series, originally produced by the BBC and portraying life in a typical Comprehensive school (England and Wales), comprehensive school. The show began its ru ...

'', in which he starred from 1979 to 1981. Farmer had a range of earlier childhood roles, and also went on to appear as a teenager and young adult in various programmes, notably the lead role in the 1983 BBC drama ''

Johnny Jarvis ''Johnny Jarvis'' is a 1983 British television drama series created and written by Nigel Williams, adapted from his novel of the same title. The series was directed by Alan Dossor and produced by Guy Slater for the BBC. The principal actors wer ...

'' and the role of Justin James from 1984 to 1989 in the comedy-drama series ''

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 ...

''. From 1985 to 1987, Farmer starred alongside

Matthew Kelly Matthew Kelly (born David Allan Kelly, 9 May 1950) is an English actor and television presenter. Having been trained as a theatre actor, he first came to public prominence as a television sitcom actor, game-show panellist and television prese ...

in ''

Relative Strangers ''Relative Strangers'' is a 2006 American comedy film directed by Greg Glienna. Plot Thirty-four-year-old psychologist Richard Clayton's parents reveal to him that he was adopted. He then sets out to find out who his biological parents are, but ...

'', a

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

. The sitcom was a spin-off from an ITV comedy, '' Holding the Fort'' (1980–82). He also appeared in a 1987 television drama film, '' Mister Corbett's Ghost'', starring

Paul Scofield David Paul Scofield (21 January 1922 – 19 March 2008) was an English actor. During a six-decade career, Scofield achieved the Triple Crown of Acting, winning an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Tony Award for his work. Scofield ...

and

John Huston John Marcellus Huston ( ; August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics. He rec ...

. After Farmer's career in film and television, he formed a band, Littlehouse, with school classmate Billy Hardwicke. He played acoustic guitar; Hardwicke played electric guitar, and both sang. Fellow friends Patrick Watson and Steve Claridge played bass and drums respectively. They recorded an EP; the title track was "Close My Eyes". Hardwicke later featured that track on his solo album ''The Goodbye Look''. Littlehouse gigged the London circuit between 1998 and 2000, after which they split up. Farmer also played bass guitar with

Bad Manners Bad Manners are an English Two-tone (music genre), two-tone and ska Musical ensemble, band led by frontman Buster Bloodvessel. Early appearances included ''Top of the Pops'' and the live film documentary ''Dance Craze'' (1981). They were at ...

, a

ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...

band.

Death

Farmer died on 26 April 2016, aged 53, after a brief battle with cancer.

References

External links

* 1962 births 2016 deaths Musicians from London English pop guitarists English pop singers English male television actors Deaths from cancer in England Male actors from London {{UK-tv-actor-1960s-stub