Michael Billington (24 December 1941 – 3 June 2005) was a British film and television actor. He was born in

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the River Ribble, Ribble Valley, east of Preston ...

, Lancashire, England.

Career

In 1966 Billington appeared in ''Incident at Vichy'' at the Phoenix Theatre in London.

Television

He was best known for his role as Colonel Paul Foster in the 1970 science fiction TV series ''

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO) is an object or phenomenon seen in the sky but not yet identified or explained. The term was coined when United States Air Force (USAF) investigations into flying saucers found too broad a range of shapes ...

''; being chosen by Sylvia Anderson after she saw him in '' A Change of Mind'' on ''

The Prisoner ''The Prisoner'' is a British television series created by Patrick McGoohan. McGoohan portrays Number Six (The Prisoner), Number Six, an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a The Village (The Prisoner), mysteri ...

''. He created the character of Daniel Fogarty from 1971 to 1974 in the historical drama ''

The Onedin Line ''The Onedin Line'' is a BBC television drama series that ran from 1971 to 1980. The series was created by Cyril Abraham. The series is set in Liverpool from 1860 to 1886 and covers the rise of a fictional shipping company, the Onedin Line, nam ...

''. He also appeared as Sergeant Jacko Jackson of the Royal Wessex Rangers in the series '' Spearhead'' and as

Czar Nicholas II Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. He married ...

in the ITV drama series ''

Edward the Seventh ''Edward the Seventh'' is a 1975 British historical drama series, made by ATV in 13 episodes. Based on the biography of King Edward VII by Philip Magnus, it stars Annette Crosbie as Queen Victoria, Timothy West as the elder Edward VII, wit ...

'' (1975). He played gangster John Coogan in one episode ("The Rack") of '' The Professionals''. Billington lived in the U.S. from around 1979 until 1985. Although he had some good roles, notably as Count Louis Dardinay in '' The Quest'' (1982), he did not reach the same level of success as he had in Britain. Billington's last major TV role came in the 1986 BBC drama '' The Collectors'', but his final appearance was in an episode of early 1990s TV series ''

Maigret Jules Maigret (), or simply Maigret, is a fictional French police detective, a '' commissaire'' ("commissioner") of the Paris ''Brigade Criminelle'' ('' Direction Régionale de la Police Judiciaire de Paris:36, Quai des Orfèvres''), created ...

'' as a villain.

Film

His other film credits included ''

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great ( ; – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when Alfr ...

'' (1969) and '' KGB: The Secret War'' (1985).

007

He was screen-tested for the role of James Bond more than any other actor, and was said to have been Albert R. Broccoli's first choice had

Roger Moore Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 192723 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the actor to portray Ian Fleming's fictional secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in the Eon Productions/MGM Studios film series, playing the ...

not been available (see: 1981's '' For Your Eyes Only''). Billington did a photo shoot for '' On Her Majesty's Secret Service'', and met the film's director Peter Hunt. He was also screen-tested for '' Live and Let Die'' (1973), '' Moonraker'' (1979) and ''

Octopussy ''Octopussy'' is a 1983 spy film and the thirteenth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. It is the sixth to star Roger Moore as the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6 agent James Bond filmography, J ...

'' (1983). His one Bond screen appearance was in the pre-title sequence of 1977's '' The Spy Who Loved Me'', playing Agent XXX's ill-fated lover, Sergei Barsov.

Personal life and death

He was the partner of Barbara Broccoli, daughter of the Bond producer Albert "Cubby" Broccoli, for eight years. Billington was married to Katherine Kristoff (1956–1998) from 1988 to 1998. They had a son, Michael. Michael Billington died of cancer on 3 June 2005, at the age of 63.

Filmography

References

External links

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Obituary: ''The Guardian''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Billington, Michael 1941 births 2005 deaths Deaths from cancer in England English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors Male actors from Blackburn