Richard Coleman (20 January 1930 – 16 December 2008) was a British film, television and stage actor.

Early life

Richard Coleman was born Ronald Coleman in

Peckham Peckham ( ) is a district in south-east London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon place name meaning the vi ...

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 ...

in 1930. He was educated at Wilson's Grammar School, Peckham. After three years' National Service in the R.A.F., he worked as a salesman in a West End gentleman's outfitters. While there he became interested in amateur dramatics, joining "The Taverners", a group which visited local inns and public houses, giving performances of Shakespeare. Bob and Frances Fish, who ran The Taverners, recognised Coleman's potential and entered him in 1951 for the Leverhulme Scholarship to

RADA The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central Lond ...

, which he won. To make ends meet during the Academy's vacations, he was forced to do a variety of jobs, including working on the Thames River Bus and selling razors. He graduated from

in 1953 with the Principal’s Medal. He adopted the stage name Richard Coleman, to avoid confusion with the film star

Ronald Colman Ronald Charles Colman (9 February 1891 – 19 May 1958) was an English-born actor who started his career in theatre and silent film in his native country, then emigrated to the United States where he had a highly successful Cinema of the United ...

. He then spent two years with the Worthing Repertory Company, appearing in many plays.

Career

Theatre

Coleman made his professional acting debut in 1955, playing Albert Tufnell, A.B., in the stage adaptation of '' Sailor Beware!''starring

Peggy Mount Margaret Rose Mount (2 May 1915 – 13 November 2001) was an English actress. As a child, she found acting an escape from an unhappy home life. After playing in amateur productions, she was taken on by a repertory company and spent nine years i ...

, which opened in The Strand Theatre in London's West End on Wednesday 16 February 1955 and ran for 1231 performances. He also appeared in ''

The World of Suzie Wong ''The World of Suzie Wong'' is a 1957 novel by British writer Richard Mason. The main characters are Robert Lomax, a young British artist living in Hong Kong, and Suzie Wong, the title character, a Chinese woman who works as a prostitute. T ...

'', '' The Big Killing'', ''

A Murder is Announced ''A Murder Is Announced'' is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in June 1950 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in the same month. The UK edition sold for eight shillings an ...

'', ''

The Mousetrap ''The Mousetrap'' is a murder mystery play by Agatha Christie. The play opened in London's West End in 1952 and ran continuously until 16 March 2020, when the stage performances had to be temporarily discontinued during the COVID-19 pandemi ...

'' and had three years from 1968-70 playing both Andrew Hunter and Robert Danvers in the London West End stage version of ''

There's a Girl in My Soup ''There's a Girl in My Soup'' is a 1970 British romantic comedy film directed by Roy Boulting and starring Peter Sellers and Goldie Hawn. Terence Frisby wrote the screenplay based on his 1966 stage play of the same name. Plot Robert Danve ...

''. Later in his career Coleman became a theatre producer and, among other ventures, toured Canada in 1976 with a well-received production of "Absurd Person Singular", starring John Thaw."Richard Coleman: Actor who made his name in '... And Mother Makes"
''independent.co.uk''. Retrieved on 20 September 2018. A full list of the plays in which Coleman appeared is: 1955-58 Sailor, Beware! (Albert Tufnell, A.B.) 1959 Suzie Wong (Ben Jeffcoat) 1962 The Big Killing 1968-70 There's A Girl in My Soup (Andrew Hunter and Robert Danvers) 1975 How It Can Ruin Your Health 1975 Cheaper by the Dozen 1976 Absurd Person Singular (Tour of Canada) 1976 The Roaring Forties (George) 1977 The Chiltern Hundreds (Beecham) 1977 A Murder is Announced 1978 Suddenly At Home (Glenn Howard) 1979 An Ideal Husband (Sir Robert Chiltern) 1982 Public Relations 1982 In Praise of Love. He also appeared in: Lady Windermere's Fan (Lord Windermere), Staircase (Charles Dyer), The Mousetrap, Two and Two Make Sex and Not Now Darling.

Television

He played David Redway in the situation comedy '' ...And Mother Makes Three'' (1972-3), and its sequel '' ...And Mother Makes Five'' (1974-6), opposite

Wendy Craig Wendy Craig (born Anne Gwendolyn Craig; 20 June 1934) is an English actress who is best known for her appearances in the sitcoms '' Not in Front of the Children'' (1967–1970), '' ...And Mother Makes Three'' (1971–1973), '' ...And Mother M ...

. Other television roles included Nick Allardyce in '' The Adventures of Ben Gunn'' (1958),

Alan-a-Dale Alan-a-Dale (first recorded as Allen a Dale; variously spelled ''Allen-a-Dale'', ''Allan-a-Dale'', ''Allin-a-Dale'', ''Allan A'Dayle'' etc.) is a figure in the Robin Hood legend. According to the stories, he was a wandering minstrel who became ...

in ''

The Adventures of Robin Hood ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' is a 1938 American Epic film, epic swashbuckler film from Warner Bros. Pictures. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke, directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, and written by Norman Reilly Ra ...

'' (1958–60), and Jack Royston in the short lived

Anglia Television ITV Anglia, previously known as Anglia Television, is the ITV franchise holder for the East of England. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional news bureaux in Cambridge and Northampton. ITV Anglia is owned and operated b ...

soap opera ''

Weavers Green ''Weavers Green'' is a British television soap opera, made in 1966 for ITV by Anglia Television. It was created based on an idea by Dick Joice. It was the first rural soap opera. The series was a bi-weekly diary revolving around two veterinar ...

'' (1966). Coleman also made guest appearances in television series such as ''

Dixon of Dock Green ''Dixon of Dock Green'' is a BBC police procedural television series about daily life at a fictional London police station, with the emphasis on petty crime, successfully controlled through common sense and human understanding. It ran from 1955 ...

'', ''

No Hiding Place ''No Hiding Place'' is a British television series that was produced at Wembley Studios by Associated-Rediffusion for the ITV (TV network), ITV network between 16 September 1959 and 22 June 1967. It was the sequel to the series ''Murder Bag'' ...

'', ''

Emergency Ward 10 ''Emergency Ward 10'' is a British medical soap opera series shown on ITV between 1957 and 1967. It is considered to be one of British television's first major soap operas. Overview The series was made by the ITV contractor ATV and set in ...

'', ''

Sergeant Cork ''Sergeant Cork'' is a British detective television series which aired between 1963 and 1968 on ITV. It was a police procedural show that followed the efforts of two police officers and their battle against crime in Victorian London. In all 66 ...

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

'', '' Thriller (A Coffin for the Bride)'', '' Robin's Nest'', '' Surgical Spirit'', '' Champion House'', "Letters From The Dead", '' Whodunnit?'' (Worth Dying For) (1975), and '' Virtual Murder''. He was a panellist on "Whose Baby?" (1973) in all 13 episodes of the first series and all 14 episodes of the second series.

Film

Coleman appeared in a number films including '' The Dam Busters'' (1955), '' Yangtse Incident'' (1957), '' Girls at Sea'' (1958), ''

The Navy Lark ''The Navy Lark'' is a radio sitcom about life aboard a British Royal Navy frigate named HMS ''Troutbridge'' (a play on HMS ''Troubridge'', a Royal Navy destroyer) based in HMNB Portsmouth. In series 1 and 2, the ship and crew were statione ...

'' (1959), ''

Ben-Hur Ben-Hur or Ben Hur may refer to: Fiction *'' Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ'', an 1880 novel by American general and author Lew Wallace ** ''Ben-Hur'' (play), a play that debuted on Broadway in 1899 ** ''Ben Hur'' (1907 film), a one-reel silent ...

'' (1959), ''Hell is a City'' (1960), ''

The Day The Earth Caught Fire ''The Day the Earth Caught Fire'' is a 1961 British science-fiction disaster film directed by Val Guest and starring Edward Judd, Leo McKern, and Janet Munro. It is one of the classic apocalyptic films of its era. The film opened at the Odeon Ma ...

'' (1961), 80,000 Suspects (1963), '' Rotten to the Core'' (1965) '' Naked Evil'' (1966) and ''Who Dares Wins'' (1982). He also had a cameo role in the film ''

10 Rillington Place ''10 Rillington Place'' is a 1971 British crime drama horror film directed by Richard Fleischer and starring Richard Attenborough, Judy Geeson, John Hurt, and Pat Heywood. The film dramatises the case of British serial killer John Christie, ...

'' (1971) as the police constable who arrests the murderer John Christie.

Personal life

Coleman was married to the actress Peggy Sinclair. They had two daughters. At the end of the 1980s they went to live in rural France, where he indulged his lifelong love of dogs, good food and fine wine. He died from cancer in France on 16 December 2008, aged 78.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, Richard 1930 births 2008 deaths English male television actors English male film actors English male stage actors Actors from the London Borough of Southwark Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Deaths from cancer in France Male actors from London People from Peckham