Robert James (28 March 1924 – 31 July 2004) was a Scottish actor, who was best known for his

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

work.

Career

Born in Paisley, Scotland, James trained to be a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

, before being spotted by a professional director while performing in

amateur dramatics Amateur theatre, also known as amateur dramatics, is theatre performed by amateur actors and singers. Amateur theatre groups may stage plays, revues, musicals, light opera, pantomime or variety shows, and do so for the social activity as well as f ...

. A handful of James' television performances have survived, but many of were amongst those discarded by UK broadcasters throughout the 1960s and 70s. One of his most remembered roles was in ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'', playing the character Lesterson in the 1966 serial ''

The Power of the Daleks ''The Power of the Daleks'' is the Doctor Who missing episodes, completely missing third serial of the Doctor Who (season 4), fourth season of British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly part ...

''. These six missing episodes now only exist as still photographs and audio recordings, although the serial was recreated as an animation in 2016. He would later return to the show in the serial ''

The Masque of Mandragora ''The Masque of Mandragora'' is the first serial of the Doctor Who (season 14), 14th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC One, BBC1 from 4 to 25 September 19 ...

''.

Marriage

He was married to actress Mona Bruce (1924-2008), until his death; they had one child. Clair Mcallister

Theatre

Filmography

Death

James died in 2004, aged 80, from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, England.

References

External links

* 1924 births 2004 deaths Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in England Deaths from dementia in England Male actors from Paisley, Renfrewshire Scottish male film actors Scottish male television actors {{UK-tv-actor-1920s-stub