Ronald Radd (22 January 1929 – 23 April 1976) was a British television actor. He is perhaps best remembered for originating the role of Hunter in the television thriller series ''

Callan Callan is a given name and surname of Irish and Scottish origin. It can derive from Ó Cathaláin, meaning ''descendant of Cathalán''. Callan can also be an Anglicized form of the Gaelic Mac Allin or Mac Callin. Notable people with the name includ ...

''. In 1971, he was nominated for a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

for ''Abelard and Heloise''.

Early work

Radd began as a

stage actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

in the

Alexandra Theatre Alexandra Theatre may refer to: * Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham, a theatre in Birmingham, England, now the New Alexandra Theatre * Alexandra Theatre, Bognor Regis, a theatre in the British town of Bognor Regis * Alexandra Theatre, London, a theat ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

in the early-1950s, along with the likes of

Leslie Sands Leslie Sands (19 May 1921 – 9 May 2001) was a British actor and writer of TV and film. Born in Bradford, Yorkshire, Sands usually specialized in dour types in authority, often policemen. He was married to Pauline Williams (1950 - 9 May 20 ...

and

Edward Mulhare Edward Mulhare (8 April 1923 – 24 May 1997) was an Irish actor whose career spanned five decades. He is best known for his starring roles in two television series: '' The Ghost & Mrs. Muir'' and '' Knight Rider''. Early life and career Mul ...

. In 1951 he appeared in a

Lionel Hamilton Lionel Hamilton was an English theatre director and actor, director of the Northampton Repertory Company in Northampton, England. Much of his work was conducted at the Northampton Repertory Theatre and the Kettering Savoy in the late 1940s and ...

production of ''

The Romantic Young Lady ''The Romantic Young Lady'' is a 1923 English language play adaptation from Gregorio Martinez Sierra's 1918 ''Sueño de Una Noche de Agosto'' ("Dream of an August Night"), translated by Helen and Harley Granville-Barker. The comedy of manners, writ ...

'' at the

Kettering Savoy The Kettering Savoy (previously, Coliseum Theatre; subsequently, Ohio Theatre; also known as The Savoy) was a theatre and cinema in Russell Street, Kettering, Northamptonshire, England. History The Kettering Savoy was originally known as the Col ...

.''Northampton Mercury'', 9 March 1951, p. 5; accessed via The British Newspaper Archive ; retrieved 22 November 2014. By 1954, Radd had graduated to the

West End West End most commonly refers to: * West End of London, an area of central London, England * West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England West End may also refer to: Pl ...

, where he appeared with

Kenneth Williams Kenneth Charles Williams (22 February 1926 – 15 April 1988) was an English actor of Welsh heritage. He was best known for his comedy roles and in later life as a raconteur and diarist. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the 31 '' ...

in two different productions in the

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

in February 1956, ''The Buccaneer'' and '' The Boy Friend''.

Television and film work

Radd gradually lost interest in

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...

and broke into television in ''

Ordeal by Fire Trial by ordeal was an ancient judicial practice by which the guilt or innocence of the accused was determined by subjecting them to a painful, or at least an unpleasant, usually dangerous experience. In medieval Europe, like trial by combat, tri ...

'' in 1957 as a dastardly Frenchman with

Peter Wyngarde Peter Paul Wyngarde (born Cyril Goldbert, 23 August 1927 – 15 January 2018) was a British television, stage and film actor from the late 1940s to the mid 1990s. He was best known for portraying the character Jason King (character), Jason King, ...

and

Patrick Troughton Patrick George Troughton (; 25 March 1920 – 28 March 1987) was an English actor who was classically trained for the stage but became known for his roles in television and film. His work included appearances in several fantasy, science fiction ...

whom he appeared with in the BBC production of ''

A Tale of Two Cities ''A Tale of Two Cities'' is a historical novel published in 1859 by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long imprisonment in the ...

'' (1958). Radd made a number of appearances in the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...

production ''

The Shari Lewis Show ''The Shari Lewis Show'' is a children's television program that first appeared on NBC Saturday mornings from 1960 to 1963. Premise The show starred Shari Lewis, who was both the show's host and the puppeteer for the characters Lamb Chop, H ...

'' between 1960 and 1963, and in 1960 appeared in the production of

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Nobel Prize in Literature, literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama tech ...

's ''

The Iceman Cometh ''The Iceman Cometh'' is a play written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill in 1939. First published in 1946, the play premiered on Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre on October 9, 1946, directed by Eddie Dowling, where it ran for 136 perf ...

'' directed by

Sidney Lumet Sidney Arthur Lumet ( ; June 25, 1924 – April 9, 2011) was an American film director. He was nominated five times for the Academy Award: four for Best Director for '' 12 Angry Men'' (1957), '' Dog Day Afternoon'' (1975), '' Network'' (19 ...

, who also directed him in the

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

adaptation of ''

The Sea Gull ''The Sea Gull'' is a 1968 British-American drama film directed by Sidney Lumet. The screenplay by Moura Budberg is adapted and translated from Anton Chekhov's classic 1896 play ''The Seagull''. The Warner Bros.-Seven Arts release was filmed a ...

'' (1968) and ''

The Offence ''The Offence'' is a 1973 British crime neo noir drama film directed by Sidney Lumet, based upon the 1968 stage play ''This Story of Yours'' by John Hopkins. It stars Sean Connery as police detective Johnson, who kills suspected child molest ...

'' (1972). In between them he appeared in

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

's ''

The Kremlin Letter ''The Kremlin Letter'' is a 1970 American neo-noir DeLuxe Color espionage thriller in PanavisionSeymour, Gene. "100 Greatest Spy Movies: A Special Collector's Edition from the Editors of American History. 2009. Weider History Group. directed b ...

'' (1970). Radd worked alongside actors such as

Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award from four nominations, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, the Ceci ...

and

Jason Robards Jason Nelson Robards Jr. (July 26, 1922 – December 26, 2000) was an American actor. Known as an interpreter of the works of playwright Eugene O'Neill, Robards received two Academy Awards, a Tony Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and the Cannes ...

. In that year, Radd also appeared in the

production of '' The Tempest'' playing the role of the drunkard Stefano, alongside

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable p ...

who portrayed Caliban and Maurice Evans as Prospero. Radd had at least one guest appearance on Episode 2 of the TV series ''

The Saint The Saint may refer to: Fiction * Simon Templar, also known as "The Saint", the protagonist of a book series by Leslie Charteris and subsequent adaptations: ** ''The Saint'' (film series) (1938–43), starring Louis Hayward, George Sanders an ...

'', which starred a young

Roger Moore Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 192723 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the third actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions film series, playing the character in seven feature films between 1 ...

. The episode first aired Sept 26, 1963. Radd featured in some 60 different TV shows between 1955 and 1976 including '' The Avengers'', ''

Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again b ...

'', ''

The Prisoner ''The Prisoner'' is a 1967 British television series about an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a mysterious coastal village, where his captors designate him as Number Six and try to find out why he abruptl ...

Special Branch Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security and intelligence in British, Commonwealth, Irish, and other police forces. A Special Branch unit acquires and develops intelligence, us ...

'' and ''

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 in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it debut ...

''. He memorably played "Hunter" in the one-off television play in ITV's "''

Armchair Theatre ''Armchair Theatre'' is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by ABC Weekend TV. Its successor Thames Television took over from mid-1968. The Canad ...

''" strand, called '' A Magnum For Schneider''. To protect his shady Government department ("The Section"), Hunter brings once-top operative and assassin David Callan (

Edward Woodward Edward Albert Arthur Woodward, OBE (1 June 1930 – 16 November 2009) was an English actor and singer. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he began his career on stage. Throughout his career, he appeared in productions ...

) back to kill Schneider, an international illegal arms dealer. Hunter's plan is for Callan to be caught at the scene and take the blame, thus getting the job done yet clearing The Section of involvement. But Callan gets wise when first police, then colleague Toby Meres turn up at Schneider's apartment. Callan turns the tables by leaving Meres unconscious in his place. This led to the creation of the highly regarded spy series ''

'' with highly charged, antagonistic exchanges between Callan and Hunter among episode highlights. Radd appeared occasionally in later series of ''Callan''. In the sixth episode of ''

Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) ''Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)'' is a British private detective television series, starring Mike Pratt and Kenneth Cope respectively as the private detectives Jeff Randall and Marty Hopkirk. The series was created by Dennis Spooner and pr ...

'', "

Just for the Record Just for the Record may refer to: * "Just for the Record" (''Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)''), a 1969 episode of the British television series * ''Just for the Record'' (Barbara Mandrell album), 1979 * ''Just for the Record'' (Ray Stevens albu ...

" in 1969, he played the role of the villain Pargiter, a deluded character intent on proving he was heir to the throne of England. In 1971, Radd's performance in ''Abelard and Heloise'', earned him a nomination for

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play The Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actors for quality supporting roles in a Broadway play. Honors ...

Death

He died in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

of a

brain haemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

in 1976 aged 47.

Selected filmography

* ''

The Camp on Blood Island ''The Camp on Blood Island'' is a 1958 British World War II film, directed by Val Guest for Hammer Film Productions and starring André Morell, Carl Möhner, Edward Underdown and Walter Fitzgerald. The film is set in a Japanese prisoner o ...

'' (1958) – Commander Yamamitsu * ''

'' (1960) – Captain Cecil Lewis * ''

The Small World of Sammy Lee ''The Small World of Sammy Lee'' is a 1963 British crime film written and directed by Ken Hughes and starring Anthony Newley, Julia Foster and Robert Stephens. A striptease-show compere is hunted across the seedy London underworld of Soho by deb ...

'' (1963) – Big Alf * ''

Up Jumped a Swagman ''Up Jumped a Swagman'' is a 1965 British musical comedy film directed by Christopher Miles and starring Frank Ifield, Annette Andre, Ronald Radd and Suzy Kendall. It includes the songs "Waltzing Matilda" and " I Remember You". Premise An aspir ...

'' (1965) – Harry King * ''

Where the Spies Are ''Where the Spies Are'' is a 1966 British comedy adventure film directed by Val Guest and starring David Niven, Françoise Dorléac, John Le Mesurier, Cyril Cusack and Richard Marner. It was based on the 1964 James Leasor book ''Passport to Obli ...

'' (1966) – Stanilaus * ''

Mister Ten Per Cent ''Mister Ten Per Cent'' is a 1967 British comedy film directed by Peter Graham Scott and starring Charlie Drake, Derek Nimmo and Wanda Ventham. It was shot at Elstree Studios and on location in London. It was the last in a series of four fil ...

'' (1967) – Publicist * '' The Double Man'' (1967) – Russian General * ''

'' (1968) – Shamraev * ''

Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness? ''Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?'' is a 1969 British musical film directed by and starring Anthony Newley. Plot Merkin is an internationally successful singer approaching middle age who retells his life ...

'' (1969) – Critic Bentley * ''

'' (1970) – Captain Potkin * ''

'' (1972) – Lawson * ''

Divorce His, Divorce Hers ''Divorce His, Divorce Hers'' is a 1973 British/American made-for-television drama film starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. The film examines the conflicted emotions felt by a couple whose 18-year marriage has frayed beyond repair. The ...

'' (1973) – Angus McIntyre * '' Galileo'' (1975) – Vanni * '' The Spiral Staircase'' (1975) – Oates * ''

Operation Daybreak ''Operation Daybreak'' (also known as ''The Price of Freedom'' in the U.S. and ''Seven Men at Daybreak'' during production) is a 1975 war film based on the true story of Operation Anthropoid, the assassination of SS general Reinhard Heydrich in ...

'' (1975) – Aunt Marie's Husband

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Radd, Ronald 1929 births 1976 deaths English male film actors English male television actors People from Sunderland Male actors from Tyne and Wear 20th-century English male actors English male stage actors