Terence Ivor Grant Morgan (8 December 1921 – 25 August 2005) was an English

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 (), l ...

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 ...

, cinema and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

. He played many "villain" roles in British film but is probably best remembered for his starring role in the TV historical adventure series ''

Sir Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( – 28 January 1596) was an English explorer, sea captain, privateer, slave trader, naval officer, and politician. Drake is best known for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 1580 ...

''.

Biography

Terence Morgan was born in

Catford Catford is a district in south east London, England, and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Lewisham. It is southwest of Lewisham itself, mostly in the Rushey Green and Catford South wards. The population of Catford, includin ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, the eldest child of Frederick Rowland Morgan, a "manipulative surgeon" (i.e., a

bonesetter Traditional bone-setting is a type of a folk medicine in which practitioners engaged in joint manipulation. Before the advent of chiropractors, osteopaths and physical therapists, bone-setters were the main providers of this type of treatment. ...

) and Muriel M Morgan (née Grant). His uncle was the character actor Verne Morgan. From 1932 to 1937, he attended Ewell Castle School,

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. ...

. On leaving school, his first job was as a shipping clerk at

Lloyd's of London Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is an insurance and reinsurance market located in London, England. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body gove ...

, at a salary of £1/week. He left after winning a scholarship to

RADA The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Sena ...

, graduating in 1942. On leaving RADA, he was called up into the Army's theatre unit, but after two years was invalided out (with claustrophobia), and went into rep. On 23 March 1947, he married actress Georgina Victoria Symondson (known professionally as Georgina Jumel, daughter of actress and entertainer Betty Jumel) in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buck ...

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage o ...

, and played the role of

Laertes In Greek mythology, Laertes (; grc, Λαέρτης, Laértēs ; also spelled Laërtes) was the king of the Cephallenians, an ethnic group who lived both on the Ionian islands and on the mainland, which he presumably inherited from his father ...

opposite Olivier in the latter's 1948 film of ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depi ...

''. He was allegedly the first actor in such a role to get fan mail from teenage girls. In 1951, in his third film role, he played a supporting role in ''

Captain Horatio Hornblower ''Captain Horatio Hornblower'' (a.k.a. ''Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N.'' in the UK, "R.N." standing for "Royal Navy") is a 1951 British naval swashbuckling war film in Technicolor from Warner Bros., produced by Gerry Mitchell, directed by Rao ...

'' with

Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood ...

and

Virginia Mayo Virginia Mayo (born Virginia Clara Jones; November 30, 1920 – January 17, 2005) was an American actress and dancer. She was in a series of comedy films with Danny Kaye and was Warner Brothers' biggest box-office money-maker in the late 1940s. ...

. In '' Mandy'' (1952) he played the insensitive father of a deaf girl and in ''

Encore An encore is an additional performance given by performers after the planned show has ended, usually in response to extended applause from the audience.Lalange Cochrane, in ''Oxford Companion to Music'', Alison Latham, ed., Oxford University Pr ...

'' in 1951 he played a cad risking the life of his wife. In 1953 he again played a villain in ''

Turn the Key Softly ''Turn the Key Softly'' is a 1953 British drama film directed by Jack Lee and starring Yvonne Mitchell, Joan Collins, Kathleen Harrison, and Terence Morgan. Lee and producer Maurice Cowan also wrote the screenplay, based on the 1951 novel o ...

'' as a crook who gets his girlfriend a prison sentence for helping him in a

burglary Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the intention of committing a criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, robbery or murde ...

. More nasty roles quickly followed with ''Always a Bride'' (1953) where he played a Treasury Investigator who turns bad as well as '' Forbidden Cargo'' in 1954 as a smuggler and ''

Tread Softly Stranger ''Tread Softly Stranger'' is a 1958 British crime drama directed by Gordon Parry and starring Diana Dors, George Baker and Terence Morgan. The film was shot in black-and-white in film noir style, and its setting in an industrial town in northe ...

'' (1958) where he is an embezzler. Two films he made in 1955 saw him cast in more positive roles—in ''

March Hare The March Hare (called Haigha in ''Through the Looking-Glass'') is a character most famous for appearing in the tea party scene in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''. The main character, Alice, hypothesizes, : "Th ...

'' he played an impoverished aristocrat riding a horse for the Derby, and in the espionage melodrama ''

They Can't Hang Me ''They Can't Hang Me'' is a 1955 British drama film directed by Val Guest and starring Terence Morgan, Yolande Donlan and Anthony Oliver. It was based on a novel by Leonard Mosley. It was shot at Shepperton Studios near London. The film's sets ...

'', (which used Sidney Torch's theme music from

The Black Museum ''The Black Museum'' is a radio crime-drama program produced by Harry Alan Towers, which was broadcast in the USA on the Mutual network in 1952. It was then broadcast in Europe in 1953 on Radio Luxembourg, a commercial radio station, and was not ...

for its own Title and Incidental music), he starred as a dapper

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 ...

officer charged with discovering the identity of an enemy agent. One of his nastiest roles was in 1959, '' The Shakedown'', when he played a pornographer and blackmailer. 1960 saw him as a petty thief in '' Piccadilly Third Stop''. Morgan's biggest screen success came when he landed the title role in the ITV series ''

'', but parts dried up after that as he was no longer seen as "the bad guy". He appeared in 30 films; other notable roles included the villainous brother of the mummy (Rameses VIII) in '' Curse of the Mummy's Tomb'' (1964) and the 1967 shocker '' The Penthouse'' where he is an estate agent who is forced to watch as his girlfriend is abused by thugs. ''

The Lifetaker Michael Papas is a Greek-Cypriot independent filmmaker working in England and Cyprus. He is best known for writing, directing and producing ''The Private Right'', ''The Lifetaker'' and ''Tomorrow's Warrior''. Career ''The Private Right'' (1966) ...

'' in 1976 had him back as the bad guy again where as a wealthy business man he plans ritualistic revenge on his wife and her lover. In 1986 he appeared in a series, ''King and Castle'' and in 1993, ''

The Mystery of Edwin Drood ''The Mystery of Edwin Drood'' is the final novel by Charles Dickens, originally published in 1870. Though the novel is named after the character Edwin Drood, it focuses more on Drood's uncle, John Jasper, a precentor, choirmaster and opiu ...

''. As roles dried up, Morgan bought a small hotel in

Hove Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th ce ...

, Sussex, and ran it for some years before becoming a property developer.

Selected filmography

* ''

'' (1948) - Laertes * ''

Shadow of the Past ''Shadow of the Past'' is a 1950 British crime film directed by Mario Zampi and starring Joyce Howard, Terence Morgan, and Michael Medwin. The screenplay involves a man who catches sight of a woman believed by everyone to be dead. Cast * Joyce H ...

'' (1950) - John Harding * ''

'' (1951) - 2nd Lt. Gerard * ''

'' (1951) - Syd Cotman (segment "Gigolo and Gigolette") * '' Mandy'' (1952) - Harry * ''

It Started in Paradise ''It Started in Paradise'' is a 1952 British drama film directed by Compton Bennett and starring Jane Hylton, Martita Hunt and Muriel Pavlow. Set in the world of haute couture, the film was squarely aimed at female audiences. Its storyline ...

'' (1952) - Edouard * ''

Street Corner A streetcorner or street corner is the location which lies adjacent to an intersection of two roads. Such locations are important in terms of local planning and commerce, usually being the locations of street signs and lamp posts, as well as being a ...

'' (1953) - Ray * ''

'' (1953) - David * ''

The Steel Key ''The Steel Key'' is a 1953 British thriller film directed by Robert S. Baker and starring Terence Morgan, Joan Rice and Raymond Lovell. Premise Adventurer Johnny O'Flynn (Terence Morgan) attempts to track down thieves who have stolen a secret ...

'' (1953) - Johnny O'Flynn * '' Always a Bride'' (1953) - Terence Winch * '' Forbidden Cargo'' (1954) - Roger Compton * ''

Dance, Little Lady ''Dance, Little Lady'' is a 1954 British drama film directed by Val Guest and starring Terence Morgan, Mai Zetterling, Guy Rolfe and Mandy Miller. The film was made by independent producer George Minter and distributed by his Renown Pictur ...

'' (1954) - Mark Gordon * ''

Svengali Svengali () is a character in the novel ''Trilby'' which was first published in 1894 by George du Maurier. Svengali is a man who seduces, dominates and exploits Trilby, a young half-Irish girl, and makes her into a famous singer. Definition ...

'' (1954) - Billy Bagot * ''

Loves of Three Queens ''Loves of Three Queens'' ( it, L'amante di Paride), also known as ''The Face That Launched a Thousand Ships'', is a 1954 Italian anthology film. It was directed by Marc Allégret and Edgar G. Ulmer and stars Hedy Lamarr. Plot A woman going to ...

'' (1954) - Golo (segment: Il Cavaliere dell'illusione) * ''

'' (1955) - Inspector Ralph Brown * '' The March Hare'' (1956) - Sir Charles Hare * '' It's a Wonderful World'' (1956) - Ray Thompson * ''

The Scamp ''The Scamp'' is a 1957 British drama film directed by Wolf Rilla and starring Richard Attenborough, Terence Morgan, Colin Petersen, and Dorothy Alison. It was based on the play, "Uncertain Joy," by Charlotte Hastings. It was released in the ...

'' (1957) - Mike Dawson * ''

'' (1958) - Dave Mansell * '' The Flaming Sword'' (1958) - Captain * '' The Shakedown'' (1960) - Augie Cortona * '' Piccadilly Third Stop'' (1960) - Dominic * ''

The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb ''The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb'' is a 1964 British horror film produced, written and directed by Michael Carreras, starring Terence Morgan, Ronald Howard, Fred Clark and introducing Jeanne Roland. Plot "Egypt in the year 1900". The mummy ...

'' (1964) - Adam Beauchamp * ''

Out of the Unknown ''Out of the Unknown'' is a British television science fiction anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and broadcast on BBC2 in four series between 1965 and 1971. Most episodes of the first three series were a dramatisation of a science ...

'' ('No Place Like Earth', episode) (1965) - Bert Foster * ''

The Sea Pirate ''The Sea Pirate'' (french: Surcouf, le tigre des sept mers, it, Surcouf, l'eroe dei sette mari, es, El tigre de los siete mares, also known as ''The Fighting Corsair'') is a 1966 French-Italian-Spanish adventure film directed by Sergio Bergonz ...

'' (1966) - Lord Blackwood * '' The Penthouse'' (1967) - Bruce Victor * ''

Hide and Seek Hide-and-seek (sometimes known as hide-and-go-seek) is a popular children's game in which at least two players (usually at least three) conceal themselves in a set environment, to be found by one or more seekers. The game is played by one chose ...

'' (1972) - Ted Lawson * ''The Lifetaker'' (1975) - James

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Terence 1921 births 2005 deaths Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art English male stage actors English male film actors English male television actors People from Lewisham People educated at Ewell Castle School Male actors from Kent British Army personnel of World War II