Richard Coleman

Richard Coleman (20 January 1930 – 16 December 2008) was a British film, television and stage actor.[1]

For other people named Richard Coleman, see Richard Coleman (disambiguation).

Richard Coleman
Born
Ronald Coleman

(1930-01-20)20 January 1930
Peckham, London, England
Died16 December 2008(2008-12-16) (aged 78)
France
Spouse(s)Peggy Sinclair

Early life

Richard Coleman was born Ronald Coleman in Peckham, London in 1930.[2] 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, 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 RADA in 1953 with the Principal’s Medal.[3][4] He adopted the stage name Richard Coleman, to avoid confusion with the film star Ronald Colman.[2] 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![5][2]starring Peggy Mount, which opened in The Strand Theatre in London's West End on Wednesday 16th February 1955 and ran for 1231 performances. He also appeared in The World of Suzie Wong, The Big Killing, A Murder is Announced, The Mousetrap 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. 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.[2][3]

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.[6] Other television roles included Nick Allardyce in The Adventures of Ben Gunn (1958), Alan-a-Dale in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1958–60), and Jack Royston in the soap opera Weavers Green (1966).[3] Coleman also made guest appearances in television series such as Dixon of Dock Green, No Hiding Place, Emergency Ward 10, Sergeant Cork, Zero One, The Avengers, Z-Cars, 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.[7] 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 (1959), Ben-Hur (1959), Hell is a City (1960), The Day The Earth Caught Fire (1961), 80,000 Suspects (1963), Rotten to the Core (1965) Naked Evil (1966) and Who Dares Wins (1982). [8][9] He also had a cameo role in the film 10 Rillington Place (1971) as the police constable who arrests John Christie.[10]

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.[3] He died from cancer in France on 16 December 2008, aged 78.[2]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1955The Dam BustersRAF OfficerUncredited
1957Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. AmethystLt. Cmdr. Skinner
1958Girls at SeaCapt. Robert 'Bobby' Randall
1959The Navy LarkLt. Bates R.N.
1959Ben-HurMetellusUncredited
196380,000 SuspectsScott JamesUncredited
1965Rotten to the CoreInspector HewlettUncredited
1966Naked EvilInspector Hollis
1967Countdown to DangerCaptain WrightChildren's Film Foundation
197110 Rillington PlacePolice Constable #4
1972Hide and SeekPolice SergeantChildren's Film Foundation
1981The ComoediaVirgilio
1982Who Dares WinsMr. Martin

References
  1. "Richard Coleman". bfi.org.uk. Retrieved on 20 September 2018.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 23 May 2010. Retrieved 8 September 2009.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "Richard Coleman: Actor who made his name in '... And Mother Makes". independent.co.uk. Retrieved on 20 September 2018.
  4. "Richard Coleman — RADA". www.rada.ac.uk.
  5. "Production of Sailor, Beware! | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
  6. "Richard Coleman". www.bafta.org. 11 May 2012.
  7. "Richard Coleman". www.aveleyman.com.
  8. "Richard Coleman". BFI.
  9. "Richard Coleman | Movies and Filmography". AllMovie.
  10. "BFI Screenonline: 10 Rillington Place (1970) Credits". www.screenonline.org.uk.
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