Gareth Jones(1925-1958)

Gareth Jones was a young Welsh actor, largely remembered for suffering a fatal heart attack off-camera during a live television broadcast in 1958. Born on 6 June, 1925 in Lampeter, Wales, to Margaret Jane (Megicks) and John Lewis Jones, a village schoolmaster, he was educated at Tregaron County School. After completing national service and a brief period studying at Aberystwyth University, he went on to fulfill his ambition to train at drama school in London. His professional debut with the Dundee Rep in 1952 was closely followed by a season with the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Company in Stratford and a variety of stage roles in the West End, including three successive plays directed by Peter Brook. As his reputation grew, he became a regular performer in television dramas such as Thunder on Sycamore Street (1957), BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (1950) and Armchair Theatre (1956), and at the time of his death was widely recognized as a rising talent with great potential for playing character leads on film and television.