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Terence Alexander

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For other people with the same name, see Terry Alexander (disambiguation).

Terence Alexander
Born
Terence Joseph Alexander

(1923-03-11)11 March 1923
Islington, London, England
Died28 May 2009(2009-05-28) (aged 86)
London, England
Other namesTerry Alexander
OccupationActor
Years active1947–1999
Spouses
Juno Stevas
​
​
(m. 1949; div. 1972)​
​
(m. 1976)​

Terence Joseph Alexander (11 March 1923 – 28 May 2009) was an English film and television actor, best known for his role as Charlie Hungerford in the British TV drama Bergerac, which ran for nine series on BBC1 between 1981 and 1991.

Early life and career

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Alexander was born in London, the son of a doctor, and grew up in Yorkshire.[1] He was educated at Ratcliffe College, Leicestershire, and Norwood College, Harrogate, and started acting in the theatre at the age of 16.[2] During the Second World War he served in the British Army as a lieutenant with the 27th Lancers, and was seriously wounded when his armoured car was hit by artillery fire in Italy.[2]

In 1956, Alexander appeared on stage in Ring For Catty at the Lyric Theatre in London.[3] He is probably best remembered as Charlie Hungerford from the detective series Bergerac, though he was also very prominent in the 1967 BBC adaptation of The Forsyte Saga.[4][5] One of his early roles was in the children's series Garry Halliday.[2] In 1970, he appeared in an episode of Please Sir in 1970 as the headmaster of a rival school,[6] and as Lord Uxbridge in Sergei Bondarchuk's war epic Waterloo.[7]

Alexander appeared in many other film and television roles including three appearances in different roles in The Champions, The Avengers, The Persuaders! (Powerswitch), Terry and June (1979–1980), Behind the Screen (1981–1982), the 1985 Doctor Who serial The Mark of the Rani, and The New Statesman (1987).[8] On radio he starred as The Toff in the BBC radio adaptation of the John Creasey novels.[9] He appeared in all but two episodes of Bergerac from 1981 to 1991.[4] He also played Commander Duffield in the 1985 pilot episode of Dempsey and Makepeace, Armed and Extremely Dangerous.[10]

Alexander appeared on the West End in comedies and farces, and his credits included Move Over Mrs Markham (1971), Two and Two Make Sex (1973), There Goes The Bride (1974–75) and Fringe Benefits (1976).[11]

Personal life

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By the time of Bergerac Alexander was blind in one eye due to a condition of the retina, which seriously threatened his sight in the other eye.[12] He retired from acting in 1999, suffering from Parkinson's disease.[2] He lived in Fulham, London, with his second wife, the actress Jane Downs.[13] He died on 28 May 2009 aged 86.[14]

Filmography

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Film

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Television

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References

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  1. ^ Slide, Anthony (1996). Some Joe you don't know : an American biographical guide to 100 British television personalities (1 ed.). Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 1–2. ISBN 0-313-29550-6.
  2. ^ a b c d "Terence Alexander: Actor who played the lovable rogue Charlie". The Independent. 8 June 2009.
  3. ^ Wearing, J. P. (16 September 2014). The London Stage 1950-1959: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9780810893085 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ a b "BFI Screenonline: Bergerac (1981-91)". screenonline.org.uk.
  5. ^ "BFI Screenonline: Forsyte Saga, The (1967) Credits". screenonline.org.uk.
  6. ^ "The Honour of the School (1970)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 1 January 2020.
  7. ^ "Waterloo (1970)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 22 July 2017.
  8. ^ "Terence Alexander". aveleyman.com.
  9. ^ "BBC Radio 4 Extra – John Creasey – the Toff on the Farm, 1. Trouble for Sale".
  10. ^ "Dempsey and Makepeace (1985)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 1 October 2016.
  11. ^ Higson, Peter. "Terence Alexander : Obituary – ThisIsAnnouncements". Lastingtribute.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 September 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  12. ^ Barker, Dennis (2 June 2009). "Obituary: Terence Alexander". The Guardian.
  13. ^ "Archived". Sunday Independent. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023 – via PressReader.[dead link‍]
  14. ^ "Terence Alexander". The Telegraph. 2 June 2009. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
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