dead Ed Bishop- Commander Straker Cashes In His Chips

[IKYWN 6]

Why this one slipped through the net amazes me. He used to live up the road and my sister was mates with one of his daughters at school.

 

Ed Bishop

 

Ed Bishop, who died on Wednesday aged 72, was one of some 300 North American actors whose careers are spent in London.

 

In the course of almost 50 years he appeared on television and radio, as well as in films. If he never achieved star status, his pleasing stage presence and distinctive tones, slightly tuned for British ears, meant that he was often the first man to whom directors turned whenever an American was needed.

 

At the same time he was in demand for TV commercials; and it was no disadvantage that his voice bore a resemblance to that of President John Kennedy.

 

Ironically, although no great enthusiast of science fiction, Bishop was much sought after for sf films. He played Commander Ed Straker in the 26 episodes of Gerry Anderson's series UFO, for which he was made to dye his dark hair blond.

 

He provided the voice of Captain Blue in the puppet series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons and also appeared in the films Battle Beneath the Earth, Doppelganger, Saturn 3 and Stanley Kubrick's 2001 - though in the latter most of his performance as a Pan Am shuttle pilot was cut.

 

The son of a Manhattan banker, he was born George Victor Bishop in Brooklyn, New York, on June 11 1932. He went to Peekskill High School, before studying briefly at teachers' training college then joining the United States Army, which sent him to St John's, Newfoundland; there he became disc jockey with Station VOUS and gained his first acting experience with the St John's Players.

 

After being discharged, young George enrolled at Boston University to study Business Administration, then switched, despite strong protests by his parents, to a drama course at Boston University. This led to a Fulbright grant to study at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, where he adopted the first name Ed, to distinguish himself from an established actor.

 

He expected to return to America in a few months, but after meeting film actors in Soho, he decided to stay: "I was here in London for the duration."

 

Bishop's first professional appearance was in Granada Television's Edge of Truth. He played a sailor in Look Homeward, Angel at the Pembroke Theatre, Croydon, before joining the West End production of Bye, Bye Birdie. Stanley Kubrick then cast him as an ambulance driver in Lolita.

 

After marrying his second wife Hilary Preen, whom he had met in Trafalgar Square, Bishop made his debut on Broadway, as an Englishman in David Merrick's production of The Rehearsal with Coral Browne. He then returned to London, where he attracted considerable attention as John Kennedy in Joan Littlewood's stage production of MacBird.

 

On film, he played Colonel Vogt in The War Lover with Steve McQueen (1962); appeared with Robert Mitchum and Trevor Howard in Man in the Middle (1964); and had parts in the Bond features Diamonds are Forever and You Only Live Twice. In addition, there was regular television work in such series as The Saint and The Baron.

 

In the early 1970s he went to Hollywood, where he appeared in the animated series Star Trek and starred in Pets (1974). But he now felt "something of a Brit". In addition to film roles in Britain, he appeared in the TV series Dick Turpin, Colditz and Whoops Apocalypse and gave a notable radio portrayal of Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe, outshining many big screen stars.

 

A non-smoking, non-drinking supporter of CND and the Green Party, Ed Bishop is survived by his third wife Jane Skinner, whom he met while dressed up as General Pinochet in a demonstration against the arms trade, and by three daughters; a son died in a car crash.

[Teddy 21]

Not so much slipped through the net, more no-one considered giving him his own thread

 

You can check out his passing (mention) here.

[YoungWillz 21,062]

It's been 13 and a bit years since Ed Bishop strake out on 8 June 2005, aged 72.

[charon 4,943]

Strange bump YW but....

 

 

 

A non-smoking, non-drinking supporter of CND and the Green Party, Ed Bishop is survived by his third wife Jane Skinner, whom he met while dressed up as General Pinochet in a demonstration against the arms trade,

 

I, for one, am glad his Reign of Terror is over.

[YoungWillz 21,062]

5 minutes ago, charon said:

Strange bump YW but....

 

 

 

 

 

I, for one, am glad his Reign of Terror is over.

 

Yeah the things you do while watching MPs vote.

 

I looked at the first twelve days of June for deaths, tried to tally with those who didn't have the death tag and bump them up. (Thanks mods for the tagging).

 

First 12 days of June are a fertile haunting ground....in addition to those I bumped, there was Billy Preston, Frances Shand Kydd, Guy de Rothschild, etc etc. This year it's Lady Mary Wilson...and the day isn't out yet.