Peter Jeffrey
English actor (1929–1999)
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Peter Jeffrey (18 April 1929 – 25 December 1999) was an English actor. Starting his performing career on stage, he later portrayed many roles in television and film.[1]
Peter Jeffrey | |
|---|---|
 Jeffrey in an episode of Adam Adamant Lives! | |
| Born | 18 April 1929 Bristol, England |
| Died | 25 December 1999 (aged 70) Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1944–1999 |
| Spouses | Yvonne Bonnamy
(m. 1955, divorced)Jill Jowett (m. 1990) |
| Children | 5 |
Early life
Jeffrey was born in Bristol, the son of Florence Alice (née Weight) and Arthur Winfred Gilbert Jeffrey.[2] He was educated at Harrow School and Pembroke College, Cambridge, but had no formal training as an actor.
Career
Theatre
Jeffrey spent many years on stage with the Bristol Old Vic and the Royal Shakespeare Company. From 25 May 1966 he appeared in Tango, a play by Sławomir Mrożek at the Aldwych Theatre alongside Patience Collier, Mike Pratt, Ursula Mohan and Dudley Sutton, under director Trevor Nunn.[3]
Television
Numerous television roles include two guest appearances in Doctor Who: as the Colony Pilot in The Macra Terror (1967) and as Count Grendel in The Androids of Tara (1978). In Granada Television's daytime legal drama series Crown Court, Jeffrey played Barrister Peter Edgar QC having made a previous appearance as William Askwith Vennings in the case involving Regina v Vennings & Vennings.
He played King Philip II of Spain in the BBC serial Elizabeth R (1971) and Oliver Cromwell in By the Sword Divided (1985). He also appeared in Special Branch (1973), Thriller (1974), Porridge (1975), Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em (1975), Quiller (1975), Rising Damp (1978), Minder (1980), Nanny (1981), Juliet Bravo (1982), Yes Minister (1984), and Dennis Potter's Lipstick on Your Collar (1993). He played the villainous Sultan in the fantasy epic The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) and appeared as Police Commissioner Blamire in Our Friends in the North (1996).
He made three appearances in The Avengers; the episodes were "Room Without A View" (1966), "The Joker" (1967) and "The Game" (1968). He featured in The New Avengers episode "House of Cards" (1976).
Films
He played the role of Headmaster in Lindsay Anderson's If..... In 1971, he played Inspector Trout in The Abominable Dr. Phibes, a role he reprised in 1972 in Dr. Phibes Rises Again. He later starred as disgraced Oxford don and psychiatric hospital inmate Ahmet in Midnight Express (1978).
Death
Jeffrey died on Christmas Day in 1999 from prostate cancer.[4]
Filmography
Films
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | Never Look Back | Court Reporter | Uncredited |
| 1964 | Becket | Baron | |
| 1965 | The Early Bird | Fire Chief | |
| 1966 | That Riviera Touch | Mauron | |
| A Choice of Kings | Bishop Odo | ||
| The Fighting Prince of Donegal | Sergeant | ||
| 1968 | The Fixer | Berezhinsky | |
| If.... | Headmaster | ||
| 1969 | Ring of Bright Water | Colin Wilcox | |
| The Best House in London | Sherlock Holmes | Uncredited | |
| Anne of the Thousand Days | Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk | ||
| 1970 | Goodbye Gemini | Detective Inspector Kingsley | |
| 1971 | Countess Dracula | Captain Balogh | |
| The Abominable Dr. Phibes | Inspector Trout | ||
| The Horsemen | Hayatal | ||
| 1972 | What Became of Jack and Jill? | Dr. Graham | |
| Dr. Phibes Rises Again | Inspector Trout | ||
| 1973 | O Lucky Man! | Factory chairman/Prison Governor | |
| 1974 | The Odessa File | David Porath | |
| 1975 | Deadly Strangers | Belle's Uncle | |
| The Return of the Pink Panther | General Wadafi | ||
| 1978 | Midnight Express | Ahmet | |
| 1982 | Britannia Hospital | Sir Geoffrey | |
| 1988 | The Adventures of Baron Munchausen | Sultan |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | The Castiglioni Brothers | Camillio | TV movie |
| 1960 | Saturday Playhouse | Major Verreker | Episode: "Conflict at Kalandi" |
| 1963 | The Spread of the Eagle | Sicinius Velutus | 3 episodes |
| First Night | Lieutenant | Episode: "Sticks" | |
| 1964 | No Hiding Place | Horatio | Episode: "It's Coming Down Harder" |
| 1964-5 | The Plane Makers | James Cameron-Grant MP | 8 episodes |
| The Saint | George Marring/Quincy | 2 episodes | |
| 1964-7 | ITV Play of the Week | Various | 4 episodes |
| 1965 | Public Eye | Harry Lawford | Episode: "You Have to Draw the Line Somewhere" |
| Cluff | Reader | Episode: "The Convict" | |
| 1965-9 | Armchair Theatre | Marsden/Kenneth | 2 episodes |
| 1965-7 | The Wednesday Play | Various | 4 episodes |
| 1966 | The Liars | Cadi | 1 episode |
| Adam Adamant Lives! | Sinoda | Episode: "Beauty is an Ugly Word" | |
| Dixon of Dock Green | DI Carter | 2 episodes | |
| 1966-8 | The Avengers | Various | 3 episodes |
| 1966-73 | BBC Play of the Month | 4 episodes | |
| 1967 | Drama 61-67 | Mr. Irtin | Episode: "Mr Irtin" |
| Softly, Softly | Duke | Episode: "The Linkman" | |
| The Revenue Men | Milo Benedict | Episode: "Fox in the High Street" | |
| NET Playhouse | Muspratt/Bishop Odo | 2 episodes | |
| 1967-8 | Theatre 625 | The Baron/Thompson | |
| 1967-71 | The Troubleshooters | Heritage/Marlin | |
| 1967-78 | Doctor Who | Pilot/Count Grendel | Serials: "The Macra Terror and "The Androids of Tara" |
| 1968 | Dr. Finlay's Casebook | Craig | Episode: "Conscience Clause" |
| Frontier | Captain Rankin-Keogh | Episode: "Duel of Honour" | |
| 1968-1979 | ITV Playhouse | Various | 4 episodes |
| 1969 | Chronicle | Thomas Becket | Episode: "Becket" |
| Out of the Unknown | Masham Cresswell | Episode: "Get Off My Cloud" | |
| Strange Report | Superintendant Shaw | Episode: Report 8319 - GRENADE: 'What Price Change?' | |
| 1970-5 | The Main Chance | Hugh Neville/Kenneth Manmer | 2 episodes |
| 1971 | The Expert | Cedric Lambert | Episode: "Cedric" |
| Elizabeth R | King Philip II of Spain | 2 episodes | |
| 1971-8 | Play for Today | Various | 4 episodes |
| 1972 | The Onedin Line | McPherson | Episode: "Cry of the Blackbird" |
| The Shadow of the Tower | The Prisoner | Episode: "The Serpent and the Comforter" | |
| Dead of Night | Wisbech | Episode: "Two in the Morning" | |
| 1972-8 | Crown Court | Various | 5 serials |
| 1973 | The Adventurer | Rymans | Episode: "Full Fathom Five" |
| Barlow at Large | DS Miller | Episode: "Review" | |
| Special Branch | Pettiford | Episode: "A Copper Called Craven" | |
| Harriet's Back in Town | Ronnie Graham | 2 episodes | |
| New Scotland Yard | Chief Supt. Piggott | Episode: "Exchange is No Robbery" | |
| 1974 | The Water Margin | English Dub | Episode: "A Foolish Sage Who Got Involved" |
| The Protectors | Police Inspector | Episode: "Blockbuster" | |
| Bedtime Stories | Nethercoat | Episode: "Jack and the Beanstalk" | |
| Napoleon and Love | Tallyrand | 7 episodes | |
| Thriller | Dexter | Episode: "Come Out, Come Out Wherever You Are" | |
| Marked Personal | Harry Baker | 2 episodes | |
| Cakes and Me | Alroy Kear | 3 episodes | |
| 1975 | The Sweeney | Det. Supt. Pringle | Episode: "Thin Ice" |
| Jackanory Playhouse | Atticus the Bandit Chief | Episode: "The Jo-Jo Tree " | |
| Survivors | Knox | Episode: "Garland's War" | |
| Quiller | Colonel Hythe | Episode: "The Thin Red Line" | |
| Porridge | Mr. Wainwright | Episode: "Disturbing the Peace" | |
| Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em | Hayes | Episode: "Learning to Drive" | |
| 1976 | Jackanory | Storyteller | Story: "In the Grip of the Lemon Fever" |
| Bill Brand | Maidstone | Episode: "August for the Party" | |
| The New Avengers | Ivan Perov | Episode: "House of Cards" | |
| 1977 | London Belongs to Me | Henry Squales | Miniseries |
| 1978 | Rumpole of the Bailey | Sam Dogherty | Episode: "Rumpole and the Alternative Society" |
| Rising Damp | Ambrose | Episode: "Under the Influence" | |
| The Famous Five | Mr. Wooh | Episode: "Five Are Together Again" | |
| 1979 | Omnibus | Father | Episode: "Worlds Fail Me" |
| 1980 | Spy! | Ambassador Ott | Episode: "Tokyo Ring" |
| Minder | Clive | Episode: "A Nice Little Wine" | |
| 1981 | BBC Television Shakespeare | Parolles | Episode: All's Well That Ends Well |
| Nanny | Capt. Robert Charlesworth | Episode: "Trompe LOeil" | |
| Bognor | Milburn Port | 7 episodes | |
| 1982 | Tales of the Unexpected | Mr. Stewart | Episode: "The Skeleton Key" |
| Juliet Bravo | Detective Superintendent Nuttall | Episode: "Cause for Complaint" | |
| 1984 | The Jewel in the Crown | Mr. Peabody | Episode: "The Division of the Spoils" |
| Yes Minister | Eric | Episode: "Party Games" | |
| 1984-5 | One by One | Maurice Webb | |
| 1985 | By the Sword Divided | Oliver Cromwell | 6 episodes |
| Lace II | Nicholas Cliff Sr. | TV movie | |
| The Last Place on Earth | Lord Curzon | 3 episodes | |
| 1987 | Screen Two | Henry Windscape | Episode: "Quartermaine's Terms" |
| Bergerac | Rockwell | Episode: "Treasure Hunt" | |
| 1988 | You Must Be the Husband | Clifford Unsworth | Episode: "Alice and Her Yorkshire Pudding" |
| 1989 | ScreenPlay | Rev. Mendel of Riminov | Episode: "The Night of Simhat Torah" |
| Chelworth | Michael Hincham | Minisereries | |
| The Nightmare Years | Norman Ebbutt | 4 episodes | |
| 1990 | Hands of a Murderer | Mycroft Holmes | TV movie |
| Theatre Night | William Combe | Episode: "Bingo: Scenes of Money and Death" | |
| 1993 | Lovejoy | Geoffrey Connaught | Episode: "Judgment of Solomon" |
| The Detectives | Derek | Episode: "Acting Constables" | |
| Lipstick on Your Collar | Col. Bernwood | Miniseries | |
| 1994 | Middlemarch | Nicholas Bulstrode | |
| 1995 | A Village Affair | Peter Morris | TV movie |
| 1996 | Rasputin | Bishop Hermogones | |
| The Treasure Seekers | Wentworth | ||
| Paul Merton in Galton and Simpson's... | Judge | Episode: "Twelve Angry Men" | |
| The Bill | Harry Hedges | Episode: "Hedging Your Bets" | |
| Our Friends in the North | Colin Blamire | 3 episodes | |
| The Prince and the Pauper | The Duke of Norfolk | Miniseries | |
| The Moonstone | Mr. Bruff | 2 episodes | |
| 1997 | Breakout | Prof. Bannerman | TV movie |
| The Tale of Sweeney Todd | Dr. Maxwell | ||
| 1997-8 | Knight School | Sir Hubert Grindcobbe | 3 episodes |
| 1998 | Heartbeat | Mr. Ryle | Episode: "Where There's a Will" |
| 1999 | Kavanagh QC | Sir Ronald Tibbitt | Episode: "Endgame" |
| Where the Heart Is | Ronnie Lyons | Episode: "Expansions" | |
| The Scarlet Pimpernel | Marquis de Rochambeau | Episode: "Valentin Gautier" |