Stephen Hancock
British actor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Philip Stephen Hancock (24 November 1925 – 1 November 2015) was a British television and stage actor, musical director and pianist.
24 November 1925
Stephen Hancock | |
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| Born | Philip Stephen Hancock 24 November 1925 Bishop Auckland, County Durham, England |
| Died | 1 November 2015 (aged 89) |
| Education | Durham University |
| Occupations | Actor, musical director |
| Spouse | Jocelyne Page |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Christopher Hancock (brother; deceased) |
He was born in Bishop Auckland, County Durham and attended the Chorister School, Durham and the Darlington Grammar School before reading music at Durham University as a mature student.[1] He served as a radio engineer in the Royal Air Force during World War II.[2]
He was best known for his role as Ernest Bishop in Coronation Street. Introduced as wedding photographer Gordon Bishop in a 1967 episode dedicated to one of Elsie Tanner's marriages, he later re-emerged as the regular character Ernie and played the character from 1969 until being written out in a fatal shooting during a burglary at Mike Baldwin's factory in 1978.[2][3] Late minor TV roles included appearances in Victoria Wood as Seen on TV in 1985/1986.[4] He appeared as Mr Lillie in the Tales of the Unexpected (TV series) episode (9/6) "The Facts of Life" (1988).
He also acted in stage productions, and was musical director for others,[5] and composed music for radio.
His brother was the late Christopher Hancock who played Charlie Cotton in EastEnders.[6] In 2011 he appeared in a Coronation Street tribute programme.
