Max Faulkner

Characters & Episodes: Milkman in Vendetta for a Dead Man
and Second Male Nurse (Andrew) in A Disturbing Case
Born: 1931, Croydon, Surrey, England (as Cathal Maxwell Parnell Macaulay Lloyd Faulkner)
Died: 13/02/2010, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, Wales

Max Faulkner forged a lengthy career as an actor and stuntman, progressing in later years to the position of stunt coordinator on various television shows and films. As an actor he appeared in several stage productions, including Scapa at Adelphi Theatre, in London's West End, in 1961. On television, he played different characters in series such as The Adventures of Robin Hood (between 1957 and 1960), which starred Richard Greene, The Four Just Men (between 1959 and 1960) and Doctor Who (between 1970 and 1978). He also featured in Ivanhoe (1958), which starred Roger Moore, The Avengers (1968), Poldark (1976) and Space: 1999 (1976).

On the big screen, Max had uncredited roles in many notable films, including A Night to Remember (1958), Stanley Donen’s Bedazzled (1967), starring Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, and Where Eagles Dare (1968). He also played a highwayman in Carry On Dick in 1974.

In many cases, the characters that Max was called on to play in television and film would be involved in action or stunt sequences. Max was a director's dream - a stunt performer who was also a good character actor. If you spotted Max on screen, it was a safe bet that his character would be involved in a fight, would get thrown into a lake or would fall down a cliff!

In his personal life, Max was married to actress Ann Gow, but later lived for many years with his partner The Hon. Juliet Duncombe (1937-2014), an actress and sister of the 6th Baron Feversham. Max died at Withybush Hospital in Pembrokeshire in 2010.

Harry 'Aitch' Fielder

Character & Episode: Passer-by in My Late, Lamented Friend and Partner;
Stuntman and Stand-in for Mike Pratt - all episodes of Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
Born: 26/04/1940, Islington, London, England
Died: 06/02/2021, Watford, Hertfordshire, England

Harry 'Aitch' Fielder could claim to have worked on well over three hundred television and film productions. Often his roles were very minor: as extras (speaking and non-speaking) and stand-ins for other actors. Upon leaving school, he worked variously in short-lived jobs as a Post Office messenger boy, made Christmas crackers and dyed feathers. Harry spent eight years working for a timber yard from 1958 until 1966. During this time he played in several bands, met his wife Mary Turner (1944-2010) at a gig and subsequently married her in 1963.

Harry started out as an extra in television programmes, the first of which was an episode of The Saint, filmed in 1966. By the following year he was a legionnaire in Carry On Follow That Camel, and then in 1969 he featured in all twenty-six episodes of Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), working as a stuntman and second unit double for Mike Pratt. Generally though, his roles were minor and often went uncredited.

On the silver screen Harry worked on films such as Oliver! (1968), Where Eagles Dare (1968), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) and The Battle of Britain (1969), Brannigan (1975) and The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976). In 1977 he was a Death Star stormtrooper in Star Wars and the following year he played a policeman in Superman (he would go on to figure in Superman II in a similar role). In 1979 he featured in the classic Fawlty Towers episode The Kipper and the Corpse. He went on to feature in McVicar and The Elephant Man (both 1980) and played a German soldier in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).

Between 1967 and 1982 he played an assortment of guards and other background characters in various Doctor Who stories. His last screen role was as a stallholder in the film Entrapment in 1999, which starred Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Harry also presented CBTV, a Thames TV programme during the Eighties.

Harry was proud of his career and was a familiar face at fan events and signing sessions. He wrote an autobiography - Extra, Extra, Read All About It! - in which he happily shared his experiences and memories of working in TV and film. He also ran his own website - http://harryfielder.co.uk. Harry passed away in his sleep on 6th February 2021 at the age of 80.

Gerald Flood

Character & Episode: Dr Lambert in A Disturbing Case
Born: 21/04/1927, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England (as Gerald Robert Flood)
Died: 12/04/1989, Farnham, Surrey, England

Born into a Naval family in Portsmouth, Hampshire, Gerald Flood would ultimately live for most of his life in Farnham, Surrey. During the Second World War he was a wireless operator in the Royal Air Force. After the conflict was over he was called up for National Service, during which he performed in amateur dramatics in Singapore. After demob, he decided to become an actor, but initially he took a job working as a filing clerk for National Cash Registers. During this time, he wrote to various repertory companies seeking employment and eventually was accepted by the Farnham Repertory Company in Surrey in 1949. He worked there for a few years and then went to Arthur Brough's companies in Maidstone and Folkestone in Kent. Subsequently, he was cast as Rosencrantz in Peter Brooke's stage production of Hamlet which toured venues in England and even went as far afield as Moscow. Throughout his career, he would regularly appear in stage productions, some of which played in West End theatres. However, despite his growing reputation and success, he retained an interest in local theatre in his adopted home town of Farnham, where in 1967 he became a member of the board of management of the Castle Theatre and later in 1974 fulfilled the same role at the Redgrave Theatre, which replaced it.

Gerald's first starring role on television was as journalist Conway Henderson in the second of the four Pathfinders science-fiction serials for children, Pathfinders in Space (September to October 1960). He inherited the role from Frank Finlay who had played the character in the first serial, Target Luna (April to May 1960) and would reprise it in the third and fourth serials Pathfinders to Mars (December 1960 to January 1961) and Pathfinders to Venus (March to April 1961). However, he really came to national prominence whist starring as Colonel Sharif Mahmoud alongside Patrick Allen and Sam Kydd in the Morocco-based police series, Crane, which was made by Associated-Rediffusion and ran from 1963 to 1965 on ITV. Other television work included guest appearances in series such as Strange Report (1969), Steptoe and Son (1970) and Return of the Saint (1978), which featured Ian Ogilvy in the title role. Gerald also portrayed Sir Hugo Baskerville in the 1968 BBC adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes novel The Hound of the Baskervilles, in which Peter Cushing starred as the great detective.  Three year later, Gerald figured in another BBC serialisation as Sir Richard Flashman in their version of Tom Brown's Schooldays. Later in life, he guest starred in the Doctor Who serial The King's Demons (1983), playing the dual role of King John and the robot Kamelion. The latter, which Gerald voiced, was intended to be a regular companion to the Doctor, but operational difficulties with the robotic prop restricted further appearances to a bare minimum – Gerald returned to supply the voice on these infrequent occasions – and the character was soon written out of the series.

On the big screen, Gerald featured in the controversial John Krish drama Captured, a hard-hitting film about Korean War prisoners of war. The film was banned and not seen in public until a Krish retrospective event at the National Film Theatre, now renamed the BFI Southbank, in 2003 (later, in 2013, the BFI released it on disc). The cast also included Ray Brooks, another contributor to Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased). Gerald's other film credits include Smokescreen (1964), Patton (1970) and Frightmare (1974).

In his personal life, Gerald was married to Anne Elizabeth Greenhalgh (1926-2004), from 1950 until his death. When they married, Anne was the box office manageress of the Castle Theatre. The couple had two sons, Tim (1952-), who became general manager of the Whitley Bay Playhouse, and Simon (1955-2003), who became a stage manager. Gerald was the grandfather of Toby Flood (1985-) who played Rugby Union and was capped by England 60 times. Sadly, during his later years Gerald suffered with alcoholism and this triggered a downturn in his career. He spent his last few years with his wife in a small flat in Aldershot. He died of a heart attack aged 61.

David Forbes

Character & Episode: Police Constable in The Smile Behind the Veil

David Forbes appears to have made only three credited appearances in television productions. In addition to his role as the police constable in The Smile Behind the Veil in Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), he also appeared as Tomkins in an ITV Playhouse written by Alick Rowe called Up School (transmitted on 29th December 1970) and one episode - A Lion at Sunset - of The Regiment (17th April 1972), a BBC series that had grown out of a 1970 entry in the Drama Playhouse strand. David played a character called Cornelius Uys in this latter series.

Dudley Foster

Character & Episode: George Foster in All Work and No Pay
Born: 07/08/1924, Brighouse, West Yorkshire, England (as Frank Dudley Foster)
Died: 08/01/1973, Hampstead, London, England

Gaunt-looking with sharp features and precise diction, Dudley Foster was a busy character actor for more than twenty years, notching up more than a hundred film and television appearances. Many of his early TV and film appearances went uncredited and some of these remain undiscovered. He learned a lot of his craft with Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop, Dudley's wealthy father having financed several of the theatre's productions.

Dudley began to pick up television roles during the 1950s. Among his first works were the BBC productions Six Characters in Search of an Author (1954), Othello (1955), Incident at Echo Six (1958) and a December 1955 episode of Fast and Loose (a Bob Monkhouse and Denis Goodwin comedy show). Dudley made several notable contributions to well-known television series, which include Coronation Street (1961), The Worker (which featured Charlie Drake, 1965) and The Saint (1965). He also featured in three episodes of The Avengers (between 1965 and 1968), four episodes of Steptoe and Son and sixteen times in Z Cars (between 1962 and 1971). He also played the villainous space pirate Caven in the 1969 Doctor Who serial The Space Pirates, which starred Patrick Troughton. Dudley was a gifted actor, equally adept at playing straight and comedic roles.

Later appearances included The Persuaders! (1971), Jason King (1972), with Peter Wyngarde in the title role and Public Eye (also 1972, his third appearance in this series), alongside his fictional All Work and No Pay brother Alfred Burke.

Tragically, and quite unexpectedly, Dudley took his own life by hanging himself early in 1973. He left a widow, the actress Eileen Kennally, whom he had married in 1952. She is notable for her roles as Mrs Boswell in The Liver Birds and Mrs Johnson in In Sickness and in Health, the 1980s revival of the Alf Garnett saga starring Warren Mitchell. Dudley and Eileen had two sons.

Grazina Frame

Character & Episode: Gloria March in That's How Murder Snowballs
Born: 06/11/1941, Fylde, Lancashire, England (as Lydia Anna Grazina Obrycki)

The daughter of Zena Frame and Karol Jan Obrycki, Grazina Frame attended the Aida Foster Drama School and commenced her career as Grazina Obrycki. She made her first television appearance as a servant girl in a Christmas play, A Time to be Born, for BBC Television (transmitted 24th December 1953) and soon changed her stage name to Grazina Frame, using her mother's surname. The greater part of her career has been as a singer, with occasional acting engagements, and therefore she was an obvious choice for her role as entertainer Gloria Marsh in That’s How Murder Snowballs.

By the late Fifties, she was making occasional television appearances and in the early Sixties she sang with Cliff Richard on several songs as she over-dubbed Carole Gray in The Young Ones (1961) and Lauri Peters in Summer Holiday (1963), working as a session vocalist. She also released several singles for HMV between 1962 and 1964.

Grazina’s films roles include What a Crazy World (1963), The Bargee (alongside Harry H Corbett and Ronnie Barker, 1964) Every Day's a Holiday (1964) and The Alphabet Murders in 1965. On television, she appeared in such series as Up Pompeii! (1970), The Fenn Street Gang (1971), Doctor in Charge (1972) and The Morecambe and Wise Show as a regular from 1971 to 1974, playing supporting roles to the legendary comedians. Her last screen appearance was in the television movie Cuts in 1996.

In her personal life, she married the English songwriter, record producer and author Mitch Murray (1940-) in 1966. The couple had two daughters, Gina and Mazz, who went on to form the girl group Woman. The marriage to Murray ended in divorce in 1980. Grazina remarried, tying the knot with writer-producer Rob Dallas (1959-). She was a close friend of the late comedian and quiz show king Bob Monkhouse (1928-2003).

John Fraser

Character & Episode: David Hellingworth in Whoever Heard of a Ghost Dying?
Born: 18/03/1931, Glasgow, Scotland (as John Alexander Fraser)
Died: 07/11/2020, London, England

Born in Scotland and brought up on a council estate in Glasgow, John Fraser always wanted to be an actor. He went on professional stage at the age of 16, playing Herodias' page in Salome at the Park, Glasgow, in 1947. Further stage roles followed as well as experience as an assistant stage manager for the first Pitlochry season in 1951. His first screen (and lead) role came in 1952 in the BBC Television adventure series Kidnapped as David Balfour. Blessed with striking good looks, John was cast in leading roles, particularly in the Sixties, and continued to work steadily until 1996, after which he retired and moved to Italy. He had appeared in more than eighty film and television roles. One of his earliest feature film roles was as Flight Lieutenant J. V. Hopgood, D.F.C. in The Dam Busters, the acclaimed 1955 war film. He went on to have starring roles in films such as the second movie version of J.B. Priestley's The Good Companions (1957), El Cid (1961) and Roman Polanski's Repulsion (1965). He became a familiar face on television, with guest roles in series including Danger Man (1964), Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) (1969), Columbo (1972), Doctor Who (1981) and The Bill (1995 and 1996).

John was nominated for a British Academy Award for his role as Lord Alfred Douglas in the film The Trials of Oscar Wilde (1960), which featured James Mason and Peter Finch. For sixteen years he toured the world with the London Shakespeare Group, a company he formed with fellow actors Gary Raymond and Delena Kidd.

In addition to his acting, John also recorded several pop records in the late 1950s, two of which made the Top Ten charts. He wrote several novels, the first of which, Clap Hands If You Believe in Fairies, was released in 1969. Following his retirement, John reflected on his life and career in his autobiography Close Up (2004), in which he wrote frankly about his gay life and friendships with well-known actors. He also was the person who was called on to identify the body of fellow actor Patrick Wymark - famous for The Power Game and the Gerry Anderson film Doppelganger - who died in Australia whilst he and John were touring there in Anthony Shaffer's play Sleuth.

John lived for forty years in Tuscany and in later life settled in London. He passed away on 7th November 2020 at the age of 89 and was survived by his partner, Rod, a painter originally from South Africa.

Liz Fraser

Character & Episode: Fay Crackan in It's Supposed To Be Thicker Than Water
Born: 14/08/1930, Southwark, London, England (as Elizabeth Joan Winch)
Died: 06/09/2018, Chelsea, London, England

Blonde, busty Liz Fraser had a colourful career as an actress, mainly working in comedy. London born, she attended a girls' grammar school and later studied acting at the London School of Dramatic Art. Upon leaving, Liz started her professional career in repertory theatre in Accrington under her birth name. She made her big screen debut in Touch And Go in 1955, a comedy film which starred Jack Hawkins. Later that same year, she changed her acting name to Elizabeth Fraser, which was shortened to Liz Fraser some years later. Her first major film role came in 1959 when she played Cynthia Kite in I'm All Right Jack alongside Peter Sellers, who she would work with again in Two Way Stretch (1960).

On television, Liz had been appearing in several episodes of the comedy series Hancock's Half Hour between 1956 and 1960. She would work with Hancock again on the feature film The Rebel (1961) and with Hancock's co-star Sid James in a number of comedies including Citizen James and the Carry On series (four appearances, in Carry On Regardless, Carry On Cruising, Carry On Cabbie and Carry On Behind). Sixties film highlights for Liz were as Leonora in Doctor In Love (1960) with Joan Sims, The Bulldog Breed (also 1960) with Norman Wisdom, and The Amorous Prawn (1962), starring with Joan Greenwood, Dennis Price and Ian Carmichael, whom she had worked with previously on I'm All Right Jack. Double Bunk (1961) saw her cast as Sid James' girlfriend Sandra, leading to a hit record of the same name for Sid James with Liz adding some vocals.

Her Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) role represented a rare 'straight' screen appearance, though she had previously featured in The Avengers and No Hiding Place. She would later make further appearances in drama series such as Jason King (1972), The Professionals (1979), Miss Marple (1987) and The Bill (1989 and 1994). However, comedy remained her staple employment on film and television, with roles in Here Come the Double Deckers!, The Goodies and The Benny Hill Show (all 1970), and in many low budget sex comedies including the Confessions of a... and Adventures of a... series at a time when the British film industry was otherwise in the doldrums. She also appeared notably as Mrs Pike in the feature film version of Dad's Army (1971). She made her final screen appearance after a lengthy break from acting when she featured in an episode of Midsomer Murders in 2018.

In her private life, Liz was first married to Peter Yonwin, a travelling salesman. The couple tied the knot in November 1958, but the marriage soon broke down and they were divorced. She remarried in January 1965, with film director and producer Bill Hitchcock being her new partner, but he died suddenly in 1974, leaving her widowed. When not acting, Liz was a landlady and in the late Seventies could be seen on television playing darts against the professionals of the time. She was also a one-time ladies' bowls champion at the famous Hurlingham Club. Her autobiography, Liz Fraser... and Other Characters (2012), tells of her career and of her battles with ill health in later life. She died on 6th September 2018 at Royal Brompton Hospital as a result of complications following an operation, a sad end to a rich life lived to the full.