Jeremy Young

Character & Episode: Douglas Kershaw in You Can Always Find a Fall Guy
Born: 28/07/1934, Liverpool, Merseyside, England
Died: 09/04/2022, Chelsea, London

Of Scottish descent, Jeremy Young was a much-employed character actor for more almost fifty years who made significantly more than one hundred television and film appearances. His first choice of career was medicine, which he studied for three years, and when he chose instead to become an actor his decision was met with family opposition. He first developed a serious interest in acting and the stage while on National Service, during which time he directed and organised plays. On his return to civilian life, he was soon offered a job in journalism, but decided not to expect it, preferring to get into professional theatre in Peterborough. However, he was rejected due to a lack of experience. He remained in the city and, in order to earn a living, became a furniture salesman. Soon, in early 1955, he responded to an announcement in The Stage newspaper and this led to employment in the theatre as an actor and assistant stage manager. Later, he was a founder member of the original Renaissance Theatre Company. He first appeared on screen in the late 1950s and would work in television for the greater proportion of his career.

During the Sixties, he appeared on numerous shows and is perhaps best remembered for his role as Athos in the BBC serials The Three Musketeers (1966-1967) and The Further Adventures of the Musketeers (1967). Other contributions during the decade included a regular role in Deadline Midnight (1960-61), and guest turns in The Avengers (A Touch of Brimstone, Never, Never Say Die and The Forget-Me-Knot), The Saint (The Man Who Liked Lions and The Ex-King of Diamonds) and Z Cars. He is also notable as being one of the main supporting actors in the first Doctor Who serial transmitted in late 1963. He would appear in the series once again in 1965 in Mission to the Unknown, which is unique in that it is the only episode of the series not to feature the Doctor or any of the regular characters, being a one-episode scene-setter for an epic Dalek story, The Daleks' Master Plan. Jeremy also appeared in the soap operas Crossroads (as Professor Angrave), Coronation Street (1972, as Benny Lewis) and EastEnders (1988-89, as Officer Stone). His screen appearances became more infrequent after the Seventies and he made his final television appearance in the drama The Debt in 2003.

In his personal life, Jeremy was first married to actress Coral Atkins (1936-2016) and later, from 1971 to 1976, to actress Kate O'Mara (1939-2014), another familiar face on British television. In his later years, Jeremy worked for BBC Radio and for a long time taught and directed at the Court Theatre Training Company, which is part of the Courtyard, London.

Raymond Young

Character & Episode: Rawlings in But What a Sweet Little Room
Born: 16/06/1918, London, England (as Raimondo Jaquarello)
Died: 27/07/2011, Littlehampton, West Sussex, England

Raymond Young was a supporting actor with more than one hundred film and television credits to his name. He started his professional acting career in the 1930s. During the Second World War, he was a flight control officer in RAF. He broke into television with the BBC in second half of 1940s, and in this decade he appeared in such productions as British Justice, Lady Luck and She Stoops to Conquer. His first big screen part came when he was cast as Roddy Black in Adam and Evelyne (1949), a romance film, and it was at around this time that he adopted the stage name Raymond Young.

In 1952, Raymond played the regular role of the Marquis de la Tour du Pin in the television serial The Three Hostages, which was based on John Buchan's famous Richard Hannay stories. Throughout the remainder of the 1950s, Raymond proved to be much in demand, appearing in some notable television series such as The Adventures of Charlie Chan, Ivanhoe and The Vise. During the Sixties, he continued to appear regularly in many television series, making valuable contributions to Emma, Biggles and Seven Deadly Sins. He also had an uncredited role in the James Bond film Goldfinger (1964) and featured in well-remembered genre series such as Mr. Rose (1968), Department S (1969), Callan (1969) and The Persuaders! (1971). As the Eighties approached, his appearances became scarce and he made his last in Jeeves and Wooster in 1991. He also appeared in radio productions.

In his personal life, Raymond was first married to Elsie Pamela Johnson (1917-1996) and they had son, Roland (born in 1945), who became a theatre director and radio producer/director. Raymond's second marriage was to actress Diana Calderwood (1927-2020).