Richard Coleman
Encyclopedia
Richard Coleman was a British television and stage actor.
, London
in 1930. Coleman was awarded the Leverhulme Scholarship to RADA
in 1951, and graduated in 1953 with the Principal’s Medal. He adopted the stage name Richard Coleman, to avoid confusion with the film star Ronald Colman
.
in the stage adaptation of Sailor Beware!. He also appeared in The World of Suzie Wong
, A Murder is Announced
, The Mousetrap
and the stage version of There's a Girl in My Soup
.
, and its sequel ...And Mother Makes Five
, opposite Wendy Craig
. Other television roles included Nick Allardyce in The Adventures of Ben Gunn (1958), Alan-a-Dale in The Adventures of Robin Hood
(1958–60), and Jack Royston in the soap opera Weavers Green
(1966). Coleman also made guest appearances in television series such as Dixon of Dock Green
, The Avengers
, Z-Cars
, Robin's Nest
, Surgical Spirit
and Virtual Murder
.
(1957), Girls at Sea
(1958), The Navy Lark
(1959), Ben-Hur
(1959) and Rotten to the Core (1965). He also had a cameo role in the film 10 Rillington Place (1971) as the police constable who arrests John Christie
.
Early life
He was born Ronald Coleman in PeckhamPeckham
Peckham is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Southwark. It is situated south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1930. Coleman was awarded the Leverhulme Scholarship to RADA
Rada
Rada is the term for "council" or "assembly"borrowed by Polish from the Low Franconian "Rad" and later passed into the Czech, Ukrainian, and Belarusian languages....
in 1951, and graduated in 1953 with the Principal’s Medal. He adopted the stage name Richard Coleman, to avoid confusion with the film star Ronald Colman
Ronald Colman
Ronald Charles Colman was an English actor.-Early years:He was born in Richmond, Surrey, England, the second son and fourth child of Charles Colman and his wife Marjory Read Fraser. His siblings included Eric, Edith, and Marjorie. He was educated at boarding school in Littlehampton, where he...
.
Theatre
Coleman made his professional acting debut in 1954, alongside Peggy MountPeggy Mount
Margaret Rose "Peggy" Mount OBE, was an English actress of stage and screen. She was perhaps best known for playing battleaxe characters, though her real personality was said to have been far removed from such roles. She was also well-known for her distinctive voice.- Early life :Mount was born in...
in the stage adaptation of Sailor Beware!. He also appeared in The World of Suzie Wong
The World of Suzie Wong
The World of Suzie Wong is a 1957 novel written by Richard Mason. The main characters are Robert Lomax, a young British artist living in Hong Kong, and Suzie Wong, the title character, a Chinese woman who works as a prostitute...
, A Murder is Announced
A Murder is Announced
A Murder is Announced is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in June 1950 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in the same month...
, The Mousetrap
The Mousetrap
The Mousetrap is a murder mystery play by Agatha Christie. The Mousetrap opened in the West End of London in 1952, and has been running continuously since then. It has the longest initial run of any play in history, with over 24,500 performances so far. It is the longest running show of the modern...
and the stage version of There's a Girl in My Soup
There's A Girl In My Soup (comedy)
There's A Girl In My Soup is a stage comedy written by Terence Frisby.It opened in 1966 at the Globe Theatre and ran for six and half years until 1973 - over a thousand performances - to become the longest-running comedy in the history of the West End. After three and a half years at the Globe, the...
.
Television
His most memorable television role was that of David Redway in the situation comedy ...And Mother Makes Three...And Mother Makes Three
...And Mother Makes Three is a British sitcom shown on ITV from 1971 to 1973. Starring Wendy Craig, it was written by Peter Buchanan, Peter Robinson and Richard Waring...
, and its sequel ...And Mother Makes Five
...And Mother Makes Five
...And Mother Makes Five is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1974 to 1976. Starring Wendy Craig, it is the sequel of ...And Mother Makes Three and aired for four series. ...And Mother Makes Five was written by Richard Waring, Brian Cooke and Johnnie Mortimer. Wendy Craig also wrote some...
, opposite Wendy Craig
Wendy Craig
Wendy Craig is a BAFTA Award winning English actress who is best known for her appearances in the sitcoms Butterflies, ...And Mother Makes Three and ...And Mother Makes Five...
. Other television roles included Nick Allardyce in The Adventures of Ben Gunn (1958), Alan-a-Dale in The Adventures of Robin Hood
The Adventures of Robin Hood (TV series)
The Adventures of Robin Hood is a popular British television series comprising 143 half-hour, black and white episodes. It starred Richard Greene as the outlaw Robin Hood and Alan Wheatley as his nemesis, the Sheriff of Nottingham. The show aired weekly between 1955 and 1959 on ITV in London in the...
(1958–60), and Jack Royston in the soap opera Weavers Green
Weavers Green
Weavers Green was a British television soap opera, made in 1966 for ITV by Anglia Television. It was notable for being one of the first television programmes to be shot on location using videotape and outside broadcast equipment, rather than film, as had usually been the case for non-studio...
(1966). Coleman also made guest appearances in television series such as Dixon of Dock Green
Dixon of Dock Green
Dixon of Dock Green was a popular BBC television series that ran from 1955 to 1976, and later a radio series. Despite being a drama series, it was initially produced by the BBC's light entertainment department.-Overview:...
, The Avengers
The Avengers (TV series)
The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...
, Z-Cars
Z-Cars
Z-Cars is a British television drama series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby in the outskirts of Liverpool in Merseyside. Produced by the BBC, it debuted in January 1962 and ran until September 1978.-Origins:The series was developed by...
, Robin's Nest
Robin's Nest
Robin's Nest is a British sitcom starring Richard O'Sullivan as Robin Tripp, one of the lead characters in the sitcom Man About the House, which had ended in 1976. Robin's Nest aired for six series from 1977 to 1981, and co-starred Tessa Wyatt as Robin's girlfriend and later wife and Tony Britton...
, Surgical Spirit
Surgical Spirit
Surgical Spirit is a British situation-comedy television series starring Nichola McAuliffe and Duncan Preston that was broadcast from 1989 through 1995. It was written by Peter Learmouth, Graeme Garden, Raymond Dixon, Annie Bruce, Annie Wood and Paul McKenzie...
and Virtual Murder
Virtual Murder
Virtual Murder was an unusual investigative drama series shown on BBC television in 1992. It starred Nicholas Clay as Dr John Cornelius, a psychology lecturer at a provincial university, and Kim Thomson as his vivacious, red-headed partner, Samantha Valentine.- Subject matter and cast :Virtual...
.
Film
Coleman appeared in a number films including Yangtse IncidentYangtse Incident (1957 film)
Yangtse Incident: The Story of HMS Amethyst is a 1957 British war film that tells the story of the British frigate HMS Amethyst caught up in the Chinese Civil War....
(1957), Girls at Sea
Girls at Sea (1958 film)
Girls At Sea is a 1958 British comedy film directed by Gilbert Gunn and starring Ronald Shiner as Marine Ogg and Warren Mitchell as Arthur. It was based on a play by Ian Hay...
(1958), The Navy Lark
The Navy Lark (film)
The Navy Lark is a 1959 British comedy film adaptation of The Navy Lark radio series broadcast on the BBC Light Programme. It featured Cecil Parker, Ronald Shiner and Leslie Phillips, Gordon Jackson and Hattie Jacques...
(1959), Ben-Hur
Ben-Hur (1959 film)
Ben-Hur is a 1959 American epic film directed by William Wyler and starring Charlton Heston in the title role, the third film adaptation of Lew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. The screenplay was written by Karl Tunberg, Gore Vidal, and Christopher Fry. The score was composed by...
(1959) and Rotten to the Core (1965). He also had a cameo role in the film 10 Rillington Place (1971) as the police constable who arrests John Christie
John Christie (murderer)
John Reginald Halliday Christie , born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, was a notorious English serial killer active in the 1940s and '50s. He murdered at least eight females – including his wife Ethel – by strangling them in his flat at 10 Rillington Place, Notting Hill, London...
.