Albert Moses,

KStJ The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of ...

(19 December 1937 – 15 September 2017) was a Sri Lankan actor based in the United Kingdom. He is best known for playing the role of Ranjeet Singh, a student in Jeremy Brown's EFL class in the popular

British sitcom A British sitcom or a Britcom is a situational comedy programme produced for British television. Most British sitcoms are recorded on studio sets, while some have an element of location filming. A handful are made almost exclusively on location ...

'' Mind Your Language'' and one of four students (along with Giovanni Capello, Juan Cervantes, and Anna Schmidt) to appear in all four series.

Personal life

He was born on 19 December 1937 in

Gampola Gampola ( si, ගම්පොල, ta, கம்பளை) is a town located in Kandy District, Central Province, Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council. Gampola was made the capital of the island by King Buwanekabahu IV, who ruled for four yea ...

Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...

. He started to work at the

University of Ceylon The University of Ceylon was the only university in Sri Lanka (earlier Ceylon) from 1942 until 1972. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka. The University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972, replaced it with the Unive ...

Peradeniya Peradeniya ( si, පේරාදෙණිය, translit=Pēradeniya; ta, பேராதனை, translit=Pērātaṉai) is a suburb of the city of Kandy, about 30,000 inhabitants in Sri Lanka. It is situated on the A1 main road, just a few kil ...

. Then he moved to Africa for employment and finally to London to learn drama and theatre. He was fluent in English, Arabic, Tamil, Sinhalese, moderate German and Sanskrit and excellent in fencing, dancing, singing, motor-cycle stunts, karate and judo. Moses died in September 2017 in London at the age of 79. He was buried at St. Andrew's Church in his native

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

Career

He had begun to act by the 1960s in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

where he appeared in several

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" ...

films, then produced and directed his first. From India, he moved to Africa, where he undertook work on documentaries. From the early 1970s, in Britain, Moses played small parts in several television series before being cast as Ranjeet Singh, a Sikh from Punjab, India, in the ITV sitcom '' Mind Your Language'' (1977–79, 1986). He acted in prominent roles in many theater productions such as ''Freeway'' at National Theatre, ''Phædra Britannica'' with Dame Diana Rigg and ''Long March to Jerusalem'' at Watford Theater. He also produced 13 episodes of ''Mind Your Language''. His final film was ''The Snarling'' (2018), in which he played tribute to his role in '' An American Werewolf in London'' (1981). ''The Snarling'' is dedicated to his memory.

Selected credits

Theatre

* ''Freeway'' - National Theatre; * ''Phædra Britannica'' - National Theatre (with

Diana Rigg Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg (20 July 193810 September 2020) was an English actress of stage and screen. Her roles include Emma Peel in the TV series '' The Avengers'' (1965–1968); Countess Teresa di Vicenzo, wife of James Bond, in ''On H ...

); * ''Long March to Jerusalem'' - Watford Palace Theatre

Film

* ''

White Cargo ''White Cargo'' is a 1942 film drama starring Hedy Lamarr and Walter Pidgeon, and directed by Richard Thorpe. Released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, it is based on the 1923 London and Broadway hit play by Leon Gordon, which was in turn adapted fro ...

'' (1973) - Arab (uncredited) * '' The Man Who Would Be King'' (1975, A

John Huston John Marcellus Huston ( ; August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter, actor and visual artist. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered ...

film with

Sean Connery Sir Sean Connery (born Thomas Connery; 25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond on film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. Origina ...

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...

and

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) - Ghulam * ''

Stand Up, Virgin Soldiers ''Stand Up, Virgin Soldiers'' is a 1977 British film directed by Norman Cohen and starring Robin Askwith and Nigel Davenport. It is a sequel to ''The Virgin Soldiers'' (1969).EMI) - Indian shopkeeper * '' The Spy Who Loved Me'' (1977,

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors hav ...

film) - Barman * ''

What's Up Nurse! ''What's Up Nurse!'' is a 1977 British sex comedy film directed by Derek Ford and starring Nicholas Field, Felicity Devonshire and John Le Mesurier. It tells the story of the adventures of a young doctor in a hospital. A sequel '' What's Up ...

'' (1978, a

Derek Ford Derek Ford (6 September 1932, Essex – 19 May 1995) was an English film director and writer, most famous for sexploitation films such as '' The Wife Swappers'' (1970), '' Suburban Wives'' (1971), '' Commuter Husbands'' (1972), ''Keep It Up, Ja ...

sex comedy) - 1st Asian * ''

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'' (1978,

Rank Rank is the relative position, value, worth, complexity, power, importance, authority, level, etc. of a person or object within a ranking, such as: Level or position in a hierarchical organization * Academic rank * Diplomatic rank * Hierarchy * ...

) - Doctor * '' The Awakening'' (1980,

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

) - (uncredited) * '' An American Werewolf in London'' (1981, a

John Landis John David Landis (born August 3, 1950) is an American comedy and fantasy filmmaker and actor. He is best known for the comedy films that he has directed – such as ''The Kentucky Fried Movie'' (1977), ''National Lampoon's Animal House'' (1978 ...

movie) - Hospital Porter * '' The Great Quest'' - with

Oliver Reed Robert Oliver Reed (13 February 1938 – 2 May 1999) was an English actor known for his well-to-do, macho image and "hellraiser" lifestyle. After making his first significant screen appearances in Hammer Horror films in the early 1960s, his ...

; * '' Pink Floyd: The Wall'' (1982,

Alan Parker Sir Alan William Parker (14 February 1944 – 31 July 2020) was an English filmmaker. His early career, beginning in his late teens, was spent as a copywriter and director of television advertisements. After about ten years of filming adverts ...

film) - Janitor * ''

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'' (1983,

film) - Saddrudin - undercover British agent in India * ''Al-mas' Ala Al-Kubra'' (1983) - Indian officer (uncredited) * '' Scandalous'' (1984, with Sir John Gielgud and Pamela Stephenson) - Vishnu * ''

The Little Drummer Girl ''The Little Drummer Girl'' is a spy novel by British writer John le Carré, published in 1983. The story follows the manipulations of Martin Kurtz, an Israeli spymaster who intends to kill Khalil – a Palestinian terrorist who is bombing Jewi ...

'' (1984, EMI, a

George Roy Hill George Roy Hill (December 20, 1921 – December 27, 2002) was an American film director. He is most noted for directing such films as ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' (1969) and ''The Sting'' (1973), both starring Paul Newman and Robert Re ...

film) - Green Grocer * ''

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'' (1986) - Paramedic #2 * '' The Second Jungle Book: Mowgli and Baloo'' (1997,

) - Conductor * '' East Is East'' (1999, a

BAFTA award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cer ...

-winning

Film4 Film4 is a British free-to-air television network owned by Channel Four Television Corporation launched on 1 November 1998, devoted to broadcasting films. While its standard-definition channel is available on Freeview and Freesat platforms ...

production) - Abdul Karim * ''The Snarling'' (2018) - Hospital Patient

Television

* ''Queenie'' - Hollywood mini-series with

Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in '' The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. D ...

; * ''

On the Buses ''On the Buses'' is a British television sitcom that was broadcast on ITV from 1969 to 1973. It was created by Ronald Chesney and Ronald Wolfe, who wrote most of the episodes. It spawned three spin-off feature films and a stage version. Desp ...

'' -

London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 un ...

; * ''

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'' -

BBC television drama BBC television dramas have been produced and broadcast since even before the public service company had an officially established television broadcasting network in the United Kingdom. As with any major broadcast network, drama forms an importa ...

; * '' Robin's Nest'' -

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...

sitcom; * '' Mind Your Language'' - London Weekend Television sitcom (nearly 50 episodes broadcast between 1977 and 1986); * ''

Juliet Bravo ''Juliet Bravo'' is a British television police procedural drama series, first broadcast on 30 August 1980, that ran for six series and a total of 88 episodes on BBC1. The theme of the series concerned a female police inspector who took over con ...

'' -

; * '' The Jewel in the Crown'' -

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(4 episodes, with Charles Dance, OBE); * ''

The Little and Large Show ''The Little and Large Show'' was a sketch comedy series broadcast on BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadc ...

'' -

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...

; * ''

The Benny Hill Show ''The Benny Hill Show'' is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill that aired on the BBC and ITV (from 1969) between 15 January 1955 and 1 May 1989. The show consisted mainly of sketches that were full of slapstick, mime, parody ...

'' - Thames Television comedy; * ''

Boon Boon may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Boon (game), a trick-taking card game * ''Boon'' (novel), a 1915 satirical work by H. G. Wells * ''Boon'' (TV series), a British television series starring Michael Elphick * The Ultimate Boo ...

'' -

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drama; * ''

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'' -

talkbackTHAMES Talkback Thames (stylised as talkbackTHAMES) was a British television production company, a division of Fremantle (part of the RTL Group, which in turn is owned by Bertelsmann). It was formed by the merger of Talkback Productions and Thames Tel ...

television drama (5 episodes); * '' Never the Twain'' - Thames Television sitcom; * '' The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Man With The Twisted Lip'' -

; * '' London's Burning'' -

drama; * ''

Tandoori Nights ''Tandoori Nights'' is a television sitcom that was broadcast on Channel 4 between 1985 and 1987. It consisted of two series of six episodes each. The series was directed by Jon Amiel and written by Farrukh Dhondy. It is the story of two rival r ...

'' -

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

Other

* Produced 13 episodes of '' Mind Your Language''; * Produced and directed ''Gabriella'', a television film produced on location in Malta; * Hosted, produced and directed a talent contest variety show * Wrote ''The Seventh Commandment'', a television drama; * Wrote ''Side by side'', a television comedy; * Wrote ''Don't talk to strangers'', a television thriller; * Wrote ''The Jokers'', a television drama; * Published children's books ''Tales from India'', ''The hawk and the turtles'', and ''Mustapha Mouse goes to the city''; * Published a book of 87 poems * Past chairman of the Asian, Caribbean, Oriental and Asian Artistes of

EQUITY Equity may refer to: Finance, accounting and ownership *Equity (finance), ownership of assets that have liabilities attached to them ** Stock, equity based on original contributions of cash or other value to a business ** Home equity, the diff ...

. * Ex-governor of a St Albans school. * Was on board of directors for a St Albans theatre company. * Past member of the London regional committee of ITV under the chairmanship of Lord Lipsey. * Past chairman of the ''St Albans Film Society''. * Trustee and patron of the ''Ivy Trust'', a children's charity. * Volunteered at a local hospital. * Volunteered at a local school, running a film workshop for children. * Volunteered at a local retirement home. * Retired voluntary teacher from a local college, teaching English to foreign students. (See the '' Mind Your Language'' page for the irony of this!) * Moses was a ''

Knight of the Order of St John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headqu ...

''.

References

External links

Official website
*
An interview with Albert Moses about 007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moses, Albert 1937 births 2017 deaths People of British Ceylon Knights of the Order of St John Sri Lankan emigrants to the United Kingdom Sri Lankan male film actors Sri Lankan male television actors 20th-century Sri Lankan male actors 21st-century Sri Lankan male actors