Christopher de Lerisson Cazenove (17 December 1943 – 7 April 2010) was an English film, television and stage actor.
Early life and career
He was born Christopher de Lerisson Cazenove,
on 17 December 1943,
the son of
Brigadier Arnold de Lerisson Cazenove and Elizabeth Laura (née Gurney, 1914–1994) in
Winchester
Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...
,
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
, but was brought up in
Bowlish
Shepton Mallet is a market town and civil parish in the Mendip District of Somerset, England, some south-west of Bath, south of Bristol and east of Wells. It had an estimated population of 10,810 in 2019. Mendip District Council is based th ...
,
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
. He was educated at
the Dragon School
("Reach for the Sun")
, established = 1877
, closed =
, type = Preparatory day and boarding school and Pre-Prep school
, religion = Church of England
, president =
, head_label = Head
, head = Emma Goldsm ...
,
Eton College
Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...
,
Durham University
, mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1)
, established = (university status)
, type = Public
, academic_staff = 1,830 (2020)
, administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19)
, chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen
, vice_chan ...
's
College of the Venerable Bede and the
Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School is a drama school in Bristol, England. The institution provides training in acting and production for careers in film, television and theatre.
BOVTS is an affiliate of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama. I ...
.
[Anthony Haywar]
Obituary: Christopher Cazenove
''The Guardian'', 8 April 2010
Cazenove often portrayed British aristocrats, and first made his name in the 1972 drama series, ''
The Regiment
The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...
''. Other notable roles included Charlie Tyrrell in the 1976-77 period drama series ''
The Duchess of Duke Street
''The Duchess of Duke Street'' is a BBC television drama series set in London between the late 1800s and 1925. It was created by John Hawkesworth, previously the producer of the ITV period drama '' Upstairs, Downstairs''. It starred Gemma Jo ...
'', and in 1986 he appeared as
Ben Carrington
''Dynasty'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 12, 1981 to May 11, 1989. The series, created by Richard and Esther Shapiro and produced by Aaron Spelling, revolves around the Carringtons, a wealthy fam ...
in the US soap opera ''
Dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...
'', which he played until the following year. From 2001-03, he had a recurring role in the British drama series ''
Judge John Deed
''Judge John Deed'' is a British legal drama television series produced by the BBC in association with One-Eyed Dog for BBC One. It was created by G.F. Newman and stars Martin Shaw as Mr Justice Deed, a High Court of Justice, High Court judge wh ...
'', playing Row Colemore.
On the stage, he appeared as Henry Higgins in the British and American productions of ''
My Fair Lady
''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons f ...
'' from 2005 through to 2008.
He also starred in the London West End production of ''
The Importance of Being Earnest
''The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious ...
'' in 1994 alongside
Susannah York
Susannah Yolande Fletcher (9 January 1939 – 15 January 2011), known professionally as Susannah York, was an English actress. Her appearances in various films of the 1960s, including '' Tom Jones'' (1963) and '' They Shoot Horses, Don't They?'' ...
.
Personal life
Cazenove was married to actress
Angharad Rees
Angharad Mary Rees, The Hon. Mrs David McAlpine, CBE (16 July 1944 – 21 July 2012) was a British actress, best known for her British television roles during the 1970s and in particular her leading role as Demelza in the 1970s BBC TV costume d ...
from 1973 until their divorce in 1994. They had two sons, Linford James (20 July 1974 — 10 September 1999); and Rhys William (born 1976); Linford died in a car crash on the
M11 in
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
. From 2003 until his death, Cazenove's partner was Isabel Davis.
Death
In February 2010, Cazenove collapsed at his London home. He was taken to
St Thomas' Hospital
St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. It is one of the institutions that compose the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foun ...
in London, suffering from
septicaemia
Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...
. He died on 7 April 2010 from the effects of the illness at St Thomas's Hospital, aged 66.
The actor "died peacefully surrounded by his loved ones", said a statement released by his agent, his family and girlfriend.
Notice of Cazenove's death
, 7 April 2010
Cazenove's funeral on 16 April 2010 was held at St Paul's, Covent Garden
St Paul's Church is a Church of England parish church located in Bedford Street, Covent Garden, central London. It was designed by Inigo Jones as part of a commission for the 4th Earl of Bedford in 1631 to create "houses and buildings fit ...
, London.
Filmography
Film
Television
* 1972-1973 ''The Regiment
The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...
''
* 1973 ''Omnibus
Omnibus may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Omnibus'' (film)
* Omnibus (broadcast), a compilation of Radio or TV episodes
* ''Omnibus'' (UK TV series), an arts-based documentary programme
* ''Omnibus'' (U.S. TV series), an educational progr ...
: The British Hero'' (BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
TV documentary/selected dramatised scenes) as Heroes: Tom Brown / Richard Hannay
Major-General Sir Richard Hannay, KCB, OBE, DSO, is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist John Buchan and further made popular by the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock film '' The 39 Steps'' (and other later film adaptations), very loosely b ...
/ Beau Geste
''Beau Geste'' is an adventure novel by British writer P. C. Wren, which details the adventures of three English brothers who enlist separately in the French Foreign Legion following the theft of a valuable jewel from the country house of a rel ...
/ Bulldog Drummond
Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond is a fictional character, created by H. C. McNeile and published under his pen name "Sapper". Following McNeile's death in 1937, the novels were continued by Gerard Fairlie. Drummond is a First World War veteran who, ...
/ 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 have ...
* 1974 '' Thriller'' Episode: "K is for Killing" as Sunny Garrick
* 1974 '' Jennie, Lady Randolph Churchill'' as George Cornwallis-West
Major George Frederick Myddleton Cornwallis-West (14 November 1874 – 1 April 1951) was a British officer of the Scots Guards. George Cornwallis-West was noted primarily for his marriages, the first to Jennie Jerome, mother of Winston Churchil ...
* 1976-1977 ''Duchess of Duke Street
''The Duchess of Duke Street'' is a BBC television drama series set in London between the late 1800s and 1925. It was created by John Hawkesworth, previously the producer of the ITV period drama '' Upstairs, Downstairs''. It starred Gemma Jon ...
'' as Charlie Tyrrell
* 1980 ''Hammer House of Horror
''Hammer House of Horror'' is a British television series made in 1980. An anthology series created by Hammer Films in association with Cinema Arts International and ITC Entertainment, it consists of 13 hour-long episodes, originally broadcas ...
'' Episode: "Children of the Full Moon" as Tom Martin
* 1981 ''Ladykillers'' Episode: ''A Smile is Sometimes Worth a Million Dollars'' as Ronald True
Ronald True (17 June 1891 – 8 January 1951) was an English murderer who was convicted of the 1922 bludgeoning and murder by asphyxiation of a 25-year-old prostitute and call girl named Gertrude Yates. He was initially sentenced to death for Yat ...
* 1982 ''The Letter (1982 film)
This 1982 television movie, starring Lee Remick, Ronald Pickup, Jack Thompson, Ian McShane and Christopher Cazenove and directed by John Erman. It is the third film version of the 1927 play of the same title by W. Somerset Maugham.
It screened as ...
'' as Officer Withers
* 1984 ''Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense
''Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense'' is a short-lived (one season) anthology television series produced in Britain in 1984/85 by Hammer Film Productions. Though similar in format to the 1980 series '' Hammer House of Horror'', the ''Mystery ...
'' Episode: "In Possession" as Frank Daly
* 1985 '' Kane & Abel'' as The Baron
* 1986-1987 ''Dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...
'' as Ben Carrington
''Dynasty'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 12, 1981 to May 11, 1989. The series, created by Richard and Esther Shapiro and produced by Aaron Spelling, revolves around the Carringtons, a wealthy fam ...
* 1989 ''A Fine Romance (1989 TV series)
''A Fine Romance'' is an American comedy-drama television series that aired from January 18, 1989, to March 2, 1989 on ABC. The series was filmed on location at various places in Europe.
Premise
A divorced couple work together as hosts of a travel ...
'' as Michael Trent
* 2001-2003 ''Judge John Deed
''Judge John Deed'' is a British legal drama television series produced by the BBC in association with One-Eyed Dog for BBC One. It was created by G.F. Newman and stars Martin Shaw as Mr Justice Deed, a High Court of Justice, High Court judge wh ...
'' as "Row" Colemore
* 2005 ''Dalziel and Pascoe
Detective Superintendent Andrew "Andy" Dalziel and Detective Sergeant, later Detective Inspector, Peter Pascoe are two fictional Yorkshire detectives featuring in a series of novels by Reginald Hill.
Characterisation and style
Dalziel is d ...
'' Episode: " Dead Meat", Parts 1 and 2 as Guy Latimer
References
External links
*
BBC profile
Obituary in ''The Times''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cazenove, Christopher
1943 births
2010 deaths
20th-century English male actors
21st-century English male actors
Alumni of Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
Deaths from sepsis
English male film actors
English male stage actors
English male television actors
Infectious disease deaths in England
People educated at The Dragon School
People educated at Eton College
Actors from Winchester
Male actors from Hampshire
People from Shepton Mallet
Male actors from Somerset
Gurney family
Alumni of the College of the Venerable Bede, Durham