Colin Martin Douglas (28 July 1912 – 21 December 1991) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

actor. Born in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

, Douglas was educated at the Farm School in Cumberland. Following his elder brother Jock, he emigrated to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

when he was sixteen, working in sheep farming and lumberjacking, but only stayed for five years before auditioning to study at

RADA The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Se ...

, after begging his father to let him return to try to become an actor. He did some time in

repertory A repertory theatre is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom Annie Horniman founded the first modern repertory theatre in Manchester after withdrawin ...

, but the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

halted his career. In the armed forces he went to Catterick and the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infant ...

, became Captain and Adjutant in

the Border Regiment The Border Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot and the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. After service in ...

, and served in the 1st Airborne Division. During the

Allied invasion of Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers ( Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It b ...

his

glider Glider may refer to: Aircraft and transport Aircraft * Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight ** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of glidin ...

, like many others, was released too early, and the crew were in the sea for two days (many members of other crews perished). He was also dropped by glider at

Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both ban ...

, during the ill-fated Operation Market Garden but in later years was reluctant to talk about it. He was appearing on stage in

Alan Plater Alan Frederick Plater (15 April 1935 – 25 June 2010) was an English playwright and screenwriter, who worked extensively in British television from the 1960s to the 2000s. Career Plater was born in Jarrow, County Durham, although his family ...

's play '' Close the Coalhouse Door'' when he heard he had been chosen for a leading part in '' A Family at War''. This popular series ran for 52 episodes from 1970. His film credits include '' The Trollenberg Terror'' (1958), '' Captain Clegg'' (1962) and ''

Mister Ten Per Cent ''Mister Ten Per Cent'' is a 1967 British comedy film directed by Peter Graham Scott and starring Charlie Drake, Derek Nimmo and Wanda Ventham. It was shot at Elstree Studios and on location in London. It was the last in a series of four films ...

'' (1967). His theatre credits include ''One For the Pot'', one of Brian Rix's

Whitehall farce The Whitehall farces were a series of five long-running comic stage plays at the Whitehall Theatre in London, presented by the actor-manager Brian Rix, in the 1950s and 1960s. They were in the low comedy tradition of British farce, following the ...

s in the '60s, a spell with the Royal Shakespeare Company which included a production of ''

Toad of Toad Hall ''Toad of Toad Hall'' is a play written by A. A. Milne – the first of several dramatisations of Kenneth Grahame's 1908 novel '' The Wind in the Willows'' – with incidental music by Harold Fraser-Simson. It was originally produced by Willi ...

'' with David Suchet, and ''Exchange'' in the late '80s, with his good friend Martin Jarvis. His television credits include ''

Dr. Finlay's Casebook ''Dr. Finlay's Casebook'' is a television drama series that was produced and broadcast by the BBC from 1962 until 1971. Based on A. J. Cronin's 1935 novella ''Country Doctor'', the storylines centred on a general medical practice in the fictiona ...

'', '' Doctor Who'' (in the serials ''

The Enemy of the World ''The Enemy of the World'' is the fourth serial of the fifth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which originally aired in six weekly parts from 23 December 1967 to 27 January 1968. The serial is set in Aus ...

'' and ''

Horror of Fang Rock ''Horror of Fang Rock'' is the first serial of the 15th season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 3 to 24 September 1977. The serial is set on the fict ...

''). Also the 1955 version of ''

The Children of the New Forest ''The Children of the New Forest'' is a children's novel published in 1847 by Frederick Marryat. It is set in the time of the English Civil War and the Commonwealth. The story follows the fortunes of the four Beverley children who are orphane ...

''. He also had roles in '' Fire Crackers'', '' The Buccaneers'', ''

Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again b ...

'', ''Love Story'', ''Rooms'', ''

Angel Pavement ''Angel Pavement'' is a novel by J. B. Priestley, published in 1930 after the enormous success of ''The Good Companions'' (1929). It is a social panorama of the city of London, seen largely through the eyes of the employees of the firm Twigg & ...

'', ''

Follyfoot ''Follyfoot'' is a children's television series co-produced by the majority-partner British television company Yorkshire Television (for transmission on ITV) and the independent West German company ''TV München'' (for transmission on the ...

'', '' Telford's Change'', ''

When The Boat Comes In ''When the Boat Comes In'' is a British television period drama produced by the BBC between 1976 and 1981. The series stars James Bolam as Jack Ford, a First World War veteran who returns to his poverty-stricken (fictional) town of Gallowshi ...

'', '' The Sweeney'', '' Dick Barton: Special Agent'', ''The Seventh Juror'', ''

The Flockton Flyer ''The Flockton Flyer'' was a children's TV series made by Southern Television for the ITV network. It was a popular programme, which ran to two series, and provided early screen appearances for upcoming actors such as Peter Duncan and Gwynet ...

'', ''Headmaster'', ''Thicker than Water'' (an instalment of the anthology series '' Play for Today''), '' The Night People'', '' The Omega Factor'', ''The Greenhill Pals'' and ''

The Pickwick Papers ''The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club'' (also known as ''The Pickwick Papers'') was Charles Dickens's first novel. Because of his success with '' Sketches by Boz'' published in 1836, Dickens was asked by the publisher Chapman & Hall to ...

''. Colin Douglas had a lead role in the drama '' A Family at War'' (1970–72) where he played Edwin Ashton in a glum portrayal of a

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

family in the 1930s and '40s. Fifty-two episodes were made by

Granada TV ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was its ...

and the series proved to be very popular and often drew a weekly audience of over 22 million viewers, sometimes knocking '' Coronation Street'' off the top spot. It was also loved by audiences in

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

, and the cast were treated like superstars when they visited. Another lead role was Bonehead in the comical children's black and white BBC TV series ''Bonehead'' which lasted two seasons between 1960 and 1962. It was about three hopeless crooks,

Paul Whitsun-Jones Paul Whitsun-Jones (25 April 1923 – 14 January 1974) was a Welsh character actor. Born in Newport in Monmouthshire, he was educated at Merchant Taylors' School in Northwood in Middlesex. He started his acting career in 1948 with two years ...

as Boss,

Douglas Blackwell Douglas Blackwell (17 May 1924 – 17 October 2009) was an English actor. Douglas Blackwell was born in Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England, but brought up in Port Talbot, Wales, where he attended the local county grammar school. He narrated ...

as Happy and Colin Douglas as Bonehead. Boss would devise a criminal scheme and along with the eternally miserable Happy and the idiot Bonehead (whose catchphrase was "Shall I bash 'im, Boss?"), they would try to carry the scheme out. But things always went wrong, often thanks to Bonehead and the watchful eye of PC Pilchard. To try to rescue something from the mess, Boss would suggest an alternative scheme with the phrase "plan B Bonehead". Colin Douglas's last role was as troubled Labour Party veteran Frank Twist in Alan Bleasdale's TV series '' GBH''. He was married to actress Gina Cachia for 40 years, until her death in 1989. Their children are named Timothy, Amanda (killed, aged 20, in a traffic accident whilst at the University of Kent, Canterbury), Angus, Blaise and Piers. He and the family lived in a large mansion block flat overlooking the park, in Battersea, London, and his hobbies were sea fishing, golf and cooking. He also served on the actors' Equity Council for several years.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, Colin English male television actors English male stage actors English male film actors Male actors from Newcastle upon Tyne Border Regiment officers British Army personnel of World War II 1912 births 1991 deaths Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst 20th-century English male actors