Gordon Massey Gostelow (14 May 1925 – 3 June 2007) was an
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal A ...
actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
. He was educated in Australia at
North Sydney Boys High School
North Sydney Boys High School (abbreviated as NSBHS) is a government-funded, single-sex, academically selective secondary day school for boys, located at Crows Nest, on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. In 2022, Nor ...
and Sydney University where he graduated in Economics.
Gostelow went to England in 1950 and worked in the theatre (regional repertory), including the Royal Shakespeare Company and various roles on British television. In Shakespeare he was especially associated with the role of the alcoholic reprobate Bardolph in the
Henriad
In Shakespearean scholarship, Henriad refers to a group of William Shakespeare's history plays. It is sometimes used to refer to a group of four plays (a tetralogy), but some sources and scholars use the term to refer to eight plays. In the ...
plays. He played the character on television in both ''
An Age of Kings
''An Age of Kings'' is a fifteen-part serial adaptation of the eight sequential history plays of William Shakespeare (''Richard II'', '' 1 Henry IV'', '' 2 Henry IV'', ''Henry V'', '' 1 Henry VI'', '' 2 Henry VI'', '' 3 Henry VI'' and ''Richar ...
'' in 1960 and in the
BBC Television Shakespeare
The ''BBC Television Shakespeare'' is a series of British television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, created by Cedric Messina and broadcast by BBC Television. Transmitted in the UK from 3 December 1978 to 27 April 1985, it ...
's version of the plays in 1979. He also played several other roles in the former production, but was said to have been "born" to play Bardolph.
He played the parts of Perks in the 1968 TV serial of ''
The Railway Children
''The Railway Children'' is a children's book by Edith Nesbit, originally serialised in ''The London Magazine'' during 1905 and published in book form in the same year. It has been adapted for the screen several times, of which the 1970 fil ...
The Space Pirates
''The Space Pirates'' is the mostly missing sixth serial of the sixth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which originally aired in six weekly parts from 8 March to 12 April 1969.
In this serial, the TARD ...
'' in 1969, and the
Duke of Medina Sidonia
Duke of Medina Sidonia ( es, Duque de Medina Sidonia) is a peerage grandee title of Spain in Medina-Sidonia, holding the oldest extant dukedom in the kingdom, first awarded by King John II of Castile in 1380.Elizabeth R''. Between 1969 and 1970 he also narrated in twelve episodes of BBC children's television series '' Jackanory''. In 1984, he took the part of Alf Battle in the supermarket sitcom '' Tripper's Day''. He appeared in a 1999 episode of '' Midsomer Murders'', entitled "Death's Shadow".
His film career included roles in '' Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow'' (1963), '' The Idol'' (1966), ''
Nicholas and Alexandra
''Nicholas and Alexandra'' is a 1971 British epic historical drama film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, from a screenplay written by James Goldman and Edward Bond, based on Robert K. Massie's 1967 book of the same name, which is a partia ...
Nicodemus
Nicodemus (; grc-gre, Νικόδημος, Nikódēmos) was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin mentioned in three places in the Gospel of John:
* He first visits Jesus one night to discuss Jesus' teachings ().
* The second time Nicodemu ...
), ''
The Scarlet Pimpernel
''The Scarlet Pimpernel'' is the first novel in a series of historical fiction by Baroness Orczy, published in 1905. It was written after her stage play of the same title (co-authored with Montague Barstow) enjoyed a long run in London, having ...
'' (1982), and ''
How to Get Ahead in Advertising
''How to Get Ahead in Advertising'' is a 1989 British black comedy fantasy film written and directed by Bruce Robinson and starring Richard E. Grant and Rachel Ward. The title is a pun and can be literally taken as "How to Get a ''Head'' in Adv ...