Ian Yule (1933 — 3 December 2020) was a British born South African actor and soldier. He had a film career that commenced in the late 1960s and lasted to around the early to mid 2000s. Many of the roles he has played are that of a soldier. The films he has appeared in include ''
Killer Force
''Killer Force'', also known as ''The Diamond Mercenaries'', is a 1976 thriller film directed by Val Guest and starring Telly Savalas, Peter Fonda and Christopher Lee. It was a co-production between the Republic of Ireland, Switzerland, United ...
'', in 1976, ''
One Way
One-way or one way may refer to:
* One-way traffic, a street either facilitating only one-way traffic, or designed to direct vehicles to move in one direction
*One-way travel, a trip that does not return to its origin
Music
*One Way (American ba ...
'' also released in 1976, ''
Golden Rendezvous
''Golden Rendezvous'' is a 1977 South African action thriller film directed by Ashley Lazarus and starring Richard Harris, Ann Turkel and David Janssen. It was based on the 1962 novel '' The Golden Rendezvous'' by Alistair MacLean.
Plot
The '' ...
'' in 1977, ''
The Wild Geese
''The Wild Geese'' is a 1978 war film directed by Andrew V. McLaglen and starring Richard Burton, Roger Moore, Richard Harris, and Hardy Krüger. The screenplay concerns a group of mercenaries in Africa. It was the result of a long-held ambit ...
'' in 1978, —''
Safari 3000
''Safari 3000'' is a 1982 American action-adventure comedy film directed by Harry Hurwitz and starring David Carradine, Stockard Channing, and Christopher Lee. The film was shot on location in Africa.
Plot
Daredevil stunt driver Eddie Miles h ...
'' in 1982, ''City of Blood'' in 1983, and many more. He was also a stuntman in a few films. He also was a screenwriter and wrote some screen plays including ''
Shamwari
Shamwari Game Reserve is located 75 km outside Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha), Eastern Cape, South Africa. It has been voted the World's Leading Safari and Game Reserve and Conservation Company for several consecutive years.
An essential ...
'' in which he starred opposite
Ken Gampu
Ken Gampu (Germiston, August 28, 1929 – Vosloorus, November 4, 2003) was a South African actor.
Before he began his career, Gampu was a physical training instructor, salesman, interpreter and police officer. His first acting job was in Athol ...
. He was a well known actor in South Africa.
Background
Ian Yule was born in the UK some time before the second world war. During his career he was a member of the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
's
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
,
Parachute Regiment and
Special Air Service
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 ...
and served in the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, taking part in the
Battle of Inchon
The Battle of Incheon (), also spelled Battle of Inchon, was an amphibious invasion and a battle of the Korean War that resulted in a decisive victory and strategic reversal in favor of the United Nations Command (UN). The operation involved so ...
and
Battle of Chosin Reservoir
The Battle of Chosin Reservoir, also known as the Chosin Reservoir Campaign or the Battle of Lake Changjin (), was an important battle in the Korean War. The name "Chosin" is derived from the Japanese pronunciation "''Chōshin'', instead of t ...
, and later served in the
Rhodesian Security Forces
The Rhodesian Security Forces were the military forces of the Rhodesian government. The Rhodesian Security Forces consisted of a ground force (the Rhodesian Army), the Rhodesian Air Force, the British South Africa Police, and various personnel a ...
and
South African Defence Force
The South African Defence Force (SADF) (Afrikaans: ''Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag'') comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence F ...
as well as serving as a mercenary in
Mad Mike Hoare
Thomas Michael Hoare (17 March 1919 – 2 February 2020), known as Mad Mike Hoare, was a British people, British mercenary soldier who operated during the Simba rebellion, and attempted to conduct 1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt, a coup d' ...
's outfit (the film ''the Wild Geese'' is based on Hoare's exploits). As an actor in the action genre he was recognised for his accomplishments.
Film career
1950s–1960s
Yule's first association with films goes back to the 1950s when he had a role as a stuntman in the 1959 film ''
Ben-Hur''. He also did stunt work in ''
The Longest Day'' which was released in 1962. His early acting roles included playing the part of Andy Wilson in 1967 film ''
Wild Season
''Wild Season'' is a 1967 South African drama film directed by Emil Nofal and starring Gert Van den Bergh, Marie Du Toit and Antony Thomas. A family operating a trawler off the South African coast, suffers numerous personal tragedies.
A nu ...
'' which was directed by
Emil Nofal
Emil Nofal (1926 – 18 July 1986) was a South African film director, producer and screenwriter.
Selected filmography
Director
* '' Song of Africa'' (1951)
* '' Kimberley Jim'' (1965)
* '' Wild Season'' (1967)
* ''My Way'' (1973)
* '' The S ...
. In 1968, he had a recurring role as Freddy in the television series ''Schatzsucher unserer Tage'' which was directed by
Rolf von Sydow
Rolf von Sydow (18 June 1924 – 16 June 2019) was a German film director and author.
Life
Von Sydow worked as a film director in Germany. He married on three occasions. As an author, Sydow wrote several books and audible books.
Works by Syd ...
.
1970s–1980s
He played the part of Trooper Dillon in the
David Millin directed ''
Shangani Patrol
The Shangani Patrol (or Wilson's Patrol) was a 34-soldier unit of the British South Africa Company that in 1893 was ambushed and annihilated by more than 3,000 Matabele warriors in pre-Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), during the First Matab ...
'' which was released in 1970. In the 1978 ''Wild Geese'', playing the part of Sgt. Tosh Donaldson, he was part of a cast that included
Richard Burton
Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable pe ...
,
Roger Moore
Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 192723 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the third actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions film series, playing the character in seven feature films between 19 ...
and
Richard Harris
Richard St John Francis Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor and singer. He appeared on stage and in many films, notably as Corrado Zeller in Michelangelo Antonioni's '' Red Desert'', Frank Machin in ''This Sporting ...
.
Starring opposite
Ken Gampu
Ken Gampu (Germiston, August 28, 1929 – Vosloorus, November 4, 2003) was a South African actor.
Before he began his career, Gampu was a physical training instructor, salesman, interpreter and police officer. His first acting job was in Athol ...
, he appeared in the 1982 film ''
Shamwari
Shamwari Game Reserve is located 75 km outside Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha), Eastern Cape, South Africa. It has been voted the World's Leading Safari and Game Reserve and Conservation Company for several consecutive years.
An essential ...
''. The film bore a similarity to an earlier film, ''
The Defiant Ones
''The Defiant Ones'' is a 1958 American Adventure film, adventure Drama film, drama film which tells the story of two escaped prisoners, one white and one black, who are shackled together and who must co-operate in order to survive. It stars Ton ...
'' that starred
Sidney Poitier
Sidney Poitier ( ; February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was an American actor, film director, and diplomat. In 1964, he was the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. He received two competitive ...
and
Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor whose career spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s (Kansas Raiders, 1950) and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 f ...
. Like the characters in that film, there is racial hatred between the two of them. They escape from a chain gang detail. To survive they have to get rid of their hatred for each other. Yule was led to believe that the film was a flop, however John Hume who produced the film was marketing it under a different name and making money from it.
In 1986, he appeared as Bill Smith in the film ''
Jake Speed
''Jake Speed'' is a 1986 American action adventure comedy film directed and produced by Andrew Lane, with Wayne Crawford, and William Fay. It was written by Lane and Crawford, and starred Crawford in the title role, alongside Dennis Christopher, ...
''. He played the part of Max Wharton in the 1988 film, ''City of Blood''.
1990s–2000s
He played the part of Harvey in the 1995 film ''
Cyborg Cop III'' which was directed by Yossi Wein. In the 1999 film ''
Operation Delta Force 3: Clear Target'', he played the part of General Hightower.
Possibly his last film was ' which was released in 2004.
Later years
In mid-December 2015, Yule arrived at
Heathrow Airport
Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...
from South Africa, in poor health and destitute. He had a carry bag, his knobkerrie walking sticks and a couple of shirts and underwear. He was met and collected from the airport by a volunteer, who had been moved by his plight and subsequently cared for him for some two months.
After being helped by one organisation, the South African Legion, the SSAFA were instrumental in getting him the care he required for his heart problems and severe arthritis. He was later hospitalised at St Richard's Hospital in Chichester where he died on 3 December 2020.
[South African Legion, United Kingdom & Europe, 14 March 2016 ]
News, Ian Yule
/ref>
Filmography
References
External links
*
South African Legion: Ian Yule
My own actors library: Ian Yule
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yule, Ian
British mercenaries
English mercenaries
British expatriates in South Africa
British male film actors
20th-century British male actors
21st-century British male actors
British male screenwriters
British stunt performers
2020 deaths
1933 births