John Herbert Sharp ( – ) was a British actor who made numerous appearances on television during a career spanning 42 years.
Biography
Sharp made more than 130 appearances in television and occasionally films between 1949 and 1991. Although active in theatre, Sharp began as a film actor in 1949 and appeared in films throughout the 1950s. By the mid-1960s he mostly appeared in British television on popular shows of the era such as '' The Avengers'' ''"Murdersville"'' episode, the ''
Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
''Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)'' is a British private detective television series, starring Mike Pratt and Kenneth Cope respectively as the private detectives Jeff Randall and Marty Hopkirk. The series was created by Dennis Spooner and p ...
'' episode ''"
The Ghost Who Saved the Bank at Monte Carlo
"The Ghost who Saved the Bank at Monte Carlo" is the eleventh episode of the 1969 ITC British television series ''Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)'' starring Mike Pratt (actor), Mike Pratt, Kenneth Cope and Annette Andre. The episode was first broad ...
"''; ''
The Prisoner
''The Prisoner'' is a 1967 British television series about an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a mysterious coastal village, where his captors designate him as Number Six and try to find out why he abruptl ...
'', ''
Not on Your Nellie
''Not On Your Nellie'' is a British sitcom that ran from 1974 until 1975. It starred veteran actress Hylda Baker as Nellie Pickersgill, a Bolton woman who moves to London to help run her ailing father's Chelsea pub. Seventeen episodes of the se ...
'' opposite
Hylda Baker
Hylda Baker (4 February 1905 – 1 May 1986) was an English comedian, actress and music hall performer. Born and brought up in Farnworth, Lancashire, she is perhaps best remembered for her role as Nellie Pledge in the Granada ITV sitcom ''N ...
, ''
Z-Cars
''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it debuted ...
'', and in 1976 in ''
The Sweeney
''The Sweeney'' is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London. It stars John Thaw as Detective Ins ...
'' episode ''"On the Run"'' in which he played ''Uncle,'' a homosexual retired
Magistrate
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...
who becomes embroiled in the escape of a
psychopathic
Psychopathy, sometimes considered synonymous with sociopathy, is characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and bold, disinhibited, and egotistical traits. Different conceptions of psychopathy have been ...
prisoner having befriended the prisoner's former accomplice. He performed in
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
TV adaptations in the 1980s. In 1991, he made his last television appearance in the programme ''
Lovejoy
''Lovejoy'' is a British television comedy-drama mystery series, based on the novels by John Grant under the pen name Jonathan Gash. The show, which ran to 71 episodes over six series, was originally broadcast on BBC1 between 10 January 19 ...
''. He played the role of the "apparently cynical" Uncle Will in
Luigi Comencini
Luigi Comencini (; 8 June 1916 – 6 April 2007) ''The Guardian'' was an Italian
's 1966 Incompreso.
Sharp's most notable television appearances in a recurring role was on the '' All Creatures Great and Small'' television series, in which he portrayed Ezra Biggins, an aged, parsimonious and awkward Yorkshire dairy farmer. "John Sharp was just like you see him," recalled
Peter Davison
Peter Malcolm Gordon Moffett (born 13 April 1951), known professionally as Peter Davison, is an English actor with many credits in television dramas and sitcoms. He made his television acting debut in 1975 and became famous in 1978 as Tristan ...
, who played Tristan Farnon in the series. "He was a wonderful
raconteur
A humorist (American) or humourist (British spelling) is an intellectual who uses humor, or wit, in writing or public speaking, but is not an artist who seeks only to elicit laughs. Humorists are distinct from comedians, who are show business ...
and would tell you these long stories."''All Memories Great & Small'', Oliver Crocker (2016; MIWK)
Christopher Timothy
Christopher is the English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or '' Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Christ" or "Anointed", and φέρει ...
, who played the leading role of
James Herriot
James Alfred Wight (3 October 1916 – 23 February 1995), better known by his pen name James Herriot, was a British veterinary surgeon and author.
Born in Sunderland, Wight graduated from Glasgow Veterinary College in 1939, returning to Engl ...
, added: "I found myself getting quite moved when I watched an episode recently, not because of what we were doing, but because all those lovely people are no longer with us. John Sharp was a lovely, lovely man."
Night and the City
''Night and the City'' is a 1950 film noir directed by Jules Dassin and starring Richard Widmark, Gene Tierney and Googie Withers. It is based on the Night and the City (novel), novel of the same name by Gerald Kersh. Shot on location in Londo ...
'' (1950) – Man (uncredited)
* ''
A Case for PC 49
''A Case for PC 49'' is a 1951 British mystery film directed by Francis Searle and starring Brian Reece, Joy Shelton and Christine Norden.Chibnall & MacFarlane p.79 It was made by Hammer Films at Bray Studios. The film was based on a popular ra ...
'' (1951) – Desk Sergeant
* ''
Angels One Five
''Angels One Five'' is a 1952 British war film directed by George More O'Ferrall and starring Jack Hawkins, Michael Denison, Dulcie Gray, John Gregson, Cyril Raymond and Veronica Hurst. Based on the book ''What Are Your Angels Now?'' by Pelham G ...
Left Right and Centre
''Left Right and Centre'' is a 1959 British satirical comedy film directed by Sidney Gilliat and starring Ian Carmichael, Patricia Bredin, Richard Wattis, Eric Barker and Alastair Sim. It was produced by Frank Launder. A political comedy, it fo ...
'' (1959) – Mr. Reeves
* ''
No Love for Johnnie
''No Love for Johnnie'' is a 1961 British drama film in CinemaScope directed by Ralph Thomas. It was based on the 1959 book of the same title by the Labour Member of Parliament Wilfred Fienburgh, and stars Peter Finch.
It depicts the disill ...
'' (1961) – Railway Station Master (uncredited)
* ''
The Golden Rabbit
''The Golden Rabbit'' is a 1962 British comedy film directed by David MacDonald and starring Timothy Bateson, Maureen Beck and Willoughby Goddard.
Plot
A bank clerk attempts to become wealthy by manufacturing gold.
Cast
* Timothy Bateson - Hen ...
'' (1962) – Peebles
* ''Stork Talk'' (1962) – Papa Pierre
* ''
A Jolly Bad Fellow
''A Jolly Bad Fellow'' (US: ''They all Died Laughing'') is a 1964 British black comedy film directed by Don Chaffey. It stars Leo McKern and Janet Munro.Bunny Lake Is Missing
''Bunny Lake Is Missing'' is a 1965 British-American psychological drama film, directed and produced by Otto Preminger. Filmed in black-and-white widescreen format in London, it was based on the 1957 novel ''Bunny Lake Is Missing'' by Merriam ...
Three Bites of the Apple
''Three Bites of the Apple'' is a 1967 American romantic comedy film directed by Alvin Ganzer.
Plot
Stanley Thrumm is a British tour guide. An unlikely night of successful casino gambling on the Italian Riviera leaves him wealthy but in a quan ...
'' (1967) – Joe Batterfly
* ''
The White Bus
''The White Bus'' is a 1967 British short drama film directed by Lindsay Anderson. The screenplay was jointly adapted with Shelagh Delaney from a short story in her collection ''Sweetly Sings the Donkey'' (1963). ''The White Bus'' was also the fi ...
'' (1967) – Macebearer
* ''
Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter
"Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter" is a popular song written by British actor, screenwriter and songwriter Trevor Peacock. It was originally sung by actor Tom Courtenay in ''The Lads'', a British TV play of 1963, and released as a singl ...
Brother Sun, Sister Moon
''Brother Sun, Sister Moon'' ( it, Fratello Sole, Sorella Luna) is a 1972 film directed by Franco Zeffirelli and starring Graham Faulkner and Judi Bowker. The film is an examination of the life of Saint Francis of Assisi.
Plot
Francesco, the sp ...
'' (1972) – Bishop Guido
* ''
That's Your Funeral
''That's Your Funeral'' was a BBC sitcom from 1971 about a North of England funeral director called Basil Bulstrode (Bill Fraser). Storylines used many urban legends
An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urba ...
'' (1972) – Mayor
* ''
Shabby Tiger
''Shabby Tiger'' is a 1934 novel by the British writer Howard Spring. It was followed by a sequel '' Rachel Rosing'' in 1935.
A millionaire's son chooses to become an artist at the height of the Great Depression.
Adaptation
In 1973 it was made ...
'' (1973) Piggy White (5 episodes)
* ''
And Now the Screaming Starts!
''And Now the Screaming Starts!'' is a 1973 British gothic horror film directed by Roy Ward Baker and starring Peter Cushing, Herbert Lom, Patrick Magee, Stephanie Beacham and Ian Ogilvy. It is one of the few feature-length horror stories by A ...
'' (1973) – Henry's friend
* ''
The Wicker Man
''The Wicker Man'' is a 1973 British folk horror film directed by Robin Hardy and starring Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt, and Christopher Lee. The screenplay by Anthony Shaffer, inspired by David Pinner's 1967 ...
Galileo
Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He was ...
'' (1975) – Monk Official
* ''
Barry Lyndon
''Barry Lyndon'' is a 1975 period drama film written, directed, and produced by Stanley Kubrick, based on the 1844 novel ''The Luck of Barry Lyndon'' by William Makepeace Thackeray. Starring Ryan O'Neal, Marisa Berenson, Patrick Magee, Leonard ...
Jabberwocky
"Jabberwocky" is a nonsense poem written by Lewis Carroll about the killing of a creature named "the Jabberwock". It was included in his 1871 novel ''Through the Looking-Glass'', the sequel to ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865). The bo ...
The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu
''The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu'' is a 1980 comedy film. It was the final film featuring star Peter Sellers and David Tomlinson. Based on characters created by Sax Rohmer, the film stars Sellers in the dual role of Fu Manchu, a megalomaniac ...
'' (1980) – Sir Nules Thudd
* '' The Bunker'' (1981) – Dr. Morell
* ''
The Return of the Soldier
''The Return of the Soldier'' is the debut novel of English novelist Rebecca West, first published in 1918. The novel recounts the return of the shell shocked Captain Chris Baldry from the trenches of the First World War from the perspective ...
'' (1982) – Pearson
* ''
The Dresser
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' (1983) – Mr. Bottomley
* ''
Top Secret!
''Top Secret!'' is a 1984 American action comedy film written and directed by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker ( ZAZ). It stars Val Kilmer (in his film debut role) and Lucy Gutteridge alongside a supporting cast featuring Omar Shari ...
'' (1984) – Maitre D'
* ''
A Christmas Carol
''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ''A Christmas C ...
That Summer of White Roses
''That Summer of White Roses'' ( hr, Đavolji raj — ono ljeto bijelih ruža) is a 1989 Yugoslav-British film directed by Rajko Grlić.
References
External links
*''That Summer of White Roses'' at Filmski-Programi.hr
1989 films
E ...
'' (1989) – Gradonacelnik / The Mayor
* ''
Lovejoy
''Lovejoy'' is a British television comedy-drama mystery series, based on the novels by John Grant under the pen name Jonathan Gash. The show, which ran to 71 episodes over six series, was originally broadcast on BBC1 between 10 January 19 ...