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John Tordoff (born 11 September 1938 in Rochester, Kent) is an English actor and artist.


Early life

His father was Sidney Tordoff, a sheet metal worker and his mother Hilda (née Bartram). He also has a sister named Helen Tordoff. His early years were spent in Bedford and he was educated there at the Silver Jubilee Secondary Modern School.


Theatre

At the age of eighteen, Tordoff won the Viscountess Northcliffe Scholarship to Rada, graduating in 1957. This was followed by seasons in repertory at Oldham, Colchester and Harrogate. In 1963, he joined the company at the newly built Nottingham Playhouse under John Neville, appearing there for two seasons. There followed seasons at the
Regent's Park Open Air Theatre Regent's Park Open Air Theatre is an open-air theatre in Regent's Park in central London. The theatre Established in 1932, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre is one of the largest theatres in London (1,256 seats) and is situated in Queen Mary ...
and the
Royal Lyceum Theatre The Royal Lyceum Theatre is a 658-seat theatre in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, named after the Theatre Royal Lyceum and English Opera House, the residence at the time of legendary Shakespearean actor Henry Irving. It was built in 1883 by a ...
, Edinburgh. In 1970, he appeared at the
Mermaid Theatre The Mermaid Theatre was a theatre encompassing the site of Puddle Dock and Curriers' Alley at Blackfriars in the City of London, and the first built in the City since the time of Shakespeare. It was, importantly, also one of the first new the ...
, London as the Dauphin, Charles VII in '' Saint Joan''. After a season at the
Chichester Festival Theatre Chichester Festival Theatre is a theatre and Grade II* listed building situated in Oaklands Park in the city of Chichester, West Sussex, England. Designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, it was opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Mart ...
under John Clements, in 1972, he became an original member of The Actors Company founded by Ian McKellen and
Edward Petherbridge Edward Petherbridge (born 3 August 1936) is an English actor, writer and artist. Among his many roles, he portrayed Lord Peter Wimsey in the 1987 BBC television adaptations of Dorothy L. Sayers' novels, and Guildenstern in Tom Stoppard's ''R ...
, appearing in many of their productions including the 1974 tour of ''
The Way of the World ''The Way of the World'' is a play written by the English playwright William Congreve. It premiered in early March 1700 in the theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields in London. It is widely regarded as one of the best Restoration comedies and is stil ...
'' as Witwoud. In 1974, he returned to the Mermaid Theatre in
George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...
's play
Misalliance ''Misalliance'' is a play written in 1909–1910 by George Bernard Shaw. The play takes place entirely on a single Saturday afternoon in the conservatory of a large country house in Hindhead, Surrey in Edwardian era England. It is a continuation ...
, for which he won the
Clarence Derwent Award The Clarence Derwent Awards are theatre awards given annually by the Actors' Equity Association on Broadway in the United States and by Equity, the performers' union, in the West End in the United Kingdom. Clarence Derwent (23 March 1884 – 6 Aug ...
for the best supporting performance on the London stage in that year. Further stage appearances were in Betzi at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, the 1980 season at the Old Vic with Peter O'Toole as Macbeth and ''
The School for Scandal ''The School for Scandal'' is a comedy of manners written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first performed in London at Drury Lane Theatre on 8 May 1777. Plot Act I Scene I: Lady Sneerwell, a wealthy young widow, and her hireling Sn ...
'' with
Donald Sinden Sir Donald Alfred Sinden (9 October 1923 – 12 September 2014) was a British actor. Sinden featured in the film ''Mogambo'' (1953), and achieved early fame as a Rank Organisation film star in the 1950s in films including ''The Cruel Sea (195 ...
at the Duke of York's and subsequent European tour. In 1983, he created a one-man show out of Joseph Conrad's '' Heart of Darkness''. This he opened at that year's Edinburgh Festival, followed by seasons on the London fringe and a tour of the Far East for the British Council. As a theatre director, he has taken two shows to the Edinburgh Festival - ''
Reynard the Fox Reynard the Fox is a literary cycle of medieval allegorical Dutch, English, French and German fables. The first extant versions of the cycle date from the second half of the 12th century. The genre was popular throughout the Late Middle Ages, a ...
'' in 1985 (also shown at the Young Vic) and ''One Fine Day'' in 1986. He has also directed several fringe theatre productions in London.


Film

This includes '' Jesus of Nazareth'', ''
Little Dorrit ''Little Dorrit'' is a novel by Charles Dickens, originally published in serial form between 1855 and 1857. The story features Amy Dorrit, youngest child of her family, born and raised in the Marshalsea prison for debtors in London. Arthur Cl ...
'', ''
Without a Clue ''Without a Clue'' is a 1988 British comedy film directed by Thom Eberhardt and starring Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley. It is based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's characters from the Sherlock Holmes stories but, in this version, the roles are ...
'', '' Great Balls of Fire!'', '' Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'' and ''
Parting Shots ''Parting Shots'' is a 1999 British dark comedy film starring Chris Rea, Felicity Kendal, Oliver Reed, Bob Hoskins, Diana Rigg, Ben Kingsley, John Cleese and Joanna Lumley. It was the final film directed by Michael Winner. Upon release in the ...
''.


Television

Tordoff's first major TV work was the recurring role of ''Beckett'' in the 1969
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 exam. ...
...
mini series ''
The First Churchills ''The First Churchills'' is a BBC serial from 1969 about the life of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, and his wife, Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough. It stars John Neville as the duke and Susan Hampshire as the duchess, was writt ...
''. He appeared as ''Hippolyte'' in the 1975
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 exam. ...
...
production of ''
Madame Bovary ''Madame Bovary'' (; ), originally published as ''Madame Bovary: Provincial Manners'' ( ), is a novel by French writer Gustave Flaubert, published in 1856. The eponymous character lives beyond her means in order to escape the banalities and emp ...
''. Also in 1975 he appeared in '' The Sweeney'' episode ''Supersnout'' in which he played Joey Stickley, a dirty and weaselly
informant An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a “snitch”) is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law-enforcement world, where informant ...
who conspires to ruin the reputation of Detective Chief Inspector Stephen Quirk of the Metropolitan Police
Flying Squad The Flying Squad is a branch of the Serious and Organised Crime Command within London's Metropolitan Police Service. It is also known as the Robbery Squad, Specialist Crime Directorate 7, SC&O7 and SO7. It is nicknamed The Sweeney, an abbreviat ...
. Tordoff appeared in two episodes of 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 ...
series, the 1978 release ''
Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...
'' as ''
Cinna the Poet Gaius Helvius Cinna (died 20 March 44 BC) was an influential neoteric poet of the late Roman Republic, a little older than the generation of Catullus and Calvus. He was lynched at the funeral of Julius Caesar after being mistaken for an unrelated ...
'' and the 1979 release '' The Second Part of King Henry the Fourth containing his Death: and the Coronation of King Henry the Fifth'' as ''Frances Feeble''. He appeared as ''Ronald Crawshaw'' in the three part episode ''Two Thousand Witnesses'' of ITV's '' Crown Court''. Tordoff had a recurring role as policeman ''Brian Tofkin'' in the John Sullivan comedy ''
Citizen Smith ''Citizen Smith'' is a British television sitcom written by John Sullivan, first broadcast from 1977 to 1980. It starred Robert Lindsay as Walter Henry "Wolfie" Smith, a young Marxist "urban guerrilla" in Tooting, south London, who is attempti ...
''. He appeared in the 1982 episode of ''
Minder A minder is the person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e. a person who " minds". Government-appointed persons to accompany foreign visitors are of ...
'' ''Rembrandt Doesn't Live Here Anymore'' as '' Max''. He returned to the show as a shop assistant in the 1989 episode ''Fiddler on the Hoof''. He has appeared in '' Coronation Street'' in three different roles, firstly as ''Arnie in 1968'', photographer ''Norman Hill'' for two episodes in 1978 and as ''Keith Hesketh'' in three appearances in 1999. Other appearances include '' Doctor Who'' (in the 6 part serial ''
Colony in Space ''Colony in Space'' is the fourth serial of the eighth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 10 April to 15 May 1971. The serial, wriiten by Malcolm ...
''), ''
Rumpole of the Bailey ''Rumpole of the Bailey'' is a British television series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer. It starred Leo McKern as Horace Rumpole, a middle-aged London barrister who defended a broad variety of clients, oft ...
'' (episode ''Rumpole and the Heavy Brigade''), '' The Gaffer'' (episode ''There Goes the Bride''), '' Sharpe's Siege'' and '' Merlin''. Tordoff also wrote the TV drama ''Charlie Was a Rich Man'', which was produced by Granada Television in 1980.


Later life

While Tordoff was acting he took training in art at London's City Lit and
Morley College Morley College is a specialist adult education and further education college in London, England. The college has three main campuses, one in Waterloo on the South Bank, and two in West London namely in North Kensington and in Chelsea, the la ...
s. Since retiring from acting Tordoff has concentrated on gardening and painting. In the 1990s he created a prizewinning garden at Navarino Road, Hackney, where he was then living. It won the 1996 BBC Gardeners World competition for the best small garden in Britain. This garden continues to be open to the public under its present owners, through the
National Garden Scheme The National Garden Scheme opens privately owned gardens in England, Northern Ireland, Wales, and the Channel Islands on selected dates for charity. It was founded in 1927 with the aim of "opening gardens of quality, character and interest to th ...
. In 2004, he moved with his partner Maurice Reeve, to Umbria, Italy; creating a second, far larger garden. In 2010, he and Maurice sold the Hackney house and moved to Cambridge, where he created a courtyard garden, which won the third prize in the Gardeners World Magazine competition for 2018. As a painter, John works mainly in mixed media (collage and acrylic). He was elected a member of the Cambridge Drawing Society and exhibits regularly with the Cambridge gallery Byard Art. In 2016 his work was chosen to be shown at Art Fair East. In 2018, he wrote and self-published his autobiography ''Some Boards Trodden''. Several short pieces of fiction are to be seen as monologues on YouTube.


References


External links

*
John Tordoff
at Theatricalia
Personal website for paintingsByard Art
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tordoff, John 1938 births Living people Clarence Derwent Award winners Alumni of RADA British male television actors