Jon Finch

Jon Finch (2 March 1942 – 28 December 2012) was an English stage and film actor who became well known for his Shakespearean roles. Most notably, he starred in films for directors Roman Polanski (''Macbeth'', 1971) and Alfred Hitchcock (''Frenzy'', 1972).

Early life

Finch was born on 2 March 1942, in Caterham in Surrey, the son of a merchant banker.

Education

Between 1950 and 1960, Finch was educated at Caterham School, an independent school in Caterham. Upon leaving school he turned down the offer of a place at the London School of Economics.

Early acting and SAS

After performing in amateur theatre groups and singing in a folk group, Finch did his National Service in The Parachute Regiment and stayed on as a member of the SAS Reserve Regiment, training at weekends and several nights a week. He resigned from the military as his acting commitments became more demanding, and said he was relieved to not have to go to Borneo during the Indonesian Confrontation (1963–66).

He appeared on stage in ''From the Hill'' in 1963.

Career

Early television

In the early phase of his career, Finch appeared in episodes of ''Crossroads'', ''The Fellows'', ''ITV Playhouse'', ''City '68'', ''Tom Grattan's War'', ''ITV Sunday Night Theatre '' and ''Thirty-Minute Theatre''. He was in a number of episodes of ''Z-Cars'' and played Sir John Mortimer in a BBC play about Mary, Queen of Scots in 1969.

Finch played the lead character, Simon King, in the BBC science fiction series '' Counterstrike'' (1969), one of the last BBC drama series made in black and white. One of the ten episodes made was never screened, owing to the broadcast in its place of a documentary about the Kray Twins when they were jailed.

He also appeared in two Hammer Films productions, ''The Vampire Lovers'' (1970) and ''The Horror of Frankenstein'' (1970). He had a small role in the ground-breaking 1971 drama ''Sunday Bloody Sunday'', which starred the unrelated Peter Finch. He said his career at this stage "wasn't spectacular but it was interesting."

Stardom

Finch met Roman Polanski on a plane flight. That led to the actor being cast in the lead in Polanski's 1971 version of Shakespeare's ''Macbeth''. His casting was announced in October 1970, and was controversial, because Finch was so young and had not performed any Shakespeare previously.

Alfred Hitchcock was looking for a lesser-known leading man for ''Frenzy'' (1972). He was impressed with the rushes for ''Macbeth'' and cast Finch. That in turn led to him being cast in ''Lady Caroline Lamb'' (1972), as William Lamb. Finch said at that stage of his career he wanted to make "one good film" a year and do theatre. He had two more films to do for Caliban, the company which made ''Macbeth'', and was going to write screenplays. Projects announced for him included an adaptation of Dostoevsky's '' The Possessed'' and a thriller ''The Reporter''.

In ''The Final Programme'' (1973) he played Michael Moorcock's secret agent Jerry Cornelius. In April 1973, he was called "Europe's hottest young property of the moment", announced for ''Gargantua'' from Ken Russell and ''Pantagruei'' in Italy.

However, while ''Frenzy'' was a hit, ''Macbeth'', ''Lady Caroline Lamb'' and ''Final Programme'' were commercial disappointments. Finch starred in '' Diagnosis: Murder'' (1974). In 1975, he played the title role in a BBC
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