Jonathan Adams (14 February 1931 – 13 June 2005) was an English television, film and theatre actor. He was also a visual artist whose works were exhibited throughout his life.

Biography

Born John Adams in

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

, he trained as an artist at Northampton Art College and

Chelsea College of Art Chelsea College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London based in London, United Kingdom, and is a leading British art and design institution with an international reputation. It offers further and higher educat ...

. He became an actor in 1959, changing his name to Jonathan Adams, but continued working as an artist. He was especially known for his surrealist cartoons and collages. His work has been exhibited at a wide range of venues including London University's Dixon Gallery, the

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhi ...

Northampton Museum and Art Gallery Northampton Museum and Art Gallery is a public museum in Northampton, England. The museum is owned and run by West Northamptonshire Council and houses one of the largest collection of shoes in the world, with over 15,000 pairs,South London Gallery The South London Gallery, founded 1891, is a public-funded gallery of contemporary art in Camberwell, London. Until 1992, it was known as the South London Art Gallery, and nowadays the acronym SLG is often used. Margot Heller became its direct ...

and the

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...

Arts Festival (where in 1996 he was Resident Artist). His final exhibition, "Jonathan Adams in Wonderland", opened at the

Riverside Studios Riverside Studios is an arts centre on the banks of the River Thames in Hammersmith, London, England. The venue plays host to contemporary performance, film, visual art exhibitions and television production. Having closed for redevelopment in ...

in London, the April before his death. As an actor, Adams is best known for his role as the Narrator in the original 1973

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

production of ''

The Rocky Horror Show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to the science fiction and horror B movies of the 1930s through to the early 1960s, the musical tells the story of a newly engaged couple ...

'', and is featured on the original cast soundtrack. He is also well known for portraying Dr. Everett Von Scott in the 1975 film version of ''

The Rocky Horror Picture Show ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' is a 1975 musical comedy horror film by 20th Century Fox, produced by Lou Adler and Michael White and directed by Jim Sharman. The screenplay was written by Sharman and actor Richard O'Brien, who is also ...

''. He played a number of roles in British theatre, TV and film, including work with The Actor's Company and at the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary * Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...

. On television, he played Adam the shepherd in the TV mini-series ''

Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

'' (1977), and Reverend Quiverful in the BBC serial ''

The Barchester Chronicles ''The Barchester Chronicles'' is a 1982 British television serial produced by Jonathan Powell for the BBC. It is an adaptation by Alan Plater of Anthony Trollope's first two Chronicles of Barsetshire, ''The Warden'' (1855) and ''Barchester Towe ...

'' (1982). In the TV serial ''

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes ''The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'' is a collection of twelve short stories by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle, first published on 14 October 1892. It contains the earliest short stories featuring the consulting detective Sherlock Holmes, w ...

'', he played Jonas Oldacre in " The Norwood Builder" episode (1985) and Carter in the Miss Marple episode "

Nemesis In ancient Greek religion, Nemesis, also called Rhamnousia or Rhamnusia ( grc, Ῥαμνουσία, Rhamnousía, the goddess of Rhamnous), was the goddess who personifies retribution, a central concept in the Greek world view. Etymology The n ...

" (1987). He also played Professor Marriott in the 1986–88 sitcom ''

Yes, Prime Minister ''Yes Minister'' is a British political satire sitcom written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn. Comprising three seven-episode series, it was first transmitted on BBC2 from 1980 to 1984. A sequel, ''Yes, Prime Minister'', ran for 16 episodes fro ...

''. He appeared in British comedy films such as '' Eskimo Nell'' (1975), ''

Three for All 3 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 3, three, or III may also refer to: * AD 3, the third year of the AD era * 3 BC, the third year before the AD era * March, the third month Books * ''Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 1901 n ...

'' (1975), ''It Could Happen to You'' (1975), ''

Adventures of a Private Eye ''Adventures of a Private Eye'' is a 1977 British sex comedy film directed by Stanley Long and starring Christopher Neil, Suzy Kendall, Harry H. Corbett and Liz Fraser. It followed the 1976 film ''Adventures of a Taxi Driver'' and was followed ...

'' (1977) and ''

Adventures of a Plumber's Mate ''Adventures of a Plumber's Mate'' is a 1978 British sex comedy film directed by Stanley Long and starring Christopher Neil as Sid South. Following on from ''Adventures of a Taxi Driver'' and ''Adventures of a Private Eye'', it was the final ...

'' (1978). In 1993 he played Inspector Lejeune in ''

The Pale Horse ''The Pale Horse'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 6 November 1961,Chris Peers, Ralph Spurrier and Jamie Sturgeon. ''Collins Crime Club – A checklist of ...

'', a

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

adaptation of the novel by

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

. It was specially adapted to mark the 50th anniversary of the

Saturday Night Theatre ''Saturday Night Theatre'' was a long-running radio drama strand on BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken ...

strand. Adams was also a member of the London cast of ''

Tom Foolery ''Tomfoolery'' (or ''Tom Foolery'') is a musical revue based on the songs of American satirist Tom Lehrer. Devised and produced by Cameron Mackintosh, it premiered in London at the Criterion Theatre, directed by Gillian Lynne, on 5 June 1980, ...

''. Adams died in

, England, of a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

at the age of 74. A portrait of Adams by British artist

David Gommon David Gommon (12 December 1913 – 20 January 1987) was a British painter born in Battersea, South London. Early life and education David Gommon was born on 12 December 1913 in Battersea in South London. His father was a Londoner, a jour ...

is displayed on the BBC Paintings online gallery.

Filmography

*''

The Assassination Bureau ''The Assassination Bureau Limited'' (also known as ''The Assassination Bureau'' in the United States) is a 1969 British Technicolor black comedy adventure film, produced by Michael Relph, directed by Basil Dearden, and starring Oliver Reed, D ...

'' (1969) - French President (uncredited) *'' Eskimo Nell'' (1975) - Lord Coltwind *''

'' (1975) - Dr. Sparks *''

'' (1975) - Dr. Everett V. Scott - A Rival Scientist *''It Could Happen to You'' (1975) - Henry VIII *''

'' (1977) - Inspector Hogg *''

'' (1977) - Adam *''

'' (1978) - Rent Collector *''

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

'' (1985) - Chaplain *''

Two Evil Eyes ''Two Evil Eyes'' (Italian: ''Due occhi diabolici'') is a 1990 anthology horror film written and directed by George A. Romero and Dario Argento. An international co-production of Italy and the United States, ''Two Evil Eyes'' is split into two se ...

'' (1990) - Hammer (segment "The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdemar")

References

External links

*
Jonathan Adams obituary

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

(retrieved 21 September 2010, updated 16 November 2017) {{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Jonathan 1931 births 2005 deaths English male stage actors English male film actors English male television actors People from Northampton English contemporary artists