Leonard John Meddick (18 March 1924 – 1 January 2017), known professionally as Lane Meddick, was a British actor, journalist and writer.

Early life and career

Meddick was born on 18 March 1924 in Barry, Glamorgan, Wales. He died on 1 January 2017 in

Binfield Heath Binfield Heath is a village and civil parish in South Oxfordshire, England, south-southwest of Henley-on-Thames and northeast of Reading on a southern knoll of the Chiltern Hills. The 2011 Census recorded the parish population as 709. The v ...

, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. He worked as a trainee reporter for the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

of America on Fleet Street, and then joined the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

in 1942, aged 18. He qualified as a Flying Officer and went on to fly

Hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

s and Dakotas. He trained in England and South Africa and served in Egypt, India, Ceylon, Malaya, Sumatra, Singapore and Java. He returned to journalism in 1947 with a south London suburban paper, before finding work as a stage manager in repertory theatre in the 1950s. Despite having no formal training, he gradually took on small acting parts, travelling across the whole of England. He adopted the pseudonym Lane Meddick for TV and film work.

Film, TV and writing work

Film appearances include: ''Journey's End'' (1954), '' The Dam Busters'' (1955 - uncredited RAF orderly), ''

Touch of Death The touch of death (or death-point striking) refers to any martial arts technique reputed to kill using seemingly less than lethal force targeted at specific areas of the body. The concept known as ''dim mak'' (), alternatively ' () traces its ...

'' (1961), ''Flower of Evil'' (1961) and ''

Psychomania ''Psychomania'' (originally released in the United States as ''The Death Wheelers'') is a 1973 British outlaw biker horror film starring Nicky Henson, Beryl Reid, George Sanders (in his final film) and Robert Hardy. Plot Tom Latham, an am ...

'' (1973). He made numerous TV appearances between 1953 and 1980, including '' Coronation Street'', ''

Hancock Hancock may refer to: Places in the United States * Hancock, Iowa * Hancock, Maine * Hancock, Maryland * Hancock, Massachusetts * Hancock, Michigan * Hancock, Minnesota * Hancock, Missouri * Hancock, New Hampshire ** Hancock (CDP), New Hampshir ...

'', ''

Steptoe and Son ''Steptoe and Son'' is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about a father-and-son rag-and-bone business in 26a Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in Shepherd's Bush, London. Four series were broadcast by the BBC in black and w ...

'', ''

Dial M for Murder ''Dial M for Murder'' is a 1954 American crime thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings, Anthony Dawson, and John Williams. Both the screenplay and the successful stage play on which it was b ...

'' and ''

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 debut ...

''. Writing credits include ''Potts and the Phantom Piper'' (TV series, 1957), ''

No Hiding Place ''No Hiding Place'' is a British television series that was produced at Wembley Studios by Associated-Rediffusion for the ITV network between 16 September 1959 and 22 June 1967. It was the sequel to the series ''Murder Bag'' (1957–1958) ...

'' (TV series, 1960), and tales of boys-own military adventures for DC magazines and the

Eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, j ...

comic.

References

British male film actors British journalists British male stage actors British male television actors British male dramatists and playwrights English male novelists English male journalists 1924 births 2017 deaths Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Air Force officers {{UK-journalist-stub