Nicky Henson ( Nicholas Victor Leslie Henson; 12 May 1945 – 15 December 2019) was a British actor.

Early life

Nicholas Victor Leslie Henson was born in London, the son of Harriet Martha ( Collins) and comedian

Leslie Henson Leslie Lincoln Henson (3 August 1891 – 2 December 1957) was an English comedian, actor, producer for films and theatre, and film director. He initially worked in silent films and Edwardian musical comedy and became a popular music hall comed ...

Adam Henson Adam John Lincoln Henson (born 8 January 1966) is an English farmer, author and television presenter. Family Henson's grandfather Leslie Henson, was a music hall and musical comedy comedian and actor. His farmer father Joe Henson MBE,

, a farmer and regular presenter on

BBC TV BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 19 ...

's ''

Countryfile ''Countryfile'' is a British television programme which airs weekly on BBC One and reports on rural, agricultural, and environmental issues in the United Kingdom. The programme is currently presented by John Craven, Adam Henson, Matt Baker ...

'', is the son of Nicky's brother, Joe Henson. He attended St. Bede's Prep School,

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

, and

Charterhouse Charterhouse may refer to: * Charterhouse (monastery), of the Carthusian religious order Charterhouse may also refer to: Places * The Charterhouse, Coventry, a former monastery * Charterhouse School, an English public school in Surrey London ...

Godalming Godalming is a market town and civil parish in southwest Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, at the confluence of the Rivers Wey and Ock. The civil parish covers and includes the settleme ...

. He trained as a

stage manager Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including the overseeing of the rehearsal p ...

RADA The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...

, and first appeared on stage himself as a guitarist. As a member of the

Young Vic The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Kwame Kwei-Armah has been Artistic Director since February 201 ...

Company he played Pozzo in Samuel Beckett's '' Waiting for Godot.''

Career

Television

Henson appeared in various television roles, including guest roles in ''

Fawlty Towers ''Fawlty Towers'' is a British television sitcom written by John Cleese and Connie Booth, broadcast on BBC2 in 1975 and 1979. Two series of six episodes each were made. The show was ranked first on a list of the 100 Greatest British Television ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

Boon Boon may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Boon (game), a trick-taking card game * ''Boon'' (novel), a 1915 satirical work by H. G. Wells * ''Boon'' (TV series), a British television series starring Michael Elphick * The Ultimate Boo ...

'', ''

Inspector Morse Detective Chief Inspector Endeavour Morse, GM, is the eponymous fictional character in the series of detective novels by British author Colin Dexter. On television, he appears in the 33-episode drama series ''Inspector Morse'' (1987–2000), ...

'', ''

A Touch of Frost A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

'', '' Heartbeat'', '' After You've Gone'', ''

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 ...

'' and ''

Doctors Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

''. In 1990 he played the doctor in the BBC’s adaptation of Kingsley Amis’ Ghost story The Green Man. He played the eponymous hero in ''

Shine On Harvey Moon ''Shine on, Harvey Moon'' is a British television series made by Witzend Productions and Central Television for ITV from 8 January 1982 to 23 August 1985 and briefly revived in 1995 by Meridian Broadcasting. This generally light-hearted series ...

'' when the series was revived in 1995. In 2005 he played Hugo, an antique dealer, in ''Bad Girls''. In February 2006, Henson joined the cast of the

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

'', playing Jack Edwards. Henson left the production towards the end of the year due to health problems. Henson played three different characters in the police drama series ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused on ...

'', the first in 1991, the second in 1998, and the third in 2007. In 2010, he appeared as Charles Grigg, a former acquaintance of Carson the butler, in an episode of the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

period drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romance film, romances, adventure f ...

Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States on P ...

'' and appeared in two further episodes in 2013. He also played Randolph Mepstead, the older brother of

David Jason Sir David John White (born 2 February 1940), known professionally by his stage name David Jason, is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Derek "Del Boy" Trotter in the BBC sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses'', Detective Inspector J ...

's character in the pilot episode of the mid-1970s series ''

Lucky Feller ''Lucky Feller'' is a British television sitcom written by Terence Frisby and produced by Humphrey Barclay. It was broadcast on ITV in 1976. The series stars David Jason and ran for one series of 13 episodes. The series is about two plumber br ...

''. Henson played the role of Mr. Johnson in the ''

'' episode " The Psychiatrist". He stated that despite his 50 years of professional acting, his tombstone will probably read "Here lies Nicky Henson – he was in one episode of ''Fawlty Towers''". He was paid a modest appearance fee, and told he might earn the same again in repeats fees.

Films

Henson's film appearances include ''

Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins ( 1620 – 12 August 1647) was an English witch-hunter whose career flourished during the English Civil War. He claimed to hold the office of Witchfinder General, although that title was never bestowed by Parliament, a ...

'' (1968), ''

There's a Girl in My Soup '' There's a Girl in My Soup'' is a 1970 British romantic comedy film based on the stage play of the same name, directed by Roy Boulting and starring Peter Sellers and Goldie Hawn. The film was Sellers' last commercial success until '' Return ...

'' (1970), ''

Mosquito Squadron ''Mosquito Squadron'' is a 1969 British war film made by Oakmont Productions, directed by Boris Sagal and starring David McCallum. The raid echoes Operation Jericho, a combined RAF– Maquis raid which freed French prisoners from Amiens jail ...

'' (1970) 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 graduated to lead roles in ''

The Bawdy Adventures of Tom Jones ''The Bawdy Adventures of Tom Jones'' is a 1976 British comedy film directed by Cliff Owen and starring Nicky Henson, Trevor Howard and Terry-Thomas. It is an adaptation of the 1749 novel '' Tom Jones'' by Henry Fielding, which follows the ma ...

'' (1976) and '' No. 1 of the Secret Service'' (1977), before returning to supporting roles in ''

Vera Drake ''Vera Drake'' is a 2004 British period drama film written and directed by Mike Leigh and starring Imelda Staunton, Phil Davis, Daniel Mays and Eddie Marsan. It tells the story of a working-class woman in London in 1950 who performs illegal abor ...

'' (2004) and

George Clooney George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by George Clooney, numerous accolades, including a British Academy Film Awards, British Academy Film A ...

's ''

Syriana ''Syriana'' is a 2005 American political thriller film written and directed by Stephen Gaghan, loosely based on Robert Baer's 2003 memoir ''See No Evil (Baer book), See No Evil''. The film stars an ensemble cast consisting of George Clooney, Mat ...

'' (2005).

Theatre

On stage, Henson played many

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

an characters (including a period with the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

from 1977) and had leading roles in ''

Look Back in Anger ''Look Back in Anger'' (1956) is a realist play written by John Osborne. It focuses on the life and marital struggles of an intelligent and educated but disaffected young man of working-class origin, Jimmy Porter, and his equally competent yet i ...

'', ''

Man and Superman ''Man and Superman'' is a four-act drama written by George Bernard Shaw in 1903. The series was written in response to a call for Shaw to write a play based on the Don Juan theme. ''Man and Superman'' opened at the Royal Court Theatre in London ...

'', ''

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead ''Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead'' is an absurdist, existential tragicomedy by Tom Stoppard, first staged at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1966. The play expands upon the exploits of two minor characters from Shakespeare's ''Hamle ...

'', ''

She Stoops to Conquer ''She Stoops to Conquer'' is a comedy by Oliver Goldsmith, first performed in London in 1773. The play is a favourite for study by English literature and theatre classes in the English-speaking world. It is one of the few plays from the 18th ...

'', ''

Noises Off ''Noises Off'' is a 1982 play by the English playwright Michael Frayn. Frayn conceived the idea in 1970 while watching from the wings a performance of ''The Two of Us'', a farce that he had written for Lynn Redgrave. He said, "It was funnier f ...

'' and others. He appeared as

Mordred Mordred or Modred (; Welsh: ''Medraut'' or ''Medrawt'') is a figure who is variously portrayed in the legend of King Arthur. The earliest known mention of a possibly historical Medraut is in the Welsh chronicle ''Annales Cambriae'', wherein he ...

in the original 1964 London version of ''

Camelot Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as the ...

'' opposite

Laurence Harvey Laurence Harvey (born Zvi Mosheh Skikne; 1 October 192825 November 1973) was a Lithuanian-born British actor and film director. He was born to Lithuanian Jewish parents and emigrated to South Africa at an early age, before later settling in th ...

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

. Henson made his Broadway debut in a production of

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

's ''

An Ideal Husband ''An Ideal Husband'' is a four-act play by Oscar Wilde that revolves around blackmail and political corruption, and touches on the themes of public and private honour. It was first produced at the Haymarket Theatre, London in 1895 and ran for ...

'', opposite

Stephanie Beacham Stephanie Beacham (born 28 February 1947) is an English television, film, radio and theatre actress. Although she has a wide number of credits to her name, Beacham is best known for for playing Sable Colby in the ABC soap operas ''The Colbys'' ...

. He was nominated for a 1998

Laurence Olivier Theatre Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known a ...

for Best Supporting Performance in a Musical of 1997 for his role in ''

Enter the Guardsman ''Enter the Guardsman ''is a musical based on Ferenc Molnár's play ''The Guardsman'', with music by Craig Bohmler, lyrics by Marion Adler and a book by Scott Wentworth. The story concerns an actor who tests his actress wife's love by sending her ...

''. He started directing with a Restoration workshop at

LAMDA LaMDA, which stands for Language Model for Dialogue Applications, is a family of conversational neural language models developed by Google. The first generation was announced during the 2021 Google I/O keynote, while the second generation was a ...

with a production of ''

The Provok'd Wife ''The Provoked Wife'' (1697) is the second original comedy written by John Vanbrugh. It made its first appearance in Lincoln's Inn Fields in May, 1697. The often-repeated claim that Vanbrugh wrote part of his comedy ''The Provoked Wife'' in th ...

''. In 2009 he directed the Jack Shepherd play ''Only When I Laugh'' at the

Arcola Theatre Arcola Theatre is an Off West End theatre in the London Borough of Hackney. It presents plays, operas and musicals featuring established and emerging artists. The theatre building, in the former Colourworks paint factory on Ashwin Street, Dalst ...

in London and

Alan Ayckbourn Sir Alan Ayckbourn (born 12 April 1939) is a prolific British playwright and director. He has written and produced as of 2021, more than eighty full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director of ...

's ''Intimate Exchanges'' at

Sheringham Little Theatre Sheringham Little Theatre is a theatre in Sheringham, Norfolk, England. It stages live theatre and music, and film screenings. History The building that houses the modern theatre was constructed in 1897, originally as a meeting hall for social ...

Radio

Henson played Lemuel "Chipper" Barnet in ''

Space Force A space force is a military branch of a nation's armed forces that conducts military operations in outer space and space warfare. The world's first space force was the Russian Space Forces, established in 1992 as an independent military service. ...

'' series 1 and 2 (1984–85).

Personal life

Henson married actress

Una Stubbs Una Stubbs (1 May 1937 – 12 August 2021) was an English actress, television personality and dancer who appeared on British television and in the theatre, and occasionally in films. She became known after appearing in the film '' Summer Holiday ...

(who incidentally played his sister-in-law Caroline Bishop in ''

''). The couple had two sons, Joe and

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

, both of whom are composers. The marriage ended after Henson began an affair in 1974 with actress

Susan Hampshire Susan Hampshire, Lady Kulukundis, (born 12 May 1937) is an English actress known for her many television and film roles. A three-time Emmy Award winner, she won for ''The Forsyte Saga'' in 1970, ''The First Churchills'' in 1969, and for '' Vani ...

, his co-star in several stage productions. He then married ballerina Marguerite Porter, by whom he had a third son,

Keaton Keaton may refer to: *Keaton (name) *2712 Keaton 71 may refer to: * 71 (number) * one of the years 71 BC, AD 71, 1971, 2071 * 71'' (film), 2014 British film set in Belfast in 1971 * '' 71: Into the Fire'', 2010 South Korean film See also * ...

, a musician and illustrator.

Health

Henson was diagnosed with cancer in 2003. Surgeons removed tumours from around his spleen, but a routine check-up in 2006 showed that other tumours had grown and it would be dangerous to remove them. Henson was put on a regime of

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...

, and worked regularly to raise funds for cancer charities, especially

Marie Curie Cancer Care Marie Curie is a registered charitable organisation in the United Kingdom which provides care and support to people living with a terminal illness and those close to them, and campaigns for better support for dying people. It was established in 19 ...

. He died on 15 December 2019 from cancer, aged 74.

Partial filmography

* 1964 '' Father Came Too!'' as Motorcyclist * 1965 '' Every Day's a Holiday'' as Tailor's Shop Customer (uncredited) * 1966 ''

Doctor in Clover ''Doctor in Clover'' is a British comedy film released in 1966, starring Leslie Phillips. The film is based on the novel of the same title by Richard Gordon. It is the sixth of the seven films in the ''Doctor'' series. The film was released i ...

'' as Boutique Assistant * 1967 ''

The Jokers ''The Jokers'' is a 1967 British comedy film written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, and directed by Michael Winner. The film stars Michael Crawford and Oliver Reed as brothers who hatch a plot to steal the Crown Jewels. Very much of i ...

'' as Man At Party * 1968 ''

Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush" (also titled "Mulberry Bush" or "This Is the Way") is an English nursery rhyme and singing game. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 7882. It uses the tune which Nancy Dawson danced into fame in ''Th ...

'' as Craig Foster * 1968 ''

30 Is a Dangerous Age, Cynthia ''30 Is a Dangerous Age, Cynthia'' is a 1968 British romantic comedy film directed by Joseph McGrath and starring Dudley Moore. Plot London jazz pianist and aspiring composer Rupert Street (Dudley Moore) is looking to have a 30th birthday to ...

'' as Paul * 1968 ''

'' as Swallow * 1969 ''

Crooks and Coronets ''Crooks and Coronets'' is a 1969 British crime comedy film and/or heist movie written and directed by Jim O'Connolly. It starred Telly Savalas, Edith Evans, Warren Oates, Cesar Romero and Harry H. Corbett. The film was renamed as ''Sophie's Plac ...

'' as Lord Freddie Fitzmore * 1969 ''

'' as Flight Sergeant Wiley Bunce * 1970 ''

'' as Jimmy * 1972 '' All Coppers Are...'' as Barry * 1973 ''

'' as Tom Latham * 1973 ''

The Love Ban ''The Love Ban'' is a 1973 British comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Hywel Bennett, Nanette Newman and Milo O'Shea. It was based on a play by Kevin Laffan. It is also known under the alternative titles of ''It's a 2'6" Above th ...

'' as Baker * 1973 ''

Penny Gold ''Penny Gold'' is a 1973 British drama film directed by Jack Cardiff and starring James Booth, Francesca Annis, Nicky Henson and Joss Ackland. The screenplay concerns two policemen who investigate a series of murders. Premise A police detective ...

'' as Roger * 1974 '' Vampira'' as Marc * 1974 '' Bedtime with Rosie'' as Fantasy Man * 1976 ''

'' as Tom Jones * 1977 '' No. 1 of the Secret Service'' as No. 1 / Charles Bind * 1985 ''The Secret of Seagull Island'' as Martin Foster * 1988 '' Star Trap'' as Adam Blunt * 1998 ''

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 ...

'' as Askew * 2001 '' Me Without You'' as Ray * 2001 '' Death, Deceit & Destiny Aboard the Orient Express'' as Tom Finlay * 2002 ''Flyfishing'' as Howard * 2004 ''

'' as Private Doctor * 2005 ''

'' as Sydney Hewitt * 2006 '' A Quiet Drink'' (Short) as Peter * 2011 ''

Blitz Blitz, German for "lightning", may refer to: Military uses *Blitzkrieg, blitz campaign, or blitz, a type of military campaign *The Blitz, the German aerial campaign against Britain in the Second World War *, an Imperial German Navy light cruiser b ...

'' as Superintendent Brown * 2011 ''

Truth or Dare Truth is the property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth 2005 In everyday language, truth is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise correspond to it, such as beliefs, ...

'' as Mr. Hautbois (uncredited) * 2012 '' Run for Your Wife'' as Man In Hospital * 2014 ''

We Still Kill the Old Way ''We Still Kill the Old Way'' ( it, A ciascuno il suo; ) is a 1967 Italian crime film directed by Elio Petri. It was entered into the 1967 Cannes Film Festival where it won the award for Best Screenplay. It is based on the novel '' To Each H ...

'' as Jack Houghton * 2015 ''Draw on Sweet Night'' as Sir Thomas Kytson * 2015 '' Narcopolis'' as Chief Ballard * 2016 ''Gozo'' as Tony * 2016 ''We Still Steal the Old Way'' as Jack Houghton * 2017 ''The Holly Kane Experiment'' as Marvin Greenslade * 2018 ''Tango One'' as Latham (final film role)

References

External links

*
Nicky Henson
Aveleyman) {{DEFAULTSORT:Henson, Nicky 1945 births 2019 deaths Male actors from London Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art English male film actors English male radio actors English male soap opera actors English male stage actors People educated at St. Bede's Prep School People educated at Charterhouse School Deaths from cancer Royal Shakespeare Company members 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors