Richard Marner (born Alexander Pavlovich Molchanov, russian: Александр Павлович Молчанов, translit=Aleksandr Pavlovič Molčanov; 27 March 192118 March 2004) was a Russian-British actor. He was probably best known for his role as

Colonel Kurt von Strohm This is a list of all main and recurring characters of BBC television's sitcom '' 'Allo 'Allo!'' that ran from 1982 until 1992 and 85 episodes. Overview René Artois René Francois Artois ( Gorden Kaye) – The local café proprietor who, wh ...

in the British sitcom '' 'Allo 'Allo!''.

Early life

Born in

Petrograd Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

, Molchanov (nicknamed "Sasha" by his family) was the eldest son of Colonel Pavel Molchanov, of the

Semyonovsky Regiment The Semyonovsky Lifeguard Regiment (, ) was one of the two oldest guard regiments of the Imperial Russian Army. The other one was the Preobrazhensky Regiment. In 2013, it was recreated for the Russian Armed Forces as a rifle regiment, its na ...

, one of two that were set up for children of children who had played with

Peter the Great of Russia Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

. In 1924, his entire family left the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

and went to Finland and then Germany, before ending up in Britain and London, where Alexander's grandmother, author Olga Novikov (known in the family as "Babushka London") lived in

Harley Street Harley Street is a street in Marylebone, Central London, which has, since the 19th century housed a large number of private specialists in medicine and surgery. It was named after Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer.< ...

. After being educated at

Monmouth School Monmouth School for Boys is a public school (independent day and boarding school) for boys in Monmouth, Wales. The school was founded in 1614 with a bequest from William Jones, a successful merchant and trader. The School is run as a trust, t ...

in Wales, Molchanov became an assistant to the Russian tenor

Vladimir Rosing Vladimir Sergeyevich Rosing (russian: Владимир Серге́евич Розинг) (November 24, 1963), also known as Val Rosing, was a Russian-born operatic tenor and stage director who spent most of his professional career in the United ...

, where he performed at

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he joined the

RAF 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) and ...

, and was posted to South Africa with the

Air Training Corps The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a British volunteer-military youth organisation. They are sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and the Royal Air Force. The majority of staff are volunteers, and some are paid for full-time work – including C ...

. After being invalided out, he changed his name to Richard Marner and began his long successful career as a stage and film actor.

Career

One of Marner's early stage roles – as

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...

, with Howard Dean – is still regarded by some as the definitive interpretation of the role. In 1967, well before his role as the German Colonel in '' 'Allo 'Allo'' Marner played the minor and uncredited role of a German sentry in the classic war film ''

The Dirty Dozen ''The Dirty Dozen'' is a 1967 American war film directed by Robert Aldrich and starring Lee Marvin with an ensemble supporting cast including Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Richard Jaeckel, George Kennedy ...

''. His other films include ''

Ice Cold in Alex ''Ice Cold in Alex'' is a 1958 British war film set during the Western Desert campaign of World War II based on the novel of the same name by Christopher Landon. Directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring John Mills, the film was a prizewinner a ...

'', '' The One That Got Away'', ''

The Password Is Courage ''The Password Is Courage'' is a 1962 British comedy-drama war film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, based on John Castle's 1954 World War II memoir of the same name. Written, produced, and directed by Andrew L. Stone, the film stars Dirk Bogarde, Mar ...

'', '' You Only Live Twice'', '' The Boys from Brazil'', '' The Spy Who Came in from the Cold'', '' The African Queen'' and the Swiss film '' Four in a Jeep'', in which he did all the Russian dialogue. He was also in the television movie ''

Birth of the Beatles Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring, also referred to in technical contexts as parturition. In mammals, the process is initiated by hormones which cause the muscular walls of the uterus to contract, expelling the f ...

'', as

Bruno Koschmider Bruno Koschmider (1926 – 2000) was a German entrepreneur in Hamburg, best known for employing the Beatles in the early 1960s. He controlled various businesses, such as the Bambi Kino, which was a cinema, the Indra club and the Kaiserkeller. ...

. Marner's best known role was in '' 'Allo 'Allo!'' as German Commandant

Colonel Kurt Von Strohm This is a list of all main and recurring characters of BBC television's sitcom '' 'Allo 'Allo!'' that ran from 1982 until 1992 and 85 episodes. Overview René Artois René Francois Artois ( Gorden Kaye) – The local café proprietor who, wh ...

. He appeared in all nine series of the programme between 1984 and 1992. He also appears in an episode of Secret Army, the programme that 'Allo 'Allo parodies. His other work included roles in ''The Protectors'' (1973), ''Mackenzie'' (1980), ''

Triangle A triangle is a polygon with three Edge (geometry), edges and three Vertex (geometry), vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC. In Euclidean geometry, an ...

'' (1981), ''

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 ...

'' (1994), and the film '' The Sum of All Fears'' (as the Russian president). Marner starred as a disgruntled father in the Gorbachev Pizza Hut commercial, starring the last leader of the Soviet Union,

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

. In 1991, when the

President of Russia The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...

Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...

, convened a "Congress of Compatriots" (an olive branch to some of the post-1917 White Russian diaspora), Marner was one of the 600 people who returned to the motherland. Despite being caught up in a coup, he stayed long enough to watch, through tearful eyes, the raising of the first Imperial Russian flag flown in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

since 1917.

Personal life

Marner died nine days before his 83rd birthday on 18 March 2004 in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Scotland, and left a wife, actress Pauline Farr, who retained Molchanoff as her off-stage name. Marner was fluent in Russian, English, French and German. He is survived by a daughter and three grandchildren.

Selected filmography

* ''

Highly Dangerous ''Highly Dangerous'' is a 1950 British spy film starring Margaret Lockwood. The screenplay was written by Eric Ambler. It was released in the US by Lippert Pictures as ''Time Running Out''. Plot Frances Gray is as a British entomologist trying t ...

'' (1950) – Soldier on Train (uncredited) * ''

Lilli Marlene ''Lilli Marlene'' is a 1950 British war film aimed for the US market and directed by Arthur Crabtree. It stars Lisa Daniely, Hugh McDermott, and Richard Murdoch. Stanley Baker is seen in one of his early support roles. Plot A French girl name ...

'' (1951) – SS Colonel * ''

Appointment with Venus ''Appointment with Venus'' () is a novel by Jerrard Tickell published by Hodder & Stoughton in 1951, leading to a British film adaptation the same year and a Danish film adaptation in 1962. The story is based on a real incident of the evacuatio ...

'' (1951) – 2nd German Corporal * '' The African Queen'' (1951) – Second Officer of Fort Shona * ''

Top Secret Classified information is material that a government body deems to be sensitive information that must be protected. Access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of people with the necessary security clearance and need to kn ...

'' (1952) – Russian Sentry * '' Never Let Me Go'' (1953) – Toasting Russian Officer (uncredited) * ''

Park Plaza 605 ''Park Plaza 605'', released as ''Norman Conquest'' in the United States, is a 1953 British crime film. Made as a B movie, it stars Tom Conway, Eva Bartok, and Joy Shelton, and also features Sid James and Richard Wattis. It is based on the ''No ...

'' (1953) – Barkov * ''

Mask of Dust ''Mask of Dust'' (later named 'Race for Life' ) is a 1954 British motor racing drama film directed by Terence Fisher and starring Richard Conte, Mari Aldon and Peter Illing. The film was based on the 1953 novel ''The Last Race'' by Jon Manchip ...

'' (1954) – Hans Brecht – racer * '' Oh... Rosalinda!!'' (1955) – Col. Lebotov * '' The Master Plan'' (1955) – Man (uncredited) * '' The Man Who Knew Too Much'' (1956) – Aide to Prime Minister (uncredited) * '' Reach for the Sky'' (1956) – German Officer in Staff Car (uncredited) * ''

Ill Met by Moonlight ''Ill Met by Moonlight: The Abduction of General Kreipe'' is a non-fiction partly-autobiographical book written by W. Stanley Moss, a British soldier, writer and traveller. It describes an operation in Crete during the Second World War to captu ...

'' (1957) – German Officer with Gen. Brauer (uncredited) * ''

Miracle in Soho ''Miracle in Soho'' is a 1957 British drama film directed by Julian Amyes and starring John Gregson, Belinda Lee and Cyril Cusack. The film depicts the lives of the inhabitants of a small street in Soho and the romance between a local road-b ...

'' (1957) – Karl * '' The One That Got Away'' (1957) – German Prisoner * '' The Safecracker'' (1958) – German N.C.O * ''

No Time to Die ''No Time to Die'' is a 2021 spy film and the twenty-fifth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, starring Daniel Craig in his fifth and final portrayal of fictional British MI6 agent James Bond. It was directed by Cary Jo ...

'' (1958) – German colonel * ''

'' (1958) – German Guard * ''

The Inn of the Sixth Happiness ''The Inn of the Sixth Happiness'' is a 1958 20th Century Fox film based on the true story of Gladys Aylward, a tenacious British woman, who became a missionary in China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Directed by Mark Robson, who receiv ...

'' (1958) – Russian Soldier (uncredited) * ''

The Square Peg ''The Square Peg'' is a 1959 British war comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Norman Wisdom. Norman Wisdom plays two different characters: a man who digs and repairs roads, and a Nazi general. Plot During the Second World W ...

'' (1958) – Hauptmann Schmidt (uncredited) * ''

A Touch of Larceny ''A Touch of Larceny'' is a 1959 British-American black-and-white comedy film, produced by Ivan Foxwell, directed by Guy Hamilton, that stars James Mason, George Sanders, and Vera Miles. The film co-stars Harry Andrews, Rachel Gurney, and John ...

'' (1959) – Russian Officer Cornered by Max Easton (uncredited) * ''

Beyond the Curtain ''Beyond the Curtain'' is a 1960 British drama film written and directed by Compton Bennett, and starring Richard Greene and Eva Bartok. Plot A refugee from East Germany finds herself trapped in her home city of Dresden when a plane she is t ...

'' (1960) – Russian Officer (uncredited) * ''

A Circle of Deception ''Circle of Deception'' is a 1960 CinemaScope British war film directed by Jack Lee and starring Bradford Dillman, Suzy Parker and Harry Andrews. Plot A Canadian officer is sent on a secret and dangerous mission during World War II. His sup ...

'' (1960) – German colonel * ''

Very Important Person A very important person or personage (VIP or V.I.P.) is a person who is accorded special privileges due to their high social status, influence or importance. The term was not common until sometime after World War 2 by RAF pilots. Examples incl ...

'' (1961) – German Guard (uncredited) * ''

Invasion Quartet ''Invasion Quartet'' is a 1961 British World War II comedy-drama film that was publicised as a parody of '' The Guns of Navarone''.Weiler, A. H. ''New York Times'' film review 11 December 1961 It was directed by Jay Lewis and starred Bill Traver ...

'' (1961) – German Soldier (uncredited) * ''The Pursuers'' (1961) – Aranson * ''

'' (1962) – Schmidt * ''

The Mouse on the Moon ''The Mouse on the Moon'' is a 1963 British comedy film, the sequel to ''The Mouse That Roared''. It is an adaptation of the 1962 novel '' The Mouse on the Moon'' by Irish author Leonard Wibberley, and was directed by Richard Lester. In it, the ...

'' (1963) – Russian Air Force General * ''

Children of the Damned ''Children of the Damned'' is a 1964 British black-and-white science fiction horror film, a thematic sequel to 1960s '' Village of the Damned'', which concerns a group of children with similar psi-powers to those in the earlier film. The film ...

'' (1964) – Russian Embassy official (uncredited) * ''

Ring of Spies ''Ring of Spies'' (also known as ''Ring of Treason'') is a 1964 British spy film directed by Robert Tronson and starring Bernard Lee, William Sylvester and Margaret Tyzack. It is based on the real-life case of the Portland Spy Ring, whose activit ...

'' (1964) – Colonel Monat (uncredited) * ''

Operation Crossbow ''Crossbow'' was the code name in World War II for Anglo-American operations against the German V-weapons, long range reprisal weapons (V-weapons) programme. The main V-weapons were the V-1 flying bomb and V-2 rocket – these were launched aga ...

'' (1965) – SS Sergeant (uncredited) * '' The Spy Who Came in from the Cold'' (1965) – Vopo Captain * ''

Where the Spies Are ''Where the Spies Are'' is a 1966 British comedy adventure film directed by Val Guest and starring David Niven, Françoise Dorléac, John Le Mesurier, Cyril Cusack and Richard Marner. It was based on the 1964 James Leasor book '' Passport to Obl ...

'' (1966) – Josef * '' You Only Live Twice'' (1967) – Russian Controller (uncredited) * ''

'' (1967) – German Sentry at Chateau (uncredited) * ''

Isadora Isidora or Isadora is a female given name of Greek origin, derived from Ἰσίδωρος, ''Isídōros'' (a compound of Ἶσις, ''Ísis'', and δῶρον, ''dōron'': "gift of he goddessIsis"). The male equivalent is Isidore. The name surviv ...

'' (1968) – (uncredited) * ''Le silencieux'' (1973) * '' Tiffany Jones'' (1973) – Vorjak * ''

QB VII ''QB VII'' by Leon Uris is a dramatic courtroom novel published in 1970. The four-part novel highlights the events leading to a libel trial in the United Kingdom. The novel was Uris's second consecutive #1 ''New York Times'' Best Seller and th ...

'' (1974) – Wladislaw Kranz * ''

The Internecine Project ''The Internecine Project'' is a 1974 British espionage thriller film written by Mort W. Elkind, Barry Levinson, and Jonathan Lynn, directed by Ken Hughes and starring James Coburn and Lee Grant. Plot Renowned American economist Robert Elliot ...

'' (1974) – German delegate * ''

The Girl from Petrovka ''The Girl from Petrovka'' is a 1974 American comedy-drama film starring Goldie Hawn and Hal Holbrook, based on the novel by George Feifer. It is about an American journalist, Joe (Holbrook) who goes to the Soviet Union and meets Oktyabrina (Haw ...

'' (1974) – Kremlin Press Official * ''

Not Now, Comrade ''Not Now, Comrade'' is a 1976 British comedy film directed by Ray Cooney. It was a follow-up to the similarly named 1973 farce ''Not Now, Darling''. It featured a number of British comedy actors including Leslie Phillips, Windsor Davies, Don Es ...

'' (1976) – Russian * '' The Boys from Brazil'' (1978) – Emil Doring * ''

Avalanche Express ''Avalanche Express'' is a 1979 Cold War adventure thriller film starring Lee Marvin, Robert Shaw, Maximilian Schell, and Linda Evans and produced and directed by Mark Robson. The plot is about the struggle over a defecting Soviet general. The ...

'' (1979) – Field Marshal Prachko * ''

'' (1979) – Club Boss * ''

The Last Horror Film ''The Last Horror Film'' (a.k.a. ''Fanatic'') is a 1982 American horror comedy film directed by David Winters and starring Joe Spinell and Caroline Munro. The director, David Winters, filmed on location at the Cannes Film Festival. Plot Vi ...

'' (1982) – Screening Room Jury * ''

Nutcracker A nutcracker is a tool designed to open nuts by cracking their shells. There are many designs, including levers, screws, and ratchets. The lever version is also used for cracking lobster and crab shells. A decorative version portrays a person w ...

'' (1983) – Popov * '' Pandora's Clock'' (1996) * '' The Sum of All Fears'' (2002) – President Zorkin (final film role)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marner, Richard 1921 births 2004 deaths Male actors from Saint Petersburg Soviet emigrants to the United Kingdom British male film actors British male stage actors British male television actors People educated at Monmouth School for Boys Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United Kingdom Royal Air Force airmen British male comedy actors