Alfred Cornelius Lynch (26 January 1931 – 16 December 2003) was an English actor on stage, film and television.

Early life

Lynch was born in

Whitechapel Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...

, London, the son of a plumber. After attending a Catholic school, he worked in a drawing office as a draughtsman before entering

national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

. Then, whilst working in a factory, he attended theatre acting evening classes, at which he met his life partner, James Culliford.

Stage

In 1958 he joined the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England ...

and acted in a number of plays, including original productions of '' Chicken Soup with Barley'' and ''

The Kitchen The Kitchen is a non-profit, multi-disciplinary avant-garde performance and experimental art institution located at 512 West 19th Street, between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was foun ...

'' by

Arnold Wesker Sir Arnold Wesker (24 May 1932 – 12 April 2016) was an English dramatist. He was the author of 50 plays, four volumes of short stories, two volumes of essays, much journalism and a book on the subject, a children's book, some poetry, and oth ...

. Lynch also starred in

Joan Littlewood Joan Maud Littlewood (6 October 1914 – 20 September 2002) was an English theatre director who trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and is best known for her work in developing the Theatre Workshop. She has been called "The Mother of M ...

’s production of

Brendan Behan Brendan Francis Aidan Behan (christened Francis Behan) ( ; ga, Breandán Ó Beacháin; 9 February 1923 – 20 March 1964) was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and Irish Republican activist who wrote in both English and ...

’s ''The Hostage'' in London and New York, in which critic Kenneth Tynan praised his "beautiful playing".

Screen work

After 1960 his career moved more into film and television, with leading roles in ''

On the Fiddle ''On the Fiddle'' (released as ''Operation Snafu'' and ''Operation War Head'' in the United States) is a 1961 British comedy film directed by Cyril Frankel and starring Sean Connery, Alfred Lynch, Cecil Parker, Stanley Holloway, Eric Barker, M ...

'' (1961) and ''

West 11 ''West 11'' is a 1963 British crime film directed by Michael Winner and starring Alfred Lynch, Kathleen Breck, Eric Portman, Diana Dors, and Kathleen Harrison. It is based on ''The Furnished Room'' (1961), Laura Del-Rivo's debut novel, which ...

'' (1962) as well as prominent roles in ''

Two and Two Make Six ''Two and Two Make Six'', also known as ''A Change of Heart'' and ''The Girl Swappers'', is a 1962 black and white British romantic comedy film directed by Freddie Francis and starring George Chakiris and Janette Scott. Unusually, the two women ...

'' and ''

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 ...

'' (both 1962) and supporting roles in ''

55 Days at Peking ''55 Days at Peking'' is a 1963 American epic historical war film dramatizing the siege of the foreign legations' compounds in Peking (now known as Beijing) during the Boxer Rebellion, which took place in China from 1899 to 1901. It was produ ...

'' (1963) and ''

The Hill ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (1965). He also appeared as Tranio in 1967's ''

The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunk ...

'' and as Medvedenko in the 1968 adaptation of ''

The Sea Gull ''The Sea Gull'' is a 1968 British-American drama film directed by Sidney Lumet. The screenplay by Moura Budberg is adapted and translated from Anton Chekhov's classic 1896 play ''The Seagull''. The Warner Bros.-Seven Arts release was filmed a ...

''; while he later played Charlie Kray in the 1990 film '' The Krays''. On television he had the title role in the now-lost TV series ''

Hereward the Wake Hereward the Wake (Traditional pronunciation /ˈhɛ.rɛ.ward/, modern pronunciation /ˈhɛ.rɪ.wəd/) (1035 – 1072) (also known as Hereward the Outlaw or Hereward the Exile) was an Anglo-Saxon nobleman and a leader of local resista ...

'' (1965), as well as the lead in ''

Manhunt Manhunt may refer to: Search processes * Manhunt (law enforcement), a search for a dangerous fugitive * Manhunt (military), a search for a high-value target by special operations forces or intelligence agencies Social organisations * Manhun ...

'' (1969); along with a number of roles in one off plays, in series such as ''

Theatre 625 ''Theatre 625'' is a British television drama anthology series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC2 from 1964 to 1968. It was one of the first regular programmes in the line-up of the channel, and the title referred to its production a ...

'', '' The Wednesday Play'' and ''

Armchair Theatre ''Armchair Theatre'' is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by ABC Weekend TV. Its successor Thames Television took over from mid-1968. The Canad ...

''. He appeared in a number of popular television series in later years including ''

Jackanory ''Jackanory'' is a BBC children's television series which was originally broadcast between 1965 and 1996. It was designed to stimulate an interest in reading. The show was first transmitted on 13 December 1965, and the first story was the fair ...

'', '' Going Straight'', '' Bergerac'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

Pie in the Sky Pie in the sky, an idiom meaning an impossible or unlikely idea or plan as well as an empty wish or promise. Pie in the sky may refer to: * ''Pie in the Sky'' (TV series), a UK television series about a police officer turned restaurateur * ''Pie ...

'' and the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...

'' serial '' The Curse of Fenric'' as Commander Millington.

Death

After Culliford's stroke in 1972, Lynch moved from London to Saltdean, near

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, until his death from cancer in 2003.

Selected filmography

Notes

External links

*
Obituary from ''The Guardian''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lynch, Alfred 1931 births 2003 deaths 20th-century English male actors 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people Deaths from cancer in England English gay actors English male film actors English male television actors Male actors from London People from Whitechapel