Jess Conrad (born Gerald Arthur James; 24 February 1936) is an English stage and screen actor and singer. As a boy he was nicknamed "Jesse" after American outlaw

Jesse James Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, bank and train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the " Little Dixie" area of Western Missouri, James and his family maintained st ...

; as there was already an actor named "Gerald James" in

Actors' Equity The Actors' Equity Association (AEA), commonly referred to as Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American labor union representing those who work in live theatrical performance. Performers appearing in live stage productions without a book ...

, a drama teacher who was a fan of writer

Joseph Conrad Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, ; 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Polish-British novelist and short story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in the English language; though he did not spe ...

suggested the stage name of "Jess Conrad".

Biography

Conrad was born in

Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th cent ...

South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the boroughs, in whole or in part, of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Richmond, Southwark, Sut ...

and started his career as a repertory actor and film extra, before being cast in a television play, ''Bye, Bye Barney'', as a pop singer. He was noticed by Jack Good, who included him in his TV series '' Oh Boy!''. Conrad then was signed to

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president. ...

and had a number of chart hits, including "

Cherry Pie Cherry pie is a pie baked with a cherry filling. Traditionally, cherry pie is made with sour cherries rather than sweet cherries. Morello cherries are one of the most common kinds of cherry used, but other varieties such as the black cherry may ...

", "This Pullover", "Mystery Girl" and "Pretty Jenny"; also recording for

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

, Pye President and EMI. Between the late 1950s and mid-1960s, Conrad appeared in a number of films such as '' Serious Charge'' (uncredited), '' The Boys'', '' Rag Doll'', (filmed in 1960, and released in 1961); ''K.I.L. 1'' and '' Konga'' as well as

Michael Powell Michael Latham Powell (30 September 1905 – 19 February 1990) was an English filmmaker, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger. Through their production company The Archers, they together wrote, produced and directed a seri ...

's '' The Queen's Guards''. Conrad played Danny Pace in an episode of '' The Human Jungle'' called "The Flip Side Man" in 1963. During the 1970s, he spent some time in the stage shows ''

Godspell ''Godspell'' is a musical composed by Stephen Schwartz with book by John-Michael Tebelak. The show is structured as a series of parables, primarily based on the Gospel of Matthew, interspersed with music mostly set to lyrics from traditional hym ...

'' and ''

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' (often colloquially known as ''Joseph'') is a sung-through musical with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the character of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. ...

'', and also featured in a cameo role in the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

film ''

The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle ''The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle'' is a 1980 British mockumentary film directed by Julien Temple and produced by Don Boyd and Jeremy Thomas. It centres on the British punk rock band Sex Pistols and, most prominently, their manager Malcolm Mc ...

''. In 1977 no fewer than seven of Conrad's singles were included in the 'World's Worst Record' list, chosen by listeners to Capital FM DJ

Kenny Everett Kenny Everett (born Maurice James Christopher Cole; 25 December 1944 – 4 April 1995) was an English comedian, radio disc jockey and television presenter. After spells on pirate radio and Radio Luxembourg in the mid-1960s, he was one of the fi ...

's show, and "This Pullover", voted sixth worst song ever, later featured on ''The World's Worst Record Show'', a 1978 LP dedicated to the songs voted for, together with two other Conrad recordings "

" and "Why Am I Living?" He also made an appearance in ''

Are You Being Served ''Are You Being Served?'' is a British sitcom created and written by executive producer David Croft (Croft also directed some episodes) and Jeremy Lloyd, with contributions from Michael Knowles and John Chapman, for the BBC. Set in London ...

'' as Mr Walpole, head of sporting equipment, in the episode "Memories Are Made Of This". Conrad also appeared in the 1984 TV series of ''

Miss Marple Miss Marple is a fictional character in Agatha Christie's crime novels and short stories. Jane Marple lives in the village of St. Mary Mead and acts as an amateur consulting detective. Often characterized as an elderly spinster, she is one of Ch ...

'', in the episode entitled ''

The Body in the Library ''The Body in the Library'' is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in February 1942 and in UK by the Collins Crime Club in May of the same year. The US edition retailed at $2.0 ...

'' as Raymond Starr. He also starred in the 1993 film ''The Punk and the Princess''. In the 1990s, Conrad made regular cameo appearances on

Jim Davidson James Cameron Davidson (born 13 December 1953) is an English stand-up comedian, actor, singer and TV presenter. He hosted the television shows '' Big Break'' and ''The Generation Game''. He also developed two adult pantomime shows such as ''B ...

's revived version of ''

The Generation Game ''The Generation Game'' is a British game show produced by the BBC in which four teams of two people from the same family, but different generations, compete to win prizes. The game There are eight competitors, hence the catchphrase "Let's m ...

'' on

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, ...

. In 1992, Conrad appeared in the Christmas Special of ''

Big Break ''Big Break'' is a British television game show, created by Roger Medcalf, Mike Kemp and Terry Mardell, presented by comedian Jim Davidson and snooker commentator John Virgo, and broadcast on BBC One between 1991 and 2002. Inspired by ITV's '' ...

'', also presented by Davidson and John Virgo. He was the "booby" prize of the show presented to actress

Ruth Madoc Ruth Madoc (born Margaret Ruth Llewellyn Baker; 16 April 1943 – 9 December 2022) was a British actress who had a career on stage and screen spanning over 60 years. She was best known for her role as Gladys Pugh in the BBC television comedy ' ...

. Contestants who failed to make the final of ''Big Break'' were often nearly given a box set of Conrad's hit singles. Jess Conrad 2014

Since then, Conrad has appeared in a number of documentaries and television programmes, often offering stories of violent encounters with other famous people. In a BBC ''

Arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectator ...

'' documentary about the record producer

Joe Meek Robert George "Joe" Meek (5 April 1929 – 3 February 1967) was an English record producer, sound engineer and songwriter who pioneered space age and experimental pop music. He also assisted in the development of recording practices like over ...

, Conrad boasted of biting off part of the nose of the singer

Heinz The H. J. Heinz Company is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the co ...

during a confrontation backstage at a package show in the early 1960s. Similarly, in ''Sex, Secrets & Frankie Howerd'', he told of threatening to cut off comedian

Frankie Howerd Francis Alick Howard (6 March 1917 – 19 April 1992), better known by his stage-name Frankie Howerd, was an English actor and comedian. Early life Howerd was born the son of soldier Francis Alfred William (1887–1934)England & Wales, Deat ...

's ears when Howerd made undesired sexual advances to him in a dressing room. In 2005, Conrad had a guest role in the sitcom ''

Last of the Summer Wine ''Last of the Summer Wine'' is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke and originally broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010. It premiered as an episode of '' Comedy Playhouse'' on 4 January 1973, and the first series of episodes f ...

''. In the 2009 film '' Telstar: The Joe Meek Story'', Conrad is played by

Nigel Harman Nigel Derek Harman (born 11 August 1973) is an English actor, best known for his role as Dennis Rickman in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. He has worked mostly in theatre. He starred in the final series of '' Hotel Baby ...

. Conrad himself appears in one scene, depicting his backstage fight with Heinz and his biting of Heinz's nose. Conrad also plays the role of

Larry Parnes Laurence Maurice Parnes (3 September 1929 – 4 August 1989) was a British pop manager and impresario. He was the first major British rock manager, and his stable of singers included many of the most successful British rock and roll singers of ...

in the film. In October 2022, he appeared in the BBC soap opera '' Doctors'' as Alan Yates.

Awards

Conrad is a member of the show business fraternity the Grand Order of Water Rats, having served as "King Rat". He is also a

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

and a member of Chelsea Lodge No. 3098, the membership of which is made up of entertainers. He was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(OBE) in the 2011

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the King's Official Birthday, reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into Order (honour), national or Dynastic order of knighthood, dynastic ...

for charitable services. In 2018, he appeared in ITV's ''Last Laugh in Vegas''.

Personal life

Conrad is married to Renee and has two daughters, Sasha and Natalie. He described the actress

Diana Dors Diana Dors (born Diana Mary Fluck; 23 October 19314 May 1984) was an English actress and singer. Dors came to public notice as a blonde bombshell, much in the style of Americans Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren. Dors was p ...

as "the best friend I ever had".

Selected discography

*"Cherry Pie" / "There's Gonna Be A Day" 1960 *"Out Of Luck" / "Unless You Mean It" Decca UK 1960 *"Mystery Girl" A2: Just The Two Of Us B1: (I Wanna) Love My Life Away B2: Maybe You'll Be There 1961 EP *"Mystery Girl" / "The Big White House" 1961 *"This Pullover" / "Why Am I Living" 1961 *"I See You" / "Oh! You Beautiful Doll" 1961 *"Every Breath I Take" / "Walk Away" 1961 *"Twist My Wrist" / "Hey Little Girl" 1961

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

Jess Conrad discography
*
Official Conrad website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conrad, Jess 1936 births Living people English pop singers Freemasons of the United Grand Lodge of England Officers of the Order of the British Empire English male singers English male film actors People from Brixton Singers from London Male actors from London 20th-century English singers 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English singers 21st-century English male actors 20th-century British male singers 21st-century British male singers