Michael Billington (24 December 1941 – 3 June 2005) was a British film and television actor. He was born in

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...

, Lancashire, England.

Career

Television

In 1966 Billington appeared in ''Incident at Vichy'' at the Phoenix Theatre in London, but was best known for his role as Colonel Paul Foster in the 1970 science fiction TV series ''

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

'' and for creating the character of Daniel Fogarty from 1971 to 1974 in the historical drama ''

The Onedin Line ''The Onedin Line'' is a BBC television drama series that ran from 1971 to 1980. The series was created by Cyril Abraham. The series is set in Liverpool from 1860 to 1886 and covers the rise of a fictional shipping company, the Onedin Line, nam ...

''. He also appeared as Sergeant Jacko Jackson of the

Royal Wessex Rangers ''Spearhead'' is a British television drama series. Produced by Southern Television and broadcast on the ITV (TV network), ITV network, it ran for a total of three series and 19 episodes from 18 July 1978 to 3 September 1981. It featured the d ...

in the series '' Spearhead'' and as

Czar Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Polan ...

in the ITV drama series ''

Edward the Seventh ''Edward the Seventh'' is a 1975 British historical drama series, made by ATV in 13 episodes. Based on the biography of King Edward VII by Philip Magnus, it starred Annette Crosbie as Queen Victoria, Timothy West as the elder Edward VII, wi ...

'' (1975). He played gangster John Coogan in one episode ("The Rack") of '' The Professionals''. Billington lived in the U.S. from around 1979 until 1985. Although he had some good roles, notably as Count Louis Dardinay in '' The Quest'' (1982), he did not reach the same level of success as he had in Britain. Billington's last major TV role came in the 1986 BBC drama '' The Collectors'', but his final appearance was in an episode of early 1990s TV series ''

Maigret Jules Maigret (), or simply Maigret, is a fictional French police detective, a '' commissaire'' ("commissioner") of the Paris ''Brigade Criminelle'' ('' Direction Régionale de la Police Judiciaire de Paris:36, Quai des Orfèvres''), created b ...

'' as a villain.

Film

He was screen-tested for the role of James Bond more than any other actor, and was said to have been

Albert R. Broccoli Albert Romolo Broccoli ( ; April 5, 1909 – June 27, 1996), nicknamed "Cubby", was an American film producer who made more than 40 motion pictures throughout his career. Most of the films were made in the United Kingdom and often filmed at Pi ...

's first choice had

Roger Moore Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 192723 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the third actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions film series, playing the character in seven feature films between 19 ...

not been available (see: 1981's '' For Your Eyes Only''). Billington did a photo shoot for '' On Her Majesty's Secret Service'', and met the film's director Peter Hunt. He was also screen-tested for '' Live and Let Die'' (1973), '' Moonraker'' (1979) and ''

Octopussy ''Octopussy'' is a 1983 spy film and the thirteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. It is the sixth to star Roger Moore as the MI6 agent James Bond. It was directed by John Glen and the screenplay was written by G ...

'' (1983). His one Bond screen appearance was in the pre-title sequence of 1977's '' The Spy Who Loved Me'', playing Agent XXX's ill-fated lover, Sergei Barsov. His other film credits included ''

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who bot ...

'' (1969) and '' KGB: The Secret War'' (1985).

Personal life

Billington was married to Katherine Kristoff. He died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

in 2005 at the age of 63,

Filmography

References

External links

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Obituary: ''The Guardian''

1941 births 2005 deaths Deaths from cancer in England English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors People from Blackburn {{England-screen-actor-stub