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Alan Edgar Stratford Johns (22 September 1925 – 29 January 2002), known as Stratford Johns, was a British stage, film and television actor who is best remembered for his starring role as Detective Inspector Charlie Barlow in the long-running

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police series ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it debuted ...

''.

Early life

Johns was born and grew up in

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. After serving as a

deckhand An able seaman (AB) is a seaman and member of the deck department of a merchant ship with more than two years' experience at sea and considered "well acquainted with his duty". An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination ...

in the South African navy 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 worked for a time in accountancy, but soon became involved in amateur theatre.

Career

In 1948, Johns bought a one-way ticket to Britain and learned his craft working in repertory theatre at

Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

for almost five years. He began to appear in British films from the mid-1950s, including a bit part in the classic

Ealing comedy The Ealing comedies is an informal name for a series of comedy films produced by the London-based Ealing Studios during a ten-year period from 1947 to 1957. Often considered to reflect Britain's post-war spirit, the most celebrated films in the ...

'' The Ladykillers'' (1955). He ran a small hotel in London during the 1950s, and was a member of the

English Stage Company 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 ...

at 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, Englan ...

during the

Angry Young Men The "angry young men" were a group of mostly working- and middle-class British playwrights and novelists who became prominent in the 1950s. The group's leading figures included John Osborne and Kingsley Amis; other popular figures included Jo ...

period when new playwrights, including

John Osborne John James Osborne (12 December 1929 – 24 December 1994) was an English playwright, screenwriter and actor, known for his prose that criticized established social and political norms. The success of his 1956 play ''Look Back in Anger'' tra ...

, introduced new themes to British theatre. His most famous character, Barlow, was noted for his hard edges, owing much to the changes in characterisation pioneered at the Royal Court. In 1962 he won the part of Barlow in ''Z-Cars'' and soon became one of the most familiar and popular faces on British television. During the long run (1962–1965) of ''Z-Cars'', he transferred his character to the spin-off series, '' Softly, Softly'' (1966–1969), and later '' Softly, Softly: Taskforce'' (1969–1972). He also played the voice of the mysterious "Guvner" in ''

The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery ''The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery'' is a British comedy film, directed by Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat, written by Sidney and Leslie Gilliat, and released on 4 April 1966. It is the last of the original series of films based on the ...

'' (1966). He was the subject of '' This Is Your Life'' in October 1963 when he was surprised by

Eamonn Andrews Eamonn Andrews, (19 December 1922 – 5 November 1987) was an Irish radio and television presenter, employed primarily in the United Kingdom from the 1950s to the 1980s. From 1960 to 1964 he chaired the Radio Éireann Authority (now the RTÉ A ...

at BBC Television Centre. In the 1970s he starred in a third spin-off series, ''

Barlow at Large ''Barlow at Large'', later ''Barlow'', is a British police procedural television programme broadcast in the 1970s, starring Stratford Johns in the title role. Johns had previously played Barlow in the ''Z-Cars'', '' Softly, Softly'' and '' So ...

'' (1971,1973), which saw the character transferred to

British Intelligence The Government of the United Kingdom maintains intelligence agencies within three government departments, the Foreign Office, the Home Office and the Ministry of Defence. These agencies are responsible for collecting and analysing foreign and d ...

: it was later retitled simply '' Barlow'' (1974–1975). Although the Barlow character remained popular (and appeared in another spin-off, in which he investigated the ''

Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in the autumn of 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer wa ...

'' murders), ratings for these solo spin-offs declined, and the final series ended in 1975. Barlow was seen once more in 1976, in the series ''

Second Verdict ''Second Verdict'' is a six-part BBC television series from 1976. It combines the genres of police procedural and docudrama, with dramatised documentaries in which classic criminal cases and unsolved crimes from history were re-appraised by fict ...

''. Johns appeared as President of the Council Bradshaw in the 1970 award-winning film ''

Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

'' with

Richard Harris Richard St John Francis Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor and singer. He appeared on stage and in many films, notably as Corrado Zeller in Michelangelo Antonioni's '' Red Desert'', Frank Machin in '' This Sporting ...

in the role of

and Sir

Alec Guinness Sir Alec Guinness (born Alec Guinness de Cuffe; 2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was an English actor. After an early career on the stage, Guinness was featured in several of the Ealing comedies, including ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' (194 ...

as King Charles I. In 1973 Johns was named BBC TV Personality of the Year by the

Variety Club Variety, the Children's Charity is a charitable organization founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1927. History On October 10, 1927, a group of eleven men involved in show business set up a social club which they named the "Variety Club". On ...

of Great Britain. He portrayed the

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

-supporting Namib mine superintendent Mr. Zimmerman in two episodes of the 1985 mini-series '' Master of the Game''. Johns later appeared in the much-maligned

Ken Russell Henry Kenneth Alfred Russell (3 July 1927 – 27 November 2011) was a British film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. His films in the main were liberal adaptation ...

films ''

Salome's Last Dance ''Salome's Last Dance'' is a 1988 British film written and directed by Ken Russell. Although most of the action is a verbatim performance of Oscar Wilde's 1891 play ''Salome'', which is itself based on a story from the New Testament, there is al ...

'' and ''

The Lair of the White Worm ''The Lair of the White Worm'' is a horror novel by the Irish writer Bram Stoker. It was first published by Rider and Son of London in 1911 – the year before Stoker's death – with colour illustrations by Pamela Colman Smith. The story is bas ...

'' (both 1988), followed by the title-character in the mid-1980s

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

series '' Brond''. His many stage credits include Daddy Warbucks in the original West End run of ''

Annie Annie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Annie (given name), a given name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Annie (actress) (born 1975), Indian actress * Annie (singer) (born 1977), Norwegian singer The ...

'' – he can be heard on the original London

cast album A cast recording is a recording of a stage musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording or OCR, as the name implies, features the voices of the sho ...

– and the

Ghost of Christmas Present The Ghost of Christmas Present is a fictional character in Charles Dickens' 1843 novella '' A Christmas Carol''. The Ghost is one of three spirits which appear to miser Ebenezer Scrooge to offer him a chance of redemption. Following a visit ...

in the original

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

cast of the stage adaptation of the film musical '' Scrooge'' (1970), on the recording of which he can also be heard. His guest appearances on TV include '' The Avengers'', '' Department S'', ''

Neverwhere ''Neverwhere'' is an urban fantasy television miniseries by Neil Gaiman that first aired in 1996 on BBC 2. The series is set in "London Below", a magical realm coexisting with the more familiar London, referred to as "London Above". It was d ...

'', 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 u ...

'' serial ''

Four to Doomsday ''Four to Doomsday'' is the second serial of the 19th season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts on BBC1 from 18 to 26 January 1982. The serial is set almost enti ...

'' (1982) and the ''

Blake's 7 ''Blake's 7'' (sometimes styled ''Blakes7'') is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. Four 13-episode series were broadcast on BBC1 between 1978 and 1981. It was created by Terry Nation, who also wrote the first ...

'' episode "Games". He had a prominent role as Calpurnius Piso in the BBC's acclaimed adaptation of

Robert Graves Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was a British poet, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were both Celtic ...

' ''

I, Claudius ''I, Claudius'' is a historical novel by English writer Robert Graves, published in 1934. Written in the form of an autobiography of the Roman Emperor Claudius, it tells the history of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and the early years of the Roma ...

'' (1976); he played Magwitch in the BBC's 1981 adaptation of Dickens' ''

Great Expectations ''Great Expectations'' is the thirteenth novel by Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel. It depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip (Great Expectations), Pip (the book is a ''bildungsroman''; a coming-of-age story). It ...

'', and the jailer in ''The Secret Life of Albie Sachs''. Johns appeared in the 1984 pop video for '' Young at Heart'' recorded by The Bluebells. With him were veteran Scottish actress

Molly Weir Mary Weir (17 March 1910 – 28 November 2004), known as Molly Weir, was a Scottish actress. She appeared as the character Hazel the McWitch in the BBC TV series '' Rentaghost''. She was the sister of naturalist and broadcaster Tom Weir. B ...

and Scots singer/actress

Clare Grogan Claire Patricia Grogan (born 17 March 1962), known professionally as Clare Grogan or sometimes as C. P. Grogan, is a Scottish actress and singer. She is best known as the lead singer of the 1980s new wave music group Altered Images, as well as ...

. In 1993, Johns appeared in the BBC period drama ''

Scarlet and Black Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College. Grinnell has the fifth highest endowment-to- ...

'' alongside a young

Ewan McGregor Ewan Gordon McGregor ( ; born 31 March 1971) is a Scottish actor. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and the BAFTA Britannia Humanitarian Award. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British ...

and

Rachel Weisz Rachel Hannah Weisz (; born 7 March 1970 ) is an English actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, and a BAFTA Award. Weisz began acting in British stage and television in the ...

. Johns played the role of Cyril Isaiah Greengrass, the conniving brother of Claude Jeremiah Greengrass in the nostalgic

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

series, '' Heartbeat.'' He was also the author of the children's book ''Gumphlumph''; in the mid-1960s, at the height of his fame as Barlow, he read it on the children's television series '' Jackanory''. ''Gumphlumph'' would be revived, again with Johns narrating, for the

TV-am TV-am was a TV company that broadcast the ITV franchise for breakfast television in the United Kingdom from 1 February 1983 until 31 December 1992. The station was the UK's first national operator of a commercial breakfast television franchis ...

children's programme ''

Rub-a-Dub-Tub ''Rub-a-Dub-Tub'' was a children's television series broadcast in the United Kingdom on the breakfast television channel TV-am between 1983 and 1984. In addition to the main regular presenters, the programme also featured appearances by some of ...

'' in the 1980s.

Personal life

He married Nanette Ryder in 1955; they had four children. He ran the small hotel in St Martins Lane called the St Martins Hotel; it was managed by Elizabeth Kissick-Jones, formerly Hartnell, who was the aunt of his wife Nanette. The hotel was very popular with actors and he ran it until 1976. After several years of poor health, Johns died from heart disease in 2002, aged 76.

Selected filmography

* ''

Burnt Evidence ''Burnt Evidence'' is a 1954 British thriller film directed by Daniel Birt and starring Jane Hylton, Duncan Lamont and Donald Gray. The film was produced by Ronald Kinnoch for ACT Films. It was made as a second feature. Shooting took place at ...

'' (1954) - 2nd Fireman (uncredited) * ''

The Night My Number Came Up ''The Night My Number Came Up'' is a 1955 British supernatural drama film directed by Leslie Norman with the screenplay written by R. C. Sherriff. The plot is based on a real incident in the life of British Air Marshal Sir Victor Goddard; his ...

'' (1955) - Sergeant (uncredited) * ''

The Ship That Died of Shame ''The Ship That Died of Shame'', released in the United States as ''PT Raiders'', is a black-and-white 1955 Ealing Studios crime film directed by Basil Dearden and starring George Baker, Richard Attenborough, Roland Culver and Bill Owen. T ...

'' (1955) - Garage Worker (uncredited) * '' The Ladykillers'' (1955) - Security Guard (uncredited) * '' Who Done It?'' (1956) - P.C. Coleman * '' Women Without Men'' (1956) - 1st Reveller (uncredited) * '' The Long Arm'' (1956) - Constable (uncredited) * ''

Tiger in the Smoke ''Tiger in the Smoke'' is a 1956 British crime film directed by Roy Ward Baker (billed as Roy Baker) and starring Donald Sinden, Muriel Pavlow, Tony Wright, Bernard Miles and Christopher Rhodes. It is based on the 1952 novel '' The Tiger in the ...

'' (1956) - Police Constable * '' Across the Bridge'' (1957) - Detective in Schaffner's Office (uncredited) * '' The One That Got Away'' (1957) - Second Detective (uncredited) * ''

Violent Playground ''Violent Playground'' is a black and white 1958 British film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Stanley Baker, Peter Cushing, and David McCallum. The film, which deals with the genre of juvenile delinquent, has an explicit social agenda. It ...

'' (1958) - (uncredited) * '' Indiscreet'' (1958) - Waiter (uncredited) * '' Law and Disorder'' (1958) - Driver of Prison Van (uncredited) * '' A Night to Remember'' (1958) - Crewman on Upturned Lifeboat (uncredited) * '' The Professionals'' (1960) - Lawson * '' Hand in Hand'' (1960) * ''

Two Letter Alibi ''Two Letter Alibi'' is a 1962 British crime film directed by Robert Lynn and starring Peter Williams, Petra Davies and Ursula Howells. It was made at Shepperton Studios as a second feature. The sets were designed by the art director George P ...

'' (1962)- Bates * ''

'' (1966) - The Voice (voice) * '' Rocket to the Moon'' (1967) - Warrant Officer * '' The Plank'' (1967) - Warrant Officer * ''

'' (1970) - President Bradshaw * ''

The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It ''The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It'' is a 1977 comedy film directed by Joseph McGrath and starring John Cleese. It is a low-budget spoof of the Sherlock Holmes detective series, as well as the mystery genre in gener ...

'' (1977) - Chief Commissioner Blocker * ''

The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu ''The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu'' is a 1980 comedy film. It was the final film featuring star Peter Sellers and David Tomlinson. Based on characters created by Sax Rohmer, the film stars Sellers in the dual role of Fu Manchu, a megalomaniac ...

'' (1980) - Ismail * ''

George and Mildred ''George and Mildred'' is a British sitcom produced by Thames Television and first aired between 1976 and 1979. It is a spin-off from '' Man About the House'', and starred Brian Murphy and Yootha Joyce as constantly-sparring married couple ...

'' (1980) - Harry Pinto * '' Master of the Game'' (1984) - Zimmerman * '' Dance with a Stranger'' (1985) - Morrie Conley * ''

Wild Geese II ''Wild Geese II'' is a 1985 British action-thriller film directed by Peter Hunt, based on the 1982 novel '' The Square Circle'' by Daniel Carney, in which a group of mercenaries are hired to spring Rudolf Hess from Spandau Prison in Berlin. The ...

'' (1985) - Mustapha El Ali * '' Car Trouble'' (1986) - Reg Sampson * '' Foreign Body'' (1986) - Mr. Plumb * '' Brond'' (1987) - Brond * ''

'' (1988) - Herod / Alfred Taylor * ''

'' (1988) - Peters * '' The Fool'' (1990) - Arthur Shillibeer * ''

The Secret Agent ''The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale'' is a novel by Joseph Conrad, first published in 1907.. The story is set in London in 1886 and deals with Mr. Adolf Verloc and his work as a spy for an unnamed country (presumably Russia). ''The Secret Agent ...

(1992) - The Home Secretary * ''

Splitting Heirs ''Splitting Heirs'' is a 1993 British black comedy film directed by Robert Young and starring Eric Idle, Rick Moranis, Barbara Hershey, Catherine Zeta-Jones, John Cleese and Sadie Frost. It features music by Michael Kamen. It was entered in ...

'' (1993) - Butler * ''Minder'' (TV series) (1994)- Knowles * ''Heartbeat'' (British TV series) Cyril Isiah Greengrass (1998)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johns, Stratford 1925 births 2002 deaths People from Pietermaritzburg South African military personnel of World War II South African male film actors South African male stage actors South African male television actors South African emigrants to the United Kingdom English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors