Colin George Edward BlakelyClarke, Frances (2009)
"Blakely, Colin George Edward"
''

Dictionary of Irish Biography The ''Dictionary of Irish Biography'' (DIB) is a biographical dictionary of notable Irish people and people not born in the country who had notable careers in Ireland, including both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. History The ...

''. Retrirved 3 October 2024. (23 September 1930 – 7 May 1987) was a

Northern Irish The people of Northern Ireland are all people born in Northern Ireland and having, at the time of their birth, at least one parent who is a British Nationality Law, British citizen, an Irish nationality law, Irish citizen or is otherwis ...

stage and screen actor. He was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance in

Sidney Lumet Sidney Arthur Lumet ( ; June 25, 1924 – April 9, 2011) was an American film director. Lumet started his career in theatre before moving to film, where he gained a reputation for making realistic and gritty New York City, New York dramas w ...

's '' Equus'' (1977), and was nominated twice for a Best Actor in Television (1970, 1987). He was also an Olivier Award nominee. According to the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

, Blakely's "chunky form and rumpled, good-natured features tended to direct him towards hero's-friend roles, but there was also an impressive toughness and intensity about his work."

Early life

Blakely was born in

Bangor, County Down Bangor ( ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in County Down, Northern Ireland, on the southern side of Belfast Lough. It is within the Belfast metropolitan area and is 13 miles (22 km) east of Belfast city centre, to whic ...

, the son of Victor and Dorothy Blakely (née Ashmore). His mother was a singer in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and his father owned a sports retail shop in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

. He attended

Sedbergh School Sedbergh School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school, day school) in the town of Sedbergh in Cumbria, North West England. It comprise ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

(now

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

), England. At the age of 18, he started work in his family's sports goods shop in Belfast, before going on to work as a timber-loader on the railways. In 1957, after a spell of amateur dramatics with the Bangor Drama Club, he turned professional with the Group Theatre, Belfast.

Career

Theatre

In 1957, at the age of 27, Blakely made his stage debut as Dick McCardle in ''Master of the House''. He also appeared in several Ulster Group Theatre productions, including Gerard McLarnon's ''Bonefire'' (1958) and Patricia O'Connor's ''A Sparrow Falls'' (1959). From 1957 to 1959 he was 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 West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...

, appearing in ''Cock-A-Doodle Dandy'', '' Serjeant Musgrave's Dance'' and, to critical approval, ''The Naming of Murderers Rock''. In 1961, he joined the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon (district), Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of Engl ...

and from 1963 to 1968 was with the National Theatre at the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

. Among the many stage plays in which he appeared were ''

The Recruiting Officer ''The Recruiting Officer'' is a 1706 play by the Irish writer George Farquhar, which follows the social and sexual exploits of two English Army officers, the womanising Plume and the cowardly Brazen, in the town of Shrewsbury (the town where ...

'', '' Saint Joan'', '' The Royal Hunt of the Sun'', ''

Filumena Marturano ''Filumena Marturano'' (; ), sometime performed in English as ''The Best House in Naples'', is a play written in 1946 by Italian playwright, actor and poet Eduardo De Filippo. It is the basis for the 1950 Spanish-language Argentine musical film ' ...

'', ''

Volpone ''Volpone'' (, Italian for "sly fox") is a comedy play by English playwright Ben Jonson first produced in 1605–1606, drawing on elements of city comedy and beast fable. A merciless satire of greed and lust, it remains Jonson's most-perfo ...

'' and ''Oedipus''. He returned to the Royal Shakespeare in 1972 in

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A List of Nobel laureates in Literature, Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramat ...

's '' Old Times'' and was subsequently in many West End plays. In 1977, he was nominated for the Olivier Award for Actor of the Year in a New Play for his performance in ''Just Between Ourselves''.

Film

Notable film roles included Maurice Braithwaite in ''

This Sporting Life ''This Sporting Life'' is a 1963 British kitchen sink realism, kitchen sink drama (film and television), drama film directed by Lindsay Anderson. Based on the This Sporting Life (novel), 1960 novel of the same name by David Storey, which won th ...

'' (1963), Vahlin in '' The Long Ships'' (1964), Sir Thomas More's house servant Matthew in '' A Man for All Seasons'' (1966), Dr. Watson to Robert Stephens's Holmes in

Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an American filmmaker and screenwriter. His career in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and ver ...

's '' The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes'' (1970), and

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

in Jack Gold's '' Red Monarch'' (1983). In the 1975 British film, '' It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet'', derived from the James Herriot books, Blakely played the eccentric Siegfried Farnon. (Blakely's ''Son of Man'' co-star

Robert Hardy Timothy Sydney Robert Hardy (29 October 1925 – 3 August 2017) was an English actor who had a long career in theatre, film and television. He began his career as a classical actor and later earned widespread recognition for roles such as Siegf ...

would play the role in the 1978-1990

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television series '' All Creatures Great and Small''.) Blakely also appeared in '' Young Winston'' (1972), '' The National Health'' (1973), ''

Murder on the Orient Express ''Murder on the Orient Express'' is a work of detective fiction by English writer Agatha Christie featuring the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. It was first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 1 January 1934. In the U ...

'' (1974), '' The Pink Panther Strikes Again'' (1976), '' Equus'' (1977), '' The Dogs of War'' (1980), '' Nijinsky'' (1980) and ''

Evil Under the Sun ''Evil Under the Sun'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in June 1941Chris Peers, Ralph Spurrier and Jamie Sturgeon. ''Collins Crime Club – A checklist of F ...

'' (1982). His last film role was as Peppone in the Italian comedy '' The World of Don Camillo'' (1984), directed by and starring

Terence Hill Terence Hill (born Mario Girotti; 29 March 1939) is an Italian actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He began his career as a child actor and gained international fame for starring roles in action and comedy films, many with hi ...

Television

On television, Blakely appeared in the " Armchair Theatre" series in 1962, episode "The Hard Knock" and director

Charles Crichton Charles Ainslie Crichton (6 August 1910 – 14 September 1999) was an English film director and film editor, editor. Born in Wallasey, Cheshire, he became best known for directing many comedies produced at Ealing Studios and had a 40-yea ...

unusually cast Blakely in two different roles during the same run of episodes of the 1967 series ''

Man in a Suitcase ''Man in a Suitcase'' is a British television private eye thriller series produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment. It originally aired in the United Kingdom on ITV (TV network), ITV from 27 September 1967 to 17 April 1968. American Broadcast ...

''. In 1969, Blakely's controversial role as an anguished

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

in Dennis Potter's '' Son of Man'' gained him wide recognition. From that time onwards, he was a regular on British television, and in the same year played the leading role in a BBC adaptation of

Anthony Trollope Anthony Trollope ( ; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among the best-known of his 47 novels are two series of six novels each collectively known as the ''Chronicles of Barsetshire ...

's '' The Way We Live Now''. A noted Shakespearean actor, Blakely appeared on television as Antony in ''

Antony and Cleopatra ''Antony and Cleopatra'' is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The play was first performed around 1607, by the King's Men at either the Blackfriars Theatre or the Globe Theatre. Its first appearance in print was in the First Folio published ...

'' (1981), directed by

Jonathan Miller Sir Jonathan Wolfe Miller CBE (21 July 1934 – 27 November 2019) was an English theatre and opera director, actor, author, television presenter, comedian and physician. After training in medicine and specialising in neurology in the late 19 ...

as part of the

BBC Television Shakespeare The ''BBC Television Shakespeare'' is a series of British television adaptations of Shakespeare's plays, the plays of William Shakespeare, created by Cedric Messina and broadcast by BBC Television. Transmitted in the UK from 3 December 1978 to ...

series; and as Kent in the 1983

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...

version of ''

King Lear ''The Tragedy of King Lear'', often shortened to ''King Lear'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his ...

'' which starred

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

. Other television appearances included '' Loophole'' (1981), '' The Beiderbecke Affair'' (1985), '' Operation Julie'' (1985) and '' Paradise Postponed'' (1986).

Personal life

Blakely was married to British actress Margaret Whiting for 26 years and had three sons, including twins.

Death

Blakely died of

leukaemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

, aged 56, in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on May 7, 1987.

Awards and nominations

Filmography

* '' Saturday Night and Sunday Morning'' (1960) – Loudmouth * '' The Hellions'' (1961) – Matthew Billings * '' The Password Is Courage'' (1962) – 1st German Goon * ''

'' (1963) – Maurice Braithwaite * '' The Informers'' (1963) – Charlie Ruskin * '' The Long Ships'' (1964) – Rhykka * '' Never Put It in Writing'' (1964) – Oscar * '' The Counterfeit Constable'' (1964) – L'aveugle * '' A Man for All Seasons'' (1966) – Matthew * '' The Spy with a Cold Nose'' (1966) – Russian Premier * '' Charlie Bubbles'' (1967) – Smokey Pickles * '' The Day the Fish Came Out'' (1967) – The Pilot * '' The Vengeance of She'' (1968) – George * '' Decline and Fall... of a Birdwatcher'' (1968) – Solomon Philbrick * ''

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great ( ; – 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 both died when Alfr ...

'' (1969) – Asher * '' The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes'' (1970) – Dr. Watson * '' Something to Hide'' (1972) – Blagdon * '' Young Winston'' (1972) – Butcher * '' The National Health'' (1973) – Edward Loach * ''

'' (1974) – Cyrus B. Hardman * ''

Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei ( , , ) or mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a poly ...

'' (1975) – Priuli * '' It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet'' (1975) – Siegfried Farnon * '' The Pink Panther Strikes Again'' (1976) – Alec Drummond * '' Equus'' (1977) – Frank Strang * '' The Big Sleep'' (1978) – Harry Jones * ''

Meetings with Remarkable Men ''Meetings with Remarkable Men'', autobiographical in nature, is the second volume of the ''All and Everything'' trilogy written by the Greeks, Greek-Armenians, Armenian spiritual teacher G. I. Gurdjieff. Gurdjieff started working on the Russia ...

'' (1979) – Tamil * '' The Day Christ Died'' - Caiphas * '' Nijinsky'' (1980) – Vassili * '' Little Lord Fauntleroy'' (1980) – Silas Hobbs * '' The Dogs of War'' (1980) – North * '' Loophole'' (1981) – Gardner * '' Nailed'' (1981) – Elder Protestant * ''

'' (1982) – Sir Horace Blatt * '' Trail of the Pink Panther'' (1982) – Alec Drummond (archive footage) (uncredited) * '' The World of Don Camillo'' (1984) – Peppone

References

External links

* *
Colin Blakely at Theatricalia
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blakely, Colin 1930 births 1987 deaths Male film actors from Northern Ireland Male television actors from Northern Ireland Male stage actors from Northern Ireland Male Shakespearean actors from Northern Ireland People educated at Sedbergh School People from Bangor, County Down Deaths from leukemia Deaths from cancer in England 20th-century male actors from Northern Ireland Royal Shakespeare Company members 20th-century Irish actors 20th-century British actors