W. Morgan Sheppard

William Morgan Sheppard (24 August 1932 – 6 January 2019) was an English actor who appeared in over 100 films and television programmes, in a career that spanned over 50 years.

Stage career

Sheppard graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1958, before spending 12 years as an associate artist with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He appeared on Broadway in ''Marat/Sade'' (1966) and in ''Sherlock Holmes'' (1975). He won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for ''The Homecoming'' in 1995.

Film career

Sheppard starred in several episodes of different series of ''Star Trek'', notably ''The Next Generation''s " The Schizoid Man" and '' Voyager''s "Bliss". In the feature film '' Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country'', his role was the warden of a Klingon gulag and in the 2009 reboot ''Star Trek'', he played a member of the Vulcan High Council, but was uncredited.
Outside of ''Star Trek'', he is best known for his role as Blank Reg on ''Max Headroom'' and his role as the Confederate general Isaac R. Trimble in the films '' Gettysburg'' and '' Gods and Generals''.

Sheppard appeared in two roles on the science-fiction series ''Babylon 5'', in the episode titled "Soul Hunter", playing the eponymous character and also played Narn war leader G'Sten, an uncle of main character G'Kar, in "The Long Twilight Struggle". He was also a runner-up for the role of Ambassador G'Kar on the series, though the role eventually went to Andreas Katsulas.

Sheppard was one of several ''Star Trek'' actors who voiced characters on the animated series '' Gargoyles'', wherein he played the father of Jonathan Frakes' character David Xanatos and the Norse god Odin.

Sheppard and his son, Mark Sheppard, acted together in a few productions. Sheppard appeared in the television series '' NCIS'', in the season six episode "Broken Bird", where he played the older version of a man named Marcin Jerek, while his son played the younger version. He appeared in the opening episode of series six of ''Doctor Who'', "The Impossible Astronaut", playing the character Canton Everett Delaware III. He portrayed an older version of Delaware, while his son portrayed the younger version in the same episode. He and his son are among the few actors who have appeared in both the ''Star Trek'' and ''Doctor Who'' franchises.

In December 2009, Sheppard voiced the part of Santa in Disney's Christmas special ''Prep & Landing''. Following that, he returned as the voice of Santa in the sequels, '' Prep & Landing: Operation: Secret Santa'' and '' Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice''. On 4 December 2010, Sheppard appeared on Hallmark Channel Original Films ''Farewell Mr. Kringle'' as Kris Kringle.

Video game career

Sheppard voiced several characters in video games. He narrated the introductions and mission briefings for the first four installments of the ''Medal of Honor'' video-game series. He was cast in the 1996 adventure game ''Zork Nemesis'', playing the live-action role of Bishop Francois Malveaux, one of the four alchemists central to the plot of the game. In 2000, he voiced the character Ignatius Cheese in the game ''Escape from Monkey Island''. Sheppard voiced over for the character John Adams in the Wii game ''The Conduit''. He provided the voice for the character Lucky in the 2002 Xbox (console) game '' Whacked!''. On 4 August 2010, Sheppard was announced as the voice actor for the video game ''Civilization V''. and provided the voice overs for loading screens, victory screens, built wonders, and newly researched technologies.

Personal life and death

Sheppard and wife Regina were the parents of actor Mark Sheppard. Sheppard died on 6 January 2019, in Los Angeles, California, aged 86.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

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W. Morgan Sheppard
(Aveleyman)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheppard, W. Morgan
1932 births
2019 deaths
Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
English male film actors
English male stage actors
English male television actors
English male voice actors
English people of Irish descent
Male actors from London
Royal Shakespeare Company members
20th-century English male actors
21st-century English male actors