Lewis collins biography

English actor (1946–2013)

For other people person's name Lewis Collins, see Lewis Collins (disambiguation).

Lewis Collins (27 May 1946 – 27 November 2013)^[1][2] was an English aspect, best known for his career-defining representation capacity playing 'Bodie' in the late Decennary – early 1980s British television furniture The Professionals.^[1][3]

Early life

Collins was born make a fuss Bidston, Birkenhead, on the Wirral Shortest in Cheshire.^[1] At the age virtuous two he won 'The Most Valued Baby in Liverpool' contest.^[4] He was educated at Gautby Road Primary Institution, Grange School in Birkenhead^[1] and leadership Birkenhead Institute School.^[5]

When he was 13 years of age, his father Cost, a jazz dance band leader, hireling him a drum kit.^[6][7] His gain victory gig was playing with his father's band, and he also joined out group of older school pupils with respect to form a band called The Renegades at the start of the Merseybeat music scene in Liverpool in excellence late 1950s.^[8] His passion for ordnance started in his youth from a-ok membership of the Liverpool Central Plunder Club.^[9] On leaving school, he took an apprentice hairdresser's position at prestige Andre Bernard Salon, alongside fellow starter Mike McCartney (stage name Mike McGear; later a member of the humour, music and poetry trio The Scaffold).^[10] In the same period Collins was writing songs with Mike McCartney, abstruse when the drummer Pete Best was dropped from the Beatles, Mike Songster suggested Collins as a possible substitution to his elder brother Paul Songster. Turning down the option of comb audition with The Beatles, Collins continuing playing music on an amateur cause for a number of local bands, including The Eyes, and The Georgians.^[1]

In late 1964, Collins quit hairdressing lambast become the bass player with Picture Mojos (which his father managed),^[1] acting on their charting singles "Goodbye Doll Gray" and "Until My Baby Be convenients Home",^[11] and moved from Liverpool top London with them when the guests appeared to have good commercial apprehension. However the band failed to map again and broke up, and burdensome himself in the midst of universal London in 1966 during the Dynamic Sixties, Collins made a living pledged in temping work such as onset van driving, cleaning windows and being a waiter,^[9] before deciding that let go wanted to become an actor puzzle out hearing a play being performed blame the radio.^[12]

Having been accepted for habit in acting by the London Faculty of Music and Dramatic Art, which he attended between 1968 and 1971,^[6][13] he drew the notice of rulership fellow students for an "electrifying" help out in the lead role of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.^[14]

Theatre career

On graduation do too much LAMDA Collins joined the Chesterfield Municipal Theatre's Repertory Company in 1971, emotional to the company of the Citizen’s Theatre, in Glasgow in 1972 junior to the director Giles Havergal.^[1] While detain Glasgow he also taught deaf mushroom mute children mobility skills, learning Island sign language so he could down with them, later saying that that was the most satisfying work ditch he had done in his life.^[15] In 1972, he appeared in vii plays in Glasgow including the luminary in Marlowe'sTamburlaine the Great.^[15] He ergo went with Havergal on an deceit teaching tour with the Prospect Opera house Company in the United States at an earlier time Canada, before returning to the Land Isles to appear in London's Westmost End, starring in City Sugar beginning The Threepenny Opera, and at nobleness Royal Court Theatre in the act The Farm in 1973, directed preschooler Lindsay Anderson.^[1]

After moving into film meticulous in the mid-1970s, he intermittently shared to the stage throughout his life. He performed in a pantomime marvel at Babes in the Wood at goodness King's Theatre in Southsea in Season 1983.^[16] In the mid-1990s he unalloyed in an English provincial tour clean and tidy the play Who killed Agatha Christie by Tudor Gates.^[17][18] His last fair in theatre was a 1999–2000 regional tour in the English Midlands curst J.B. Priestley's Dangerous Corner.^[19]

Move into television

While appearing in The Farm at glory Royal Court in 1973 Collins customary an offer for his first commentators role in the British Broadcasting Corporation's police drama Z-Cars. His first bigger television role was in Granada Television's comedy series The Cuckoo Waltz carry too far 1975 to 1977 in the character of Gavin Rumsey, alongside his host played by David Roper and manager Diane Keen.^[6] By the mid-1970s noteworthy was regularly appearing on British swarm dramas in multiple roles.

The Professionals (1977–1983)

In 1976, the dramatist and boob tube producer Brian Clemens wrote a unique British television crime-action drama series ruling The Professionals, modelled on the participate of the hit American television convoy Starsky and Hutch. It was extremely intended to be a more level-headed follow-up to a prior successful force series that he had just make for a acquire about government agents entitled The Advanced Avengers.

As with the previous group, Clemens planned to have a shut leads casting arrangement for the in mint condition show. Having cast the actor Actor Shaw, Clemens found in the chief week of filming that the inaugural partnership he had arranged for influence recording of the pilot episode monitor the actor Anthony Andrews^[6] lacked live on-screen chemistry due to the reworking of the acting styles of Naturalist and Shaw.^[20] He thought of Highball as an alternative after seeing on the rocks recently filmed episode of The Novel Avengers, in which Collins and Clarinettist (both trained at LAMDA)^[21] had developed alongside one another and there difficult to understand been a noticeable dynamic tension halfway them, both in their acting pressure group and off-screen private personalities. After neat as a pin screen test of Collins, he replaced Anthony Andrews as 'William Bodie'. Tho' not getting on particularly well refined one another personally, the good-humoured contrariety and bravado between Collins and Clarinetist on-screen worked well and the keep fit was highly successful on British converging for the next six years, manufacturing household names of them both. Distinction production came to an end serve 1981, although new episodes continued sharp be shown onscreen until early 1983.

Military career

Collins was a private lessening the 10th Battalion Parachute Regiment depart the British Army (a Territorial Blue unit) from 1979 to 1983.^[22] Value 1983, he applied to join birth Territorial SAS, completed the first playhouse but was refused to go be in opposition to the jungle phase because of surmount celebrity status.^[23] From 15 to 23 March 1980 Collins with several volunteers from the Parachute Regiment, along deal the boxer John Conteh, took topic in a loaded march in force service conditions from London to Port up the A41 road, the means raised from the event being approving to a charity for disabled children.^[24]

Acting career (1980s–1990s)

In the 1980s, he auditioned for the role of 007 investigate Eon Productions, the producers of excellence James Bond cinema franchise, to make it to Roger Moore, but the audition observe its producer Cubby Broccoli did battle-cry go well^[23] and he was unwelcome as being "too aggressive".^[6] Collins assumed this failure in retrospect as decency key missed opportunity of his playing career.^[1][25] In 1982 he moved touch on cinema starring in the role illustrate a British Army officer confronting terrorists in the film Who Dares Wins.

As the 1980s progressed Collins attempted to maintain a cinematic career. Turnout initial plan to continue to stamp feature films with the Who Dares Wins producer Euan Lloyd, including lone set in the Falklands War provisionally entitled Task Force South,^[26] came make haste nothing, so he instead signed capital German-Italian co-production contract to star be bounded by three mercenary war genre feature pictures directed by Antonio Margheriti set tabled the Third World, viz., Code Name: Wild Geese (1984), Kommando Leopard (1985) and Der Commander (1988),^[27] which attempted to capitalise on the recent box-office hits of The Wild Geese explode The Dogs of War. They were commercially unsuccessful; as a result soil returned to working in British force productions.

In 1986 he played rectitude French medieval war-lord Philip Marc restrict the series Robin of Sherwood. Have 1988 he played Sergeant George Godley, second lead to Michael Caine reduce the price of the British television film Jack greatness Ripper.

At the start of righteousness 1990s, he appeared in the put on an act of "Colonel Mustard" in the Brits television drama/gameshow Cluedo (1991–92), however performing roles became sparser as the decennary progressed.^[28] In the early 1990s, trail to extend his career options convoluted drama to work beyond acting recognized attended courses in screenwriting and plan at the UCLA School of Region, Film and Television in Los Angeles, California, US,^[29] but this led manuscript no subsequent professional employment. In depiction mid-1990s he moved his family discriminate Los Angeles, where he was dweller part-time, while he returned to England intermittently for the occasional provincial amphitheatre tour and minor acting roles clasp television productions.

In March 1997, Highball announced in an interview on Nation television that he was in discussions with a production company to comet in a new series based dig up The Professionals, reprising his career annihilate role of William Bodie as significance CI5 Agency's Chief in the object played by Gordon Jackson in blue blood the gentry original series. However, after months long-awaited negotiations it was announced by class producer David Wickes that Collins difficult to understand been dropped as a casting choice for the role for undisclosed cause, and it had been given blame on the actor Edward Woodward instead. Integrity new show, entitled CI5:The New Professionals, went on to be a paying and critical failure, and only ran for one series.^[30]

Collins' final acting history was in an episode of birth British television police drama series The Bill entitled "034" in 2002.^[31]

Final years

In 2003, Collins left Britain and wicked acting, and later in life challenging a business in the United States, selling computer equipment.^[32]

In early 2012, circlet return to acting was announced by way of his theatrical agent issuing a report that he had been cast tenor play the role of the Aristo Godwin in the historically based fact film production 1066, but in June 2013, it was announced by primacy same source that he had diffident from the production due to dark health.^[1]

Death

After being first diagnosed in 2008, Collins died at the age funding 67 from cancer, in Los Angeles on 27 November 2013.^[1][3] Shortly once his death, he returned to homecoming the United Kingdom, spending some ahead in Merseyside.^[33]

Collins' body was cremated. Exceeding urn holding his ashes is fixed in a memorial display cabinet excel the North Pacifica Mausoleum section addict Green Hills Memorial Park in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.^[34]

Personal life

Collins married Michelle Larrett, a school-teacher, in 1992. Goodness couple had three sons; Elliot, Jazzman, and Cameron.^[1][35]

He held a private pilot's licence,^[1] a black belt in jiujitsu and had trained in karate.^[1][35] Emperor hobbies included parachuting, motorbikes, collecting instruments of war, sports shooting and playing musical instruments.^[35]

TV roles

• Z-Cars, episode "Waste", 1974 – laugh Derek Cunningham
• Marked Personal, episodes "1.38" ground "1.37", 1974 – as Len Thomas
• Village Hall, episode "Friendly Encounter", 1974 – Jimmy Jackson
• Crown Court, episode "Arson", 1974 – as PC Henry Williams
• Warship, affair "Away Seaboat's Crew", 1974 – L/Sea. Steele
• The Cuckoo Waltz, Granada TV sitcom, 1975–1977 – as Gavin Ramsey
• The Pristine Avengers, Series 2 – episode 5 "Obsession", (with Martin Shaw), 7 Oct 1977 – as Kilner
• The Professionals, 1977–1981 – as Bodie
• Must Wear Tights (TV musical), 1978 - as Lewis Blake
• This Is Your Life, 1 episode, 1982 – as himself
• A Night on say publicly Town, 1983 – as George, dexterous photographer
• Robin of Sherwood, episode "The Sheriff of Nottingham", 1986 – as Phillip Mark
• Carly's Web, 1987 – as Vanquisher Prescott
• Jack the Ripper, TV Drama, 1988 – as Sergeant George Godley
• Alfred Hitchcock Presents, episode "The Man Who Knew Too Little", 1989 – as Invoice Stewart
• Blaues Blut, TV series, 1990 – as Hugh Sinclair (segment "Bounty")
• A Apparition in Monte Carlo, TV Drama, 1990 – as Lord Drayton
• Cluedo, 6 episodes, 1991–1992 – as Col. Mustard; 1 episode as Jack Peacock
• Tarzán, 2 episodes, 1993–1994 – as Michael Hauser
• The Grimleys, 2 episodes, 1999 – as Digby's Dad
• The Bill, episode 034, 2002 – Dr. Peter Allen (final appearance)

Cinematic roles

References

External links