Peter Wyngarde obit

Actor Peter Wyngarde, star of Department S, dies aged 90

‘Unique, original and creative’ actor also appeared in Flash Gordon and Doctor Who

 

He was not on the list.

The actor Peter Wyngarde has died at the age of 90, his agent has confirmed.

The actor was best known for his role as the sleuth Jason King in Department S and its spin-off.

A heartthrob in his day, he also enjoyed numerous stage roles and appeared as Klytus in Flash Gordon and as Timanov in Doctor Who: Planet Of Fire.

His agent and manager, Thomas Bowington, said: “He was one of the most unique, original and creative actors that I have ever seen. As a man, there were few things in life he didn’t know.

“I sometimes nicknamed him ‘the King’ because he simply knew everything.

“He was a mentor on everything you can think of, from sports cars to how to make a good cup of tea and how to do a tie and shirt.

“He died at the Chelsea and Westminster hospital [in London], and even then he was saying that you shouldn’t button the upper button on a shirt.

“As a person he was the most exceptional person I met in my life and a great mentor and teacher.”

Wyngarde signed his contract for Department S on a napkin in a restaurant and went on to make the character his own.

His agent said the actor had roles and personal appearances coming up and that he had died in hospital on Monday, having been unwell for a couple of months.

n 1970, Wyngarde recorded an album released by RCA Victor entitled simply Peter Wyngarde, featuring a single, "La Ronde De L'Amour"/"The Way I Cry Over You". The album is a collection of spoken-word musical arrangements produced by Vic Smith and Hubert Thomas Valverde. Wyngarde claimed that: "It sold out in next to no time... but RCA point-blankly refused to press any more. I was fuming, as I'd been given a three-album contract with the company, who promised to release one LP every 12 months. The excuse was that production was being moved... They told me that everything would have to go on the back burner, but I just believe that they got cold feet". A promo single of the track "Rape" (re-titled "Peter Wyngarde Commits Rape") was also issued in 1970 with the B-side "The Way I Cry Over You" and the serial number PW1.

In 1998, the album was reissued on CD by RPM Records, re-titled When Sex Leers Its Inquisitive Head. The album is now usually treated as a curiosity because of its unusual spoken-word style and the controversial subject matter of some of the tracks.

Peter Wyngarde married the actress Dorinda Stevens on 6 March 1951 when he was 23. They lived at 9 Holland Park, Kensington. They separated after three years and by November 1955, Stevens was described in a TV Times profile as "a bachelor girl, sharing a mews flat near Portland Place, London, with Cassio, her wire-haired terrier". She married the Canadian cinematographer William Michael Boultbee (1933–2005) in Nairobi in 1957 while filming for African Patrol.

Interviewed for The Sydney Morning Herald in 1972, Wyngarde said his biggest regret was that he "married far too young", adding: "It lasted three [sic] years and the last year was pretty hell. However, one just goes on learning from one's mistakes doesn't one?"

 

He called Vivien Leigh "the love of my life". From 1956 to 1958, Wyngarde shared a flat with Ruby Talbot in London and the 2020 biography cites the electoral roll as evidence that this was a romantic relationship.

In 1974, Wyngarde played the lead role of the King of Siam in a stage revival of The King and I, initially with Sally Ann Howes as Anna, which ran for 260 performances at the Adelphi Theatre in London.

In the late 1970s, he performed in the theatre in South Africa and Austria.[64] Also on stage he appeared in the thriller Underground with Raymond Burr and Marc Sinden (whose father Donald had worked with Wyngarde on The Siege of Sidney Street) at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, Toronto and at the Prince of Wales Theatre, London in 1983.

Wyngarde played the masked character Klytus in the film Flash Gordon (1980) and Sir Robert Knight in the film Tank Malling (1989) with Ray Winstone. On TV he appeared in The Two Ronnies 1984 Christmas Special as Sir Guy. Other TV appearances include Doctor Who (in the four-episode-story Planet of Fire, 1984), Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense (1984), Bulman (1985), The Lenny Henry Show (1994) and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1994).

After leaving a 1995 stage production of The Cabinet of Dr Caligari due to a throat infection while still in previews, Wyngarde mostly stopped acting except for occasional voice work. He continued to appear in public at Memorabilia and other events celebrating his performances.[68][69] In 2003 he appeared as a guest of Simon Dee in the Channel 4 one-off revival of his chat show Dee Time.

Screenwriter Mark Millar says that when casting his 2004 film Layer Cake, the director Matthew Vaughn wanted Wyngarde for a role, but was told that he had died.[70] Seven years later, Vaughn requested him again for a role in X-Men: First Class but was again wrongly advised that Wyngarde had died.

In 2007, Wyngarde participated in recording extras for a box-set of The Prisoner, including a mock interview segment titled "The Pink Prisoner".

In January 2014, he narrated an episode of the BBC Four Timeshift documentary strand How to Be Sherlock Holmes: The Many Faces of a Master Detective. In It was Alright in the 1960s, a 2015 documentary series for Channel 4, Wyngarde expressed his unease at having had to don blackface to play a Turk in The Saint, but said he had done it only in the hope that a theatre director might pick him to play Othello.

Actor (66 credits)

 1994 The Lenny Henry Show (TV Series)

Mr. Bad

- Pilot (1994) ... Mr. Bad

 1994 The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (TV Mini Series)

Langdale Pike

- The Three Gables (1994) ... Langdale Pike

 1989 Tank Malling

Sir Robert Knight

 1988 The Comic Strip Presents (TV Series)

Mr. Kendel

- The Yob (1988) ... Mr. Kendel

 1985 Bulman (TV Series)

Gallio

- I Met a Man Who Wasn't There (1985) ... Gallio

 1984 The Two Ronnies (TV Series)

Sir Guy

- 1984 Christmas Special (1984) ... Sir Guy

 1984 Fox Mystery Theater (TV Series)

Daniel Haswell / General Haswell

- And the Wall Came Tumbling Down (1984) ... Daniel Haswell / General Haswell

 1984 Doctor Who (TV Series)

Timanov

- Planet of Fire: Part Four (1984) ... Timanov

- Planet of Fire: Part Three (1984) ... Timanov

- Planet of Fire: Part Two (1984) ... Timanov

- Planet of Fire: Part One (1984) ... Timanov

 1984 Crown Court (TV Series)

Charles Marchington

- The Son of His Father: Part 1 (1984) ... Charles Marchington

 1980 The Queen Special (TV Movie)

Narrator / Klytus

 1980 Flash Gordon

Klytus

 1979 Himmel, Scheich und Wolkenbruch

Scheich Al-Abdullah

 1971-1972 Jason King (TV Series)

Jason King

- That Isn't Me, It's Somebody Else (1972) ... Jason King

- An Author in Search of Two Characters (1972) ... Jason King

- Zenia (1972) ... Jason King

- Chapter One: The Company I Keep (1972) ... Jason King

- Every Picture Tells a Story (1972) ... Jason King

Show all 26 episodes

 1969 Department S (TV Series)

Jason King

- Death on Reflection (1969) ... Jason King

- The Mysterious Man in the Flying Machine (1969) ... Jason King

- The Duplicated Man (1969) ... Jason King

- The Perfect Operation (1969) ... Jason King

- Dead Men Die Twice (1969) ... Jason King

Show all 28 episodes

 1968 The Champions (TV Series)

Hallam

- The Invisible Man (1968) ... Hallam

 1967 The Prisoner (TV Series)

Number Two

- Checkmate (1967) ... Number Two

 1967 Scottish Playbill (TV Series)

Maitland of Lethington

- The Queen of Scots (1967) ... Maitland of Lethington

 1967 Mogul (TV Series)

Sheik Mohammed bin Falik

- A Nice White Girl - Is She for Sale? (1967) ... Sheik Mohammed bin Falik

 1967 The Revenue Men (TV Series)

General Daniel

- The Exile (1967) ... General Daniel

 1967 I Spy (TV Series)

George

- Let's Kill Karlovassi (1967) ... George

 1967 Love Story (TV Series)

Konrad Von Kroll

- It's a Long Way to Transylvania (1967) ... Konrad Von Kroll

 1966-1967 The Saint (TV Series)

Turen / Tiberio Magadino

- The Gadic Collection (1967) ... Turen

- The Man Who Liked Lions (1966) ... Tiberio Magadino

 1966-1967 The Avengers (TV Series)

Stewart Kirby / John Cartney

- Epic (1967) ... Stewart Kirby

- A Touch of Brimstone (1966) ... John Cartney

 1955-1967 ITV Play of the Week (TV Series)

Hugo de Croissillon / Guido / Garry Essendine / ...

- The Crossfire (1967) ... Hugo de Croissillon

- The Rules of the Game (1965) ... Guido

- A Choice of Coward #1: Present Laughter (1964) ... Garry Essendine

- A Midsummer Night's Dream (1964) ... Oberon

- Camino Real (1964) ... Jaques Casanova

Show all 12 episodes

 1967 Turn Out the Lights (TV Series)

Richard Merlin

- The Boyhood Haunt (1967) ... Richard Merlin

 1966 The Baron (TV Series)

King Ibrahim / Ronald Noyes

- The Legions of Ammak (1966) ... King Ibrahim / Ronald Noyes

 1966 Lucy in London (TV Movie)

Peter Wyngarde

 1966 The Man in Room 17 (TV Series)

Paul Panacek

- First Steal Six Eggs (1966) ... Paul Panacek

 1966 Festival (TV Series)

- Ashes to Ashes (1966)

 1965 The Magical World of Disney (TV Series)

Sir Richard

- The Further Adventures of Gallegher: A Case of Murder (1965) ... Sir Richard

 1965 Sherlock Holmes (TV Series)

Baron Grüner

- The Illustrious Client (1965) ... Baron Grüner

 1965 R3 (TV Series)

Dr. Henri Lefebvre

- The Forum (1965) ... Dr. Henri Lefebvre

 1964 Rupert of Hentzau (TV Series)

Rupert of Hentzau

- The Decision of Fate (1964) ... Rupert of Hentzau

- A Perilous Reunion (1964) ... Rupert of Hentzau

- The Wheel of Chance (1964) ... Rupert of Hentzau

- Audience with the King (1964) ... Rupert of Hentzau

- Return to Zenda (1964) ... Rupert of Hentzau

Show all 6 episodes

 1962 About Religion (TV Series)

- Dinner with the Devil (1962)

 1962 Out of This World (TV Series)

Captain Barton

- Cold Equations (1962) ... Captain Barton

 1958-1962 Armchair Theatre (TV Series)

Werner Loder / David Linden

- Night Conspirators (1962) ... Werner Loder

- The Shining Hour (1958) ... David Linden

 1962 BBC Sunday-Night Play (TV Series)

Ferdinand de Levis

- Loyalties (1962) ... Ferdinand de Levis

 1962 Night of the Eagle

Norman Taylor

 1961 The Innocents

Peter Quint

 1961 One Step Beyond (TV Series)

Paul Roland

- Nightmare (1961) ... Paul Roland

 1960 The Siege of Sidney Street

Peter

 1960 On Trial (TV Series)

Sir Roger Casement

- Sir Roger Casement (1960) ... Sir Roger Casement

 1959 Epilogue to Capricorn (TV Series)

Peter Vauxhall

- Traitor's Gate (1959) ... Peter Vauxhall

- Point of No Return (1959) ... Peter Vauxhall

- All on Tape (1959) ... Peter Vauxhall

 1959 Engineer Extraordinary (TV Movie)

Isambard Kingdom Brunel

 1950-1958 BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (TV Series)

Sylvius / Anthony Cavendish / Dr. Bannerji / ...

- The Royal Family of Broadway (1958) ... Anthony Cavendish

- The English Family Robinson #4: Free Passage Home (1957) ... Dr. Bannerji

- The Rose Without a Thorn (1953) ... Francis Derham

- Will Shakespeare (1953) ... Will Shakespeare

- L'Aiglon (1953) ... Prokesch

Show all 8 episodes

 1958 The Adventures of Ben Gunn (TV Series)

John Silver

- Marooned (1958) ... John Silver

- The Honest Seaman (1958) ... John Silver

- How the Treasure Was Buried (1958) ... John Silver

- The Winning of the Treasure (1958) ... John Silver

- The Taking of the Walrus (1958) ... John Silver

Show all 6 episodes

 1958 Sword of Freedom (TV Series)

Colonna

- The Sicillian (1958) ... Colonna

 1958 Television World Theatre (TV Series)

Richard Gettner

- The Dark Is Light Enough (1958) ... Richard Gettner

 1958 General Electric Theater (TV Series)

Raymond DeTresk

- Time to Go Now (1958) ... Raymond DeTresk

 1957 English Family Robinson (TV Mini Series)

Indian

 1956-1957 ITV Television Playhouse (TV Series)

Lionel Collins / Nicholas Florian / Major Marshall

- Love Her to Death (1957) ... Lionel Collins

- Evening in Hochsberg (1957) ... Nicholas Florian

- The Bridge (1956) ... Major Marshall

 1957 Ordeal by Fire (TV Movie)

Jerome Taillard

 1957 A Tale of Two Cities (TV Mini Series)

Sydney Carton

- The Footsteps Die Out for Ever (1957) ... Sydney Carton

- A Hand at Cards (1957) ... Sydney Carton

- The Darkness (1957) ... Sydney Carton

- The Storm Breaks (1957) ... Sydney Carton

- The Honest Tradesman (1957) ... Sydney Carton

Show all 7 episodes

 1957 Overseas Press Club - Exclusive! (TV Series)

Andrea Bakolas

- The George Polk Story (1957) ... Andrea Bakolas

 1957 Jack Hylton's Monday Show (TV Series)

- Hotel Riviera (1957)

 1957 The Widows of Jaffa (TV Movie)

Mustafa

 1956 Assignment Foreign Legion (TV Series)

Lt., Charles Designe

- The Debt (1956) ... Lt., Charles Designe

 1956 Nom-de-Plume (TV Series)

Eric Weiss / Monsieur Latouche / Blunt

- Elephants Don't Disappear (1956) ... Eric Weiss

- Child of Her Time (1956) ... Monsieur Latouche

- The Man from the Sea (1956) ... Blunt

 1956 The Gambler (TV Movie)

Marquis de Grieux

 1956 Alexander the Great

Pausanias

 1956 Jesus of Nazareth (TV Mini Series)

John the Baptist

- Episode #1.2 (1956) ... John the Baptist

 1955 Terminus (TV Series)

Tommy Glen

- Hour of Decision (1955) ... Tommy Glen

 1954 Stage by Stage (TV Series)

Worthy

- The Relapse or, Virtue in Danger (1954) ... Worthy

 1954 Liebelei (TV Movie)

Lt. Fritz Lobheimer

 1952 The Dybbuk (TV Movie)

Channon

 1949 Dick Barton Strikes Back

Soldier (uncredited)