Terence Longdon

English actor (1922–2011)

Barbara Jefford

(m. 1953; div. 1960)

Gillian Conyers

(m. 2004)

Terence Longdon (14 May 1922 – 23 April 2011) was an English actor.^[1]

Biography

Born Hubert Tuelly Longdon in Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, England. During World War II, Longdon was a pilot with the Fleet Air Arm, protecting Atlantic convoys. While stationed at a naval base near Blackpool, he acted in a show and was seen by actor Douglas Hurn who encouraged him to pursue it.^[2]

After the war, Longdon trained at RADA (1946–48), and made his first stage appearance at the Lyceum, Sheffield in 1948, and his West End debut the same year.^[2] He was best known for his lead role in the 1950s–1960s British TV series Garry Halliday where he played a Biggles-like pilot who flew into various adventure situations;^[2] he also co-wrote one episode of the series in 1962.^[3] He was also known for his character actor roles in British television productions such as The Sandbaggers, Danger Man and The Avengers.^[4]

In film, he was Drusus, Messala's personal aide, in the film Ben-Hur.^[5] He had a major supporting role in the 1958 film Another Time, Another Place starring alongside Sean Connery and Lana Turner.^[6] He was also in four of the early Carry On films.^[7] He played occasional leading roles, most notably in the tense B-movie thriller Clash by Night (1963).

Terence Longdon lived on the border of Gloucestershire and Warwickshire. He died from cancer on 23 April 2011, aged 88.^[2]

Partial filmography

Appointment with Venus (1951) - (uncredited)
Angels One Five (1952) - Pimpernel Pilot
Never Look Back (1952) - Alan Whitcomb
Appointment in London (1952) - Dr.Buchanan
Forbidden Cargo (1954) - A.P.O. at Customs Launch (uncredited)
Mr. Arkadin (1955) - Secretary
The Woman for Joe (1955) - Doctor at the Circus (uncredited)
Simon and Laura (1955) - Barney
Helen of Troy (1956) - Patroclus
Jumping for Joy (1956) - John Wyndham
The Man Who Never Was (1956) - Larry
Doctor at Large (1957) - George - House Surgeon
Dangerous Exile (1957) - Col. Sir Frederick Venner
The Silent Enemy (1958) - Lieutenant Bailey
Another Time, Another Place (1958) - Alan Thompson
Carry On Sergeant (1958) - Miles Haywood
Carry On Nurse (1959) - Ted York
Ben-Hur (1959) - Drusus
Carry On Constable (1960) - Herbert Hall
Carry On Regardless (1961) - Montgomery Infield-Hopping
Out of the Shadow (1961) - Mark Kingston
On the Fiddle (1961) - Air Gunner
What a Whopper (1961) - Vernon
Clash by Night (1963) - Martin Lord
The Return of Mr. Moto (1965) - Jonathan Westering
The Wild Geese (1978) - Anonymous Man
The Martian Chronicles (1979, TV Mini-Series) - Martian Elder
The Sea Wolves (1980) - Malverne
Hitler: The Rise of Evil (2003, TV Mini-Series) - Baron No. 1 (final appearance)

References

^ "Terence Longdon". Bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 31 December 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Hayward, Anthony (13 June 2011). "Terence Longdon obituary". The Guardian.
^ "Garry Halliday: Two for the Price of One". BBC Genome Project. BBC. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
^ "Terence Longdon". Aveleyman.com.
^ "Terence Longdon". The Daily Telegraph. 15 May 2011.
^ "Another Time, Another Place (1958) - Lewis Allen - Cast and Crew - AllMovie". AllMovie.
^ "Terence Longdon: Actor whose credits included 'Garry Halliday'". The Independent. 18 June 2011.