Jan 16, 2025
RIP Christopher Benjamin (27.12.1934 - 15.1.2025)
"That was another reason, in a way, that I decided to give [stage acting] up, because I was getting a bit - a bit dicey with the lines. People sort of wrote down, quite often, the things I said... instead of the things I should have said. They were known as my bloopers: 'Benjamin bloopers'. Some of my inventions were very good, I must admit. My feeling was, if I dried, I had to say something - and so that something was something that amused the rest of the cast considerably, quite often."
#christopher benjamin#character actors#death ment tw#rip#doctor who#henry gordon jago#jago and litefoot#the avengers#danger man#the prisoner#the saint#armchair thriller#the sandbaggers#the man in room 17#special branch#baffled!#the fellows#the forsyte saga#pride and prejudice#hawk the slayer#with thanks to The Sirens of Audio on YT from whose interview i paraphrased the above quote#in many ways the archetypal character actor; although he'd played leading roles in repertory theatre at the beginning of his career‚ once#he made the move to TV in the early 60s Chris soon found himself in supporting parts and guest spots. not perhaps the route to stardom‚ but#it ensured a long and healthy career; he made appearances on pretty much every major brit tv show of the 60s 70s and 80s‚ often as jocular‚#vaguely authority types. but he was by no means typecast; there were cold and calculating villains too‚ dangerous criminals and insidious#manipulators. he may not have become quite a household name‚ but his range and clear ability won him many fans in his long career#perhaps mostly he'll be remembered for his work on DW (both classic and new but especially as rascally Jago opposite Trevor Baxter's more#genteel Litefoot; I'd also rec his delightful work on (surely the greatest version of) Pride and Prejudice‚ or his Armchair Thriller serial#or perhaps his first Prisoner ep for a little glimpse of how well he could do sinister on top of jovial#plus more than 20 years with the RSC... that's not a career to be sniffed at‚ stardom be damned. rip
