Guy Doleman

Guy Doleman (22 November 1923 – 30 January 1996) was a New Zealand born actor, active in Australia, Britain and the United States. He is possibly best remembered for being the first actor to play Number Two in the classic cult series The Prisoner, and playing Colonel Ross in the Harry Palmer spy movies starring Michael Caine in the 1960s.

Early life Doleman was born in Hamilton, Waikato, New Zealand, later moving to Australia.

Career During the 1940s and 1950s, Doleman was one of the busiest actors in Australia, appearing in the majority of films made there at the time, and being busy on radio, particularly in the drama Hagen's Circus, which made him a radio star in Australia. Radio historian Peter Philp grouped Doleman with Peter Finch, Grant Taylor, Rod Taylor and Lloyd Berrell as part of "a wild but very colourful group of actors... who in their own way helped forge a wonderful ambience which was unique to Sydney radio."

He appeared in many early Australian films including The Phantom Stockman.

In 1952 he won a £300 Actor's Choice Award for his performance in the radio drama The Coward. He used this money to go to Hollywood for a film in September 1953, where he tested for some films.

He was cast in Long John Silver (1954) but passed on the role because it meant he had to wear contact lenses – Rod Taylor took the part instead. He had moved to London by the early 1960s. Later he returned to Australia.

He is perhaps best known for his role as "Count Lippe" in the James Bond film Thunderball (1965) and as "Colonel Ross" in the three film adaptations of Len Deighton's Harry Palmer novels, starring Michael Caine, released between 1965 and 1967. He also played Number Two in the TV series The Prisoner (1967). Doleman's was the first of a pair of Number Twos who appeared in the first episode, "Arrival"; the second being played by George Baker.

Death Doleman died of lung cancer in Los Angeles on 30 January 1996, aged 72.

Filmography

Always Another Dawn (1948) – Warren Melville Strong Is the Seed (1949) – William Farrer The Kangaroo Kid (1950) – Sgt. Jim Penrose Kangaroo (1952) – Pleader (uncredited) The Phantom Stockman (1953) – Mr. Stapleton His Majesty O'Keefe (1954) – Herr Weber Dial M for Murder (1954) – Detective (uncredited) Smiley (1956) – Bill McVitty The Adventures of Long John Silver (1957, TV Series) – Dr. Stanhope The Shiralee (1957) – Son O'Neill Smiley Gets a Gun (1958) – Quirk On the Beach (1959) – Lt. Cmdr. Farrel The Grey Nurse Said Nothing (1960, TV Movie) The Square Ring (1960, TV Movie) Whiplash (1961, TV Series) – Sundowner / Raike Dartner / Norris Follow the Sun (1961, TV Series) – Alex Cooper ITV Play of the Week (1962-1963, TV Series) – Walter Ramsden / Captain Lee No Hiding Place (1962-1964, TV Series) – Melvyn Kerry / Felix Seymour / James Conway The Avengers (1963, TV Series) – Oliver Waldner Jezebel ex UK (1963, TV Series) – Robin Coleridge Captain Sindbad (1963) The Dickie Henderson Show (1963, TV Series) BBC Sunday-Night Play (1963, TV Series) – Managing Editor The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre, "The Partner" (1963, TV Series) – Wayne Douglas The Hidden Truth (1964, TV Series) – Charles Medwin The System (1964) (aka: The Girl Getters) – Philip Boy with a Flute (1965, Short) Young Cassidy (1965) – Officer The Ipcress File (1965) – Colonel Ross Thunderball (1965) – Count Lippe The Idol (1966) – Martin Livesey The Power Game (1966, TV Series) – Stephen Gray Funeral in Berlin (1966) – Colonel Ross The Deadly Bees (1967) – Ralph Hargrove The Prisoner (1967, Episode: "Arrival") – Number Two Thirty-Minute Theatre (1967, Episode: "The Tape Recorder") Billion Dollar Brain (1967) – Colonel Ross A Twist of Sand (1968) – Patrol Boat Commander Strange Report (1969, TV Series) – Glyn Crowley Chilling (1974) The Six Million Dollar Man (1977, TV Series) – Henry Bulman Enigma (1977) – Maurice Mockcastle The Greatest Battle (1978) – General Whitmore A Dangerous Summer (1981) – Julian Fane Early Frost (1982) – Mike Hayes Goodbye Paradise (1983) – Quiney Matt Houston (1984, TV Series) – Richard / Rudy Bezmer (Episode: Eyewitness) The Colbys (1986, TV Series) – Peter Hackford The Shiralee (1987) Hell Raiders (1988) Tagget (1991, TV Movie) – Commander Arthur Green Murder, She Wrote (1992, TV Series) – Corsair (final appearance)

Theatre credits Little Lambs Eat Ivy, Minerva Theatre, Kings Cross, NSW, May 1949 Edward, My Son, Theatre Royal, Sydney, NSW, 16 September 1949 All for Mary national tour 1956-57 The Piccadilly Bushman national tour Sept 1959 – Feb 1960

Select radio credits The Coward (1952) Chips (1954) The Orchard Walls (1954)