Jack Hedley

Jack Snowdon Hawkins (28 October 1929 – 11 December 2021

Early life and education Hedley was born in London in 1929. His mother, Dorothy Withill, was 19 when she gave birth to him, and later married Albert Hawkins in 1936, although this man was not his father. He never knew the identity of his biological father. He came from humble beginnings, and used to earn money by collecting sacks of horse manure from the streets and selling them as fertiliser. The day after he graduated, he landed his first acting job, in a Granada Television play in Manchester.

Hedley starred in the Francis Durbridge-scripted BBC series The World of Tim Frazer (transmitted from November 1960 to March 1961), the 18 instalments of which comprised three separate serials of six episodes each. He also played Corrigan Blake in Alun Owen's BBC play You Can't Win 'Em All (1962) the role being taken over by John Turner in the series Corrigan Blake that resulted the following year. He was also in Alun Owen's A Little Winter Love (1965), part of the Theatre 625 series.

Hedley appeared in several British films of the 1960s, including Lawrence of Arabia (1962), The Scarlet Blade (1963), Witchcraft (1964), Of Human Bondage (1964), The Secret of Blood Island (1964) and The Anniversary (1968), as well as in the occasional international film such as The Longest Day (1962). He also starred with Stanley Baker and Jean Seberg in the film of Irwin Shaw's In The French Style (1963).

Hedley later appeared in the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only (1981) as Sir Timothy Havelock, also voicing Havelock's parrot. Initially he was reticent to demean himself by playing a parrot, but quickly changed his mind when he found out he would receive £1,200 for ten minutes' work. Soon after this, in the autumn of 1981 he played the lead role (cynical investigative cop Fred Williams) in Lucio Fulci's The New York Ripper (Lo squartatore di New York, 1982), in which his voice was dubbed by American actor Edward Mannix.

Hedley had a lead role as Lt. Colonel Preston in Colditz (1972–74). His other TV appearances include: The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre- Never Back Losers (1961),The Saint (1965), Gideon's Way ("The Alibi Man", 1965), Softly, Softly (1967), Dixon of Dock Green (1969), The Buccaneers (1957) , the ex-serviceman Alan Haldane in Who Pays the Ferryman? (1977), Return of the Saint (1979), One by One (1984), Remington Steele (also 1984), Only Fools and Horses ("A Royal Flush", 1986), 'Allo 'Allo! (1992), Dalziel and Pascoe (1998) and the TV film version of Brief Encounter (1974).

In the late 1980s Hedley appeared in a comical German advert for After Eight mint chocolates, which proved to be extremely popular and the campaign lasted for five years. It provided him with constantly good fees, and he referred to it as his "pension".

Personal life Hedley met his first wife Jean Fraser whilst filming The Very Edge (1963) in Ireland; They married in 1965 and got divorced in 1984.

Hedley retired from acting relatively early, admitting that he found the wealth and travel opportunities far more enticing than the urge to perform. He found most actors "a sorry lot" and did not have many friends among them, saying that "Acting is not an art, it is just an interpretation, an actor does not create anything. That is why most of them are so short-sighted".

After a brief illness, Hedley died of a heart attack on 11 December 2021, at the age of 92.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes1958 Behind the Mask Dr. Galbraith 1959 Room at the Top Architect Uncredited 1959 Left Right and Centre Bill Hemmingway 1960 Cone of Silence Second Officer 1960 Make Mine Mink Jim Benham 1961 Never Back Losers Jim Matthews Edgar Wallace Mysteries1962 The Longest Day Captain, Parachute Regiment Uncredited 1962 Lawrence of Arabia Reporter at Lawrence's Funeral Uncredited 1962 Nine Hours to Rama Kilpatrick 1963 The Very Edge Inspector McInnes 1963 In the French Style Bill Norton 1963 The Scarlet Blade Edward Beverley, The Scarlet Blade 1964 Witchcraft Bill Lanier 1964 Of Human Bondage Griffiths 1964 The Secret of Blood Island Crewe 1967 How I Won the War Melancholy Musketeer 1968 The Anniversary Terry Taggart 1969 Goodbye, Mr. Chips William Baxter 1974 Brief Encounter Graham Jesson 1977 The Devil's Advocate Vatican Doctor 1981 For Your Eyes Only Sir Timothy Havelock 1982 The New York Ripper Lt. Fred Williams 1987 Three Kinds of Heat Kirkland 1990 The Plot to Kill Hitler General Adolf Heusinger 1997 Character Mr. Forester 2000 Paul the Apostle High Priest