Jess Conrad

Jess Conrad (born Gerald Arthur James; 24 February 1936) is an English stage and screen actor and singer. As a boy he was nicknamed "Jesse" after American outlaw Jesse James; as there was already an actor named "Gerald James" in Actors' Equity, a drama teacher who was a fan of writer Joseph Conrad suggested the stage name of "Jess Conrad".

Biography Conrad was born in Brixton, South London and started his career as a repertory actor and film extra, before being cast in a television play, Bye, Bye Barney, as a pop singer. He was noticed by Jack Good, who included him in his TV series Oh Boy!.

Between the late 1950s and mid-1960s, Conrad appeared in a number of films such as Serious Charge (uncredited), The Boys, Rag Doll, (filmed in 1960, and released in 1961); K.I.L. 1 and Konga as well as Michael Powell's The Queen's Guards. Conrad played Danny Pace in an episode of The Human Jungle called "The Flip Side Man" in 1963.

During the 1970s, he spent some time in the stage shows Godspell and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and also featured in a cameo role in the Sex Pistols film The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle.

In the 1990s, Conrad made regular cameo appearances on Jim Davidson's revived version of The Generation Game on BBC1. In 1992, Conrad appeared in the Christmas Special of Big Break, also presented by Davidson and John Virgo. He was the "booby" prize of the show presented to actress Ruth Madoc.

Since then, Conrad has appeared in a number of documentaries and television programmes. In a BBC Arena documentary about the record producer Joe Meek, Conrad said that he bit off part of the nose of the singer Heinz during a confrontation backstage at a package show in the early 1960s. In 2005, Conrad had a guest role in the sitcom Last of the Summer Wine.

In the 2009 film Telstar: The Joe Meek Story, Conrad is played by Nigel Harman. Conrad also plays the role of Larry Parnes in the film. In 2016 Conrad appeared in Liam Galvin's crime thriller film Mob Handed, playing a corrupt judge. In October 2022, he appeared in the BBC soap opera Doctors as Alan Yates. In 2023, Conrad filmed a leading role in the film Somebody's Daughter written by Zara Phillips.

Awards Conrad is a member of the show business fraternity the Grand Order of Water Rats, having served as "King Rat". He is also a Freemason and a member of Chelsea Lodge No. 3098, the membership of which is made up of entertainers. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2011 Queen's Birthday Honours for charitable services. In 2018, he appeared in ITV's Last Laugh in Vegas.

Personal life Conrad is married to Renee; the couple have two children. He described the actress Diana Dors as "the best friend I ever had".

Selected discography "Cherry Pie" / "There's Gonna Be A Day" 1960 "Out of Luck" / "Unless You Mean It" Decca UK 1960 "Mystery Girl" / "Just The Two of Us" / "(I Wanna) Love My Life Away" / "Maybe You'll Be There" 1961 [EP] "Mystery Girl" / "The Big White House" 1961 "This Pullover" / "Why Am I Living" 1961 "I See You" / "Oh! You Beautiful Doll" 1961 "Every Breath I Take" / "Walk Away" 1961 "Twist My Wrist" / "Hey Little Girl" 1961

Filmography Film

Television