John Sessions

John Sessions (born John Marshall; 11 January 1953 – 2 November 2020) was a British actor and comedian. He was known as a regular performer on comedy improvisation show Whose Line Is It Anyway?, as co-creator, co-writer and co-star of the sitcom Stella Street, as a panellist on QI, and as a character actor in numerous films, both in the USA and Hollywood.

Early life John Sessions was born as John Marshall on 11 January 1953 in Largs to John and Esme (née Richardson) Marshall. His family was Scottish; his father was a gas engineer from Largs, Ayrshire, and his mother was from Glasgow. He was raised in Bedford and St Albans. In a "Worst of Times" column for The Independent from around 1990, he talked of how the freezing Canadian weather had depressed him, he was smoking "far too many cigarettes" and "had a couple of disastrous flings", and described his PhD dissertation as "200 pages of rubbish". His name change occurred when he became a performer, owing to the presence of a John Marshall already on the Equity register. In the early 1980s, he worked on the small venue comedy circuit with largely improvised freewheeling fantasy monologues. He topped a double bill with French and Saunders during this period.

Sessions played to his strengths in improvisation and comedy with his one-man stage show Napoleon, which ran in London's West End for some time in the mid-1980s. He and Stephen Fry were the only two regular panellists on the original radio broadcast of Whose Line Is It Anyway? in the late 1980s. When the show, still hosted by Clive Anderson, made the transition to television, Fry departed from regular appearances, but Sessions remained the featured panellist for the first season. A frequent player in the second, he did not appear again after his two appearances in the third series.

A gifted impressionist who also voiced characters for Spitting Image, he drew heavily on his extensive literary education and developed a reputation for being "a bit of a swot", being able to quote extensive passages of text and make endless cultural and historical references. His ready ability to switch between accents and personae meanwhile allowed his career in improvisation to flourish. On Whose Line Is It Anyway?, his ability to affect the contrived witticisms of Restoration Comedy became an audience favourite. In 1987 he played Lionel Zipser in Channel 4's mini-series Porterhouse Blue.

In 1989, he starred in his own one-man TV show, John Sessions. Although billed as improvisation, these were increasingly pre-planned. 1991 also saw Sessions in the BBC drama Jute City, a three-part thriller concerning a sinister Masonic bunch of villains, co-starring with vocalist Fish (Derek W. Dick, singer in the first incarnation of rock band Marillion).

In 1994, Sessions auditioned for the role of the Eighth Doctor in Doctor Who. In 1996, he was commissioned by the Royal Academy of Arts to write "Paint, said Fred", the life of Frederic, Lord Leighton, the pre-eminent Victorian artist, in a one-man show that used his comic writing abilities and his gift for impersonation.

Sessions also starred in Stella Street, a surreal "soap opera" comedy about a fantasy suburban British street inhabited by celebrities such as Michael Caine and Al Pacino, which he conceived with fellow impressionist Phil Cornwell, the two of them playing several parts in each episode.

Sessions later returned to formal acting, with parts ranging from James Boswell (to Robbie Coltrane's Samuel Johnson) in the UK TV comedy drama Boswell and Johnson's Tour of the Western Isles (1993) to Doctor Prunesquallor in the BBC adaptation of Gormenghast (2000) and in 1998 as Hercules Fortesque, a BBC HR manager in the BBC mini-series In The Red adapted from the book and the BBC radio series by Mark Taverner. He provided the voice of the Professor in The Adventures of Pinocchio in 1996. He also appeared in several Shakespeare films, playing Macmorris in Kenneth Branagh's Henry V (1989), Philostrate in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999), and Salerio in the movie The Merchant of Venice (2004), with Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons. He also contributed "Sonnet 62" to the 2002 compilation album When Love Speaks (EMI Classics), which consists of famous actors and musicians interpreting Shakespearean sonnets and play excerpts.

In between appearing in regular film and TV roles, Sessions made appearances on Have I Got News for You and, more recently, as a semi-regular panellist on QI. Other Sessions' creations appeared on Berkeley's show in subsequent years. Sessions had taken the role of narrating the popular Asterix stories for audiobook, since the death of Willie Rushton.

Sessions made a guest appearance in a special webcast version of Doctor Who, in a story called Death Comes to Time, in which he played General Tannis. He occasionally appeared in the BBC series Judge John Deed as barrister Brian Cantwell QC. In 2007, he guest-starred in the Doctor Who audio adventure 100.

In 2006, Sessions presented some of the BBC's coverage of The Proms and featured in one of the two Jackanory specials, voicing the characters and playing the storyteller in the audiobook version of Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell's children's book Muddle Earth. In 2007 he appeared in the final episode of the second series of Hotel Babylon, playing hotel owner Donovan Credo, and as Geoffrey Howe in 2009's Margaret. In 2010, he played Kenny Prince in Sherlock.

Sessions appeared in the teen drama TV show Skins in 2011 as one of two adopted fathers of Franky Fitzgerald.

He had the distinction of playing two British prime ministers in films, Harold Wilson in Made in Dagenham and Edward Heath in The Iron Lady. In 2013 he appeared in the premiere production of the new play Longing.

In 2014, he made a short appearance in Outlander as Arthur Duncan. In October 2014, Sessions was heard as Gus, the mysterious, psychopathic computer that controlled the eponymous train/spaceship in the Doctor Who episode "Mummy on the Orient Express" as well as appearing as Mycroft Holmes in the 2015 film Mr. Holmes.

In addition to appearing in the role of Arthur Lowe in the 2015 drama We're Doomed! The Dad's Army Story. he also played Dr Hermann in the 2016 film Florence Foster Jenkins.

Sessions narrated a 10-part radio adaptation of The Adventures of Captain Bobo on Fun Kids in 2020, which was still running at the time of his death.

Personal life Sessions was gay. He was outed in a 1994 Evening Standard article, while starring in the comedy My Night with Reg, a play set in London's gay community. He stated, "I get so bored with people going, 'UKIP are a bunch of racists.' They're nothing of the kind. Nigel Farage talks more sense than the rest of the politicians put together. The United States of Europe is madness."

Death Sessions died at his home in Raynes Park, South London on 2 November 2020, aged 67. His agent noted that he had a heart condition; his entry in the Dictionary of National Biography, citing his death certificate, gives the exact cause of death as "an excess of aspirin, paracetamol, and caffeine".

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1980 Animalympics Uncredited 1981 The Great Muppet Caper Muppet Performer Uncredited 1982 The Sender Patient 1984 The Bounty Steward John Smith The Muppets Take Manhattan Muppet Performer Uncredited 1986 Sky Bandits Flight Castaway Man in Pub Whoops Apocalypse Mr Sweetzer 1989 Henry V Macmorris 1990 Sweet Revenge John Michaels 1991 The Pope Must Die Dino 1992 Freddie as F.R.O.7 Scotty Voice 1994 Princess Caraboo Prince Regent 1995 In the Bleak Midwinter Terry Du Bois (Queen Gertrude) 1996 The Adventures of Pinocchio The Professor 1997 My Night with Reg Daniel 1998 The Scarlet Tunic Humphrey Gould Cousin Bette Musical Director 1999 A Midsummer Night's Dream Philostrate Faeries Chudley Voice 2000 One of the Hollywood Ten Paul Jarrico 2001 The Kingdom of Bones William Rutherford High Heels and Low Lifes Director 2002 Gangs of New York Harry Watkins / Lincoln 2004 Hawking Dennis Sciama Stella Street: The Movie Mrs. Huggett / Keith Richards / Jeremy Hickman Joe Pesci / Dean Baraclough / News Reader Jack Flatley / Johnny Van Damm / Muthatrucker Lord Tony Stanford / Dustin Hoffman / The Vicar Policeman / Al Pacino Lighthouse Hill Mr. Reynard The Merchant of Venice Salerio Five Children and It Peasemarsh 2005 Rag Tale Felix Miles Sty 2006 The Good Shepherd Valentin Mironov No. 1 / Yuri Modin 2007 Intervention Joe 2008 Inconceivable Finbar "Finn" Darrow 2009 The Last Station Dr. Dušan Makovický Nativity Mr Lore 2010 The Making of Plus One Derek Made in Dagenham Prime Minister Harold Wilson 2011 The Iron Lady Edward Heath 2012 The Domino Effect Talk Show Host 2013 Filth Bob Toal 2014 Pudsey the Dog: The Movie Thorne The Silent Storm Mr. Smith 2015 Mr. Holmes Mycroft Holmes 2015 Legend Lord Boothby 2016 The Rack Pack Ted Lowe Florence Foster Jenkins Dr Hermann Whisky Galore! Doctor McLaren Denial Richard J. Evans 2017 Loving Vincent Julien Tanguy Voice Finding Your Feet Mike Abbott 2019 Intrigo: Dear Agnes Pumpermann 2021 Belfast Joseph Tomelty as Marley Posthumous release

Television Year Title Role Notes 1984 Danger: Marmalade at Work Announcer / Scorpion 2 episodes Laugh??? I Nearly Paid My Licence Fee Also writer 1985 Happy Families Dean Episode: "Cassie" Tender Is the Night Young Scot Episode: "Episode Six" 1986 Boon Barney Spitz Episode: "Box 13" Spitting Image Prince Edward / Caspar Weinberger / Laurence Olivier Voice, 13 episodes Girls on Top Rodney Episode: "Who's Ya Uncle Shelley?" The Madness Museum Dr. Arthur Foulis Uwins TV movie 1987 Gramsci: Everything that Concerns People Antonio Gramsci TV movie Porterhouse Blue Zipser 3 episodes 1988 Menace Unseen Larry Knight 3 episodes 1988–1991 Whose Line Is It Anyway? Himself 24 episodes 1989 Agatha Christie's Poirot Radio Voice Overs Voice, Episode: "Four and Twenty Blackbirds" A Day in Summer Croser TV movie 1990 One Foot in the Grave Voice, Episode: "Dramatic Fever" Die Fledermaus Frosch TV movie 1991 The New Statesman Lord Penistone Episode: "Let Them Sniff Cake" John Sessions' Tall Tales 6 episodes: also writer Jute City McMurdo 3 episodes 1992 Life with Eliza Eliza's husband 12 episodes 1993 Screenplay James Boswell Episode: "Boswell & Johnson's Tour of the Western Isles" 1994 Citizen Locke John Locke TV movie John Sessions' Likely Stories 6 episodes; also writer Nice Day at the Office Tippit 6 episodes 1997 The History of Tom Jones: A Foundling Henry Fielding 5 episodes 1997–2000 Stella Street Various characters Also writer and creator 1998 In the Red Hercules Fortescue 3 episodes Queen's Park Story The Owl TV movie 2000 Gormenghast Dr Alfred Prunesquallor 4 episodes 2001 Murder Rooms: The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes Prof. Rutherford Episode: "The Kingdom of Bones" Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) Combe Fishacre Episode: "O Happy Isle" 2001–2002 Death Comes to Time General Tannis Voice, 5 episodes 2002 The Inspector Lynley Mysteries John Corntel Episode: "Well Schooled in Murder" George Eliot: A Scandalous Life George Henry Lewes TV movie Dalziel and Pascoe Charlie Penn 2 episodes 2002–2005 Judge John Deed Brian Cantwell, Q.C. 3 episodes 2003 Midsomer Murders Barrett Filby Episode: "Painted in Blood" That'll Teach 'Em Narrator Voice: 5 episodes The Lost Prince Mr. Hansell TV movie 2003–2012 QI Himself 10 episodes 2004 The Legend of the Tamworth Two Rival Editor TV movie 2005 Absolute Power John Kennedy Episode: "Spinning America" The English Harem Ridley TV movie 2006 Low Winter Sun Professor Barry Lennox Miniseries Agatha Christie's Marple Cardew Pye Episode: "The Moving Finger" Jackanory Storyteller Episode: "Muddle Earth" 2007 Reichenbach Falls Professor Bell TV movie New Tricks Dr Finlay McKenzie Episode: "Casualty" Hotel Babylon Donovan Credo Episode: "Episode 8" Ronni Ancona & Co Special Guest 2 episodes Oliver Twist Mr Sowerberry 2 episodes 2009 Margaret Geoffrey Howe TV movie Breaking the Mould Edward Mellanby TV movie 2010 Lewis Professor Rufus Strickfaden Episode: "Falling Darkness" Sherlock Kenny Prince Episode: "The Great Game" Just William Mr. Wellbecker Episode: "William Holds the Stage" 2011 Outnumbered Vicar Episode: "The Funeral" Rab C. Nesbitt Chief Inspector Haggerty Episode: "Broke" The Comic Strip Presents... Tebbit Episode: "The Hunt for Tony Blair" Little Crackers Dr. Edward Cole Episode: "Alan Davies' Little Cracker: The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Daytime" 2011–2012 Skins Geoff Fitzgerald 2 episodes 2012 Dead Boss Sir Humphreys Episode: "Episode six" Shameless Father McGinn Episode: "All Fall Down" 2013 Mr Selfridge Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Episode: "Episode 7" 2014 Blandings Lord Didcot Episode: "Necessary Rhino" Doctor Who Gus Voice, Episode: "Mummy on the Orient Express" 2014–2015 Outlander Arthur Duncan 2 episodes 2015 Moone Boy Dr. Stephen Gnot Episode: "Unidentified Feckin' Objects" Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell John Murray 2 episodes We're Doomed! The Dad's Army Story Arthur Lowe TV movie 2016 Mid Morning Matters with Alan Partridge The Partridge Playhouse Players Voice, Episode: "Episode 1" Upstart Crow Lord Inquisitor Episode: "Love Is Not Love" The Rack Pack Ted Lowe TV movie Friday Night Dinner Mr. Murray Episode: "The Carpet Cleaner" 2017 Father Brown Reverend Adam Gillespie Episode: "The Eve of St John" The Loch DCI Frank Smilie ITV drama series 2018 Death in Paradise Hugh Davenport Episode: "Murder on the Day of the Dead" 2019 Victoria Lord John Russell Series 3 2020 The Great Bishop Tarcinkus Episode: "Moscow Mule"