Roger Delgado

Roger Caesar Marius Bernard de Delgado Torres Castillo Roberto (1 March 1918 – 18 June 1973) was an English actor. He played many roles on television, radio and in films, and had "a long history of playing minor villains" before becoming best known as the first actor to play the Master in Doctor Who (1971–73).

Early life Delgado was born in Whitechapel, in the East End of London, to a French mother and a Spanish father; he often remarked to Doctor Who co-star and close friend Jon Pertwee that this made him a true Cockney, as he was born within the sound of Bow Bells. He did not live in the East End, but was brought up in Bedford Park in west London.

His father was a bank clerk who encouraged Delgado to work the same job; he did try banking for a while but soon left to pursue acting. In the late 1930s, he worked in a repertory in Leicester until 1940 when he was called to fight in the Second World War. After the war ended in 1945, he joined the York repertory company and eventually moved to the BBC drama repertory, where he stayed from 1950 to 1962.

Career Delgado worked extensively on the British stage, and on television, film and radio. His theatre debut was in 1939 and his first television appearance was 1948. He appeared in the BBC Television serial Quatermass II (1955), the Powell and Pressburger wartime drama Battle of the River Plate (1956), and came to wide popular attention in Britain when he played the duplicitous Spanish envoy Mendoza in the ITC Entertainment series, Sir Francis Drake, from 1961 to 1962, after which he was in much demand. Delgado was frequently cast as a villain, appearing in many British action-adventure TV series by ITC, including Danger Man (1961), The Saint (1962 and 1966), The Champions (1969), and Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) (1969). His final radio role was in the radio sitcom Parsley Sidings opposite Arthur Lowe.

Delgado made a total of 16 guest appearances in ITC shows, the most of any actor, with his last completed role being ITC's The Zoo Gang (1974). He also appeared in The Avengers (1961 and 1969), The Power Game (1966), and an ITV Play of the Week (The Crossfire, 1967). His films included The Terror of the Tongs, The Road to Hong Kong, The Mummy's Shroud and Antony and Cleopatra.

He began work as The Master on Doctor Who in late 1970, his first broadcast appearance being in the January 1971 adventure Terror of the Autons. He subsequently reprised the role of the Master in the Third Doctor serials The Mind of Evil, The Claws of Axos, Colony in Space, The Dæmons, The Sea Devils, The Time Monster and Frontier in Space. An in-joke in the 1971 Doctor Who story Colony in Space refers to his role as Mendoza in Sir Francis Drake, when the Brigadier tells the Doctor not to worry as the suspected sighting of the Master "was only the Spanish Ambassador". The Master's story arc was to have ended in The Final Game, which was planned as the final story to feature Pertwee's Third Doctor, but the story was scrapped following Delgado's sudden death and replaced with Planet of the Spiders.

Personal life Delgado's first marriage was to Olga Anthonisz, which ended in divorce. He married Kismet Shahani in 1957 and they remained together until his death in 1973. Kismet died in 2017.

Death

Delgado died on location on 18 June 1973 in Nevşehir, Turkey, whilst shooting La Cloche tibétaine (Tibetan Bell), a French / West German television mini-series about the Yellow Expedition. During this expedition, Citroën tracked vehicles traversed Asia in 1931–32 from Peking and Beirut. Delgado appeared in one episode of this production. He was killed, along with two Turkish film technicians, when the car in which he was travelling went off the road into a ravine. He was 55 years old.

For years, there was mystery surrounding the fate of Delgado's remains. It was revealed in 2017 that his body had been returned to the United Kingdom and cremated at Mortlake before the ashes were scattered on 27 June 1973, in area RB3 (Plot 43) of the Garden of Remembrance at Mortlake Cemetery in Southwest London.

The serial he was filming in Turkey continued production and was completed after his death. The series was broadcast on French and West German television in 1974–1975; Delgado can be seen in episode 4 as the minor character Paco.

Jon Pertwee often remarked that Delgado's death was one of the reasons he decided to leave Doctor Who the following year.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1952 Murder at Scotland Yard George Grayson 1953 The Broken Horseshoe Felix Galegos The Captain's Paradise Kalikan Policeman Blood Orange Marlowe Scotland Yard: The Missing Man Paris Police Inspector 1954 The Belles of St. Trinian's Sultan's Aide Uncredited Third Party Risk Detective Gonzales 1955 Storm Over the Nile Native Spy 1956 The Battle of the River Plate Captain Varela Scotland Yard: Destination Death Lisbon Police Officer 1957 Manuela Stranger Man in the Shadow Alberto Uncredited Scotland Yard: The Case of The Smiling Widow Commissario 1958 Sea Fury Salgado Mark of the Phoenix Devron 1959 First Man into Space Consul Ramon de Guerrera The Stranglers of Bombay Bundar UncreditedThird Man on the MountainItalian Climber 1960 Sands of the Desert Abu Nial 1961 The Singer Not the Song Pedro de Cortinez The Terror of the Tongs Tang Hao 1962 Village of Daughters Francisco Predati The Road to Hong Kong Jhinnah Guns of Darkness Hernandez (voice) Dubbed Derek Godfrey In Search of the Castaways Patagonian Prisoner 1963 The Mind Benders Dr. Jean Bonvoulois Uncredited The Running Man Spanish Doctor 1964 Hot Enough for June Josef 1965 Masquerade Ahmed Ben Faïd Uncredited 1966 Khartoum Sheikh Abdul Rahim The Sandwich Man Abdul 1967 The Mummy's Shroud Hasmid 1968 Star! French Ambassador Uncredited 1969 The Assassination Bureau Bureau Member You Can't Win 'Em All Capt. Enver (voice) Dubbed Salih Güney 1970 Underground Xavier 1972Horror ExpressInspector Mirov (voice)Dubbed Julio Peña Antony and Cleopatra Soothsayer

Television Year Title Role Notes1948Distinguished GatheringEliot Richard VinesTelevision film 1954 The Three Musketeers Athos 6 episodes 1955 St. Ives Gautier 2 episodes Quatermass II Hugh Conrad Episode: "The Coming" 1956 The Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel Andre Episode: "The Farmer's Boy" 1957 Assignment Foreign Legion Lt. Lachaise Episode: "The Coward" The Buccaneers Capt. Mendoza/Don Ferdinand Esteban 3 episodes Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School Monsieur Charpentier Episode: "Bunter the Ventriloquist" O.S.S. Luigi Episode: "Operation Big House" The Silver Sword The Nazi Episode: "Escape from Bavaria" Sword of Freedom Virelli Episode: "Angelica's Past" White Hunter Gomez Episode: "Killer Leopard" 1958 The Adventures of Robin Hood Ambassador Episode: "The Minstrel" Queen's Champion Don Jose 8 episodes 1959 William Tell Luigi Episode: "The Black Brothers" Hancock's Half Hour Night Club Manager Episode: "Spanish Interlude" (uncredited) 1959–1960 The Four Just Men Inspector Rossi 2 episodes 1959–1965 The Third Man Luis Mendoza / Henri Banear 4 episodes 1960 The Splendid Spur Sir Basil Grenville Episode: "Joan of the Tor" Biggles Dr. Ahmed Zakar 3 episodes: "Biggles on the Nile" The Odd Man Bernard Berridge 3 episodes 1960–1961 Knight Errant Limited Branco/Oscar Lederer 2 episodes 1961 One Step Beyond Capt. Santoro Episode: "The Face"Plateau of Fear General PereraEpisode: "Slam-Down"TritonThe Man with the Patch 2 episodes Danger Man Von Golling Episode: "Under the Lake" 1961–1962 Sir Francis Drake Count Bernardino de Mendoza / The Governor 7 episodes 1961–1964 Ghost Squad Holgar/Major Sayid/Ben Ali/De Souza 4 episodes 1962 Saki Laposhka Episode 5 Richard the Lionheart Laki Episode: "The Norman King" Z-Cars Gregori Katsybalis Episode: "Business Trip" 1962–1963 Maigret Pepito/Fouché 2 episodes1962–1966 The Saint Hotel Manager/Captain Rodriguez 2 episodes 1963 The Human Jungle Wirral Episode: "The Two Edged Sword" Espionage Gebal Episode: "A Camel to Ride" 1964 Crane Barman Episode: "Murder Is Waiting" The Protectors Slankin Episode: "Freedom!" Sergeant Cork Inspector Puichard Episode: "The Case of the Great Pearl Robbery" 1965 Sherlock Holmes Moser Episode: "The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax" 1966 Orlando King Halara 2 episodes Court Martial Salvatore Fratuzzi Episode: "The Liberators" The Saint Captain Rodriguez Episode: "Locate and Destroy" 1968 Man in a Suitcase Ambassador Episode: "Burder of Proof" Harry Worth Ambassador Episode: "James Bond Where Are You?" 1969 The Avengers Kreer Episode: "Stay Tuned" Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) Tapiro Episode: "The Ghost who Saved the Bank at Monte Carlo" 1971 The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes Silva Episode: "Madame Sara" 1971–1973 Doctor Who The Master 37 episodes; serials Terror of the Autons, The Mind of Evil, The Claws of Axos, Colony in Space, The Dæmons, The Sea Devils, The Time Monster and Frontier in Space 1972 The Persuaders! Estoban Episode: "To The Death, Baby" 1973 Play of the Month Officer of the Holy Brotherhood Episode: "The Adventures of Don Quixote" 1974 The Zoo Gang Pedro Ortega Episode: "The Lion Hunt" La Cloche tibétaine (fr) Paco Episode: "L'Escadron d'or"