Simon MacCorkindale

Simon Charles Pendered MacCorkindale Simon had a brother, Duncan.

Persuading his parents that he would find a "sensible job" if a career as a director was not sustaining him financially by the age of 25, MacCorkindale decided not to study at university and instead attended the Studio 68 drama school at the Theatre of Arts in London. He went on to appear in a number of other TV series, including Within These Walls, Sutherland's Law,

MacCorkindale played astronomer Joe Kapp in Nigel Kneale's TV serial Quatermass (1979), starring alongside John Mills. He had previously starred in an episode of Kneale's series Beasts and enjoyed appearing in the role of Kapp, finding it a change from the typecast romantic roles that he had become accustomed to playing, while noting that it was "challenging" conveying the character's strong Jewish faith.

Manimal, Falcon Crest and film roles (1980–1986) Following the success of Death on the Nile, MacCorkindale moved to the United States in 1980. Although warned that it would limit his chance of finding work, MacCorkindale refused to adopt an American accent when auditioning, believing that his British diction would help fill a "niche". During this time he appeared in single-episode roles in series such as Dynasty, Fantasy Island, Hart to Hart, Matt Houston and The Dukes of Hazzard, and starred as Philip FitzRoyce in the poorly received third part of the Jaws film series, Jaws 3-D (1983). In the mid-1980s, MacCorkindale was considered for the role of James Bond as a possible successor to Roger Moore, but was not cast. Jaws 3-D proved to be his last major film role.

Following Counterstrike, MacCorkindale appeared in the final episode of the TV drama E.N.G., whereafter his "media tycoon" character was planned to be the star of a spin-off alongside actress Sara Botsford, but the project was abandoned. MacCorkindale also reprised the role of Dr Chase from Manimal in an episode of Night Man in 1998, which incorporated computer-generated imagery for the transformations as opposed to prosthetic makeup, and also directed an episode of the series.

Casualty and final roles (2002–2010) MacCorkindale returned to the UK in 2002 and joined the cast of the BBC One medical drama Casualty, in the role of clinical lead consultant Harry Harper. In contrast, Neil Bonner of the Liverpool Daily Post quoted him as stating that he had never seen an episode of the show in its then-16-year history. MacCorkindale was surprised to be offered the role of Harper given the many years that he had spent working in North America, but having settled in Exmoor found Bristol to be an accessible production base. MacCorkindale was "never too comfortable as a young actor" and "always felt that [his] best time in the business would be around [the age of 50]." MacCorkindale commented that he "loved [his] time on Casualty," and spent time researching all the medical terminology that his character used to ensure that he understood it. while fellow Guardian journalists Sarah Dempster and Jim Shelley commented on MacCorkindale's "loud" delivery of his lines. Shelley described the character of Harper as a "human Foghorn Leghorn", while according to Dempster, Casualty was "above all [...] about Simon MacCorkindale, shouting. Then panting, alarmingly, as he peers through some blinds. And then shouting again."

In January 2007, MacCorkindale was given a five-month sabbatical from Casualty because a plotline required that his character be temporarily removed from the series. He took the opportunity to tour the United Kingdom in a revival of the Agatha Christie murder mystery play The Unexpected Guest. He then returned to Casualty, but having re-discovered his taste for theatre, left the series permanently in 2008 to appear as Andrew Wyke in a UK tour of Anthony Shaffer's Sleuth. By the time that MacCorkindale quit Casualty, he had appeared in 229 episodes of the series.

In August 2008, he replaced Simon Burke as Captain Georg Ludwig von Trapp in the London Palladium production of The Sound of Music, remaining with the show until its closure in February 2009. After small parts in the films 13 Hrs and A Closed Book, he returned to TV as Sir David Bryant in the 2010 series of New Tricks, in what proved to be his final TV appearance.

Working in partnership with Chris Bryant, MacCorkindale wrote and directed the television film The House That Mary Bought (1995),

Personal life MacCorkindale was married twice. His first wife was actress Fiona Fullerton; the couple married in 1976 and divorced in 1982. Following his divorce from Fullerton, MacCorkindale began a relationship with actress Susan George, whom he had first met in 1977; they married secretly in Fiji on 5 October 1984 and later held a second ceremony with family and friends in Berkshire, England. With George, MacCorkindale managed an Arabian stud farm based in Exmoor. The initial surgery was successful, and the cancer entered remission. However, a year later, it was found to have metastasised to his lungs.

Despite his illness, MacCorkindale continued to work, returning to film his final series of Casualty in late 2007. He did not disclose his condition to his colleagues, often finding it surreal when his character had to inform patients about cancer or other incurable diseases. He invested significantly in private cancer treatments in the United States, though these efforts met with limited success.

In November 2009, MacCorkindale publicly announced that his cancer was terminal. He died on 14 October 2010 aged 58.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1974 Juggernaut No. 1 Helmsman 1978 Death on the Nile Simon Doyle 1979 The Riddle of the Sands Arthur Davies 1980 Caboblanco Lewis Clarkson 1981 Macbeth Macduff 1982 The Sword and the Sorcerer Prince Mikah 1982 An Outpost of Progress Kayerts 1983 Jaws 3-D Philip FitzRoyce 1987 Shades of Love: Sincerely, Violet Mark Jamieson Direct-to-video release 1988 Stealing Heaven N/A Producer 1989 That Summer of White Roses N/A Producer, composer and writer 1998 Such A Long Journey N/A Producer 1999 Wing Commander Flight Boss 2010 A Closed Book Andrew Boles 2010 13Hrs Duncan Moore

Television Year Title Role Notes 1973 Hawkeye, the Pathfinder Lieutenant Carter Appeared in three episodes 1974 Play of the Month Rolf Episode 9.8: "The Skin Game" 1975 Sutherland's Law Ian Sutherland Episode 4.5: "No Second Chance" 1976 Romeo and Juliet Paris TV film 1976 Hunter's Walk Houseman Episode 3.1: "Intent" 1976 I, Claudius Lucius Episode 1.2: "Waiting in the Wings" 1976 Beasts Peter Gilkes Episode 1.4: "Baby" 1976–1978 Within These Walls Dr Dady Appeared in three episodes 1977 Romance Paul Verdayne Episode 1.2: "Three Weeks" 1977 Jesus of Nazareth Lucius TV miniseries 1977 Just William Charlie Episode 1.12: "William and the Sleeping Major" 1978 The Doombolt Chase Lt. Cmdr. Madock Episode 1.1: "Court of Shame" 1978 Will Shakespeare Sir Thomas Walsingham Episode 1.1: "Dead Shepherd" 1979 Quatermass Joe Kapp TV serial; appeared in all four episodes 1979 The Dukes of Hazzard Gaylord Duke (Roger Blevin) 2.13: "Duke of Duke" 1980 Hammer House of Horror Harry Wells Episode 1.11: "Visitor from the Grave" 1981 Manions of America David Clement TV miniseries 1981 Fantasy Island Gaston du Brielle Episode 5.3: "Cyrano/The Magician" 1982 Hart to Hart Arthur Roman Episode 4.3: "Million Dollar Harts" 1982 Dynasty Billy Dawson Episode 3.4: "The Will" 1982 Falcon's Gold Hank Richards TV film 1983 Manimal Jonathan Chase Appeared in all eight episodes 1984 Obsessive Love Glenn Stevens TV film 1984 Matt Houston Robert Tyler Episode 3.3: "Eyewitness" 1984–1986 Falcon Crest Greg Reardon Appeared in 59 episodes 1989 Pursuit Manley-Jones TV film 1990–1993 Counterstrike Peter Sinclair Appeared in 65 episodes 1994 E.N.G. Maxwell Harding Episode 5.14: "Cutting Edge" 1995 The Way to Dusty Death Johnny Harlow TV film 1995 At the Midnight Hour Richard Keaton TV film 1995 Family of Cops Adam Novacek TV film 1995 The House That Mary Bought N/A Director and writer 1996 No Greater Love Patrick Kelly TV film 1997 While My Pretty One Sleeps Jack Campbell TV film 1997 La Femme Nikita Alec Chandler Episode 1.4: "Charity" 1998 La Guerre de l'eau Peter Gregory TV film 1998 Running Wild Walton Baden Smythe TV film 1998 Night Man Jonathan Chase Episode 2.6: "Manimal" 1999 The Girl Next Door Steve Vandermeer TV film 1999 Poltergeist: The Legacy Reed Horton Appeared in five episodes 1999 Mentors Oscar Wilde Episode 1.6: "Wilde Card" 2000 Earth: Final Conflict Dennis Robillard Episode 3.14: "Scorched Earth" 2000 The Dinosaur Hunter Jack TV film 2001 Dark Realm Brad Collins Appeared in two episodes 2001 Queen of Swords Captain Charles Wentworth Episode 1.15: "Runaways"; also series co-executive producer 2001–2002 Relic Hunter Fabrice De Viega Appeared in three episodes and co-executive producer in the third series. 2002–2003 Adventure Inc. N/A Co-producer 2002–2008 Casualty Dr. Harry Harper Appeared in 229 episodes 2004–2005 Holby City Harry Harper Appeared in two episodes 2005 Casualty@Holby City Harry Harper Appeared in three specials 2010 New Tricks Sir David Bryant Episode 7.5: "Good Morning Lemmings", (final appearance)