Robert James (actor)

Robert James (28 March 1924 – 31 July 2004) was a Scottish actor, who was best known for his television work.^[1][2][3]

Robert James
James in Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks (1966)
Born	Robert James McAllister (1924-03-28)28 March 1924 Paisley, Renfrewshire, UK
Died	31 July 2004(2004-07-31) (aged 80) Middlesex, England,
Nationality	Scottish
Occupation	Actor
Spouse	Mona Bruce

Career

Born in Paisley, Scotland, Robert James trained to be a lawyer, before being spotted by a professional director while performing in amateur dramatics.^[4]

A handful of James's television performances have survived, but many of were amongst those discarded by UK broadcasters throughout the 1960s and 70s. One of his most remembered roles was in Doctor Who, playing the character Lesterson in the 1966 serial The Power of the Daleks. These six missing episodes now only exist as still photographs and audio recordings, although the serial was recreated as an animation in 2016.^[5] He would later return to the show in the serial The Masque of Mandragora.

Marriage

He was married to actress Mona Bruce (1924-2008) until his death; they had one child. Clair Mcallister ^{[citation needed][6]}

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Theatre Company	Director	Notes
1971	Confessions of a Justified Sinner	Wringhim	Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh	Richard Eyre	Edinburgh International Festival

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1956	Around the World in 80 Days	Extra	Uncredited
1958	A Night to Remember	Engineer	Uncredited
1959	The Bridal Path	Inspector
1960	Two-Way Stretch	Police Superintendent
1961	A Chance of Thunder	Hilton	3 episodes
1961	Pathfinders to Venus	Colonel Korolyov	Serial, third sequel to Target Luna
1961	Triton	Lord Nelson	2 episodes
1961-1968	The Avengers	Merlin / Jenkins / Mellor / Ronnie Vance / Ronnie Vance	5 episodes
1962	Masters of Venus	Stewart
1962-1969	Dr. Finlay's Casebook	James Gibson	11 episodes
1963	Z-Cars	Maison	Episode: "Enquiry"
1963	Bitter Harvest	Police Sergeant	Uncredited
1964	Smuggler's Bay	Mr. Glennie	5 episodes
1965	Scales of Justice	Mr. Durrant	Episode: "The Hidden Face"
1965-1969	Out of the Unknown	Kelvin Brooke / Dr. Kersh	2 episodes
1965-1971	The Troubleshooters	Alastair McFee / Barry / Eldridge	3 episodes
1966, 1976	Doctor Who	Lesterson / High Priest / Man	2 serials: The Power of the Daleks; The Masque of Mandragora
1968	The Love Bug	Driver #31
1969	Counterstrike	Pythian	Episode: "The Lemming Syndrome"
1970	The Six Wives of Henry VIII	Robert Barnes	Episode: "Anne of Cleves"
1970-1972	Doomwatch	Halliday (GLC Man) / Barker	2 episodes
1970	The Borderers	Maitland of Lethington	2 episodes
1971	Mary, Queen of Scots	John Knox
1972	The Shadow of the Tower	Earl of Derby / Lord Stanley	5 episodes
1972	The Befrienders	Shaky Man	Episode: "Nobody Understands Miranda"
1973	Orson Welles Great Mysteries	Mr. Granger	Episode: "The Monkey's Paw"
1973-1974	Sutherland's Law	Hamish McNab	2 episodes
1973-1979	The Onedin Line	Rowland Biddulph / Major Nesbitt	6 episodes
1974	Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter	Pointer
1974	Steptoe and Son	Doctor	Episode: "Upstairs, Downstairs, Upstairs, Downstairs"
1975	The Five Red Herrings	Sir Maxwell Jamieson	3 episodes, (the 1975 BBC adaptation of the Lord Peter Wimsey story)
1977	Nicholas Nickleby	Newman Noggs	6 episodes
1978	The Four Feathers	John (the butler)	TV movie
1978	Blake's 7	Ven Glynd	Episode: "The Way Back "
1978	The Professionals	David Merlin / Cusak	2 episodes
1978	Robin's Nest	Doctor	Episode: “As long as he needs me”
1983	Shackleton	Sir John Scott-Keltie	3 episodes
1984	The Jewel in the Crown	Col. Beames	Episode: "Daughters of the Regiment"
1984	John Wycliffe: The Morning Star	Bishop Courtenay
1988	Rumpole of the Bailey	Dr. McAndrew	Episode: "Rumpole and the Quality of Life"
1992	Casualty	Gerry Mitchell	Episode: "Cascade"
1992	Soft Top Hard Shoulder	Campbell
1993	Century Falls	Dr. Josiah Naismith	4 episodes
1993	The Satan Killer	Radio DJ	Voice
1995	Taggart	Robert Menzies	Episode: "Black Orchid"
1996	The Innocent Sleep	Hopkin
1998	Looking After Jo Jo	High Court judge	TV series
1999	Existo	Bar Tender

Death

Robert James died in 2004, aged 80, from Alzheimer's disease in Middlesex, England.

References

1. "Robert James". BFI. Archived from the original on 24 February 2019.
2. "Robert James". www.aveleyman.com.
3. "BBC - Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide - The Power of the Daleks - Details". www.bbc.co.uk.
4. Cano, Marina (22 January 2017). Jane Austen and Performance. Springer. ISBN 9783319439884 – via Google Books.
5. "Lost Doctor Who adventure to return in animated form". BBC News. 7 September 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
6. Hogg, James (27 September 2018). More Than Just A Good Life: The Authorised Biography of Richard Briers. Little, Brown Book Group. ISBN 9781472129215 – via Google Books.

External links

• Robert James at IMDb