Ed Bishop
Encyclopedia
Ed Bishop was an American film, television, stage and radio actor based in Britain
.
with the Armed Forces Radio at St. Johns
in Newfoundland. At the time of discharge, his rank was Corporal.
After graduating in Theatre Arts from Boston University
, he won a Fulbright Scholarship to study for two years at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
, from which he graduated in 1959 and almost immediately found work in the British theatre and film industries. He adopted the first name "Edward" at this time for professional reasons. His first Broadway
appearance was as Villebosse in David Merrick's production of Jean Anouilh's The Rehearsal in 1963, though he returned to Britain in 1964.
's 1962 adaptation of Lolita
(as an ambulance driver). In 1963 he played an American astronaut going to the moon in the movie The Mouse on the Moon
. He had small roles in the James Bond
films You Only Live Twice
and Diamonds Are Forever
, plus a cameo scene in The Bedford Incident
. He also appeared in 2001: A Space Odyssey
, in which he played the Captain of the Aries 1B space-station-to-moon shuttle. The role initially featured dialogue, though this was later cut from his scenes.
Bishop has appeared in various film and television projects created by producer Gerry Anderson
, and perhaps his most prominent screen role of all was as Commander Ed Straker in Anderson's science fiction
series, UFO
, which was produced in 1969-1970 and broadcast during 1970-1971. Prior to this, he had appeared in Anderson's science fiction film Journey to the Far Side of the Sun and provided the voice of Captain Blue
for Anderson's 1967 Supermarionation
puppet series, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
.
For his role in UFO, Bishop dyed his dark hair blond, though he eventually started wearing a blond wig instead. Bishop kept one of the wigs he wore in UFO as a souvenir and was also given the Certina
wristwatch he wore on the show, and before his death, said that he planned to pass it on to his eldest grandson. Bishop was the only cast member of UFO to appear in every episode of the series.
In later years, appeared in films such as Saturn 3
(though was uncredited), Twilight's Last Gleaming
, and Whoops Apocalypse
(he also appeared in the TV series version). Bishop also provided vocal work for the 1974 animated TV series of Star Trek
and appeared in the final episode of the British WWII POW drama "Colditz
", Bishop appears as Lt. Col. Harrity. In the 1980s, he made several appearances on The Kenny Everett Television Show and had a role in the children's television series Chocky's Children.
On radio, in 1977-78 he played the private eye Philip Marlowe
in six adaptations of Raymond Chandler
's stories, the last of them, Farewell, My Lovely
, produced almost a decade after the others, as the rights had previously been unavailable. In 1981, Bishop performed a vocal narrative on the song "Norman Bates" by the British synthpop band Landscape
.
Bishop continued to act on film, TV and radio, usually in British and European
productions, and was a frequent guest at science fiction conventions. Bishop and fellow Anderson-actor Shane Rimmer
(another American actor who often worked in the UK) often joked about how often their professional paths crossed and termed themselves "Rent-a yank". They appeared together as NASA operatives in the opening of You Only Live Twice
and as USN sailors in The Bedford Incident
. In 1989, Bishop was reunited with Rimmer and another Anderson actor, Matt Zimmerman, in the BBC Radio 4
adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's A Study In Scarlet
. Bishop and Rimmer also toured together in theatre shows including Death of a Salesman
in the 1990s and also appeared in the BBC drama/documentary Hiroshima (2005), one of Bishop's last TV projects.
In 2000, Bishop briefly reprised the role of Captain Blue in a trailer for the new Captain Scarlet series
. He did not, however, reprise the role for the actual series, which would not debut until five years later.
In 2002, Bishop recorded a commentary for the DVD release of UFO. In 2003, he performed in the Doctor Who
audio drama, Full Fathom Five
, produced by Big Finish Productions
.
some years earlier, in a notable act of political theatre
: in 1993 he gatecrashed an arms-trade fair held in Aldershot
, Hampshire
whilst dressed to resemble Augusto Pinochet
. During the Aldershot protest he met photographer Jane Skinner, who later became his third wife. His widow requested that instead of sending flowers to Bishop's funeral, donations should instead be made to the Campaign Against the Arms Trade.
Ed Bishop was married three times:
Bishop died five days after the death of one of his UFO co-stars, Michael Billington
. Bishop succumbed to a chest infection
contracted while undergoing treatment for an undisclosed blood disease. He is buried in the churchyard of the Parish Church of Saint Lawrence in Napton, Warwickshire
. His grey sandstone
tombstone has a peace symbol
prominently engraved on it. Its design is very similar to the one situated two metres on the right, which marks the grave of his son Daniel (16 May 1967 - 18 January 1988), who was killed in a car accident in Cumbria
.
Bishop's epitaph
reads: From This Valley They Say You Are Going. We Shall Miss Your Bright Eyes And Your Smile.
His life and work was honoured at the British Academy Television Awards
in May 2006. He is survived by his widow and three daughters from his second marriage: Georgina, Jessica and Serina.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Early life
Bishop served in the US Army from 8 October 1952 to 24 September 1954, working as a disc jockeyDisc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
with the Armed Forces Radio at St. Johns
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
St. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...
in Newfoundland. At the time of discharge, his rank was Corporal.
After graduating in Theatre Arts from Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
, he won a Fulbright Scholarship to study for two years at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art is a leading British drama school in west London. LAMDA's president is Timothy West and its new principal is Joanna Read, who recently succeeded Peter James...
, from which he graduated in 1959 and almost immediately found work in the British theatre and film industries. He adopted the first name "Edward" at this time for professional reasons. His first Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
appearance was as Villebosse in David Merrick's production of Jean Anouilh's The Rehearsal in 1963, though he returned to Britain in 1964.
Career
Bishop made his film acting debut in a small role in Stanley KubrickStanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
's 1962 adaptation of Lolita
Lolita (1962 film)
Lolita is a 1962 comedy-drama film by Stanley Kubrick based on the classic novel of the same title by Vladimir Nabokov. The film stars James Mason as Humbert Humbert, Sue Lyon as Dolores Haze and Shelley Winters as Charlotte Haze with Peter Sellers as Clare Quilty.Due to the MPAA's restrictions at...
(as an ambulance driver). In 1963 he played an American astronaut going to the moon in the movie The Mouse on the Moon
The Mouse on the Moon
The Mouse on the Moon is a 1963 British comedy film, an adaptation of the novel The Mouse on the Moon by Irish author Leonard Wibberley. It was directed by Richard Lester and served as the sequel to The Mouse That Roared. In it, the people of the Duchy of Grand Fenwick, a microstate, attempt space...
. He had small roles in the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
films You Only Live Twice
You Only Live Twice (film)
You Only Live Twice is the fifth spy film in the James Bond series, and the fifth to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film's screenplay was written by Roald Dahl, and loosely based on Ian Fleming's 1964 novel of the same name...
and Diamonds Are Forever
Diamonds Are Forever (film)
Diamonds Are Forever is the seventh spy film in the Eon Productions James Bond series, and the sixth and final Eon Productions film to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film is based on Ian Fleming's 1956 novel of the same name, and is the second of four James Bond films...
, plus a cameo scene in The Bedford Incident
The Bedford Incident
The Bedford Incident is a 1965 British-American Cold War film starring Richard Widmark and Sidney Poitier, and co-produced by Richard Widmark. The cast also features James MacArthur, Martin Balsam, Wally Cox and Eric Portman, as well as early appearances by Donald Sutherland and Ed Bishop...
. He also appeared in 2001: A Space Odyssey
2001: A Space Odyssey (film)
2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, and co-written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, partially inspired by Clarke's short story The Sentinel...
, in which he played the Captain of the Aries 1B space-station-to-moon shuttle. The role initially featured dialogue, though this was later cut from his scenes.
Bishop has appeared in various film and television projects created by producer Gerry Anderson
Gerry Anderson
Gerry Anderson MBE is a British publisher, producer, director and writer, famous for his futuristic television programmes, particularly those involving specially modified marionettes, a process called "Supermarionation"....
, and perhaps his most prominent screen role of all was as Commander Ed Straker in Anderson's science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
series, UFO
UFO (TV series)
UFO is a 1970-1971 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth, created by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson with Reg Hill, and produced by the Andersons and Lew Grade's Century 21 Productions for Grade's ITC Entertainment company.UFO first aired in the UK and Canada...
, which was produced in 1969-1970 and broadcast during 1970-1971. Prior to this, he had appeared in Anderson's science fiction film Journey to the Far Side of the Sun and provided the voice of Captain Blue
Captain Blue (Captain Scarlet)
Captain Blue is a character in the 1967 Supermarionation television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. He is a senior officer of the Spectrum organisation and a close friend of Captain Scarlet....
for Anderson's 1967 Supermarionation
Supermarionation
Supermarionation is a puppetry technique devised in the 1960s by British production company AP Films. It was used extensively in the company's numerous Gerry and Sylvia Anderson-produced action-adventure series, the most famous of which was Thunderbirds...
puppet series, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, often referred to as Captain Scarlet, is a 1960s British science-fiction television series produced by the Century 21 Productions company of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, John Read and Reg Hill...
.
For his role in UFO, Bishop dyed his dark hair blond, though he eventually started wearing a blond wig instead. Bishop kept one of the wigs he wore in UFO as a souvenir and was also given the Certina
Certina
Certina Kurth Frères SA is a Swiss luxury watchmaker company founded in Grenchen, 1888, by Adolf and Alfred Kurth, and currently an affiliate company of the Swatch Group.-History:...
wristwatch he wore on the show, and before his death, said that he planned to pass it on to his eldest grandson. Bishop was the only cast member of UFO to appear in every episode of the series.
In later years, appeared in films such as Saturn 3
Saturn 3
Saturn 3 is a 1980 science fiction film starring Kirk Douglas, Farrah Fawcett and Harvey Keitel. Direction is credited to Stanley Donen. The project was conceived by John Barry. Barry was due to direct until a dispute with Douglas led to his replacement...
(though was uncredited), Twilight's Last Gleaming
Twilight's Last Gleaming
Twilight's Last Gleaming is a 1977 film directed by Robert Aldrich, starring Burt Lancaster and Richard Widmark.Loosely based on a 1971 novel, Viper Three by Walter Wager, it tells the story of Lawrence Dell, a renegade USAF general, who escapes from a military prison and takes over an ICBM silo...
, and Whoops Apocalypse
Whoops Apocalypse
Whoops Apocalypse is a six-part 1982 television sitcom by Andrew Marshall and David Renwick, made by London Weekend Television for ITV. Marshall and Renwick later reworked the concept as a 1986 movie from ITC Entertainment, with almost completely different characters and plot, although one or two...
(he also appeared in the TV series version). Bishop also provided vocal work for the 1974 animated TV series of Star Trek
Star Trek: The Animated Series
Star Trek: The Animated Series is an animated science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe following the events of Star Trek: The Original Series of the 1960s...
and appeared in the final episode of the British WWII POW drama "Colditz
Colditz
Colditz is a town in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, near Leipzig, located on the banks of the river Mulde. The town has a population of 5,188 ....
", Bishop appears as Lt. Col. Harrity. In the 1980s, he made several appearances on The Kenny Everett Television Show and had a role in the children's television series Chocky's Children.
On radio, in 1977-78 he played the private eye Philip Marlowe
Philip Marlowe
Philip Marlowe is a fictional character created by Raymond Chandler in a series of novels including The Big Sleep and The Long Goodbye. Marlowe first appeared under that name in The Big Sleep published in 1939...
in six adaptations of Raymond Chandler
Raymond Chandler
Raymond Thornton Chandler was an American novelist and screenwriter.In 1932, at age forty-five, Raymond Chandler decided to become a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive during the Depression. His first short story, "Blackmailers Don't Shoot", was published in...
's stories, the last of them, Farewell, My Lovely
Farewell, My Lovely
Farewell, My Lovely is a 1940 novel by Raymond Chandler, the second novel he wrote featuring Los Angeles private eye Philip Marlowe. It was adapted for the screen three times.-Plot summary:...
, produced almost a decade after the others, as the rights had previously been unavailable. In 1981, Bishop performed a vocal narrative on the song "Norman Bates" by the British synthpop band Landscape
Landscape (band)
Landscape is a British band, best known for the 1981 hits, "Einstein A Go-Go" and "Norman Bates". Formed in 1974, they toured constantly during the mid- to late-1970s, playing rock, punk and jazz venues and releasing two instrumental EPs on their own Event Horizon label...
.
Bishop continued to act on film, TV and radio, usually in British and European
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
productions, and was a frequent guest at science fiction conventions. Bishop and fellow Anderson-actor Shane Rimmer
Shane Rimmer
Shane Rimmer is a Canadian actor and voice actor, probably best known as the voice of Scott Tracy in Thunderbirds.He has mostly performed in supporting roles, frequently in films and television series filmed in the United Kingdom, having relocated to England in the late 1950s, initially performing...
(another American actor who often worked in the UK) often joked about how often their professional paths crossed and termed themselves "Rent-a yank". They appeared together as NASA operatives in the opening of You Only Live Twice
You Only Live Twice (film)
You Only Live Twice is the fifth spy film in the James Bond series, and the fifth to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film's screenplay was written by Roald Dahl, and loosely based on Ian Fleming's 1964 novel of the same name...
and as USN sailors in The Bedford Incident
The Bedford Incident
The Bedford Incident is a 1965 British-American Cold War film starring Richard Widmark and Sidney Poitier, and co-produced by Richard Widmark. The cast also features James MacArthur, Martin Balsam, Wally Cox and Eric Portman, as well as early appearances by Donald Sutherland and Ed Bishop...
. In 1989, Bishop was reunited with Rimmer and another Anderson actor, Matt Zimmerman, in the BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's A Study In Scarlet
A Study in Scarlet
A Study in Scarlet is a detective mystery novel written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, introducing his new character of Sherlock Holmes, who later became one of the most famous literary detective characters. He wrote the story in 1886, and it was published the next year...
. Bishop and Rimmer also toured together in theatre shows including Death of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman is a 1949 play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. It was the recipient of the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play. Premiered at the Morosco Theatre in February 1949, the original production ran for a total of 742 performances.-Plot :Willy Loman...
in the 1990s and also appeared in the BBC drama/documentary Hiroshima (2005), one of Bishop's last TV projects.
In 2000, Bishop briefly reprised the role of Captain Blue in a trailer for the new Captain Scarlet series
Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet
Gerry Anderson's New Captain Scarlet is a United Kingdom-produced computer-generated imagery action-adventure TV series which debuted in February 2005 as part of the Ministry of Mayhem on ITV....
. He did not, however, reprise the role for the actual series, which would not debut until five years later.
In 2002, Bishop recorded a commentary for the DVD release of UFO. In 2003, he performed in the Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
audio drama, Full Fathom Five
Full Fathom Five (Doctor Who audio)
Full Fathom Five is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The Doctor Who Unbound dramas pose a series of "What if...?" questions.-Plot:What if.....
, produced by Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...
.
Personal life
He was also politically active, participating in the March 2004 British protest against the Iraq war. Bishop had already showed his disapproval of the military-industrial complexMilitary-industrial complex
Military–industrial complex , or Military–industrial-congressional complex is a concept commonly used to refer to policy and monetary relationships between legislators, national armed forces, and the industrial sector that supports them...
some years earlier, in a notable act of political theatre
Political theatre
In the history of theatre, there is long tradition of performances addressing issues of current events and central to society itself, encouraging consciousness and social change. The political satire performed by the comic poets at the theatres, had considerable influence on public opinion in the...
: in 1993 he gatecrashed an arms-trade fair held in Aldershot
Aldershot
Aldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about southwest of London. The town is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council...
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
whilst dressed to resemble Augusto Pinochet
Augusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, more commonly known as Augusto Pinochet , was a Chilean army general and dictator who assumed power in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973...
. During the Aldershot protest he met photographer Jane Skinner, who later became his third wife. His widow requested that instead of sending flowers to Bishop's funeral, donations should instead be made to the Campaign Against the Arms Trade.
- Jane Thwaites, 1955; (divorceDivorceDivorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
d) - Hilary Preen, 1962; 4 children - a son and 3 daughters (divorced 1996)
- Jane Skinner, 2001 (widowWidowA widow is a woman whose spouse has died, while a widower is a man whose spouse has died. The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed widowhood or occasionally viduity. The adjective form is widowed...
)
Bishop died five days after the death of one of his UFO co-stars, Michael Billington
Michael Billington (actor)
Michael Billington was a popular British film and television actor....
. Bishop succumbed to a chest infection
Chest infection
Chest infection may refer to:*Upper respiratory tract infection*Lower respiratory tract infection*Bronchitis*Pneumonia*Pleurisy...
contracted while undergoing treatment for an undisclosed blood disease. He is buried in the churchyard of the Parish Church of Saint Lawrence in Napton, Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
. His grey sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
tombstone has a peace symbol
Peace symbol
A number of peace symbols have been used in various cultures and contexts, one of the most ancient being the olive branch. The dove and olive branch was used by early Christians and was later adopted as a secular symbol. It was popularised by Pablo Picasso in 1949 and became widely used in the...
prominently engraved on it. Its design is very similar to the one situated two metres on the right, which marks the grave of his son Daniel (16 May 1967 - 18 January 1988), who was killed in a car accident in Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
.
Bishop's epitaph
Epitaph
An epitaph is a short text honoring a deceased person, strictly speaking that is inscribed on their tombstone or plaque, but also used figuratively. Some are specified by the dead person beforehand, others chosen by those responsible for the burial...
reads: From This Valley They Say You Are Going. We Shall Miss Your Bright Eyes And Your Smile.
His life and work was honoured at the British Academy Television Awards
British Academy Television Awards
The British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . They have been awarded annually since 1954, and are analogous to the Emmy Awards in the United States.-Background:...
in May 2006. He is survived by his widow and three daughters from his second marriage: Georgina, Jessica and Serina.