John D. Collins
Encyclopedia
John D. Collins is an English
actor, perhaps best known for appearing in the BBC sitcom 'Allo 'Allo!
in which he played Flt. Lt. Fairfax, a stranded British airman in occupied France during World War II
. He is the actor to have been cast most frequently in writer/producer David Croft's hit sitcoms: a total of six different series and ten characters.
He won the Ivor Novello
and Robert Donat
Scholarships to RADA
. After graduating he went on to run the Summer Theatre at Frinton-on-Sea
for three years and then went to work in the first season of The New Nottingham Playhouse
.
In his early years he made a number of films, including some for Hammer Films
, Dracula Has Risen from the Grave
and The Ghoul
, and also many plays for Granada Television
. As a vicar in Coronation Street
, he failed to marry Albert Tatlock
.
For ten years he worked with Spike Milligan
as his Assistant Director and as an actor, in Son of Oblomov and The Bed-Sitting Room
. He also appeared with Milligan in his ‘Q’ series on television.
He became a regular cast member of two television series – A Family At War
and also with Robert Lindsay
in Get Some In!
. He first worked for David Croft in the film version of Dad's Army
in 1971, and subsequently was cast in episodes of It Ain't Half Hot Mum
, Hi-de-Hi!
, Are You Being Served?
and Oh, Doctor Beeching!
, as well his regular role in 'Allo 'Allo!
and the recurring character of Jerry in You Rang, M'Lord?
.
Other TV work includes The Brittas Empire
, On the Up
, Birds of a Feather
, Trial & Retribution
, Family Affairs
, Peak Practice
, Ain’t Misbehavin’
, Harry’s Mad
, Wycliffe
, Mosley, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
, The Sweeney
, Secret Army, Citizen Smith
, Yes Minister
, the Doctor Who
serial Arc of Infinity
, Only Fools and Horses
, and Lovejoy
.
Other theatre credits includes the tour of When Did You Last See Your Trousers?, The Winslow Boy
, That’s Showbiz, Richard III
and the title role in King Lear
. He has also played the role of Mr. Paravicini in the record-breaking production of The Mousetrap
at St Martin's Theatre
, London, UK.
John has appeared in a number of pantomimes as Abanazer and as an ugly sister in Cinderella
.
He has narrated The Snowman
, Carnival of the Animals, Peter and the Wolf
and William Walton’s
Façade
and has also recorded a Shakespearean CD with the Gesualdo Consort. He has just played the voice of God in Noye's Fludde
by Benjamin Britten
and has been appearing regularly as Henry VIII
at the banquets in the Old Palace at Hatfield House
.
Collins made a guest-appearance in the British BBC Sictom Only Fools and Horses
, in the episode "Ashes to Ashes
", as a river policeman who informs Del and Rodney that they have to have river permission to empty ashes into a river (St. Katharine Docks).
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actor, perhaps best known for appearing in the BBC sitcom 'Allo 'Allo!
'Allo 'Allo!
'Allo 'Allo! is a British sitcom broadcast on BBC One from 1982 to 1992 comprising eighty-five episodes. It is a parody of another BBC programme, the wartime drama Secret Army, and was created by David Croft, who also wrote the theme music, and Jeremy Lloyd. Lloyd and Croft wrote the first 6...
in which he played Flt. Lt. Fairfax, a stranded British airman in occupied France during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He is the actor to have been cast most frequently in writer/producer David Croft's hit sitcoms: a total of six different series and ten characters.
He won the Ivor Novello
Ivor Novello
David Ivor Davies , better known as Ivor Novello, was a Welsh composer, singer and actor who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. Born into a musical family, his first successes were as a songwriter...
and Robert Donat
Robert Donat
Robert Donat was an English film and stage actor. He is best-known for his roles in Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps and Goodbye, Mr...
Scholarships to RADA
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
. After graduating he went on to run the Summer Theatre at Frinton-on-Sea
Frinton-on-Sea
Frinton-on-Sea is a small seaside town in the Tendring District of Essex, England. It is part of the Parish of Frinton and Walton.-History:...
for three years and then went to work in the first season of The New Nottingham Playhouse
Nottingham Playhouse
The Nottingham Playhouse is a theatre in Nottingham, England. It was first established as a repertory theatre in the 1950s when it operated from a former cinema. Directors during this period included Val May and Frank Dunlop.-The building:...
.
In his early years he made a number of films, including some for Hammer Films
Hammer Film Productions
Hammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic "Hammer Horror" films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers, film noir and comedies and in later...
, Dracula Has Risen from the Grave
Dracula Has Risen from the Grave
Dracula Has Risen from the Grave is a 1968 British horror film directed by Freddie Francis for Hammer Films. It stars Christopher Lee as Count Dracula, with support from Rupert Davies, Veronica Carlson, Barry Andrews, Barbara Ewing, Ewan Hooper and Michael Ripper.- Plot :The film opens in a...
and The Ghoul
The Ghoul (1975 film)
The Ghoul is a 1975 British horror film starring Peter Cushing, Veronica Carlson and John Hurt.-Plot:The Ghoul tells the story of a group of upper class people in 1920s England who take part in an automobile race to Land's End, but due to accidents along the way, all end up on a rural estate owned...
, and also many plays for Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
. As a vicar in Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
, he failed to marry Albert Tatlock
Albert Tatlock
Albert Tatlock is a fictional character on the British television soap opera Coronation Street. Albert was played by actor Jack Howarth from 1960 to 1984...
.
For ten years he worked with Spike Milligan
Spike Milligan
Terence Alan Patrick Seán "Spike" Milligan Hon. KBE was a comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright, soldier and actor. His early life was spent in India, where he was born, but the majority of his working life was spent in the United Kingdom. He became an Irish citizen in 1962 after the...
as his Assistant Director and as an actor, in Son of Oblomov and The Bed-Sitting Room
The Bed-Sitting Room (film)
The Bed-Sitting Room is a 1969 British comedy film directed by Richard Lester and based on the play of the same name. It was entered into the 19th Berlin International Film Festival.-Plot:...
. He also appeared with Milligan in his ‘Q’ series on television.
He became a regular cast member of two television series – A Family At War
A Family At War
A Family At War is a British drama series that aired on ITV from 1970 to 1972. It was created by John Finch and made by Granada Television for ITV. The director was David Giles....
and also with Robert Lindsay
Robert Lindsay (actor)
Robert Lindsay is an English actor who is best known for his television work, especially his roles of Wolfie Smith in Citizen Smith, Michael Murray in G.B.H., Captain Sir Edward Pellew in Hornblower and Ben Harper in My Family which has been on television screens since 2000.-Early life:Lindsay was...
in Get Some In!
Get Some In!
Get Some In! was a British television series about life in Royal Air Force National Service broadcast between 1975 and 1978 by Thames Television...
. He first worked for David Croft in the film version of Dad's Army
Dad's Army (film)
Dad's Army is a 1971 feature film based on the BBC television sitcom Dad's Army. Directed by Norman Cohen, it was filmed between series three and four and was based upon material from the early episodes of the television series...
in 1971, and subsequently was cast in episodes of It Ain't Half Hot Mum
It Ain't Half Hot Mum
It Ain't Half Hot Mum was a British sitcom about the adventures of a Royal Artillery Concert Party, broadcast on the BBC between 1974 and 1981, and written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, the creators of Dad's Army...
, Hi-de-Hi!
Hi-de-Hi!
Hi-de-Hi! is a British sitcom that aired on the BBC from 1980-1988. It was set in a holiday camp during the 1950s and 1960s and was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, who had written Dad's Army and It Ain't Half Hot Mum. The title was the phrase used to greet the campers and in early episodes...
, Are You Being Served?
Are You Being Served?
Are You Being Served? is a British sitcom broadcast from 1972 to 1985. It was set in the ladies' and gentlemen's clothing departments of Grace Brothers, a large, fictional London department store. It was written mainly by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft, with contributions by Michael Knowles and John...
and Oh, Doctor Beeching!
Oh, Doctor Beeching!
Oh, Doctor Beeching! is a British television sitcom written by David Croft and Richard Spendlove, which, after a broadcast pilot on 14 August 1995, ran for two series from 8 July 1996, with the last episode being broadcast on 28 September 1997...
, as well his regular role in 'Allo 'Allo!
'Allo 'Allo!
'Allo 'Allo! is a British sitcom broadcast on BBC One from 1982 to 1992 comprising eighty-five episodes. It is a parody of another BBC programme, the wartime drama Secret Army, and was created by David Croft, who also wrote the theme music, and Jeremy Lloyd. Lloyd and Croft wrote the first 6...
and the recurring character of Jerry in You Rang, M'Lord?
You Rang, M'Lord?
You Rang M'Lord? is a British television series written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, the creators of Dad's Army, It Ain't Half Hot Mum and Hi-de-Hi! It was broadcast between 1990 and 1993 on the BBC...
.
Other TV work includes The Brittas Empire
The Brittas Empire
The Brittas Empire is a British sitcom created and originally written by Richard Fegen and Andrew Norriss. Chris Barrie plays Gordon Brittas, the well-meaning but incompetent manager of Whitbury New Town Leisure Centre....
, On the Up
On the Up
On the Up was a British situation comedy written by Bob Larbey. It ran for three series, from 1990 to 1992.-Plot summary:Tony Carpenter is a self-made millionaire who turned his South London minicab firm into a successful chauffeur-driven car service...
, Birds of a Feather
Birds of a Feather
Birds of a Feather was a British sitcom that was broadcast on BBC1 from 1989 until 1998. Starring Pauline Quirke, Linda Robson and Lesley Joseph, it was created by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran, who also wrote some of the episodes along with many other writers.The first episode sees sisters...
, Trial & Retribution
Trial & Retribution
Trial & Retribution is a feature-length ITV police proceduraltelevision drama series that began in 1997. It was devised and written by Lynda La Plante as a follow-on from her successful television series Prime Suspect. Each episode of the Trial & Retribution series is broadcast over two nights. The...
, Family Affairs
Family Affairs
Family Affairs was a British soap opera broadcast on Five, from 1997 to 2005. It was the second programme to be broadcast on the channel on 30 March 1997, the channel's launch night...
, Peak Practice
Peak Practice
Peak Practice is a British drama series about a GP surgery in Cardale — a small fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District — and the doctors who worked there. It ran on ITV from 10 May 1993 to 30 January 2002 and was one of their most successful series at the time...
, Ain’t Misbehavin’
Ain't Misbehavin' (TV series)
Ain't Misbehavin' is a British sitcom that aired on BBC1 from 1994 to 1995. It stars Peter Davison and Nicola Pagett and was written by Roy Clarke, the writer of Last of the Summer Wine and Keeping Up Appearances.-Cast:...
, Harry’s Mad
Harry's Mad (TV series)
Harry's Mad is a children's television programme that was shown in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on CITV from 1993 to 1996. It is based upon a book written by Dick King-Smith.-Premise:...
, Wycliffe
Wycliffe (TV series)
Wycliffe is a British TV series, based on W. J. Burley's novels about Detective Superintendent Charles Wycliffe . It was produced by HTV and broadcast on the ITV Network, following a pilot episode on 7 August 1993, between 24 July 1994 and 5 July 1998. The series was filmed in Cornwall, with a...
, Mosley, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em was a BBC situation comedy, written by Raymond Allen and starring Michael Crawford and Michele Dotrice.The series followed the accident-prone Frank Spencer and his tolerant wife Betty through Frank's various attempts to hold down a job, which frequently end in...
, The Sweeney
The Sweeney
The Sweeney is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London...
, Secret Army, Citizen Smith
Citizen Smith
Citizen Smith is a British television sitcom. The show was written by John Sullivan, who later wrote Only Fools and Horses. The pilot was transmitted on 12 April 1977 in the Comedy Special series of one-off plays, and the series proper ran from 3 November 1977 to 31 December 1980.Citizen Smith...
, Yes Minister
Yes Minister
Yes Minister is a satirical British sitcom written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn that was first transmitted by BBC Television between 1980–1982 and 1984, split over three seven-episode series. The sequel, Yes, Prime Minister, ran from 1986 to 1988. In total there were 38 episodes—of which all but...
, 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...
serial Arc of Infinity
Arc of Infinity
Arc of Infinity is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts from 3 January to 12 January 1983...
, Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses is a British sitcom, created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom between 1981 and 1991, with sporadic Christmas specials until 2003...
, and Lovejoy
Lovejoy
Lovejoy is a TV series about the adventures of Lovejoy, a British antiques dealer and faker based in East Anglia, a less than scrupulous yet likeable rogue. The episodes were based on a series of picaresque novels by John Grant...
.
Other theatre credits includes the tour of When Did You Last See Your Trousers?, The Winslow Boy
The Winslow Boy
thumb|1st edition cover The Winslow Boy is an English play from 1946 by Terence Rattigan based on an actual incident in the Edwardian era, which took place at the Royal Naval College, Osborne.-Performance History:...
, That’s Showbiz, Richard III
Richard III (play)
Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified...
and the title role in King Lear
King Lear
King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
. He has also played the role of Mr. Paravicini in the record-breaking production of The Mousetrap
The Mousetrap
The Mousetrap is a murder mystery play by Agatha Christie. The Mousetrap opened in the West End of London in 1952, and has been running continuously since then. It has the longest initial run of any play in history, with over 24,500 performances so far. It is the longest running show of the modern...
at St Martin's Theatre
St Martin's Theatre
St Martin's Theatre is a West End theatre, located in West Street, near Charing Cross Road, in the London Borough of Camden. It was designed as one of a pair of theatres with the Ambassadors Theatre by W.G.R...
, London, UK.
John has appeared in a number of pantomimes as Abanazer and as an ugly sister in Cinderella
Cinderella
"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
.
He has narrated The Snowman
The Snowman
The Snowman is a children's book by English author Raymond Briggs, published in 1978. In 1982, this book was turned into a 26-minute animated movie by Dianne Jackson for the fledgling Channel 4. It was first shown on Channel 4 late on Christmas Eve in 1982 and was an immediate success. The film was...
, Carnival of the Animals, Peter and the Wolf
Peter and the Wolf
Peter and the Wolf , Op. 67, is a composition written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936 in the USSR. It is a children's story , spoken by a narrator accompanied by the orchestra....
and William Walton’s
William Walton
Sir William Turner Walton OM was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera...
Façade
Façade (poem)
Façade is a series of poems by Edith Sitwell, best known as part of Façade – An Entertainment in which the poems are recited over an instrumental accompaniment by William Walton. The poems and the music exist in several versions....
and has also recorded a Shakespearean CD with the Gesualdo Consort. He has just played the voice of God in Noye's Fludde
Noye's Fludde
Noye's Fludde is an early 15th century mystery play from the Chester Mystery Cycle. It was set to music by Benjamin Britten in 1957 based on an edition by Alfred W. Pollard...
by Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
and has been appearing regularly as Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
at the banquets in the Old Palace at Hatfield House
Hatfield House
Hatfield House is a country house set in a large park, the Great Park, on the eastern side of the town of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. The present Jacobean house was built in 1611 by Robert Cecil, First Earl of Salisbury and Chief Minister to King James I and has been the home of the Cecil...
.
Collins made a guest-appearance in the British BBC Sictom Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses is a British sitcom, created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom between 1981 and 1991, with sporadic Christmas specials until 2003...
, in the episode "Ashes to Ashes
Ashes to Ashes
-As a metaphor:* "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust", a phrase from the Anglican burial service, used sometimes to denote total finality. It is based on scriptural texts such as "Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return" , and "I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them...
", as a river policeman who informs Del and Rodney that they have to have river permission to empty ashes into a river (St. Katharine Docks).