Peter Jeffrey
Encyclopedia
Peter Jeffrey was a British actor with many roles in television and film.
Jeffrey was born in Bristol
, the son of Florence Alice (née
Weight) and Arthur Winfred Gilbert Jeffrey. He was educated at Harrow School
and Pembroke College, Cambridge
but had no formal training as an actor. After many years on stage with the Bristol Old Vic
and the Royal Shakespeare Company
, he became a very familiar face to British television viewers. Numerous television roles include his 1978 guest appearance in the BBC
science fiction
television series Doctor Who
as Count Grendel in the serial The Androids of Tara
and his 1967 appearance as the Colony Pilot in The Macra Terror
. It is reputed he had been offered the role of the lead character in the show by Innes Lloyd
in 1966, but turned it down; Patrick Troughton
was cast instead. In the BBC
serial Elizabeth R
, he played King Philip II of Spain
. He also appeared in Porridge
, Rising Damp
, Nanny
, Minder
, Yes Minister
and many others.
Jeffrey died on 25 December 1999 from prostate cancer
.
Jeffrey was born in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, the son of Florence Alice (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Weight) and Arthur Winfred Gilbert Jeffrey. He was educated at Harrow School
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
and Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college has over seven hundred students and fellows, and is the third oldest college of the university. Physically, it is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from almost every century since its...
but had no formal training as an actor. After many years on stage with the Bristol Old Vic
Bristol Old Vic
The Bristol Old Vic is a theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, King Street, in Bristol, England. The theatre complex includes the 1766 Theatre Royal, which claims to be the oldest continually-operating theatre in England, along with a 1970s studio theatre , offices and backstage facilities...
and the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
, he became a very familiar face to British television viewers. Numerous television roles include his 1978 guest appearance in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
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...
television series 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...
as Count Grendel in the serial The Androids of Tara
The Androids of Tara
The Androids of Tara is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 25 November to 16 December 1978...
and his 1967 appearance as the Colony Pilot in The Macra Terror
The Macra Terror
The Macra Terror is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 11 March to 1 April 1967...
. It is reputed he had been offered the role of the lead character in the show by Innes Lloyd
Innes Lloyd
Innes Lloyd was a British television producer of BBC drama producers.-Doctor Who:...
in 1966, but turned it down; Patrick Troughton
Patrick Troughton
Patrick George Troughton was an English actor most widely known for his roles in fantasy, science fiction and horror films, particularly in his role as the second incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running British science-fiction television series Doctor Who, which he played from 1966 to 1969,...
was cast instead. In the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
serial Elizabeth R
Elizabeth R
Elizabeth R is a BBC television drama serial of six 85-minute plays starring Glenda Jackson in the title role. It was first broadcast on BBC2 from February to March 1971, through the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Australia and broadcast in America on PBS's Masterpiece Theatre.- Episodes...
, he played King Philip II of Spain
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
. He also appeared in Porridge
Porridge (TV series)
Porridge is a British situation comedy broadcast on BBC1 from 1974 to 1977, running for three series, two Christmas specials and a feature film. Written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, it stars Ronnie Barker and Richard Beckinsale as two inmates at the fictional HMP Slade in Cumberland...
, Rising Damp
Rising Damp
Rising Damp is a television sitcom produced by Yorkshire Television for ITV, first broadcast from 1974 to 1978. It was adapted for television by Eric Chappell from his well-received 1971 stage play, The Banana Box The series was the highest-ranking ITV sitcom on the 100 Best Sitcoms poll run in...
, Nanny
Nanny (TV series)
Nanny is a BBC television series that ran between 1981 and 1983. In this historical drama, Wendy Craig stars as nanny Barbara Gray, caring for children in 1930s England. When Barbara Gray leaves the divorce court she has no money, no job just an iron will and a love for children. The third series...
, Minder
Minder (TV series)
Minder is a British comedy-drama about the London criminal underworld. Initially produced by Verity Lambert, it was made by Euston Films, a subsidiary of Thames Television and shown on ITV...
, 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...
and many others.
Jeffrey died on 25 December 1999 from prostate cancer
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...
.
Filmography
- Becket (1964)
- The Early BirdThe Early BirdThe Early Bird is a 1965 British comedy film directed by Robert Asher and starring Norman Wisdom. It also featured Edward Chapman, Bryan Pringle, Richard Vernon, John Le Mesurier and Jerry Desmonde. It was the first Norman Wisdom film to be shot in colour...
(1965) - That Riviera TouchThat Riviera TouchThat Riviera Touch was the second feature-length film made by the comedy duo Morecambe and Wise.- Plot :After Eric Simpson nearly gives the Queen a parking ticket, he and Ernest Clark decide to take a holiday in the South of France...
(1966) - The Fighting Prince of DonegalThe Fighting Prince of DonegalThe Fighting Prince of Donegal is a 1966 Disney adventure film starring Peter McEnery and Susan Hampshire, based on the novel Red Hugh: Prince of Donegal by Robert T. Reilly. It was released through Buena Vista Distribution Company.-Plot:...
(1966) - The FixerThe Fixer (film)The Fixer is a 1968 British drama film based on the 1966 semi-biographical novel of the same name, written by Bernard Malamud.-Plot:Like the book, the film's main character Yakov Bok, a Jew living in the Russian Empire, who was unjustly imprisoned based on prejudice and the charge of having...
(1968) - If.... (1968)
- Ring of Bright WaterRing of Bright WaterRing of Bright Water is a British feature film starring Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna in a story about a Londoner and an otter living on the Scottish coast. The film was based upon a 1960 autobiographical book of the same name by Gavin Maxwell, featuring the stars of Born Free, another movie...
(1969) - Anne of the Thousand DaysAnne of the Thousand DaysAnne of the Thousand Days is a 1969 costume drama made by Hal Wallis Productions and distributed by Universal Pictures. It was directed by Charles Jarrott and produced by Hal B. Wallis. The film tells the story of Anne Boleyn...
(1969) - Goodbye GeminiGoodbye GeminiGoodbye Gemini is a 1970 thriller directed by Alan Gibson from the novel Ask Agamemnon by Jenni Hall.-Plot:Jacki and Julian Dewar, a pair of fraternal twins, arrive via bus to London; they are home from university on Spring break, and their father is in Mexico on business...
(1970) - Countess DraculaCountess DraculaCountess Dracula is a 1971 Hammer horror film based on the legends surrounding the "Blood Countess" Elizabeth Báthory. It is in many ways atypical of Hammer's canon, attempting to broaden Hammer's output from Dracula and Frankenstein sequels....
(1971) - The Abominable Dr. PhibesThe Abominable Dr. PhibesThe Abominable Dr. Phibes is a 1971 horror film starring Vincent Price. Its art deco sets, dark humor and performance by Price has made the film and its sequel Dr. Phibes Rises Again classics.-Plot:...
(1971) - The HorsemenThe Horsemen (1971 film)The Horsemen is a 1971 film starring Omar Sharif, directed by John Frankenheimer; screenplay by Dalton Trumbo. Based on a novel by French writer Joseph Kessel, Les Cavaliers shows Afghanistan and its people the way they were before the wars that wracked the country, particularly their love for...
(1971) - KidnappedKidnapped (1971 film)Kidnapped is a 1971 British adventure film directed by Delbert Mann and starring Michael Caine and Trevor Howard, based on the novel Kidnapped and the first half of the sequel Catriona by Robert Louis Stevenson.-Plot of the film:...
(1971) - What Became of Jack and Jill? (1972)
- Dr. Phibes Rises AgainDr. Phibes Rises AgainDr. Phibes Rises Again! is a sequel to The Abominable Dr. Phibes. It was directed by Robert Fuest, and stars Vincent Price as Dr. Anton Phibes.-Plot:...
(1972) - O Lucky Man!O Lucky Man!O Lucky Man! is a 1973 British comedy-drama fantasy film, intended as an allegory on life in a capitalist society. Directed by Lindsay Anderson, it stars Malcolm McDowell as Mick Travis, whom McDowell had first played as a disaffected public schoolboy in his first film performance in Anderson's...
(1973) - Deadly StrangersDeadly StrangersDeadly Strangers is a 1974 film directed by Sidney Hayers and starring Hayley Mills , Simon Ward and Sterling Hayden-Plot:A lunatic is on the loose as a salesman...
(1974) - The Odessa FileThe ODESSA File (film)The Odessa File is a 1974 film adaptation of the thriller novel by Frederick Forsyth, about a struggle between a young German reporter and the ODESSA, an organization for ex-Nazis. The film stars Jon Voight and was directed by Ronald Neame, with a score by Andrew Lloyd Webber.- Plot :The plot opens...
(1974) - The Return of the Pink PantherThe Return of the Pink PantherThe Return of the Pink Panther is the fourth film in the Pink Panther series, released in 1975. The film stars Peter Sellers in the role of Inspector Clouseau in his third Panther appearance, after the original The Pink Panther and A Shot in the Dark.Herbert Lom also reprises his role as Chief...
(1975) - Midnight ExpressMidnight Express (film)Released on October 6, 1978, the soundtrack to Midnight Express was composed by Italian synth-pioneer Giorgio Moroder. The score won the Academy Award for Best Original Score of 1978.Side A:#Chase – Giorgio Moroder...
(1978) - Britannia HospitalBritannia HospitalBritannia Hospital is a 1982 black comedy film by British director Lindsay Anderson which targets the National Health Service and contemporary British society...
(1982) - The Adventures of Baron MunchausenThe Adventures of Baron MunchausenThe Adventures of Baron Munchausen is a 1988 British adventure comedy film directed by Terry Gilliam, starring John Neville, Sarah Polley, Eric Idle, Jonathan Pryce, Oliver Reed, Uma Thurman, and Robin Williams.-Plot:...
(1988).