Richard Leech
Encyclopedia
Richard Leech born Richard Leeper McClelland, was an accomplished actor.
Richard Leeper McClelland was born in Dublin, Ireland
, son of Isabella Frances (Leeper) and Herbert Saunderson McClelland, a lawyer. He was educated at Haileybury
and Trinity College, Dublin
. He qualified as a doctor
in 1945 before building a successful career as an actor on film
and television
.
He married twice, with Helen Hyslop Uttley and Diane Pearson
, and had two children: Sarah-Jane McClelland and Eliza McClelland.
His numerous film credits include The Dam Busters
(1955) (playing Dinghy Young
), Night of the Demon
(1957), Yangtse Incident: The Story of HMS Amethyst
(1957), Ice-Cold in Alex
(1958), Tunes of Glory
(1960), Young Winston
(1972), Gandhi
(1982) and the acclaimed The Shooting Party
(1985).
On television Richard Leech appeared in Dickens of London
, The Barchester Chronicles
, Smiley's People
, three episodes of The Avengers
in different roles, Redcap
, Danger Man
, The New Avengers, The Duchess of Duke Street
, and starred in a Doctor Who
story called The Sun Makers
.
Richard Leeper McClelland was born in Dublin, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, son of Isabella Frances (Leeper) and Herbert Saunderson McClelland, a lawyer. He was educated at Haileybury
Haileybury and Imperial Service College
Haileybury and Imperial Service College, , is a prestigious British independent school founded in 1862. The school is located at Hertford Heath, near Hertford, from central London, on of parkland occupied until 1858 by the East India College...
and Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
. He qualified as a doctor
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
in 1945 before building a successful career as an actor on film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
.
He married twice, with Helen Hyslop Uttley and Diane Pearson
Diane Pearson
Diane Pearson is a British book editor and also writer of romance novels, who has been translated into several languages....
, and had two children: Sarah-Jane McClelland and Eliza McClelland.
His numerous film credits include The Dam Busters
The Dam Busters (film)
The Dam Busters is a 1955 British Second World War war film starring Michael Redgrave and Richard Todd and directed by Michael Anderson. The film recreates the true story of Operation Chastise when in 1943 the RAF's 617 Squadron attacked the Möhne, Eder and Sorpe dams in Germany with Wallis's...
(1955) (playing Dinghy Young
Dinghy Young
Squadron Leader Henry Melvin "Dinghy" Young, DFC & Bar was a Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve Bomber Command pilot.Young was born in London to Henry George Melvin Young, a British solicitor, and Fannie Rowan Young...
), Night of the Demon
Night of the Demon
Night of the Demon is a 1957 British horror film directed by Jacques Tourneur, starring Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins and Niall MacGinnis. An adaptation of the M. R...
(1957), Yangtse Incident: The Story of HMS Amethyst
Yangtse Incident (1957 film)
Yangtse Incident: The Story of HMS Amethyst is a 1957 British war film that tells the story of the British frigate HMS Amethyst caught up in the Chinese Civil War....
(1957), Ice-Cold in Alex
Ice-Cold in Alex
Ice-Cold in Alex is a British film based on the novel of the same name by British author Christopher Landon. Directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring John Mills, the film was a prizewinner at the 8th Berlin International Film Festival...
(1958), Tunes of Glory
Tunes of Glory
Tunes of Glory is a 1960 British film directed by Ronald Neame, based on the novel and screenplay by James Kennaway. The film is a "dark psychological drama" centring on events in a Scottish Highland regimental barracks in the period following World War II...
(1960), Young Winston
Young Winston
Young Winston is a 1972 British film based on the early years of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.The film was based on the book My Early Life: A Roving Commission by Winston Churchill. The first part of the film covers Churchill's unhappy schooldays, up to the death of his father...
(1972), Gandhi
Gandhi (film)
Gandhi is a 1982 biographical film based on the life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who led the nonviolent resistance movement against British colonial rule in India during the first half of the 20th century. The film was directed by Richard Attenborough and stars Ben Kingsley as Gandhi. They both...
(1982) and the acclaimed The Shooting Party
The Shooting Party
The Shooting Party is a 1985 film directed by Alan Bridges and based on the book of the same name by Isabel Colegate. The film is set in 1913 and shows the way of life of English aristocrats, gathered for pheasant shooting and general self-indulgence. Their way of life is contrasted with the...
(1985).
On television Richard Leech appeared in Dickens of London
Dickens of London
Dickens of London is a 1976 television miniseries from Yorkshire Television based on the life of English novelist Charles Dickens. Both Dickens and his father John were played by British actor Roy Dotrice. The series was written by Wolf Mankowitz and Marc Miller...
, The Barchester Chronicles
The Barchester Chronicles
The Barchester Chronicles is a 1982 British television serial produced by the BBC. It is an adaptation of Anthony Trollope's first two Barchester novels, The Warden and Barchester Towers, and was directed by David Giles...
, Smiley's People
Smiley's People
Smiley's People is a spy novel by John le Carré, published in 1979. Featuring British master-spy George Smiley, it is the third and final novel of the "Karla Trilogy", following Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and The Honourable Schoolboy...
, three episodes of The Avengers
The Avengers (TV series)
The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...
in different roles, Redcap
Redcap (TV series)
Redcap is a British television series produced by ABC Weekend Television and broadcast on the ITV network.It starred John Thaw as Sergeant John Mann, a member of the Special Investigation Branch of the Royal Military Police and ran for two series and 26 episodes between 1964 and 1966, being about...
, Danger Man
Danger Man
Danger Man is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again between 1964 and 1968. The series featured Patrick McGoohan as secret agent John Drake. Ralph Smart created the program and wrote many of the scripts...
, The New Avengers, The Duchess of Duke Street
The Duchess of Duke Street
The Duchess Of Duke Street is a BBC television drama series set in London between 1900 and 1935. It was created by John Hawkesworth, the former producer of the highly successful ITV period drama Upstairs, Downstairs...
, and starred in a 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...
story called The Sun Makers
The Sun Makers
-Cast notes:*Michael Keating also appeared in the audio play The Twilight Kingdom as Major Koth and in Year of the Pig as Inspector Chardalot...
.
Selected filmography
- Lease of LifeLease of LifeLease of Life is a 1954 British film drama made by Ealing Studios and directed by Charles Frend. The film was designed as a star-vehicle for Robert Donat, representing his return to the screen after an absence of over three years during which he had been battling the chronic asthma which plagued...
(1954) - Children GaloreChildren GaloreChildren Galore is a 1955 comedy film directed by Terence Fisher. It stars Eddie Byrne and June Thorburn.-Cast:* Eddie Byrne as Zacky Jones* June Thorburn as Milly Ark* Betty Ann Davies as Mrs. Ark* Richard Leech as Harry Bunnion...
(1955) - The Dam BustersThe Dam Busters (film)The Dam Busters is a 1955 British Second World War war film starring Michael Redgrave and Richard Todd and directed by Michael Anderson. The film recreates the true story of Operation Chastise when in 1943 the RAF's 617 Squadron attacked the Möhne, Eder and Sorpe dams in Germany with Wallis's...
(1955) - The Feminine TouchThe Feminine Touch (1956 film)The Feminine Touch is a 1956 British drama film directed by Pat Jackson and starring George Baker, Belinda Lee and Delphi Lawrence. It is based on the novel A Lamp Is Heavy by Sheila Mackay Russell...
(1956) - It's Never Too LateIt's Never Too Late (1956 film)It's Never Too Late is a 1956 British comedy film directed by Michael McCarthy and starring Phyllis Calvert, Patrick Barr, Susan Stephen and Guy Rolfe...
(1956) - The Long ArmThe Long Arm (film)The Long Arm is a 1956 British crime film starring Jack Hawkins, directed by Charles Frend and produced by Michael Balcon. In the US it's known as The Third Key.-Plot:...
(1956) - The Birthday PresentThe Birthday PresentThe Birthday Present is a 1957 British drama film directed by Pat Jackson. It stars Tony Britton, a top toy salesmen returning from a business trip to Germany with a watch hidden inside a toy, intended as a birthday present for his wife Sylvia Syms. He is caught by customs, arrested, and sentenced...
(1957) - Yangtse Incident: The Story of HMS AmethystYangtse Incident (1957 film)Yangtse Incident: The Story of HMS Amethyst is a 1957 British war film that tells the story of the British frigate HMS Amethyst caught up in the Chinese Civil War....
(1957) - The Good CompanionsThe Good Companions (1957 film)The Good Companions is a 1957 British musical film directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Eric Portman. It is based on the novel of the same name and is a remake of the 1933 film version.-Cast:* Eric Portman - Jess Oakroyd* Celia Johnson - Miss Trant...
(1957) - These Dangerous YearsThese Dangerous YearsThese Dangerous Years is a 1957 British comedy musical film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring George Baker, Frankie Vaughan, Carole Lesley, Thora Hird, Kenneth Cope, David Lodge and John Le Mesurier....
(1957) - Night of the DemonNight of the DemonNight of the Demon is a 1957 British horror film directed by Jacques Tourneur, starring Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins and Niall MacGinnis. An adaptation of the M. R...
(1957) - The MoonrakerThe MoonrakerThe Moonraker is a 1958 British historical drama film set during the English Civil War. It was directed by David MacDonald and starred George Baker, Sylvia Sims, Marius Goring, Gary Raymond, Peter Arne, John Le Mesurier and Patrick Troughton....
(1958) - The Wind Cannot ReadThe Wind Cannot ReadThe Wind Cannot Read is a 1958 British drama film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Dirk Bogarde, Yoko Tani, Ronald Lewis and John Fraser...
(1958) - Ice-Cold in AlexIce-Cold in AlexIce-Cold in Alex is a British film based on the novel of the same name by British author Christopher Landon. Directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring John Mills, the film was a prizewinner at the 8th Berlin International Film Festival...
(1958)
- A Night to Remember (1958)
- Tunes of GloryTunes of GloryTunes of Glory is a 1960 British film directed by Ronald Neame, based on the novel and screenplay by James Kennaway. The film is a "dark psychological drama" centring on events in a Scottish Highland regimental barracks in the period following World War II...
(1960) - The Terror of the TongsThe Terror of the TongsThe Terror of the Tongs is a Hammer Film starring Geoffrey Toone, Christopher Lee and Yvonne Monlaur.The film is a quasi-remake of Hammer's Stranglers of Bombay from 1959...
(1961) - I Thank a FoolI Thank a FoolI Thank a Fool is a 1962 British crime film made by Eaton and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by Robert Stevens and produced by Anatole de Grunwald from a screenplay by Karl Tunberg based on the novel by Audrey Erskine Lindop...
(1962) - The Wild and the WillingThe Wild and the WillingThe Wild and the Willing is a 1962 British romantic drama film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Virginia Maskell, Paul Rogers, Ian McShane, Samantha Eggar and John Hurt. It marked the film debut of McShane, who later became famous for his television roles in Lovejoy and Deadwood...
(1962) - The War LoverThe War LoverThe War Lover is a 1962 British black-and-white war film directed by Philip Leacock and written by Howard Koch loosely based on the 1959 novel, The War Lover by John Hersey, altering the names of characters and events but retaining its basic framework...
(1962) - The CracksmanThe CracksmanThe Cracksman is a 1963 British comedy film directed by Peter Graham Scott.-Plot:Charlie Drake plays an honest locksmith whose problem is that he cannot resist the challenge of a lock. He gets smoothtalked into a safecracking scheme by a couple of ruthless gangsters. He is duped by a debonair con...
(1963) - Life at the TopLife at the Top (film)Life at the Top is a 1965 drama film made by Romulus Films and released by Columbia Pictures. It is a sequel to Room at the Top. It was directed by Ted Kotcheff and produced by James Woolf with William Kirby as associate producer. The screenplay was by Mordecai Richler, based on the novel Life at...
(1965) - 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) - Young WinstonYoung WinstonYoung Winston is a 1972 British film based on the early years of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.The film was based on the book My Early Life: A Roving Commission by Winston Churchill. The first part of the film covers Churchill's unhappy schooldays, up to the death of his father...
(1972) - GandhiGandhi (film)Gandhi is a 1982 biographical film based on the life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who led the nonviolent resistance movement against British colonial rule in India during the first half of the 20th century. The film was directed by Richard Attenborough and stars Ben Kingsley as Gandhi. They both...
(1982) - ChampionsChampions (1983 film)Champions is a 1983 film based on the true story of jockey Bob Champion. It is directed by John Irvin, written by Evan Jones, and stars John Hurt, Edward Woodward and Jan Francis....
(1983) - The Shooting PartyThe Shooting PartyThe Shooting Party is a 1985 film directed by Alan Bridges and based on the book of the same name by Isabel Colegate. The film is set in 1913 and shows the way of life of English aristocrats, gathered for pheasant shooting and general self-indulgence. Their way of life is contrasted with the...
(1985) - A Handful of DustA Handful of Dust (film)A Handful of Dust is a 1988 film directed by Charles Sturridge. It stars James Wilby and Kristin Scott Thomas.-Cast:*James Wilby as Tony Last*Kristin Scott Thomas as Brenda Last*Rupert Graves as John Beaver*Anjelica Huston as Mrs. Rattery...
(1988)