STRATFORD JOHNSBest remembered for his starring role asDetective Inspector Charlie Barlow in the cult BBC TV police series Z Cars,Stratford Johns was an influential British actor who died on 29 January. 2002,at the age of 77.He also fappeared in the classic Ealingcomedy film The Ladykillers, as well as TV police series Softly, Softly - which was a Z Cars sequel - TaskForce and Barlow At Large.Michael Whitehall, Johns’ agent,described him as “an extraordinary television actor” and “one of the biggeststars in television in his day.”Alan Edgar Stratford Johns was born inSouth Africa on 22 September, 1925. Educated at St Charles School in Natal, heserved as a deckhand with the South African Navy during World War Two andafterwards became an accountant.He also began acting in amateur productionsin his spare time and, on being advised to go to England, following some successin Noel Coward’s Hay Fever, bought a one-way ticket in 1948.There, he spent four years in repertory atSouthend-on-Sea, before going on to play in the variety halls and tour with thecomedienne Iris Sadler. However, it was not until 1955 with a minor role in theclassic Ealing comedy The Ladykillers that Mr Johns received his big break.Guest slots on cult television shows suchas The Avengers and Department S followed, while, in an unconscioussuggestion of his future direction, he was cast as a police sergeant in theRoyal Court’s Live Like Pigs.In 1962 he won what was to become his mostfamous role as the acerbic Barlow in Z Cars. Both the show and Barlow were aninstant hit and he soon became one of the most familiar faces on television.With regular viewing figures of almost 16million, the show ran on and off for more than 15 years and finally ended in 1978.Later years also saw him venture intoLondon’s West End, while cinema heralded major roles in two Ken Russell films.Four years after his final TV appearance in ITV’s Heartbeat, he died inSuffolk. He had reportedly been in poorhealth for some time and had suffered a number of minor strokes.His voice was heard in a number oftelevision commercials, perhaps most notably as the cartoon polar bear for Fox’s GlacierMints.In 1966 he published Gumphlumph, amuch-loved science fiction comedy for children which he later read on thetelevision show Jackanory.During his early career in repertory, heworked for a brief time as his theatrical agent’s bookkeeper. Whenever clientsrang, he would reportedly say: “We’ve got this new young fellow on the bookswho is very good,” referring, of course, to himself.
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