Years active 1955-2005 Name William Lucas | Role Film actor | |
Born 14 April 1925 ( 1925-04-14 ) Manchester, Lancashire, England Movies and TV shows The Adventures of Black B, The New Adventures of Black B, Tower of Evil, X the Unknown, Night of the Big Heat Similar People Jim O'Connolly, Leslie Norman, Sidney Hayers, John Gilling, Terence Fisher |
William Thomas Clucas (14 April 1925 – 8 July 2016), better known as William Lucas, was an English film, theatre, radio and television actor.
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Early years
Lucas was born in Manchester, England. Before he became an actor, Lucas was a commercial traveller, laundry hand, cook, farm labourer, and long-distance lorry driver and served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War.
Stage
Lucas had dramatic training at the Northern Theatre School, having earned a scholarship there. He went from the school to being an assistant stage manager at the Chesterfield Civic Theatre in the late 1940s. Lucas had begun his stage career by the summer of 1950 in Chesterfield and was still active in the theatre in late 1990 in Run for Your Wife.
Film
Lucas' first film acting role was in the film Portrait of Alison (1955), and he later appeared in many Hammer Film Productions such as The Shadow of the Cat.
Television
Lucas is probably best known for his role in The Adventures of Black Beauty (1972–74) as Dr. James Gordon, and in the BBC series Sherlock Holmes as Inspector Lestrade in the episode "A Study in Scarlet" (1968). He has also appeared in The Bill, Doctor Who, Last of the Summer Wine, and long-running ITV soap opera Coronation Street.
Personal life
In 1954, Lucas married Doreen Moorehouse (whose stage name was Rowena Ingram), and they had two children. After they divorced, he married Camilla Idris-Jones.
Death
Lucas died in England on 8 July 2016.