Gerald Harper
Birth date15 February 1929
Birth placeBarnet, Middlesex, England
Death date2 July 2025 (aged 96)
EducationHaileybury
Alma materRADA
OccupationActor
Spouse
  • Jane Downs (m. 1957; ended 1975)
  • Carla Rabaiotti (m. 1976; ended 1983)

Gerald Harper (15 February 1929 – 2 July 2025) was an English actor, best known for his work on television, having played the title roles in Adam Adamant Lives! (1966–67) and Hadleigh (1969–76). He then returned to his main love, the theatre. His classical work includes playing on Broadway with the Old Vic company, playing Iago at the Bristol Old Vic and Benedick at the Chichester Festival Theatre. Other plays in London included Crucifer of Blood at the Haymarket Theatre, House Guest, A Personal Affair, Suddenly at Home and Baggage. He directed many plays, amongst them a production of Blithe Spirit in Hebrew at the Israeli National Theatre.

Early life

Harper was born in Barnet, Hertfordshire on 15 February 1929.[1][2] He originally wanted to be a doctor, but became interested in acting while still at school. He was educated at Haileybury. After two years of national service in the Royal Artillery as a second lieutenant, he decided to abandon his medicine course at Cambridge University and successfully auditioned for RADA.[3][4] He started in the London Arts Theatre followed by Liverpool Playhouse, before returning to London to perform in Charley's Aunt with Frankie Howerd.[5]

Career

Harper's film credits include The Admirable Crichton (1957), A Night to Remember (1958), The League of Gentlemen (1960), Tunes of Glory (1960), The Young Ones (1961), The Punch and Judy Man (1963), The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968) and The Lady Vanishes (1979).[6] Television work included The Sleeper, The Corsican Brothers and Gazette.[7]

He also had roles in Free as Air and Ross and toured in the United States with the Old Vic and Boeing-Boeing.[8][9] He toured the country in 2008 as the lead in Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None directed by Joe Harmston for producer Bill Kenwright.[10] He also played one of the barristers in The Baccarat Scandal at Chichester Festival Theatre which starred Keith Michell.[11]

Harper also presented radio programmes, including The Sunday Affair for Capital Radio in the 1970s.[12] He starred in the radio serialisation of Prudence by Jilly Cooper in 1979, alongside Felicity Kendall.[13] There was also a series of Saturday afternoon shows for BBC Radio 2 in the late 1980s and early 1990s, in which he played classic songs from the past and gave away bottles of champagne and chocolates.[5] His opening phrase, usually spoken over the introduction of the first song, was "Hello....I'm Gerald Harper. Welcome to my Saturday selection". The radio show was resurrected for Talksport between 2002 and 2003, and re-titled Champagne and Roses.[citation needed]

Personal life and death

Harper married actress Jane Downs in 1957. The marriage produced one child. The couple divorced in 1975. He married Carla Rabaiotti, a former Pan American air stewardess in 1976. The marriage produced one child. The couple divorced in 1983.[1]

In 2001, when he was in his early seventies, he began a relationship with 30-year-old actress Sarah Alexander; the relationship ended when she left him for actor Peter Serafinowicz in 2002.[14]

Harper died on 2 July 2025, at the age of 96, after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.[1][2]

Selected filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1955The Dam BustersMocking RAF Officeruncredited
1956Tiger in the SmokeDuds Morrison
1956Stars in Your EyesDicky
1956The Extra DayPolice Constable
1957The Admirable CrichtonErnest
1958A Night to Remember3rd Officer, SS Carpathia
1960The League of GentlemenCaptain Saunders
1960Tunes of GloryMajor Hugo Macmillan
1961The Young OnesWatts
1963The Punch and Judy Man1st Drunk
1964Wonderful LifeSheik / Scotsman / Harold
1965Strangler's Web (Edgar Wallace Mysteries)Inspector Murray
1965Up Jumped a SwagmanPublicity Man
1968The Shoes of the FishermanBrian
1979The Lady VanishesTodhunter

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1964The SleeperPeter Dibden6 episodes
1965A Man Called Harry BrentDetective Inspector Alan Milton6 episodes
1966A Game of MurderDetective Inspector Jack Kerry6 episodes
1966-1967Adam Adamant Lives!Adam Adamant29 episodes
1968City '68Roy SwiftEpisode: "The Jonah Site"
1968GazetteJames Hadleigh9 episodes
1968The ChampionsCroftEpisode: "The Fanatics"
1969-1976HadleighJames Hadleigh52 episodes
1975ThrillerGreg MilesEpisode: "If It's a Man - Hang Up!"
1978The Flockton FlyerMaster of FoxhoundsEpisode: "A Question of Honour"

References

  1. ^ "Gerald Harper, actor best known as the suave squire Hadleigh and the out-of-time crime fighter Adam Adamant". Yahoo! Entertainment. 3 July 2025. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
  2. ^ Coveney, Michael (4 July 2025). "Gerald Harper obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
  3. ^ "Gerald in gripping thriller". getsurrey.co.uk. 24 January 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  4. ^ Fabrique. "Gerald Harper — RADA". www.rada.ac.uk
  5. ^ "BFI Screenonline: Harper, Gerald (1931–) Biography". www.screenonline.org.uk
  6. ^ "Gerald Harper". BFI. Archived from the original on 14 June 2018.
  7. ^ "Gerald Harper". www.aveleyman.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  8. ^ "Gerald Harper – Theatricalia". theatricalia.com[dead link]
  9. ^ "Gerald Harper – Broadway Cast & Staff – IBDB". www.ibdb.com
  10. ^ BBC. "Review: And Then There Were None". www.bbc.co.uk
  11. ^ "Cast List, The Royal Baccarat Scandal (1988) – Pass It On"
  12. ^ Luckin, Simon. "Gerald Harper's Sunday Affair on Capital: 15/6/80". Mixcloud
  13. ^ Howard, Geoffrey (1979-08-31). "Highlights on radio". Ealing and Acton Gazette. p. 15. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
  14. ^ Gilbert, Gerard (5 November 2012). "A modern Mrs Robinson with a passion for laughs". The Independent. Retrieved 15 January 2022.