Wednesday 23 February 2011

Nicholas Courtney (1929 - 2011)

We're not big DR WHO fans here at Cinema Delirium - it doesn't really qualify as 'delirious' because it's too mainstream and already celebrated by more than enough people online and off  - but it's only right to mention the passing of Nicholas Courtney, who is fondly remembered for playing Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.  Quite apart from his sterling work on that programme his CV features more than enough delirious entries to qualify anyway.

He appeared in Don Sharp's THE BRIDES OF FU MANCHU, one of a series that began well and got increasingly delirious as notorious hack / auteur (delete according to taste) Jess Franco got his hands on it.  On top of that he had parts in films such as JOURNEY TO THE FAR SIDE OF THE SUN, Jonathan Miller's TAKE A GIRL LIKE YOU with the always delirious Oliver Reed, and Roy Boulting's SOFT BED, HARD BATTLES with Peter Sellers.  He was also in episodes of DOOMWATCH, THE AVENGERS, THE SAINT, JASON KING, CALLAN and RANDALL & HOPKIRK (DECEASED) and something called THE RIVALS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, which I've not seen but it sounds intriguing - which, along with DR WHO, is pretty much all of your classic '70s series. 

So we offer a salute, in every sense, to the wonderfully delirious career of Nicholas Courtney.

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