Ian Hendry

Ian Hendry (13 January 1931 — 24 December 1984) was an English film and television actor. He is best known for his work on several British TV series of the early 1960s such as The Avengers, and for his roles in 1970s films such as Get Carter (1971).

Hendry was born in Ipswich and educated at Culford School. Hendry's film and TV career began in 1959 and within a year he had landed the lead role of Dr. Geoffrey Brent in the crime series Police Surgeon. The series only ran for twelve episodes but Hendry was next cast in the very similar role of Dr. David Keel in a new action-adventure series entitled The Avengers. Initially, Hendry was the star of this series, which co-starred Patrick Macnee as John Steed. However, production of the first season was curtailed by a strike and Hendry used the opportunity to depart the series and begin a film career. (The Avengers subsequently continued for the rest of the decade with Macnee as its star.)

Hendry had a lead role in films such as The October Wedding (1959), Live Now - Pay Later (1962) (in a role very similar to Alfie four years later), Girl In The Headlines (1963), The Hill (opposite Sean Connery) and in Roman Polanski's Repulsion. He appeared in TV series such as Armchair Theatre, Danger Man and The Saint. In 1967 he took the lead role as disbarred solicitor Alex Lambert in the TV series The Informer.

In the early 1970s, Hendry took lead roles in several TV series such as The Adventures of Don Quick and The Lotus Eaters. He also appeared in a number of films, including a number of Hammer Horror entries such as Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter. Among the more widely seen films he appeared in during this time were Get Carter (1971) (for which he received a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actor), Theatre of Blood opposite Vincent Price, The Passenger (1975) and 1978's Damien: Omen II.

He also starred in a Gerry Anderson-produced film entitled Doppelgänger also known as Journey to the Far Side of the Sun. It was a tragic time in his personal life. He was married to British film star Janet Munro in 1963 but their turbulent life together ended in divorce in 1971. Munro died a year later in London from a heart condition (myocarditis) at the age of 38. Both Hendry and Munro were known to have alcohol-related problems. Hendry would later marry Sandra Jones and have another daughter, Emma.

He was reunited with Patrick Macnee as a guest star on The New Avengers, although he did not reprise the role of David Keel. Towards the end of his life he had a role in the crime series Jemima Shore Investigates as the eponymous heroine's literary agent. In 1984 he joined the cast of the Channel Four soap opera Brookside. This was short-lived however, because on Christmas Eve 1984, he died of a stomach haemorrhage in London. His last public appearance was as a guest on This Is Your Life which profiled his friend Patrick Macnee. He was cremated and interred at the Golders Green Crematorium.

External links

Ian Hendry at IMDb