Richard Coleman


Richard Coleman was a British television and stage actor.

Early life

He was born Ronald Coleman in Peckham, London in 1930. Coleman was awarded the Leverhulme Scholarship to RADA in 1951, and graduated in 1953 with the Principal’s Medal. He adopted the stage name Richard Coleman, to avoid confusion with the film star Ronald Colman.

Career

Theatre

Coleman made his professional acting debut in 1954, alongside Peggy Mount in the stage adaptation of Sailor Beware!. He also appeared in The World of Suzie Wong, A Murder is Announced, The Mousetrap and the stage version of There's a Girl in My Soup. He succeeded Stuart Damon in the London hit musical, production of Charlie Girl at the Adelphi Theatre.

Television

He played David Redway in the situation comedy ...And Mother Makes Three, and its sequel ...And Mother Makes Five, opposite Wendy Craig. Other television roles included Nick Allardyce in The Adventures of Ben Gunn, Alan-a-Dale in The Adventures of Robin Hood, and Jack Royston in the soap opera Weavers Green. Coleman also made guest appearances in television series such as Dixon of Dock Green, The Avengers, Z-Cars, Thriller , Robin's Nest, Surgical Spirit and Virtual Murder.

Film

Coleman appeared in a number films including Yangtse Incident, Girls at Sea, The Navy Lark, Ben-Hur, Rotten to the Core and Naked Evil. He also had a cameo role in the film 10 Rillington Place as the police constable who arrests John Christie.

Personal life

Coleman was married to the actress Peggy Sinclair, and spent the later years of his life living in France. He died from cancer in France on 16 December 2008, aged 78.

Filmography