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George Victor Bishop (June 11, 1932 – June 8, 2005), known professionally as Ed Bishop or Edward Bishop, was an American actor, predominantly based in the UK. He was known for playing Commander Ed Straker in UFO, Captain Blue in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons and for voicing Philip Marlowe in a series of BBC Radio adaptations of the Marlowe novels by Raymond Chandler.
After leaving the army, Bishop enrolled at Boston University where he initially studied business administration but halfway through the course, transferred to drama, much against his parents' wishes. After graduating in Theatre Arts, he won a Fulbright Scholarship to study for two years at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, from which he graduated in 1959; he almost immediately found work in the British theatre and film industries. He adopted the stage name "Ed Bishop" at this time to distinguish himself from George Bishop, an established actor of the time. His first Broadway theatre appearance was as Villebosse in David Merrick's production of Jean Anouilh's The Rehearsal in 1963, though he returned to Britain in 1964.
Bishop appeared in various film and television projects created by producer Gerry Anderson. He provided narration, in addition to the voice of Captain Blue, for Anderson's Supermarionation puppet series, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (1967), and appeared in Anderson's science-fiction film Doppelgänger (1969). His most prominent screen role was that of Ed Straker in Anderson's science-fiction series UFO (1970–71). Bishop's dark hair was initially dyed blond for the role, though he eventually wore a blond wig instead.
In later years, he appeared in films such as Twilight's Last Gleaming, Saturn 3, Silver Dream Racer, and The Lords of Discipline. He provided vocal work for the 1974 animated TV series of , and appeared as Lieutenant Colonel Harrity in the final episode of the British World War II prisoner-of-war drama Colditz. In the 1980s, he made several appearances on The Kenny Everett Television Show, Whoops Apocalypse (he also appeared in the subsequent film), and had a role in the children's television series Chocky's Children.
On radio in 1977 and 1978, Bishop played the private eye Philip Marlowe in , adaptations of Raymond Chandler's stories for the BBC. The last of these, Farewell, My Lovely, was produced almost a decade after the others, as the rights had previously been unavailable.
He continued to act on film, TV and radio, usually in British and European productions, and was a frequent guest at science fiction conventions. He and fellow Anderson actor Shane Rimmer (a Canadian actor who often worked in the UK) joked about how frequently their professional paths crossed and termed themselves "Rent-a-Yank". They appeared together as NASA operatives in the opening of You Only Live Twice and as United States Navy sailors in The Bedford Incident, as well as the 1983 film of the Harold Robbins novel The Lonely Lady. In 1989, Bishop was reunited with Rimmer and another Anderson actor, Matt Zimmerman, in the BBC Radio 4 adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's A Study in Scarlet. He and Rimmer also toured together in theatre shows, including Death of a Salesman in the 1990s, and they both appeared in the BBC drama-documentary Hiroshima (2005), one of Bishop's last TV projects.
In 2000, Bishop briefly reprised the role of Captain Blue in a trailer for the new Captain Scarlet series. He did not, however, reprise the role for the actual series, which would not debut until five years later. In 2002, he recorded a commentary for the DVD release of UFO. In 2003, he performed in the Doctor Who audio drama, Full Fathom Five, produced by Big Finish Productions.
Bishop was married three times; first to Jane Thwaites in 1955 before divorcing a few months later in that same year. He then married Hilary Preen in 1962; they had four children, they remained married for thirty-four years before divorcing in 1996. He later married photographer Jane Skinner in 2001, the marriage lasted until his death in 2005.
His life and work were honoured at the British Academy Television Awards in May 2006. He was survived by his widow and by three daughters from his second marriage (Georgina, Jessica and Serina).
| 1962 | Lolita | Ambulance Attendant | Uncredited |
| Big City | Narrator | Credited as Edward Bishop | |
| The War Lover | Vogt | ||
| 1963 | The Mouse on the Moon | American Astronaut | |
| The Cool Mikado | Man | Uncredited | |
| Automania 2000 | Narrator | Voice, Short | |
| 1964 | The Winston Affair | Lieutenant at Sikri | Credited as Edward Bishop |
| 1965 | You Must Be Joking! | U.S. Air Force Soldier at Checkpoint | Uncredited |
| The Bedford Incident | Lieutenant Hacker U.S.N. - Communications | Credited as Edward Bishop | |
| 1967 | You Only Live Twice | Hawaii CapCom | Uncredited |
| Battle Beneath the Earth | Lt. Cmdr. Vance Cassidy | Credited as Edward Bishop | |
| 1968 | Aries-1B Lunar Shuttle Captain | ||
| 1969 | The Desperados | Army Captain | Voice |
| Doppelgänger | David Poulson | Credited as Edward Bishop | |
| 1970 | Children and Cars | Narrator | Voice, Short |
| 1971 | Diamonds Are Forever | Klaus Hergersheimer | Uncredited |
| 1973 | Pets | Vincent Stackman | |
| 1974 | The Bunny Caper | Stuart Beard | aka Sex Play and Games Girls Play |
| 1977 | Twilight's Last Gleaming | Major Fox | |
| Madame Claude | Smith | ||
| 1978 | Brass Target | Col. Stewart | |
| 1979 | Butch Minds the Baby | Damon Runyon | Voice, Short Film |
| 1980 | Saturn 3 | Harding | Uncredited |
| Silver Dream Racer | Al Peterson | ||
| 1980 | Breakaway, The Local Affair | Scott Douglas | A six episode TV serial by Francis Durbridge |
| 1981 | Narrator | Voice, Uncredited | |
| 1982 | Nutcracker | Sam Dozier | |
| 1983 | The Lords of Discipline | Commerce St. Croix | |
| The Lonely Lady | Dr. Baker | ||
| 1985 | Restless Natives | TV Reporter (American) | |
| 1986 | Whoops Apocalypse | Wink Persiman | |
| 1987 | Turnaround | Gerald | |
| Testimony | American Commentator | ||
| 1988 | Judgement in Berlin | Dyson Wilde | |
| 1989 | Out of Time | Grant | |
| The Candy Show | Short | ||
| 1991 | Born to Ride | Dr. Tate | |
| 1994 | Funny Man | Card Player | |
| 2001 | 500! | Father Jones |
| 1961 | Drama 61-67 | First Reporter | Episode: "Drama '61: Edge of Truth" |
| 1964 | Paul Starr | Paul Starr | TV movie; credited as Edward Bishop |
| 1964–1966 | The Saint | Tony Allard / George Felson / Cy Imberline / Sherm Inkler | 4 episodes; credited as Edward Bishop |
| 1965 | Mogul | Mr. Kramer | Episode: "Stoneface"; credited as Edward Bishop |
| 1966 | Court Martial | Law Officer | Episode: "Shadow of a Man"; credited as Edward Bishop |
| 1967 | The Baron | Naval Officer | Episode: "The Island"; uncredited |
| Theatre 625 | Padfield | Episode: "Sword of Honour #3: Unconditional Surrender"; uncredited as Edward Bishop | |
| 1967–1968 | Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons | Captain Blue / Narrator (voice) | 32 episodes; credited as Edward Bishop |
| 1968 | Man in a Suitcase | American Agent | Episode: "The Boston Square" |
| The Portrait of a Lady | Caspar Goodwood | 4 episodes; credited as Edward Bishop | |
| Sherlock Holmes | Joseph Stangerson | Episode: "A Study in Scarlet"; credited as Edward Bishop | |
| 1969 | Out of the Unknown | Commandant Tom Decker | Episode: "Beach Head"; credited as Edward Bishop |
| Armchair Theatre | Karl | Episode: "On Vacation" | |
| The Way We Live Now | Hamilton K. Fisker | 2 episodes | |
| W. Somerset Maugham | Edward Barnard | Episode: "The Fall of Edward Barnard" | |
| Strange Report | Moran | Episode: "Report 5055: Cult - Murder Shrieks Out"; credited as Edward Bishop | |
| 1970–1971 | UFO | Col. Ed Straker | 26 episodes |
| 1971 | ITV Sunday Night Theatre | David Beeston | Episode: "Man and Boy" |
| 1972 | The Adventurer | Wayne | Episode: "Miss Me Once, Miss Me Twice and Miss Me Once Again" |
| 1973 | The Protectors | Colonel John Hunter | Episode: "The First Circle" |
| Asmodeus (voice) | Episode: "The Magicks of Megas-Tu"; uncredited | ||
| 1974 | Orson Welles' Great Mysteries | The Millionaire | Episode: "Compliments of the Season" |
| Colditz | Lt. Col. Harrity | Episode: "Liberation" | |
| Marked Personal | Howard Morris | 2 episodes | |
| Late Night Drama | The M.D. | Episode: "Just Fine" | |
| Warship | Sanders | Episode: "The Man from the Sea" | |
| 1975 | Anne of Avonlea | Judson Parker | 2 episodes |
| The Girls of Slender Means | Felix Dobell | ||
| Oil Strike North | Patterson | Episode: "Deadline" | |
| Quiller | Frank Ilroy | Episode: "The Price of Violence" | |
| Thriller | Gang Boss / Carson | 2 episodes | |
| NBC Special Treat | TV Announcer (voice) | Episode: "Into Infinity" | |
| 1976 | Rogue's Rock | Cyrus T. Triphammer | 5 episodes |
| The Day After Tomorrow | Narrator (voice) | TV movie | |
| Katy | Dr. Carr | 6 episodes | |
| The Cedar Tree | Earl Mulligan | Episode: "Fete Accompli: Part 2" | |
| 1977 | Two's Company | Jack | Episode: "The Honeymoon" |
| 1990 | Ed Burbank | Episode: "Whatever Happened to Cardinal Wolsey?" | |
| 1978 | Wilde Alliance | Wingman | Episode: "Danny Boy" |
| Life at Stake | Jim Lovell | Episode: "Houston... We've Got a Problem" | |
| It Ain't Half Hot Mum | Colonel Sol Zimmerman | Episode: "The Stars Look Down" | |
| The Professionals | Braddock / Dr. Ernest Harbinger | 2 episodes | |
| Dylan | Professor Goonmeyer | Documentary | |
| Tycoon | Frazer Carter | Episode: "Sleeping on Grass" | |
| 1979 | ITV Playhouse | Brother Bethlehem (voice) | Episode: "Children of the Gods" |
| Running Blind | Commander Nordlinger | Episode: "The Deception Operation" | |
| S.O.S. Titanic | Henry Harris | TV movie | |
| 1980 | Breakaway | Scott Douglas | 6 episodes |
| Butterflies | Tony | Episode: "Gimme Shelter" | |
| Oppenheimer | General Tom Farrell | Episode: "Episode #1.5" | |
| 1981 | Stainless Steel and the Star Spies | Stainless Steel (voice) | TV movie |
| Take a Letter Mr. Jones | Joe Bradley | Episode: "Business Before Pleasure..." | |
| Play for Today | American Reporter | Episode: "London is Drowning" | |
| 1982 | Whoops Apocalypse | Jay Garrick | 6 episodes |
| Bid for Power | |||
| 1982–1984 | Kelly Monteith | 2 episodes | |
| 1983 | The Baker Street Boys | Marvin | 2 episodes |
| Philip Marlowe, Private Eye | District Attorney | Episode: "Finger Man" | |
| The Mad Death | Tom Siegler | Episode: "Episode #1.1" | |
| 1983–1986 | The Kenny Everett Television Show | Various | 5 episodes |
| 1984 | The Master of Ballantrae | Pinkerton | TV movie |
| Master of the Game | Dr. Mattson | ||
| Mr. Bogardus | 2 episodes | ||
| Threads | US President (voice) | TV movie; uncredited | |
| 1985 | The Man from Moscow | Alexander | 2 episodes |
| Chocky's Children | Dr. Deacon | 5 episodes | |
| Going for the Gold: The Bill Johnson Story | Sanders | TV movie | |
| 1986 | The Fifth Missile | Adm. Stewart Cullinane | |
| Just Good Friends | Vernon | Episode: "Paris" | |
| 1987 | The Two Mrs. Grenvilles | Strasser | 2 episodes |
| The Two Ronnies | Episode: "1987 Christmas Special" | ||
| 1988 | Les Girls | Cheese Rep | Episode: "Arrival" |
| Worlds Beyond | Mr. Hitchcock | Episode: "Reflections of Evil" | |
| 1988–1993 | French and Saunders | Head of Light Entertainment / Various Characters | 2 episodes |
| 1989 | After the War | Charlie Lehmann | |
| The Les Dennis Laughter Show | Episode: "Episode #3.4" | ||
| 1990 | Chancer | Elmer | Episode: "Hazard" |
| 1991 | Motormouth | Mr. Miller | Episode: "Episode #4.9" |
| 1992 | The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles | Sentry | Episode: "Young Indiana Jones and the Curse of the Jackal" |
| 1993 | 2point4 Children | Chet | Episode: "Whoopee, We're All Going to Die" |
| 1994 | The Imaginatively Titled Punt & Dennis Show | Episode: "Episode #1.2" | |
| 1996 | Broken Glass | Stanton Case | TV movie |
| 1997 | Edward Banner | Episode: "Diplomatic Immunity" | |
| 1998 | The Demon Headmaster | TV Supremo | 4 episodes |
| The American | Gen. Packard | TV movie | |
| 1999 | The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax | Carstairs | TV movie |
| 2002 | Waking the Dead | Tyler | Episode: "Special Relationship: Part 1" |
| 2005 | Hiroshima | Stimson | Documentary; final role |
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