Gary Bond

Gary James Bond was an English actor and singer, born in Liss, Hampshire. Although his family were in industrial and military occupations, from an early age he wanted to be an actor. His father's death in December 1955 freed him to make his own decisions and, following schooling at Churcher's College, Petersfield, he won a scholarship to the Central School of Speech and Drama. He made his professional stage debut in 1962, in 'Not By The Book' at the Connaught Theatre, Worthing, and his television debut the following year in ITV Play of the Week" War and Peace (1963) . This was quickly followed by his film debut as Private Cole in Zulu (1964). During the 1960s he pursued a dual career on the stage and on television, and he made his musical debut in Brian Epstein's revue 'On The Level' in 1966. This gave him a taste for singing but not enough to accept the offer of a recording contract. He would return to the musical stage on several later occasions, notably in 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat' in 1972, in which he played Joseph, and in 'Evita' in 1978, where he played Che. He was also a popular performer for the radio and recorded several titles including 'Lady Windermere's Fan'. 'Trelawny of the Wells', 'A Patriot for Me', and 'Bhowani Junction'. In 1982 he was commissioned to sing Harold Baum's biochemistry lectures to accompany a book on the subject, 'The Biochemist's Songbook', and the following year he became the first guest reader in Josephine Hart's Gallery Poets series, on stage in London. Gary Bond's greatest film achievement is probably the Australian classic Wake in Fright (1971), in which he played the lead role, that of an arrogant teacher stranded in the wilds of Australia. This film was restored and re-released to great acclaim in 2009. On television he is perhaps best remembered for his role as Lt Clive Russell in Frontier (1968) and for the recording made of his musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (1972). His last television appearance was in 1990 in the Bergerac episode 'All The Sad Songs', and made his last stage appearance in 1994 in 'Aspects of Love', in which he played the aging roué George Dillingham. In October 1995 he died in Ealing Hospital, much mourned by his many friends and admirers.