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Roger Delgado | |
|---|---|
 Delgado as the Master in The Mind of Evil (1971) | |
| Born | Roger Caesar Marius Bernard de Delgado Torres Castillo Roberto 1 March 1918 Whitechapel, London, England |
| Died | 18 June 1973 (aged 55) Nevşehir, Turkey |
| Resting place | Mortlake Crematorium, London, England |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1939–1973 |
| Known for | First actor to play The Master in Doctor Who (1971–1973) |
| Spouse(s) | Olga Anthonisz (divorced) Kismet Shahani (m. 1957) |
Roger Caesar Marius Bernard de Delgado Torres Castillo Roberto (1 March 1918 – 18 June 1973) was a British actor. He played many roles on television, radio and in films, and had "a long history of playing minor villains"[1] before becoming best known as the first actor to play the Master in Doctor Who (1971–73).
Early life
Delgado was born in Whitechapel, in the East End of London, to a Belgian mother and a Spanish father; he often remarked to Doctor Who co-star and close friend Jon Pertwee that this made him a true Cockney,[2] as he was born within the sound of Bow Bells. He did not live in the East End, but was brought up in Bedford Park in west London.[3] He attended Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School, a Roman Catholic secondary school in Holland Park, and the London School of Economics for a brief period but did not complete his degree.[4] He served in the Second World War with both the Leicestershire Regiment and the Royal Corps of Signals, attaining the rank of major.[5][6]
Career
Delgado worked extensively on the British stage, and on television, film and radio. His theatre debut was in 1939 and his first television appearance was 1948.[7] He appeared in the BBC Television serial Quatermass II (1955), the Powell and Pressburger wartime drama Battle of the River Plate (1956), and came to wide popular attention in Britain when he played the duplicitous Spanish envoy Mendoza in the ITC Entertainment series, Sir Francis Drake, from 1961 to 1962, after which he was in much demand. An in-joke in the 1971 Doctor Who story Colony in Space refers to that role, when the Brigadier tells the Doctor not to worry as the suspected sighting of the Master "was only the Spanish Ambassador". Delgado was frequently cast as a villain, appearing in many British action-adventure TV series by ITC, including Danger Man (1961), The Saint (1962 and 1966), The Champions (1969), and Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) (1969).
Delgado made a total of 16 guest appearances in ITC shows, the most of any actor, with his last completed role being ITC's The Zoo Gang (1974). He also appeared in The Avengers (1961 and 1969), The Power Game (1966), and an ITV Play of the Week (The Crossfire, 1967). His films included The Terror of the Tongs, The Road to Hong Kong, The Mummy's Shroud and Antony and Cleopatra.[8] He began work as The Master on Doctor Who in late 1970, his first broadcast appearance being in the January 1971 adventure Terror of the Autons. He subsequently reprised the role of the Master in the Third Doctor serials The Mind of Evil, The Claws of Axos, Colony in Space, The Dæmons, The Sea Devils, The Time Monster and Frontier in Space.[9] The Master's story arc was to have ended in The Final Game, which was planned as the final story to feature Pertwee's Third Doctor, but the story was scrapped following Delgado's sudden death and replaced with Planet of the Spiders.[10]
Personal life
Delgado's first marriage was to Olga Anthonisz. The marriage ended in divorce.[11] He married Kismet Shahani in 1957 and they were together until his death in 1973.[12]
Death
"To say that Roger Delgado was merely a friend of mine would be an insult. Roger was one of my greatest friends ever - a modest, lovable man with a ready wit and a fine sense of humour. As Actors, we discovered we shared an uncanny telephatic communication with each other, as he played 'Moriarty' to my 'Holmes'. It was a phone call from Kismet, Roger's wife, that gave me the news of his tragic death. I was stunned with disbelief, then, and even now, have to force myself to accept the fact that Roger is no longer with us. As my adversary "The Master" he was evil personnified. As a friend, he was the opposite, warm, feeling and understanding. I shall forever miss him."
—Jon Pertwee talking about Roger Delgado in a September 1985 letter to a fan.[13]
Delgado died on location on 18 June 1973 in Nevşehir, Turkey, whilst shooting La Cloche tibétaine (Tibetan Bell), a Franco/German television mini-series about the Yellow Expedition.[14][15] During this expedition, Citroën tracked vehicles traversed Asia in 1931–32 from Peking and Beirut. Delgado appeared in one episode of this production. He was killed, along with two Turkish film technicians, when the car in which he was travelling went off the road into a ravine. He was 55 years old.
For years, there was mystery surrounding the fate of Delgado's remains. It was revealed in 2017 that his body had been returned to the United Kingdom and cremated at Mortlake before the ashes were scattered on 27 June 1973, in area RB3 (Plot 43) of the Garden of Remembrance at Mortlake Cemetery in Southwest London.[16]
The serial he was filming in Turkey continued production and was completed after his death. The series was broadcast on French and German television in 1974–1975; Delgado can be seen in episode 4 as the minor character Paco.[17]
Jon Pertwee often remarked that Delgado's death was one of the reasons he decided to leave Doctor Who the following year.[18]
Filmography
Film
Television
References
- ^ Fane Saunders, Tristram (2 January 2020). "The Master of evil: Roger Delgado and the twisted history of Doctor Who's greatest foe". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
- ^ The Making of Doctor Who, 1972, p. 31
- ^ Harmes, Marcus (2017). Roger Delgado: I am usually referred to as the Master. Fantom Publishing. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-78196-300-5.
- ^ Harmes, Marcus (2017). Roger Delgado: I am usually referred to as the Master. Fantom Publishing. p. 22. ISBN 978-1-78196-300-5.
- ^ "Roger Delgado". Metacritic. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
- ^ "The UNIT Family: Part Two". Day of the Daleks (DVD special feature). BBC. 2011. ASIN B004VRO89C.
- ^ Harmes, Marcus (2017). Roger Delgado: I am usually referred to as the Master. Fantom Publishing. pp. 27, 47. ISBN 978-1-78196-300-5.
- ^ "Roger Delgado obituary (The Times) - the Doctor Who Cuttings Archive".
- ^ "Frontier in Space ★★★★".
- ^ "BBC - Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide - Planet of the Spiders - Details".
- ^ Harmes, Marcus (2017). Roger Delgado: I am usually referred to as the Master. Fantom Publishing. p. 68. ISBN 978-1-78196-300-5.
- ^ "Roger Delgado (letter) — the Doctor Who Cuttings Archive".
- ^ "Jon Pertwee about Roger Delgado </3". 25 November 2023.
- ^ "Funeral Directors and services — Roger Delgado". Family Announcements.
- ^ "Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews / Roger Delgado's Last Appearance: Found!". Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews. Archived from the original on 25 May 2015.
- ^ Harmes, Marcus (2017). Roger Delgado: I am usually referred to as the Master. Fantom Publishing. p. 213. ISBN 978-1-78196-300-5.
- ^ "La Cloche Tibetaine". La Cloche Tibetaine.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Exclusive First Look: The Final Curtain Part 1 – Doctor Who – Planet of the Spiders". YouTube. BBCClassicDoctorWho. 4 March 2011.
External links
- Roger Delgado at IMDb