Gerald Harper


Gerald Harper was an English actor, best known for his work on television, having played the title roles in Adam Adamant Lives! and Hadleigh. He then returned to his main love, the theatre. His classical work includes playing on Broadway with the Old Vic company, playing Iago at the Bristol Old Vic and Benedick at the Chichester Festival Theatre. Other plays in London included Crucifer of Blood at the Haymarket Theatre, House Guest, A Personal Affair, Suddenly at Home and Baggage. He directed many plays, amongst them a production of Blithe Spirit in Hebrew at the Israeli National Theatre.

Early life

Harper was born in Barnet, Hertfordshire on 15 February 1929. He originally wanted to be a doctor, but became interested in acting while still at school. He was educated at Haileybury. After two years of national service in the Royal Artillery as a second lieutenant, he decided to abandon his medicine course at Cambridge University and successfully auditioned for RADA. He started in the London Arts Theatre followed by Liverpool Playhouse, before returning to London to perform in Charley's Aunt with Frankie Howerd.

Career

Harper's film credits include The Admirable Crichton, A Night to Remember, The League of Gentlemen, Tunes of Glory, The Young Ones, The Punch and Judy Man, The Shoes of the Fisherman and The Lady Vanishes. Television work included The Sleeper, The Corsican Brothers and Gazette.
He also had roles in Free as Air and Ross and toured in the United States with the Old Vic and Boeing-Boeing. He toured the country in 2008 as the lead in Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None directed by Joe Harmston for producer Bill Kenwright. He also played one of the barristers in The Baccarat Scandal at Chichester Festival Theatre which starred Keith Michell.
Harper also presented radio programmes, including The Sunday Affair for Capital Radio in the 1970s. He starred in the radio serialisation of Prudence by Jilly Cooper in 1979, alongside Felicity Kendall. There was also a series of Saturday afternoon shows for BBC Radio 2 in the late 1980s and early 1990s, in which he played classic songs from the past and gave away bottles of champagne and chocolates. His opening phrase, usually spoken over the introduction of the first song, was "Hello....I'm Gerald Harper. Welcome to my Saturday selection". The radio show was resurrected for Talksport between 2002 and 2003, and re-titled Champagne and Roses.

Personal life and death

Harper married actress Jane Downs in 1957. The marriage produced one child. The couple divorced in 1975. He married Carla Rabaiotti, a former Pan American air stewardess in 1976. The marriage produced one child. The couple divorced in 1983.
In 2001, when he was in his early seventies, he began a relationship with 30-year-old actress Sarah Alexander; the relationship ended when she left him for actor Peter Serafinowicz in 2002.
Harper died on 2 July 2025, at the age of 96, after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

Selected filmography

  • The Dam Busters – Mocking RAF Officer
  • Tiger in the Smoke – Duds Morrison
  • Stars in Your Eyes – Dicky
  • The Extra Day – Police Constable
  • The Admirable Crichton – Ernest
  • A Night to Remember – 3rd Officer, SS Carpathia
  • The League of Gentlemen – Captain Saunders
  • Tunes of Glory – Major Hugo Macmillan
  • The Young Ones – Watts
  • The Punch and Judy Man – 1st Drunk
  • Wonderful Life – Sheik / Scotsman / Harold
  • Strangler's Web – Inspector Murray
  • Up Jumped a Swagman – Publicity Man
  • The Shoes of the Fisherman – Brian
  • The Lady Vanishes – Todhunter