Louis Mahoney

Louis Felix Danner Mahoney was a Gambian-born British actor, based in Hampstead in London. He was an anti-racist activist and long-time campaigner for racial equality within the acting profession. He represented African-Asian members on the council of the actors' union, Equity, and served as joint Vice-President between 1994 and 1996.

Early life

Mahoney was born in Bathurst, the Gambia, in 1938, the eldest of six children to James Mahoney and Princess. Mahoney attended the Methodist Boys' High School. In 1957, he moved to England to study medicine at University College London. He also joined the university's cricket team and played for Essex and Ilford. However, he left to pursue drama at the Central School of Speech and Drama in the 1960s.

Career

After graduating, Mahoney worked with Colchester Rep and the Mercury Theatre before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1967 – he was one of the first black actors in the Company. He worked regularly on the stage throughout his career including shows at the National Theatre, Young Vic, Royal Court, Almeida and his final stage performances were in Alan Bennett's Allelujah! at the Bridge Theatre in 2018.
He helped found Performers Against Racism in the 1980s to campaign against apartheid in South Africa and was Joint Vice President of Equity between 1994 and 1996.
He was seen most frequently on television in series such as: Danger Man, Dixon of Dock Green, Z-Cars, Special Branch, The Troubleshooters, Menace, Doctor Who, Quiller, Fawlty Towers, The Professionals, Miss Marple, Yes, Prime Minister, Bergerac, The Bill, Casualty, Holby City and Sea of Souls.
His films included The Plague of the Zombies, Omen III: The Final Conflict, Rise and Fall of Idi Amin, White Mischief, Cry Freedom, Shooting Fish, Wondrous Oblivion and Shooting Dogs.
He featured in the Channel 4 documentary Random, and in the BBC Three drama Being Human as Leo, an aged and dying werewolf.
Mahoney's last TV appearance was in the Tracy Beaker CBBC spin-off, The Dumping Ground, as Henry Lawrence, the grandfather of Charlie Morris.

Campaign work

Mahoney was a long-standing campaigner for racial equality within the acting profession, as a member of the Equity Afro-Asian Committee, founding Performers Against Racism to defend Equity policy on South Africa, and as co-creator, with Mike Phillips and Taiwo Ajai, of the UK's Black Theatre Workshop in 1976.

Personal life

Mahoney was married in 1971 and later divorced, and had daughters. For decades a resident in Hampstead, London, Mahoney lived on the corner of Gayton Road and Willow Road, and was a regular in local pubs. He was athletic and played cricket as a fast bowler, joining the Gentlemen of Hampstead club.

Death

In 2016, Mahoney was diagnosed with cancer. He died on 28 June 2020, aged 81. His funeral took place at Hampstead Parish, attended by his friends and community.

Legacy

The Louis Mahoney Scholarships at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama were initiated in his memory to encourage applications from Black and global majority students, beginning from the academic year 2021/22, supporting one undergraduate and one postgraduate candidate in each of the following three years.