Editing Maurice Colbourne

{{short description|English actor (1939–1989)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}

{{Use British English|date=August 2016}}
{{more citations needed|date=July 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| name                    = Maurice Colbourne
| caption                 = 
| birth_name               = Roger Middleton
| birth_date               = {{Birth date|1939|09|24|df=yes}}
| birth_place              = [[Sheffield]], [[West Riding of Yorkshire]], England
| death_date               = {{Death date and age|1989|8|4|1939|9|24|df=yes}}
| death_place              = [[Dinan]], [[Brittany]], France
| restingplace            = 
| restingplacecoordinates = 
| othername               = 
| occupation              = Actor
| alma_mater    = [[Royal Central School of Speech and Drama]]
| yearsactive             = 1970–1989
| spouse                  = {{marriage|Chan Lian Si|1979}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.curiousbritishtelly.co.uk/2015/02/the-amazing-maurice-colbourne-what-guy.html|title=Curious British Telly: The Amazing Maurice Colbourne - What a Guy!|work=Curious British Telly|date=3 February 2015 |accessdate=12 April 2025}}</ref>
| domesticpartner         = 
| children                = 1
| website                 = 
}}
'''Maurice Colbourne''' (24 September 1939 – 4 August 1989) was an English stage and television actor who starred as Tom Howard in the BBC television series ''[[Howards' Way]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/howards-way-actor-dies-1.617282|title=Howards' Way actor dies|work=Herald Scotland|date=7 August 1989 |accessdate=10 February 2015}}</ref> He is also known for roles in other television series such as ''[[Gangsters (TV series)|Gangsters]]'', ''[[The Onedin Line]]'', ''[[The Day of the Triffids (1981 TV series)|The Day of the Triffids]]'' and ''[[Doctor Who]]''. He was usually cast as a villain in his career.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Gerard Glaister|author2=Ray Evans |title=Howards' Way: The Story of the BBC TV Series|quote=Usually I get cast as a villain, which I have to say I quite enjoy playing|year=1988|page=79|publisher=BBC Books|isbn=0-563-20712-4}}</ref>

== Early life ==

Maurice Colbourne was born '''Roger Middleton''' in [[Sheffield, England|Sheffield]], three weeks after Britain and France declared war on Germany upon the outbreak of the [[Second World War]], and studied acting at the [[Central School of Speech and Drama]] in London. He took his [[stage name]] from that of an earlier film actor called Maurice Colbourne (24 September 1894 – 22 September 1965), who shared the same birthday (in a different year) as his.

== Career ==

In 1972, Colbourne co-founded, together with [[Michael Irving]] and [[Guy Sprung]], the [[Half Moon Theatre]] near [[Aldgate]], east London. This was a successful, radical theatre company, performing initially in an 80-seat disused synagogue in Half Moon Passage, [[E1 postcode district|E1]]. In 1985, the company moved to a converted chapel in Mile End Road, near Stepney Green. He performed in many productions at Half Moon Theatre, including ''In the Jungle of the Cities, Will Wat, If Not, What Will?'', ''Heroes of the Iceberg Hotel'', ''Sawdust Caesar'', ''Dan Dare'' and ''Chaste Maid in Cheapside.'' He also directed several productions, including ''Silver Tassie'', ''Alkestis'', ''The Shoemakers'' and ''Pig Bank''. He returned in 1979 to perform in ''[[Guys and Dolls]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.stagesofhalfmoon.org.uk/personnel/maurice-colbourne/|title=Maurice Colbourne : Stages of Half Moon|website=www.stagesofhalfmoon.org.uk|language=en-GB|access-date=23 April 2018}}</ref>

Colbourne first became well known when he played the lead in a [[BBC]] drama series, ''[[Gangsters (TV series)|Gangsters]]'', from 1975–78, and afterwards appeared regularly on television. This included a guest appearance in a 1977 episode of ''[[Van der Valk (1972 TV series)|Van der Valk]]'', "Everybody Does It". He played Charles Marston, the love interest of Lady Fogarty, in the seventh series of ''[[The Onedin Line]]'' screened from 22 July to 23 September 1979. He played a mercenary in an episode of the ''[[Return of the Saint]]'' called "Duel in Venice". He played the character Jack Coker in the BBC's television miniseries adaptation of [[John Wyndham]]'s ''[[The Day of the Triffids (1981 TV series)|The Day of the Triffids]]'' (1981). He also twice appeared in ''[[Doctor Who]]'' as the character Lytton (in ''[[Resurrection of the Daleks]]'' (1984) and ''[[Attack of the Cybermen]]'' (1985)).

Colbourne played lead character Tom Howard in 61 episodes of the successful [[BBC television drama]] ''[[Howards' Way]]'' from 1985 to 1989. During a break in filming of the fifth series, he died aged 49 from a [[Myocardial infarction|heart attack]] while renovating a holiday home in [[Dinan]], [[Brittany]], France, leaving behind his wife of 10 years Chan Lian Si, and their daughter Clara.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.curiousbritishtelly.co.uk/2015/02/the-amazing-maurice-colbourne-what-guy.html|title=Curious British Telly: The Amazing Maurice Colbourne - What a Guy!|work=Curious British Telly|date=3 February 2015 |accessdate=12 April 2025}}</ref> ''Howard's Way'' continued to the end of series five and for a sixth series, to tie up the storylines, with Colbourne's character being written out of the scripts.

== Filmography ==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
|1970|| ''[[Cry of the Banshee]]'' || Villager ||
|-
|1970|| ''Times For'' || ||
|-
|1976|| ''[[Escape from the Dark]]'' (aka ''The Littlest Horse Thieves'') || Luke Armstrong ||
|-
|1977|| ''[[The Duellists]]'' || Tall Second ||
|-
|1979|| ''[[Bloodline (1979 film)|Bloodline]]'' || Jon Swinton ||
|-
| rowspan="2" |1980|| ''[[Hawk the Slayer]]'' || Axe Man 1 ||
|-
| ''Dead Man's Kit'' || Lt Commander Kohbal ||
|-
|1981|| ''[[Venom (1981 film)|Venom]]'' || Sampson ||
|}

== Television ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Year
!Title
!Role
!Notes
|-
| rowspan="2" |1975
|''[[Play for Today]]''
|John Kline
|Episode: ''[[Gangsters (TV series)|Gangsters]]''
|-
|''[[Churchill's People]]''
|Dr. Dredge
|Episode: "A Bill of Mortality"
|-
|1976-1978
|[[Gangsters (TV series)|''Gangsters'']] 
|John Kline
|12 episodes
|-
|1977
|''[[Van der Valk]]''
|Nick Scholtz
|Episode: "Everybody Does It"
|-
|1978
|''[[Return of the Saint]]''
|Jed Blacket
|Episode: "Duel in Venice"
|-
|1979
|''[[The Onedin Line]]''
|Charles Marston
|Six episodes
|-
| rowspan="3" |1980
|''[[Armchair Thriller]]''
|Lieutenant Commander Kobahl
|Episode: "Dead Man's Kit"
|-
|[[Shoestring (TV series)|''Shoestring'']] 
|Priest
|Episode: "The Dangerous Game"
|-
|[[Strangers (1978 TV series)|''Strangers'']] 
|John Rutter
|Two episodes
|-
|1981
|[[The Day of the Triffids (1981 TV series)|''The Day of the Triffids'']] 
|Jack Coker
|Four episodes
|-
|1983
|''[[Johnny Jarvis]]''
|Jake
|Mini-series
|-
|1984-1985
|''[[Doctor Who]]''
|Commander Gustave Lytton
|Serials [[Resurrection of the Daleks|''Resurrection of the Daleks'']] and [[Attack of the Cybermen|''Attack of the Cybermen'']]
|-
|1985
|''[[Hitler's SS: Portrait in Evil]]''
|SS Officer
|TV Movie
|-
|1985-1989
|''[[Howards' Way]]''
|Tom Howard
|
|}

== Theatre ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Year
!Title
!Role
!Notes
|-
| rowspan="7" |1972
|''[[In the Jungle of Cities]]''
|John Garga
| rowspan="20" |[[Half Moon Theatre]]
|-
|''[[Alcestis (play)|Alkestis]]''
|Herakles
|-
|''Will Wat, If Not, What Will?''
|John Ball
|-
|''[[Dan Dare]]''
|Sondar/Treen
|-
|''Punch Gorilla''
|
|-
|[[The Silver Tassie (play)|''The Silver Tassie'']] 
|Director
|-
|''[[Sawdust Caesar]]''
|Narrator/Genie of the Lamp/Third Conspirator
|-
| rowspan="6" |1973
|''Ripper!''
|
|-
|''Heroes of the Iceberg Hotel''
|Policeman/Chairman
|-
|''The Shoemakers''
|Sajetan
|-
|''Get Off My Back''
|
|-
|''Dick''
|Tom King
|-
|''[[A Chaste Maid in Cheapside]]''
| rowspan="2" |Director
|-
| rowspan="5" |1974
|''The Pig-Bank''
|-
|''[[Henry IV, Part 1]]'' and ''[[Henry IV, Part 2|Part 2]]''
|[[John Falstaff]]
|-
|''[[Saint Joan of the Stockyards]]''
|Meat Traders/Communist Leader
|-
|''The Hammers''
|
|-
|''Stakeout/Homeworker''
|
|-
|1979
|''[[Guys and Dolls]]''
|Nathan Detroit
|-
|1980
|''Tom Fool''
|Translator
|}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{IMDb name}}
* [http://www.stagesofhalfmoon.org.uk/personnel/maurice-colbourne/ Maurice Colbourne] on [http://www.stagesofhalfmoon.org.uk/ Stages of Half Moon]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colbourne, Maurice}}
[[Category:1939 births]]
[[Category:1989 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century English male actors]]
[[Category:Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama]]
[[Category:English male film actors]]
[[Category:English male stage actors]]
[[Category:English male television actors]]
[[Category:Male actors from Sheffield]]