Jump to content

Guy Doleman

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Guy Doleman
Doleman in The Prisoner (1967)
Born(1923-11-22)22 November 1923
Hamilton, Waikato, New Zealand
Died30 January 1996(1996-01-30) (aged 72)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1948–1992

Guy Doleman (22 November 1923 – 30 January 1996) was a New Zealand actor, who worked extensively in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. He was best known for playing Colonel Ross in the Harry Palmer spy film trilogy starring Michael Caine in the 1960s. He also played the first iteration of Number Two on the cult classic series The Prisoner.

Early life

[edit]

Doleman was born in Hamilton, Waikato in 1923. As a young adult, he moved to Australia, and began his acting career on the radio.

Career

[edit]

During the 1940s and 1950s, Doleman was one of the busiest actors in Australia, appearing in the majority of films made there at the time, and being busy on radio, particularly in the drama Hagen's Circus, which made him a radio star in that country.[1] Radio historian Peter Philp grouped Doleman with Peter Finch, Grant Taylor, Rod Taylor and Lloyd Berrell as part of "a wild but very colourful group of actors... who in their own way helped forge a wonderful ambience which was unique to Sydney radio."[2] He appeared in many early Australian films including The Phantom Stockman.[3]

In 1952 he won a £300 Actor's Choice Award for his performance in the radio drama The Coward.[4] He used this money to go to Hollywood for a film in September 1953, where he tested for some films.[5]

He was cast in Long John Silver (1954) but passed on the role because it meant he had to wear contact lenses – Rod Taylor took the part instead.[6] Doleman played minor roles in His Majesty O'Keefe and Alfred Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder (both 1954), and played Australian characters in Smiley (1956) and its sequel Smiley Gets a Gun (1958), The Shiralee (1957), and On the Beach (1959). He appeared on three episodes of the British-Australian bushranger television series Whiplash. In 1959, he starred in the play The Piccadilly Bushman at the Comedy Theatre in Melbourne.[7]

In the early 1960s, Doleman moved to London, appearing on BBC and ITV television programming. He played Number Two in ITV's The Prisoner (1967). He was the first of a pair of Number Twos who appeared in the first episode, "Arrival"; the second being played by George Baker. He starred as intelligence officer Colonel Ross in the three film adaptations of Len Deighton's Harry Palmer novels, starring Michael Caine, released between 1965 and 1967. He also played supporting villain Count Lippe in the James Bond film Thunderball (1965), starring Sean Connery.

In the early 1970s, Doleman returned to Hollywood, and after a several-year hiatus returned to acting in an episode of The Six Million Dollar Man. He played guest roles in TV series like Matt Houston and The Colbys; and in Australian films like A Dangerous Summer (1982) and Goodbye Paradise (1983). His last acting role was in 1992 episode of Murder, She Wrote.

Death

[edit]

Doleman died of lung cancer in Los Angeles on 30 January 1996, aged 72.

Filmography

[edit]

Theatre credits

[edit]
  • Little Lambs Eat Ivy, Minerva Theatre, Kings Cross, NSW, May 1949
  • Edward, My Son, Theatre Royal, Sydney, NSW, 16 September 1949
  • All for Mary national tour 1956-57
  • The Piccadilly Bushman national tour Sept 1959 – Feb 1960

Select radio credits

[edit]
  • The Coward (1952)[12]
  • Chips (1954)[13]
  • The Orchard Walls (1954)[14]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ Philp, Peter. Drama in Silent Rooms: A History of Radio Drama in Australia from the 1920s to the 1970s. Eureka Media. pp. 260–261.
  2. ↑ Philp p339
  3. ↑ Vagg, Stephen (1 June 2025). "The Lee Robinson-Chips Rafferty Story Part One: The Phantom Stockman". Filmink. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  4. ↑ "TODAY'S RADIO PROGRAMMES Sydneyman wins £300in 'Actors Choice'". The Argus. Melbourne. 14 August 1952. p. 4. Retrieved 22 March 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ↑ Australian to Test. Los Angeles Times 2 Sep 1953: P32.
  6. ↑ "LIMELIGHT". The Sun-Herald (Sydney, NSW : 1953 – 1954). Sydney. 2 May 1954. p. 71. Retrieved 22 March 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ↑ "Guy Doleman". Theatricalia. Retrieved 8 October 2026.
  8. ↑ Vagg, Stephen (3 August 2025). "Forgotten Australian Films: Always Another Dawn". Filmink. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  9. ↑ "Australian actor gets Lucky break". Brisbane Telegraph. Queensland, Australia. 24 September 1953. p. 24 (LAST RACE). Retrieved 14 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ↑ Vagg, Stephen (17 November 2020). "Forgotten Australian TV Plays: The Grey Nurse Said Nothing". Filmink.
  11. ↑ Vagg, Stephen (10 June 2025). "It's time to say hello again to Goodbye Paradise". InReview. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  12. ↑ "TODAY'S RADIO PROGRAMMES Sydneyman wins £300in 'Actors Choice'". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 33, 056. Victoria, Australia. 14 August 1952. p. 4. Retrieved 14 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. ↑ "Chips Stars in DB Serial". The Age. No. 30, 903. Victoria, Australia. 20 May 1954. p. 1 ("THE AGE" RADIO SUPPLEMENT). Retrieved 14 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. ↑ "Has Lead in New Play". Illawarra Daily Mercury. New South Wales, Australia. 17 March 1954. p. 3. Retrieved 14 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Guy_Doleman&oldid=1381054294"