Gerald Harper

Gerald Harper
Born	(1929-02-15)15 February 1929 Barnet, Middlesex, England
Died	2 July 2025(2025-07-02) (aged 96)
Education	Haileybury
Alma mater	RADA
Occupation	Actor
Spouses	Jane Downs ​ ​ (m. 1957; div. 1975)​ Carla Rabaiotti ​ ​ (m. 1976; div. 1983)​
Children	2

Gerald Harper (15 February 1929 – 2 July 2025) was an English actor, best known for his work on television, having played the title roles in Adam Adamant Lives! (1966–67) and Hadleigh (1969–76). 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.^[1][2] 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.^[3][4] He started in the London Arts Theatre followed by Liverpool Playhouse, before returning to London to perform in Charley's Aunt with Frankie Howerd.^[5]

Career

Harper's film credits include The Admirable Crichton (1957), A Night to Remember (1958), The League of Gentlemen (1960), Tunes of Glory (1960), The Young Ones (1961), The Punch and Judy Man (1963), The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968) and The Lady Vanishes (1979).^[6] Television work included The Sleeper, The Corsican Brothers and Gazette.^[7]

He also had roles in Free as Air and Ross and toured in the United States with the Old Vic and Boeing-Boeing.^[8][9] 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.^[10] He also played one of the barristers in The Baccarat Scandal at Chichester Festival Theatre which starred Keith Michell.^[11]

Harper also presented radio programmes, including The Sunday Affair for Capital Radio in the 1970s.^[12] He starred in the radio serialisation of Prudence by Jilly Cooper in 1979, alongside Felicity Kendall.^[13] 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.^[5] 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.^[1]

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.^[14]

Harper died on 2 July 2025, at the age of 96, after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.^[1][2]

Selected filmography

References

External links

• Gerald Harper at IMDb
• Gerald Harper at the Internet Broadway Database
• Gerald Harper at the BFI's Screenonline
• Gerald Harper discography at Discogs