Don Henderson

For other people with the same name, see Don Henderson (disambiguation).

Don Henderson
Henderson in White Angel (1994)
Born	Donald Francis Henderson (1931-11-10)10 November 1931 Leytonstone, Essex, England
Died	22 June 1997(1997-06-22) (aged 65) Warwick, Warwickshire, England
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1964–1997
Notable work	Doctor Who (1987) The BFG
Spouses	Hilary Henderson ​ (died 1977)​ Shirley Stelfox ​ (m. 1979)​
Children	2

Donald Francis Henderson (10 November 1931 – 22 June 1997) was an English actor. He was known for playing both "tough guy" roles and authority figures, and is remembered for his portrayal of detective George Bulman between 1976 and 1987 in the popular Granada Television police drama series The XYY Man, Strangers, and Bulman, as priest Frank Kane in BBC drama The Paradise Club (1989–90), and as General Taggi in the first Star Wars film (1977). This last role also brought him attention from science fiction fans, and he later appeared in cult science fiction television series Red Dwarf and Doctor Who.

Biography

Henderson was born into a working-class family in Leytonstone, Essex, the son of a carpenter, and grew up in Epping. After completing his national service as a technician in the Royal Army Dental Corps, he served with Essex Constabulary, reaching the rank of detective sergeant in their CID, and worked as an insurance salesman. He did not become a professional actor until his thirties, when a friend dared him to audition for the Royal Shakespeare Company, with whom he subsequently performed from 1966 until 1972, going on to play many leading roles.

Henderson had two children, a son and a daughter, with his first wife Hilary, who died from a mysterious lung disease in 1977. He remarried in 1979; his second wife was the actress Shirley Stelfox, with whom he would appear professionally many times. He lived in his adopted home town of Stratford-upon-Avon for many years, where he was a familiar face to locals.

Career

Henderson is best remembered for his role as the fictional detective George Bulman. This character featured in three TV series: The XYY Man in the mid-1970s; the later Strangers that saw Bulman rise from Detective Sergeant to Detective Chief Inspector and, in 1985, the series Bulman saw George retired from the police and pursuing a career as a horologist. He also starred in the popular TV drama series Warship.

Henderson made little money from his role in Star Wars—£300 for one day of filming. He also missed out on a large sum for his copy of the Star Wars script:

"I have only once been recognised as having been in Star Wars, and that was when I was making a film in Los Angeles. Somebody in the hotel I was staying at offered me $2000 for my copy of the Star Wars script. As I growled at him in amazement, he took that as a refusal, or that he had offered too little and eventually went up to an offer of $5000! Sadly, as with all my used scripts, I had given it to my kids to scribble and draw on."

Death

Henderson was first diagnosed with throat cancer in 1980. He died of the disease in Warwick on 22 June 1997, aged 65, and was survived by his second wife and his children. Stelfox herself died of cancer in 2015.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1968	A Midsummer Night's Dream	Attendant
1974	Callan	George
	Abby	Flip
1975	Brannigan	Geef
	The Ghoul	Ghoul
1976	Voyage of the Damned	Engineering Officer
1977	Star Wars	General Taggi
	Crossed Swords	Burly Ruffian
1978	The Big Sleep	Lou
1980	The Island	Rollo
1985	Brazil	First Black Maria Guard
	Murder Elite	Sergeant Jessop
1987	Billy the Kid and the Green Baize Vampire	The Wednesday Man
	Out of Order	Car Driver
1988	Blanc de Chine	Malcolm
	The Adventures of Baron Munchausen	Commander
1989	Tank Malling	Percy
	The BFG	Bloodbottler / Fleshlumpeater / Sergeant	Voice
1990	The Fool	Bob
1991	How's Business	Mr. Bailey
1992	Carry On Columbus	The Bosun
	As You Like It	The Dukes
1993	The Baby of Macon	Father Confessor
	The Trial	Flogger
1994	White Angel	Inspector Taylor
	No Escape	Killian
1996	The Wind in the Willows	The Sentry
1997	Preaching to the Perverted	Commander Cope
	FairyTale: A True Story	Sydney Chalker	(final film role)

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	! Ref.
1973–1975	Warship	Master-at-Arms Frank Heron	18 episodes
1975	Poldark	Tom Carne	3 episodes
1976–1977	The XYY Man	DS George Bulman	13 episodes
1978	Crossroads	Mr Black	6 episodes
	Danton's Death	Mercier	BBC Play of the Month
1978–1982	Strangers	George Bulman	30 episodes
1983	Jemima Shore Investigates	Conrad Coleman	1 episode
1984	Annika	Mr. Daniels	2 episodes
1985–1987	Bulman	George Bulman	20 episodes
1986	Dead Head	Det. Inspector Malcolm	Episode: "Why Me?"
1987	Knights of God	Colley	6 episodes
	Doctor Who: Delta and the Bannermen	Gavrok	3 episodes
1988	Last of the Summer Wine	Charlie
	Maigret	Barge Captain	TV movie
1989	Minder	Billy Lynch	Episode: "Fiddler On The Hoof"
1989–1990	The Paradise Club	Frank Kane	20 episodes
1991	Boon	Don	Episode: "Two Men in a Vault"
1992	2Point4 Children	Frank (Ben’s Dad)	Series 2 Episode 3 "One Night In Bangkok"
1993	Cracker	John Hennessey	Series 1 episode 2
1994	Pat and Margaret	Billy
1995	The Famous Five	Block	Episode: "Five Go to Smuggler's Top"
1996	Casualty	Jerry Hunter	Episode: "Night Moves"
1997	Red Dwarf	Rogue Simulant	Episode: "Beyond a Joke"

Radio

• The Archers (1983) (Radio) ... Ben Warner

External links

• Don Henderson at IMDb
• Don Henderson BFI