# Louis Mahoney

Louis Felix Danner Mahoney (/ˈluːiːməˈhoʊni/; 8 September 1938 – 28 June 2020) 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 (now Banjul), the Gambia, in 1938, the eldest of six children to James Mahoney and Princess (née Danner). 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 (now Royal) 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 (in the stories Frontier in Space, Planet of Evil and Blink), Quiller, Fawlty Towers (as Dr Finn in The Germans, 1975), The Professionals (as Dr Henry in the episode "Klansmen", never transmitted on terrestrial TV in the UK, and in "Black Out", again as a doctor), Miss Marple, Yes, Prime Minister, Bergerac, The Bill, Casualty, Holby City and Sea of Souls.
His films included The Plague of the Zombies (1966), Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981), Rise and Fall of Idi Amin (1981), White Mischief (1987), Cry Freedom (1987), Shooting Fish (1997), Wondrous Oblivion (2003) and Shooting Dogs (2005).
He featured in the Channel 4 documentary Random (2011), and in the BBC Three drama Being Human (2012) 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 (Emily Burnett).

## Campaign work

Mahoney was a long-standing campaigner for racial equality within the acting profession, as a member of the Equity Afro-Asian Committee (previously called the Coloured Actors Committee until he renamed it), 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.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1964 | Guns at Batasi | Soldier | Uncredited |
| 1965 | Curse of Simba | African expert | |
| 1966 | The Plague of the Zombies | Coloured Servant | |
| 1967 | Prehistoric Women | Head Boy | |
| 1970 | Praise Marx and Pass the Ammunition | Julius | |
| 1973 | Live and Let Die | Fillet of Soul Patron (New York) | Uncredited |
| 1973 | Doctor Who | Newscaster | Serial: Frontier in Space, 2 episodes |
| 1974 | Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? | Frank | Episode: "In Harm's Way" |
| 1975 | Doctor Who | Ponti | Serial: Planet of Evil, 2 episodes |
| 1975 | Fawlty Towers | Doctor Finn | Episode: "The Germans" |
| 1975 | The Fight Against Slavery | Olaudah Equiano | |
| 1981 | Omen III: The Final Conflict | Brother Paulo | |
| 1981 | Rise and Fall of Idi Amin | Freedom fighter Ofumbi | |
| 1984 | Sheena | Elder 1 | |
| 1987 | Cry Freedom | Lesotho government official | |
| 1987 | White Mischief | Abdullah | |
| 1997 | Shooting Fish | Magistrate | |
| 2003 | Wondrous Oblivion | Mr. Johnson | |
| 2005 | Shooting Dogs | Sibomana | |
| 2005 | Holby City | Raymond Opoku | 1 episode |
| 2007 | Doctor Who | Old Billy | Episode: "Blink" |
| 2012-13 | Being Human | Leo | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Captain Phillips | Maersk Alabama Crew | |
| 2016 | Holby City | Thomas Law | 1 episode |
| 2018 | National Theatre Live: Allelujah! | Neville | |
| 2018 | The Dumping Ground | Henry Lawrence | |

## Theatre

| Year | Show | Role | Theatre |
| ? | Talking To You | Various | Duke of York's Theatre |
| ? | Cato Street | Conspirator | Young Vic |
| ? | Jesus Christ Superstar | Caiaphas | Gaiety Theatre, Dublin |
| ? | Murderous Angels | Diallo Diop | Gaiety Theatre, Dublin |
| 1967 | Coriolanus | Lieutenant to Aufidius | Royal Shakespeare Company |
| 1967 | Romeo and Juliet | Musician | Royal Shakespeare Company |
| 1970 | Robinson Crusoe | Friday | Mercury Theatre |
| 1970 | Night and Day | President Mageeba | Watford Palace Theatre |
| 1970 | Hutch Builder to Her Majesty | Various | Theatre Royal, Drury Lane |
| 1970 | White Devil | Antonelli | Oxford Playhouse |
| 1970 | I am Tomarienka | Various | Watermill Theatre |
| 1990 | Desire | Kindo | Almeida |
| 1997 | Romeo & Juliet | Friar John and Monatague | Royal Shakespeare Company |
| 2007 | Generations | Grandfather | Young Vic |
| 2009 | As You Like It | Adam and Sir Oliver Martext | Leicester Curve |
| 2009 | The Observer | Muturi and Dr Durami | Royal National Theatre |
| 2010 | Love Thy Sinner | Paul | Royal National Theatre |
| 2011 | Truth & Reconciliation | Rwandan Grandfather | Royal Court |
| 2013 | Feast | Papa Legba | Young Vic and Royal Court |
| 2018 | Allelujah | Neville | Bridge Theatre |