Patrick Allen

Patrick Allen
John Keith Patrick Allen (17 March 1927 – 28 July 2006) was a British actor.
Life and career
Allen was born in Nyasaland (now Malawi), where his father was a tobacco farmer. After his parents returned to Britain, he was evacuated to Canada during the Second World War where he remained to finish his education at McGill University in Montreal. He gained experience as a local radio broadcaster and appeared on television in plays and documentaries, before returning to Britain.
Returning to the UK in 1953, Allen made his film debut in Alfred Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder (1954). He subsequently appeared in character roles in many films, including Captain Clegg, The Wild Geese, The Sea Wolves, Puppet on a Chain, and Who Dares Wins. He was also the lead actor in the Associated Rediffusion adventure series Crane (1963–65) and in the BBC-1 series Brett (1971). Allen played Moriarty's deputy Colonel Sebastian Moran in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
He made regular appearances in ITC television series during the 1960s and early 1970s, including The Power Game, The Baron, The Champions, The Avengers, Gideon's Way and UFO ("Timelash" 1971), although he never had an ongoing role in any of these series. He made one episode of The Saint alongside Roger Moore in "The Man Who Could Not Die" broadcast July 1965 in the UK.
Allen also worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company in a number of stage roles, along with many BBC productions, including appearing as Mr Gradgrind in a television production of Dickens' Hard Times in 1977.
In 1967, he and his wife Sarah Lawson appeared together playing a married couple in the science fiction film, Night of the Big Heat. He and Lawson also played husband and wife in the BBC radio series, Stand By For West, based on the John Creasey novels about Scotland Yard Chief Inspector Roger West.
Allen's distinctive, authoritative voice was familiar across the United Kingdom, even amongst those who did not recognize him as an actor. He dubbed Leon Greene, who played Rex, in the 1968 Hammer film The Devil Rides Out.
He narrated the British Government's Protect and Survive series of public information films in the 1970s; some of his lines in that production were re-recorded and sampled into the single "Two Tribes" by the band Frankie Goes to Hollywood. He also appeared in and voiced numerous commercials for house builder Barratt Homes and car manufacturers Ford and British Leyland among many others. His voice-over work led him to start up his own business, running a successful recording studio for voice-over work.
Allen's voice was heard at the beginning of videocassettes distributed in the UK by Video Network in the 1980s, welcoming viewers and reading an anti-copying warning. He also narrated the first series of Blackadder, and appeared in the last episode 'The Black Seal' as Edmund's nemesis, Phillip of Burgundy – known to his enemies as "The Hawk".
He provided the narration (the voice of Captain Star) for the 1989 children's series TUGS. Allen remained uncredited for his work, which was revealed in an interview with the show's producer Robert D. Cardona.
In 2005, he became the voice of the British television channel E4, providing voiceovers for many of its idents and promotions.
He was also the voice of the Christian O'Connell Breakfast Show on XFM, the late show on 103.2 Power FM, Hirsty's Daily Dose on Galaxy Yorkshire and briefly Virgin Radio.
Personal life
Allen married actress Sarah Lawson in 1960, together the couple had two sons, Stephen and Stuart.
Death
Allen died on the morning of 28 July 2006 at age 79. He was survived by his wife and two sons.
Filmography
Blackbeard the Pirate (1952) - Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Battle Circus (1953) - British Officer (uncredited)
World for Ransom (1954) - Soldier (uncredited)
Dial M for Murder (1954) - Detective Pearson
Confession (1955) - Corey
Cross Channel (1955) - Hugo Platt
King's Rhapsody (1955) - Richard's Companion in Theatre Box (uncredited)
1984 (1956) - Inner Party Official
Wicked as They Come (1956) - Willie
The Baby and the Battleship (1956) - Mate (uncredited)
The Adventures of Aggie (1956-57)
High Tide at Noon (1957) - Charles MacKenzie
The Long Haul (1957) - Joe Easy
The Mark of the Hawk (1957) - Gregory
High Hell (1958) - Luke Fulgham
The Man Who Wouldn't Talk (1958) - Jim Kennedy
Dunkirk (1958) - Sergeant on Parade Ground
Tread Softly Stranger (1958) - Paddy Ryan
I Was Monty's Double (1958) - Col. Mathers
Jet Storm (1959) - Mulliner
Never Take Sweets from a Stranger (1960) - Peter Carter
The Sinister Man (1961) - Dr. Nelson Pollard
The Traitors (1962) - John Lane
Captain Clegg (1962) - Captain Collier
Flight from Singapore (1962) - John Scott
The Big Job (1965) - Narrator (voice, uncredited)
The Night of the Generals (1967) - Colonel Mannheim
The Viking Queen (1967) - Narrator (voice, uncredited)
Night of the Big Heat (1967) - Jeff Callum
Oedipus the King (1968) - Chorus Leader (voice, uncredited)
The Devil Rides Out (1968) - Rex Van Ryn (voice, uncredited)
Carry On Up the Khyber (1968) - Narrator (voice, uncredited)
The Body Stealers (1969) - Bob Megan
The Assassination Bureau (1969) - Narrator (voice, uncredited)
The File of the Golden Goose (1969) - Narrator (voice, uncredited)
When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970) - Kingsor / Narrator
Puppet on a Chain (1971) - Inspector Van Gelder
Persecution (1974) aka Sheba, The Graveyard, The Terror of Sheba - Robert Masters
The Wilby Conspiracy (1975) - District Commissioner
The Eagle Has Landed (1976) - Narrator (voice, uncredited)
The Domino Principle (1977) - Narrator (voice, uncredited)
The Wild Geese (1978) - Rushton
Force 10 from Navarone (1978) - Narrator (voice, uncredited)
Caligula (1979) - Macro (voice, uncredited)
The Sea Wolves (1980) - Colin MacKenzie
Who Dares Wins (1982) - Police Commissioner
Bullet to Beijing (1995) - Col. Wilson
Tugs (1989) - Captain Star/Narrator (voice, uncredited)
RPM (1998) - Millionaire
Dangerville (2003) - Unknown role (voice)
Days That Shook the World (2004) - Sir John French
The Magic Roundabout (2005) - Skeletons (voice, uncredited)
References
External links
1927 births
2006 deaths
English male film actors
English male stage actors
English male television actors
English male voice actors
Malawian emigrants to the United Kingdom
McGill University alumni
20th-century English businesspeople