Gordon Jackson

Gordon Jackson was a Scottish actor born on 19 December 1923 in Glasgow, the youngest of five children. He attended Hillhead High School and participated in BBC radio programs during his youth, including Children's Hour. After leaving school at 15, he worked as a draughtsman for Rolls-Royce before being drawn into acting.

Jackson's film career began in 1942 when Ealing Studios sought a young Scottish actor for The Foreman Went to France. He briefly returned to Rolls-Royce following that production but was soon offered additional film work and committed to acting as a profession. Early screen appearances included Millions Like Us, San Demetrio London, The Captive Heart, Eureka Stockade, and Whisky Galore. During the early phase of his career he also worked in repertory theatre in Glasgow, Worthing, and Perth. In 1949 he starred in Floodtide alongside actress Rona Anderson, whom he married on 2 June 1951. The couple had two sons, Graham and Roddy. That same year Jackson made his London stage debut in Hugh Hastings's play Seagulls Over Sorrento.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s Jackson appeared in television productions including The Adventures of Robin Hood, ABC of Britain, Gideon's Way, and The Avengers, as well as the 1955 film The Quatermass Xperiment. He took supporting roles in The Great Escape, in which he portrayed Flight Lieutenant Andrew MacDonald, and in The Bridal Path and The Ipcress File. He also appeared as Captain Jimmy Cairns in Tunes of Glory. In 1960 he received a BAFTA nomination for Best British Actor for Yesterday's Enemy.

In 1969 Jackson appeared on Broadway in Hamlet, playing Horatio in Tony Richardson's production. That same year he and his wife both had roles in the film The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. For his performance in Hamlet he won the Clarence Derwent Award for Best Supporting Actor, and he also participated in the film version of the production.

Jackson became widely recognized for his portrayal of the Scottish butler Angus Hudson across 60 episodes of the period drama Upstairs, Downstairs, which ran from 1971 to 1975. In 1975 he received a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor for the series, and the following year he won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedy or Drama Series for the episode "The Beastly Hun." He was named British Actor of the Year in 1974 and appointed OBE in 1979. During this period he also appeared opposite Bette Davis in the American television film Madame Sin (1972), which was released as a feature film in overseas markets.

From 1977 Jackson starred as George Cowley, head of CI5, in all 57 episodes of the police drama The Professionals, with filming concluding in 1981 and the series ending in 1983. He played Noel Strachan in the Australian Second World War drama A Town Like Alice in 1981, earning a Logie Award for the performance. He subsequently appeared in Hart to Hart, Campion, and Shaka Zulu on television, and in the films The Shooting Party and The Whistle Blower. His theatre work during this period included Cards on the Table, adapted from Agatha Christie's novel, at the Vaudeville Theatre in 1981, and Mass Appeal by Bill C. Davis at the Lyric Hammersmith in 1982. Between 1985 and 1986 he narrated two afternoon cookery programs for TVNZ in New Zealand, Fresh and Fancy Fare and its successor Country Fare. His final role was in Effie's Burning, which was broadcast after his death.

Jackson was diagnosed with bone cancer in December 1989 and died on 15 January 1990 in London at the age of 66. He was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium.