Russell Napier

Russell Gordon Napier (28 November 1910 – 19 August 1974) was an Australian actor born in Perth, Western Australia. Before pursuing a career in performance, Napier trained and worked as a lawyer. He made his stage debut in 1936 and went on to work across theatre, cinema, and television in both comedic and dramatic roles.

Napier's stage career began with a 1936 production of T. S. Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral at The Old Vic. That production subsequently transferred to Broadway in 1938, marking his sole credited Broadway appearance. His screen career began in 1947 and continued until the year of his death in 1974.

Among his notable early television work, Napier starred in a live BBC production of H. G. Wells' The Time Machine in 1949. No footage of the production survives; only still photographs remain as a record of it.

Napier became most closely associated with the Scotland Yard series of short films, released for British cinema screenings between 1953 and 1961. He appeared in the series more frequently than any other performer, first playing Inspector Harmer in two films before taking on the role of Detective Inspector Duggan — later promoted to Superintendent Duggan — across thirteen additional entries. The American Broadcasting Company aired the series in the United States beginning in 1957.

In 1962, Napier served as commentator for the official television documentary The Hole in the Ground, which concerned the United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation. Later in his career, he appeared as Doctor Green in the UFO television series, specifically in the 1970 episode "A Question of Priorities." Napier died on 19 August 1974 in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, England.