Actor
The Resume
(May 2, 1941-June 3, 2019)
Born in Chessington, Surrey, England, United Kingdom
Birth name was Paul Valentine Birkby
Portrayed Kerr Avon in ‘Blake’s 7’ (1978-81)
Had roles in two Doctor Who serials: Captain Hawkins in ‘Dr. Who and the Silurians’ (1970) and Maylin Tekker in ‘Timelash’ (1985)
Portrayed Elvis Presley in the West End musical ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight?’
Recorded voiceovers for Jack FM radio
Why he might be annoying
He was nicknamed ‘the Kiss of Death’ on ‘Blake’s 7,’ since any female character that Avon became romantically involved with would be killed off, usually in a single episode.
He was extremely accident prone with props, breaking so many prop guns on ‘Blake’s 7’ that the propmakers eventually built a special gun with an aluminum core for him.
He joined a consortium that bought the rights to ‘Blake’s 7’ from the widow of producer Terry Nation with plans to revive the show as a miniseries, but he left the group after disagreements over the direction the scripts were taking.
He told an interviewer he was hooked on the reality series ‘Footballers’ Wives’ and would have liked to have been in it.
Why he might not be annoying
While a student at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he shared an apartment with John Hurt and Ian McShane.
When an agent recommended that he change his last name to something more easily pronounceable, his father suggested ‘Darrow,’ after American attorney Clarence Darrow.
He did his own stunts in ‘Blake’s 7.’
Due to complications from treatment of an aortic aneurysm, both his legs were amputated (2014).
He and actress Janet Lees-Price were married for 56 years, until her death.
An extinct species of crocodile, Baru darrowi, was named for him.
He said, ‘Generally, I'm cast as the baddie but then the baddie is quite a good role. In fact, it's usually the best.’
Credit: C. Fishel
Share this link with a friend:
Year In Review:
For 2021, as of last week, Out of 4 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 55 Votes: 52.73% Annoying
Featured in the following Annoying Collections:
|
