Roger Delgado

Early life

Delgado was born in Whitechapel, in the East End of London, to a French mother and a Spanish father; he often remarked to Doctor Who co-star and close friend Jon Pertwee that this made him a true Cockney, as he was born within the sound of Bow Bells. He did not live in the East End, but was brought up in Bedford Park in west London.

His father was a bank clerk who encouraged Delgado to work the same job; he did try banking for a while but soon left to pursue acting.

He attended Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School, a Roman Catholic secondary school in Holland Park, and the London School of Economics for a brief period, but did not complete his degree. He served in the Second World War with both the Leicestershire Regiment and the Royal Corps of Signals, attaining the rank of major.

In the late 1930s, he worked in a repertory in Leicester until 1940 when he was called to fight in the war. After the war ended in 1945, he joined the York repertory company and eventually moved to the BBC drama repertory, where he stayed from 1950 to 1962.

Career

Delgado worked extensively on the British stage, and on television, film and radio. His theatre debut was in 1939 and his first television appearance was 1948. He appeared in the BBC Television serial Quatermass II (1955), the Powell and Pressburger wartime drama Battle of the River Plate (1956), and came to wide popular attention in Britain when he played the duplicitous Spanish envoy Mendoza in the ITC Entertainment series, Sir Francis Drake, from 1961 to 1962, after which he was in much demand. Delgado was frequently cast as a villain, appearing in many British action-adventure TV series by ITC, including Danger Man (1961), The Saint (1962 and 1966), The Champions (1969), and Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) (1969).

Delgado made a total of 16 guest appearances in ITC shows, the most of any actor, with his last completed role being ITC's The Zoo Gang (1974). He also appeared in The Avengers (1961 and 1969), The Power Game (1966), and an ITV Play of the Week (The Crossfire, 1967). His films included The Terror of the Tongs, The Road to Hong Kong, The Mummy's Shroud and Antony and Cleopatra.

He began work as The Master on Doctor Who in late 1970, his first broadcast appearance being in the January 1971 adventure Terror of the Autons. He subsequently reprised the role of the Master in the Third Doctor serials The Mind of Evil, The Claws of Axos, Colony in Space, The Dæmons, The Sea Devils, The Time Monster and Frontier in Space. An in-joke in the 1971 Doctor Who story Colony in Space refers to his role as Mendoza in Sir Francis Drake, when the Brigadier tells the Doctor not to worry as the suspected sighting of the Master "was only the Spanish Ambassador". The Master's story arc was to have ended in The Final Game, which was planned as the final story to feature Pertwee's Third Doctor, but the story was scrapped following Delgado's sudden death and replaced with Planet of the Spiders.

Personal life

Delgado's first marriage was to Olga Anthonisz, which ended in divorce. He married Kismet Shahani in 1957 and they remained together until his death in 1973. Kismet died in 2017.

Death

Delgado died on location on 18 June 1973 in Nevşehir, Turkey, whilst shooting La Cloche tibétaine (Tibetan Bell), a Franco/German television mini-series about the Yellow Expedition. During this expedition, Citroën tracked vehicles traversed Asia in 1931–32 from Peking and Beirut. Delgado appeared in one episode of this production. He was killed, along with two Turkish film technicians, when the car in which he was travelling went off the road into a ravine. He was 55 years old.

For years, there was mystery surrounding the fate of Delgado's remains. It was revealed in 2017 that his body had been returned to the United Kingdom and cremated at Mortlake before the ashes were scattered on 27 June 1973, in area RB3 (Plot 43) of the Garden of Remembrance at Mortlake Cemetery in Southwest London.

The serial he was filming in Turkey continued production and was completed after his death. The series was broadcast on French and German television in 1974–1975; Delgado can be seen in episode 4 as the minor character Paco.

Jon Pertwee often remarked that Delgado's death was one of the reasons he decided to leave Doctor Who the following year.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

References

1. Fane Saunders, Tristram. (2 January 2020). "The Master of evil: Roger Delgado and the twisted history of Doctor Who's greatest foe". [[The Daily Telegraph]].
2. "Roger Delgado obituary (The Times) - The Doctor Who Cuttings Archive".
3. "Roger Delgado {{!}} A Brief History Of Time (Travel)".
4. ''The Making of Doctor Who'', 1972, p. 31
5. Harmes, Marcus. (2017). "Roger Delgado: I am usually referred to as the Master". Fantom Publishing.
6. Harmes, Marcus. (2017). "Roger Delgado: I am usually referred to as the Master". Fantom Publishing.
7. "Roger Delgado". Metacritic.
8. (2011). "[[Day of the Daleks]]". BBC.
9. "Click here to view the tribute page for Roger Delgado".
10. Harmes, Marcus. (2017). "Roger Delgado: I am usually referred to as the Master". Fantom Publishing.
11. "Roger Delgado obituary (The Times) - the Doctor Who Cuttings Archive".
12. "Frontier in Space ★★★★".
13. "BBC - Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide - Planet of the Spiders - Details".
14. Harmes, Marcus. (2017). "Roger Delgado: I am usually referred to as the Master". Fantom Publishing.
15. "Roger Delgado (letter) — the Doctor Who Cuttings Archive".
16. "Funeral Directors and services — Roger Delgado".
17. "Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews / Roger Delgado's Last Appearance: Found!". Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.
18. Harmes, Marcus. (2017). "Roger Delgado: I am usually referred to as the Master". Fantom Publishing.
19. "La Cloche Tibetaine".
20. (4 March 2011). "Exclusive First Look: The Final Curtain Part 1 – Doctor Who – Planet of the Spiders". BBCClassicDoctorWho.