Derek Partridge
Encyclopedia
Life
Partridge’s father was a diplomat in the British Foreign ServiceGovernment of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Government is the central government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Government is led by the Prime Minister, who selects all the remaining Ministers...
. In 1943, when he was only seven years old, Partridge and his nanny in Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
boarded BOAC Flight 777
BOAC Flight 777
BOAC Flight 777-A, a scheduled British Overseas Airways Corporation civilian airline flight on 1 June 1943 from Portela Airport in Lisbon, Portugal, to Whitchurch Airport near Bristol, United Kingdom, was attacked by eight German Junkers Ju 88s and crashed into the Bay of Biscay, killing 17 "souls...
bound for Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Before the flight took off Partridge and his nanny were forced to give up their seats for so that British actor Leslie Howard
Leslie Howard (actor)
Leslie Howard was an English stage and film actor, director, and producer. Among his best-known roles was Ashley Wilkes in Gone with the Wind and roles in Berkeley Square , Of Human Bondage , The Scarlet Pimpernel , The Petrified Forest , Pygmalion , Intermezzo , Pimpernel Smith...
and his agent Alfred T. Chenhalls could board the plane. BOAC Flight 777 was later shot down over the Bay of Biscay
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...
by the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
, killing all on board.
In the 1960s Partridge appeared in a numerous television series and films, including the 1968 Plato's Stepchildren episode of Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
as Dionyd.
In the 1970s Partridge moved to Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
and appeared on a number of programmes broadcast by the Rhodesian Broadcasting Corporation (RBC), including the shows Frankly Partridge and The Kwhizz Kids. He also was employed as a news anchor for RBC. During his time in Rhodesia, Partridge also wrote extensively, including publishing the books Thought-Provoking Thoughts About Living and Rhodesia - As It Really Is, which was later republished under altered titles, and a weekly column in Rhodesia's TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
.
In the 1980s Partridge appeared in a number of films and television episodes, including a leading role in the 1981 film Savage Harvest
Savage Harvest
-Plot:A family in Africa is besieged by a group of lions, driven mad by the drought. They have to survive multiple attacks but some colleagues are eaten by the lions.-Cast notes:...
.
Sixty five years after the downing of flight BOAC Flight 777 Partridge served as the narrator for “Leslie Howard: A Quite Remarkable Life”, a documentary about the ill-fated flight.
Partridge is also an avid sportsman and has competed in trap shooting
Trap shooting
Trap shooting is one of the three major forms of competitive clay pigeon shooting . The others are skeet shooting and sporting clays. There are many versions including Olympic trap, Double trap , Down-The-Line, and Nordic trap. American trap is most popular in the United States and Canada...
competitions and written extension articles on the subject.
Filmography
Film- King & CountryKing & CountryKing and Country is a 1964 British film, directed by American-born director Joseph Losey, shot in black and white, and starring Dirk Bogarde and Tom Courtenay...
(1964) - McGuire, Go Home! (1964)
- Where the Spies AreWhere the Spies AreWhere the Spies Are is a 1965 MGM British comedy adventure film directed by Val Guest and featuring David Niven as Dr Jason Love, Françoise Dorléac, John Le Mesurier, Cyril Cusack and Richard Marner. It was based on the James Leasor book Passport to Oblivion...
(1965) - ThunderballThunderball (film)Thunderball is the fourth spy film in the James Bond series starring Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming, which in turn was based on an original screenplay by Jack Whittingham...
(1965) - The Murder GameThe Murder Game (1965 film)The Murder Game is a 1965 British crime film starring Ken Scott, Marla Landi, Trader Faulkner, Dyan Cannon, John Dunbar and directed by Sidney Salkow...
(1965) - The Killing of Sister GeorgeThe Killing of Sister GeorgeThe Killing of Sister George is a 1964 play by Frank Marcus that was adapted as a 1968 film directed by Robert Aldrich.- Stage version :Sister George is a beloved character in the popular radio series Applehurst, a nurse who ministers to the medical needs and personal problems of the local villagers...
(1968) - The Ivory Ape (1980)
- Savage HarvestSavage Harvest-Plot:A family in Africa is besieged by a group of lions, driven mad by the drought. They have to survive multiple attacks but some colleagues are eaten by the lions.-Cast notes:...
(1981) - My TutorMy TutorMy Tutor is a 1983 film directed by George Bowers. It stars Matt Lattanzi, Caren Kaye, Kevin McCarthy and Crispin Glover.-Premise:The film details high school graduates' attempts to lose their virginity during the summer vacation before leaving to college, and one's eventual relationship with his...
(1983) - Leslie Howard: A Quite Remarkable Life (release date not announced)
Television
- Studio 4 (1962)
- Dixon of Dock GreenDixon of Dock GreenDixon of Dock Green was a popular BBC television series that ran from 1955 to 1976, and later a radio series. Despite being a drama series, it was initially produced by the BBC's light entertainment department.-Overview:...
(1962) - The Two-Seater Bachelor Days (1963)
- ITV Television Playhouse (1963)
- A Matter of Espionage (1963)
- More Faces of Jim (1963)
- First Night (1963)
- Medal for a Turned Coat (1963)
- EspionageEspionage (TV series)Espionage is a 1963 Associated TeleVision series, distributed outside the UK by ITC Entertainment and networked in the United States by NBC.-Synopsis:...
(1963) - The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre (1963–64)
- The Verdict (1964)
- Diary of a Young Man (1964)
- Night Train to Surbiton (1965)
- Star TrekStar TrekStar Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
, Plato's Stepchildren episode (1968) - Frankly Partridge – host of show (1970s)
- The Kwhizz Kids – host of show (1970s)
- Remington SteeleRemington SteeleRemington Steele is an American television series, co-created by Robert Butler and Michael Gleason. The series, starring Stephanie Zimbalist and Pierce Brosnan, was produced by MTM Enterprises and first broadcast on the NBC network from 1982 to 1987. The series blended the genres of romantic...
(1983) - R.S.V.P. (1984)
- T.J. Hooker (1985)
- DallasDallas (TV series)Dallas is an American serial drama/prime time soap opera that revolves around the Ewings, a wealthy Texas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries. Throughout the series, Larry Hagman stars as greedy, scheming oil baron J. R. Ewing...
(1986) - Hunter (1987)
- Divorce CourtDivorce CourtDivorce Court is a judge show about cases which only involve divorcing couples. Out of the shows currently airing in the court-themed genre, Divorce Court is the oldest...
(1987) - Pagent vs Pagent (1987)
- Murder, She WroteMurder, She WroteMurder, She Wrote is an American television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. The series aired for 12 seasons from 1984 to 1996 on the CBS network, with 264 episodes transmitted. It was followed by four TV films and a spin-off series,...
(1989) - Single & Searching: How to Find the Perfect Person for You (2002)
- The Indie Pendant (2005)
External links
- Derekpartridge.com – Personal Homepage
- Derek Partridge on ATA vs Bunker - Includes list of Derek Partridges articles on Sport shooting
- Derek Partridge’s Curriculum Vitae