Dinsdale Landen
Encyclopedia
Dinsdale James Landen was a British
actor
known mainly for his television
appearances.
Landen was born at Margate
. He made his television debut in 1959 as Pip in an adaptation of Great Expectations
and made his film debut in 1960, with a walk-on part in The League of Gentlemen
. He first became well known during the 1960s when he starred in the TV series Mickey Dunne and The Mask of Janus
, which was renamed The Spies
in later series. He also had a parallel career as a stage actor, including as Richard Dazzle in the RSC's 1970 production of London Assurance
.
On radio, he appeared in the 1976 BBC Radio 4
adaptation of Jim Eldridge
's novel Down Payment on Death as Art Gordo. He also portrayed Rupert Purvis in the 1982 production of Tom Stoppard
's play The Dog It Was That Died
and played the urbane Ambassador McKenzie in four series of Flying the Flag
.
In 1977 Landen starred in his own situation comedy
, Devenish, playing a Basil Fawlty
type character in a Reggie Perrin
-type situation; designing board games. In 1980 he starred as Barty in the television series Pig In The Middle with Liza Goddard
.
In 1987 he played the lead in a BBC TV production of What the Butler Saw
, playing Dr Prentice in a production also featuring Prunella Scales
, Timothy West
and Bryan Pringle
.
In 1989 he made a guest appearance in Doctor Who
, playing Dr. Judson, a wheelchair-using genius, in the serial The Curse of Fenric
.
Dinsdale Landen died at his home in South Creake
, Norfolk
on 29 December 2003 after becoming ill with pneumonia. He had been diagnosed with oral cancer
several years before his death, but was in remission at the time. He was married to the actress Jennifer Daniel
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
known mainly for his television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
appearances.
Landen was born at Margate
Margate
-Demography:As of the 2001 UK census, Margate had a population of 40,386.The ethnicity of the town was 97.1% white, 1.0% mixed race, 0.5% black, 0.8% Asian, 0.6% Chinese or other ethnicity....
. He made his television debut in 1959 as Pip in an adaptation of Great Expectations
Great Expectations
Great Expectations is a novel by Charles Dickens. It was first published in serial form in the publication All the Year Round from 1 December 1860 to August 1861. It has been adapted for stage and screen over 250 times....
and made his film debut in 1960, with a walk-on part in The League of Gentlemen
The League of Gentlemen (film)
The League of Gentlemen is a 1960 British crime film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Jack Hawkins, Nigel Patrick and Richard Attenborough. It was based on the 1958 novel by John Boland and adapted by Bryan Forbes, who also starred in the film...
. He first became well known during the 1960s when he starred in the TV series Mickey Dunne and The Mask of Janus
The Mask of Janus
The Mask of Janus is a British television series produced by the BBC in 1965.The series was set in the fictional European country of Amalia and dealt with the political interests of the British, American and Communist espionage communities within. Eschewing the action formula of its ITV...
, which was renamed The Spies
The Spies (TV series)
The Spies is a British television series produced by the BBC in 1966.A spin-off or rebranding of the previous 1965 series The Mask of Janus, The Spies was a more conventional espionage thriller series than its predecessor, being more explicitly concerned with the actual operations of British secret...
in later series. He also had a parallel career as a stage actor, including as Richard Dazzle in the RSC's 1970 production of London Assurance
London Assurance
London Assurance is a five-act comedy by Dion Boucicault. It was the second play that he wrote, but his first to be produced. Its first production, from March 4, 1841 at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden was Boucicault's first major success...
.
On radio, he appeared in the 1976 BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
adaptation of Jim Eldridge
Jim Eldridge
Jim Eldridge is a radio, TV and movie scriptwriter with hundreds of radio and TV scripts broadcast in the UK and across the world in a career spanning over 30 years....
's novel Down Payment on Death as Art Gordo. He also portrayed Rupert Purvis in the 1982 production of Tom Stoppard
Tom Stoppard
Sir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, knighted in 1997. He has written prolifically for TV, radio, film and stage, finding prominence with plays such as Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Professional Foul, The Real Thing, and Rosencrantz and...
's play The Dog It Was That Died
The Dog it was that Died
The Dog It Was That Died is a play by the British playwright Tom Stoppard.Written for BBC Radio in 1982, it concerns the dilemma faced by a spy over whom he actually works for. The play was also adapted for television by Stoppard, and broadcast in 1988....
and played the urbane Ambassador McKenzie in four series of Flying the Flag
Flying the Flag
-Synopsis:Created at the height of the Cold War, this BBC Radio 4 sitcom chronicled the vagaries of diplomatic life in a fictitious eastern-bloc country...
.
In 1977 Landen starred in his own situation comedy
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
, Devenish, playing a Basil Fawlty
Basil Fawlty
Basil Fawlty is the main character of the British sitcom Fawlty Towers, played by John Cleese. The character is often thought of as an iconic British comedy character, and has been deemed unforgettable despite only a dozen half-hour episodes ever being made....
type character in a Reggie Perrin
The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin
The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin is a series of novels which developed into a British sitcom starring Leonard Rossiter in the title role...
-type situation; designing board games. In 1980 he starred as Barty in the television series Pig In The Middle with Liza Goddard
Liza Goddard
Liza Goddard is an English television and stage actress best known for her work in the 1970s and 1980s.-Early life:Goddard was born in Smethwick, West Midlands, England...
.
In 1987 he played the lead in a BBC TV production of What the Butler Saw
What the Butler Saw (play)
What the Butler Saw is a farce written by English playwright Joe Orton. It premièred at the Queen's Theatre in London on 5 March 1969. It was Orton's final play and the second to be performed after his death, following Funeral Games the year before....
, playing Dr Prentice in a production also featuring Prunella Scales
Prunella Scales
Prunella Scales CBE is an English actress, known for her role as Basil Fawlty's long-suffering wife in the British comedy Fawlty Towers and her award-nominated role as Queen Elizabeth II in the British film A Question of Attribution.-Career:Throughout her long career, Scales has usually been cast...
, Timothy West
Timothy West
Timothy Lancaster West, CBE is an English film, stage and television actor.-Career:West's craggy looks ensured a career as a character actor rather than a leading man. He began his career as an Assistant Stage Manager at the Wimbledon Theatre in 1956, and followed this with several seasons of...
and Bryan Pringle
Bryan Pringle
Bryan Pringle was a British actor who appeared in television, film and theatre productions.Born in Tamworth, Staffordshire but raised in the Lancashire town of Bolton he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. In 1958, he married character actress Anne Jameson; together they had...
.
In 1989 he made a guest appearance in Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, playing Dr. Judson, a wheelchair-using genius, in the serial The Curse of Fenric
The Curse of Fenric
The Curse of Fenric is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 25 October to 15 November 1989...
.
Dinsdale Landen died at his home in South Creake
South Creake
South Creake is a village and civil parish in north west Norfolk, England. The village lies south of its twin village of North Creake, and some five miles north-west of the town of Fakenham....
, Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
on 29 December 2003 after becoming ill with pneumonia. He had been diagnosed with oral cancer
Oral cancer
Oral cancer is a subtype of head and neck cancer, is any cancerous tissue growth located in the oral cavity. It may arise as a primary lesion originating in any of the oral tissues, by metastasis from a distant site of origin, or by extension from a neighboring anatomic structure, such as the...
several years before his death, but was in remission at the time. He was married to the actress Jennifer Daniel
Jennifer Daniel
Jennifer Daniel is a Welsh actress. Among her film and TV appearances are the Hammer horror films The Kiss of the Vampire and The Reptile .She was married to actor Dinsdale Landen from 1959 until his death in 2003....
.