Gareth Hunt
Encyclopedia
Alan Leonard Hunt was an English
actor
, known as Gareth Hunt, best remembered for playing the footman Frederick Norton in Upstairs, Downstairs
and Mike Gambit
in The New Avengers.
, London
in 1942; he was the nephew of actress Martita Hunt
. His father was killed in the Second World War
when Hunt was two years old, and he was brought up by his mother Doris and stepfather. At the age of 15, he joined the Merchant Navy. After six years, he jumped ship in New Zealand
and worked in a car plant for a year before he was caught and served three months in a military prison. Hunt was then deported back to Britain and while taking a BBC
design course he held a variety of jobs, including stagehand
, road digger, butcher's assistant and door-to-door salesman. Having had an interest in acting since his early years, he subsequently trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art
. Following that, Hunt did rep
across the United Kingdom
and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company
and National Theatre
in the early 1970s. Among the many stage productions he appeared in were Twelfth Night, Oh! What a Lovely War
and West Side Story.
Hunt started his television career in 1972, playing a policeman
in For the Love of Ada
. The same year Hunt appeared in A Family at War
and The Organisation. In 1974, he had a role in the Doctor Who
story Planet of the Spiders
and Bless This House. In 1975 he played Thomas Woolner
in The Love School
.
episode "Missing Believed Killed
" as Trooper Norton, batman
to James Bellamy
. The character was a minor one; however, his performance led producers John Hawkesworth
and Alfred Shaughnessy
to ask him to come back as a regular for the fifth series in 1975.
Hunt continued playing Frederick Norton, who had by now become the footman
, until the eleventh episode of the fifth series, "Alberto
". In 1975, Hunt made appearances in The Hanged Man
, Softly, Softly
and Space: 1999
.
In 1976, the year after leaving Upstairs Downstairs, Hunt starred alongside Joanna Lumley
and Patrick Macnee
in The New Avengers. The show's producers said he was cast because of his part in Upstairs, Downstairs. Hunt played secret agent Mike Gambit
and starred in the show until its end after two series in 1977. After that in the late 1970s and 1980s, Hunt made appearances in Sunday Night Thriller,
Minder
and Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense
. Hunt appeared alongside Julia McKenzie
in That Beryl Marston...! in 1981. In 1984 he appeared in the film Bloodbath at the House of Death
and in 1988 he played many parts in the Pet Shop Boys
' film It Couldn't Happen Here.
Hunt starred in a series of television adverts for the coffee
brand Nescafé
in the 1980s, with a trademark move: to shake his closed hand then open it, to reveal coffee beans, and smell the aroma.
, Harry and the Wrinklies
, Absolute Power
(as himself), New Tricks, Powers
and Doctors
. From 1992 to 1993 Hunt had a leading role in the sitcom Side by Side
, and had a main role in the short-lived soap opera Night and Day
in 2001. In 1997, he appeared in the film Fierce Creatures
and in 2001 played Ritchie Stringer, a crime boss who was an unlikely suspect in the shooting
of Phil Mitchell
, in EastEnders
. For a brief time he abandoned acting and started a project called Interactive Casting Universal, a computer system that presented actors' details and showreels.
Hunt suffered a heart attack
in December 1999 and withdrew from a pantomime
in Malvern
. In July 2002 he collapsed while performing on stage in Bournemouth
. Gareth Hunt died of pancreatic cancer
, from which he had suffered for two years, on 14 March 2007, at the age of 65, at his home in Redhill
, Surrey
. He had married three times and had a son by each marriage.
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...
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 as Gareth Hunt, best remembered for playing the footman Frederick Norton in Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs is a British drama television series originally produced by London Weekend Television and revived by the BBC. It ran on ITV in 68 episodes divided into five series from 1971 to 1975, and a sixth series shown on the BBC on three consecutive nights, 26–28 December 2010.Set in a...
and Mike Gambit
Mike Gambit
Mike Gambit was a character in the British TV series The New Avengers. Played by actor Gareth Hunt, Gambit was a secret agent and former Major in the Parachute Regiment and had a short-lived career as a race car driver. Gambit was somewhat of a mystery, his past never being too thoroughly dealt with...
in The New Avengers.
Early life
Alan Leonard Hunt was born in BatterseaBattersea
Battersea is an area of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is an inner-city district of South London, situated on the south side of the River Thames, 2.9 miles south-west of Charing Cross. Battersea spans from Fairfield in the west to Queenstown in the east...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1942; he was the nephew of actress Martita Hunt
Martita Hunt
Martita Hunt was an English theatre and film actress.-Early life:Hunt was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 30 January 1900 to British parents Alfred and Marta Hunt...
. His father was killed in the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
when Hunt was two years old, and he was brought up by his mother Doris and stepfather. At the age of 15, he joined the Merchant Navy. After six years, he jumped ship in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and worked in a car plant for a year before he was caught and served three months in a military prison. Hunt was then deported back to Britain and while taking a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
design course he held a variety of jobs, including stagehand
Stagehand
A stagehand is a person who works backstage or behind the scenes in theatres, film, television, or location performance. Their duties include setting up the scenery, lights, sound, props, rigging, and special effects for a production.-Types of stagehand:...
, road digger, butcher's assistant and door-to-door salesman. Having had an interest in acting since his early years, he subsequently trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art
Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art
The Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, formerly the Webber Douglas School of Singing and Dramatic Art, was a drama school, and originally a singing school, in London. It was one of the leading drama schools in Britain, and offered comprehensive training for those intending to pursue a...
. Following that, Hunt did rep
Repertory
Repertory or rep, also called stock in the United States, is a term used in Western theatre and opera.A repertory theatre can be a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation...
across the United Kingdom
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...
and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
and National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
in the early 1970s. Among the many stage productions he appeared in were Twelfth Night, Oh! What a Lovely War
Oh! What a Lovely War
Oh! What a Lovely War is a musical film based on the stage musical Oh, What a Lovely War! originated by Charles Chilton as a radio play, The Long Long Trail in December 1961, and transferred to stage by Gerry Raffles in partnership with Joan Littlewood and her Theatre Workshop created in 1963,...
and West Side Story.
Hunt started his television career in 1972, playing a policeman
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
in For the Love of Ada
For The Love Of Ada
For the Love of Ada is an ITV sitcom that ran between 1970 - 1971.-Outline:This gentle sitcom starred Irene Handl as Ada Cresswell a Cockney pensioner widow who lives with her daughter Ruth Pollitt and son-in-law Leslie Pollitt .Ada starts a relationship with Walter Bingley , the gravedigger who...
. The same year Hunt appeared in A Family at War
A Family At War
A Family At War is a British drama series that aired on ITV from 1970 to 1972. It was created by John Finch and made by Granada Television for ITV. The director was David Giles....
and The Organisation. In 1974, he had a role in the 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...
story Planet of the Spiders
Planet of the Spiders
Planet of the Spiders is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from May 4 to June 8, 1974. It was Jon Pertwee's last serial as the Doctor and marks the first, uncredited appearance of Tom Baker in the role. It also marks...
and Bless This House. In 1975 he played Thomas Woolner
Thomas Woolner
Thomas Woolner RA was an English sculptor and poet who was one of the founder-members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He was the only sculptor among the original members....
in The Love School
The Love School
The Love School is a BBC television drama series originally broadcast in 1975 about the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, written by John Hale, Ray Lawler, Robin Chapman and John Prebble. It was directed by Piers Haggard, John Glenister and Robert Knights. It was shown during January and February 1975...
.
Television fame
In 1974, Gareth Hunt appeared in the Upstairs, DownstairsUpstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs is a British drama television series originally produced by London Weekend Television and revived by the BBC. It ran on ITV in 68 episodes divided into five series from 1971 to 1975, and a sixth series shown on the BBC on three consecutive nights, 26–28 December 2010.Set in a...
episode "Missing Believed Killed
Missing Believed Killed
Missing Believed Killed is the eleventh episode of the fourth series of the period drama Upstairs, Downstairs. It first aired on 23 November 1974 on ITV.-Background:...
" as Trooper Norton, batman
Batman (army)
A batman is a soldier or airman assigned to a commissioned officer as a personal servant.The term is derived from the obsolete bat, "packsaddle" + man....
to James Bellamy
James Bellamy
Major The Honourable James Rupert Bellamy MC is a fictional character in the ITV period drama Upstairs, Downstairs, that was originally broadcast for five series from 1971 to 1975...
. The character was a minor one; however, his performance led producers John Hawkesworth
John Hawkesworth (producer)
John Hawkesworth was an English television and film producer and writer best known for his work on the period drama Upstairs, Downstairs.-Early life:...
and Alfred Shaughnessy
Alfred Shaughnessy
Alfred James Shaughnessy , sometimes known as Freddy Shaughnessy, was an English scriptwriter and producer best known for being the script editor of Upstairs, Downstairs.-Early life:...
to ask him to come back as a regular for the fifth series in 1975.
Hunt continued playing Frederick Norton, who had by now become the footman
Footman
A footman is a male servant, notably as domestic staff.-Word history:The name derives from the attendants who ran beside or behind the carriages of aristocrats, many of whom were chosen for their physical attributes. They ran alongside the coach to make sure it was not overturned by such obstacles...
, until the eleventh episode of the fifth series, "Alberto
Alberto (Upstairs, Downstairs)
Alberto is the eleventh episode of the fifth and final series of the period drama Upstairs, Downstairs. It first aired on 16 November 1975 on ITV.-Background:The Understudy was recorded in the studio on 15 and 16 May 1975...
". In 1975, Hunt made appearances in The Hanged Man
The Hanged Man (TV series)
The Hanged Man is a British crime drama series that aired on ITV in 1975. It was created and written by Edmund Ward.-Cast:*Colin Blakely - Lew Burnett*Michael Williams - Alan Crowe*Gary Watson - John Quentin*John Rees - Brian Nelson...
, Softly, Softly
Softly, Softly (TV series)
Softly, Softly is a British television drama series, produced by the BBC and screened on BBC 1 from January 1966. It centred around the work of regional crime squads, plain-clothes CID officers based in the fictional region of Wyvern - supposedly in the Bristol and Chepstow area of the UK...
and Space: 1999
Space: 1999
Space: 1999 is a British science-fiction television series that ran for two seasons and originally aired from 1975 to 1977. In the opening episode, nuclear waste from Earth stored on the Moon's far side explodes in a catastrophic accident on 13 September 1999, knocking the Moon out of orbit and...
.
In 1976, the year after leaving Upstairs Downstairs, Hunt starred alongside Joanna Lumley
Joanna Lumley
Joanna Lamond Lumley, OBE, FRGS is a British actress, voice-over artist, former-model and author, best known for her roles in British television series Absolutely Fabulous portraying Edina Monsoon's best friend, Patsy Stone, as well as parts in The New Avengers, Sapphire & Steel, and Sensitive...
and Patrick Macnee
Patrick Macnee
Patrick Macnee is an English actor, best known for his role as the secret agent John Steed in the series The Avengers.-Early life:...
in The New Avengers. The show's producers said he was cast because of his part in Upstairs, Downstairs. Hunt played secret agent Mike Gambit
Mike Gambit
Mike Gambit was a character in the British TV series The New Avengers. Played by actor Gareth Hunt, Gambit was a secret agent and former Major in the Parachute Regiment and had a short-lived career as a race car driver. Gambit was somewhat of a mystery, his past never being too thoroughly dealt with...
and starred in the show until its end after two series in 1977. After that in the late 1970s and 1980s, Hunt made appearances in Sunday Night Thriller,
Minder
Minder (TV series)
Minder is a British comedy-drama about the London criminal underworld. Initially produced by Verity Lambert, it was made by Euston Films, a subsidiary of Thames Television and shown on ITV...
and Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense
Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense
Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense was a short-lived anthology television series from Hammer Studios similar to the format now used by Masters of Horror in which several directors under contract to Hammer produced thirteen 69-73 min films for television. It is known in the United States as Fox...
. Hunt appeared alongside Julia McKenzie
Julia McKenzie
Julia McKenzie is an English actress, singer, and theatre director. She is best-known for her performance in Fresh Fields, but to current television audiences, she is best known for her role as Miss Marple in Agatha Christie's Marple...
in That Beryl Marston...! in 1981. In 1984 he appeared in the film Bloodbath at the House of Death
Bloodbath at the House of Death
Bloodbath at the House of Death is a 1983 comedy horror film starring the British comedian Kenny Everett and featuring Vincent Price. It is an over-the-top spoof loosely inspired by The Amityville Horror and other horror films from the same period....
and in 1988 he played many parts in the Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasional guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards....
' film It Couldn't Happen Here.
Hunt starred in a series of television adverts for the coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
brand Nescafé
Nescafé
Nescafé is a brand of instant coffee made by Nestlé. It comes in the form of many different products. The name is a portmanteau of the words "Nestlé" and "café". Nestlé's flagship powdered coffee product was introduced in Switzerland on April 1, 1938 after being developed for seven or eight years...
in the 1980s, with a trademark move: to shake his closed hand then open it, to reveal coffee beans, and smell the aroma.
Later years
Gareth Hunt continued to have minor roles in many television programmes in the 1990s and 2000s, with appearances in The New Adventures of Robin HoodThe New Adventures of Robin Hood
The New Adventures of Robin Hood is a 1997-1998 live action TV series on Turner Network Television. It was filmed in Vilnius, Lithuania and produced and distributed by Dune Productions, M6, and Warner Bros. International. The tone of the series resembled its contemporaries Hercules: The Legendary...
, Harry and the Wrinklies
Harry and the Wrinklies
Harry and the Wrinklies was a children's television series which produced three series between 1999 and 2002. The show was produced by Scottish TV and SMG TV Productions that aired on CITV. It was based on a novel of the same name by Alan Temperley. It starred Nick Robinson as the title role...
, Absolute Power
Absolute Power (series)
Absolute Power is a British comedy series, set in the offices of Prentiss McCabe, a fictional public relations company in London, run by Charles Prentiss and Martin McCabe ....
(as himself), New Tricks, Powers
Powers (TV series)
Powers is a United Kingdom television series first broadcast in 2004 on BBC One. The series was created by Jim Eldridge. It was promoted as a children's version of The X-Files, although many regarded it as a successor to The Tomorrow People. Powers ran for one 13-episode season, and was also...
and Doctors
Doctors (BBC Soap Opera)
Doctors is a British daytime television soap opera, set in the fictional Midland town of Letherbridge, defined as being close to the City of Birmingham. It was created by Chris Murray; Mal Young drove its development, and Carson Black was the original producer. The first episode was broadcast on...
. From 1992 to 1993 Hunt had a leading role in the sitcom Side by Side
Side by Side (TV series)
Side by Side is a British sitcom starring Gareth Hunt and Louisa Rix that was broadcast for two series from 1992 to 1993. It was written by Richard Ommanney, who had also written Three Up, Two Down.-Cast:*Gareth Hunt - Vince Tulley...
, and had a main role in the short-lived soap opera Night and Day
Night and Day (TV series)
Night and Day was a British soap opera which was produced by Granada Television for LWT and ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003.Its theme-song, "Always & Forever", was sung by Kylie Minogue.-Synopsis:...
in 2001. In 1997, he appeared in the film Fierce Creatures
Fierce Creatures
Fierce Creatures is a 1997 comedy film. Although not a sequel, it was a follow-up to the wildly popular A Fish Called Wanda, starring the same four actors, John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline and Michael Palin...
and in 2001 played Ritchie Stringer, a crime boss who was an unlikely suspect in the shooting
Who Shot Phil?
"Who Shot Phil?" was a storyline of the BBC soap opera EastEnders which evolved during 2001.-Background:The storyline centred around one of EastEnders longest running characters, Phil Mitchell . The build up to the storyline occurred throughout 2000-2001. The character became darker and a more...
of Phil Mitchell
Phil Mitchell
Philip James "Phil" Mitchell is a long-running fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Steve McFadden.Phil first arrived in Albert Square on 20 February 1990, and was soon joined by his brother, Grant, sister Sam and mother Peggy...
, in EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
. For a brief time he abandoned acting and started a project called Interactive Casting Universal, a computer system that presented actors' details and showreels.
Hunt suffered a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
in December 1999 and withdrew from a pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
in Malvern
Malvern, Worcestershire
Malvern is a town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, governed by Malvern Town Council. As of the 2001 census it has a population of 28,749, and includes the historical settlement and commercial centre of Great Malvern on the steep eastern flank of the Malvern Hills, and the former...
. In July 2002 he collapsed while performing on stage in Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
. Gareth Hunt died of pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer refers to a malignant neoplasm of the pancreas. The most common type of pancreatic cancer, accounting for 95% of these tumors is adenocarcinoma, which arises within the exocrine component of the pancreas. A minority arises from the islet cells and is classified as a...
, from which he had suffered for two years, on 14 March 2007, at the age of 65, at his home in Redhill
Redhill, Surrey
Redhill is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead, Surrey, England and is part of the London commuter belt. Redhill and the adjacent town of Reigate form a single urban area.-History:...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. He had married three times and had a son by each marriage.