John Bardon
Encyclopedia
John Bardon, is an English
stage
and screen actor
. He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award
in 1988 (1987 season) as 'Best Actor in a Musical' for Kiss Me, Kate
, sharing the award with co-star Emil Wolk.
in the popular British soap opera
EastEnders
. His character Jim, the father of established character Carol Jackson
, first appeared briefly in 1996. The character of Jim returned to the series in 1999 and this time became a regular character, later marrying Dot Cotton (June Brown
). Bardon filmed his final scenes for EastEnders in March 2011.
He also was a regular in Rumpole of the Bailey
, as a member of the "clan Timson, a family of South London villains", as described by Rumpole.
Bardon had previously made notable guest appearances in Dad's Army
in 1975 and Are You Being Served?
in 1976. He also starred in the British police drama The Sweeney
in which he played a villain called "Doc Boyd" in the episode "Faces", first broadcast on Monday 8 September 1975. In the same year, he also appeared as a bookmaker in the film One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing
. In 1982 he appeared on
Channel Four as legendary comedian Max Miller in Here's a Funny Thing in a reprise of the role from the stage version of the production which had been seen at Liverpool Playhouse
, the Edinburgh Fringe
and the Fortune Theatre
in London. He appeared in 1983 as Mr Jarvis in the much acclaimed BBC drama, Johnny Jarvis (Nigel Williams). In 1986 he appeared as a security guard supervisor in an episode of Only Fools and Horses
from series five called "The Longest Night
", in the same year he appeared as a Railway ticket collector in the film Clockwise
. He was also a guest star in two episodes of Coronation Street
in the early 1990s. In 1991 he appeared in the BBC sitcom Birds of a Feather
, he appeared again in 1998 both a Daryl Stubbs' father. In 1999 he appeared in the film East Is East
as Mr. Moorhouse, a white supremacist at odds with Om Puri
's Pakistani character.
, together the pair finished fourth.
. In November 2007, it was reported that he was making steady progress, when he opened a new stroke ward at the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital
in Welwyn Garden City
. It was reported on 27 December 2007 that Bardon had walked for the first time in six months.
On 10 March 2008 it was announced that Bardon would return to EastEnders as Jim Branning in the summer of 2008, and confirmed by June Brown
on 16 June 2008 that he had finished filming an episode that would air on 11 August 2008. It was reported he told Executive Producer Diederick Santer
he is looking forward to his return. However it was stated that the "plan" would "all depend on his rehabilitation".
On 8 August 2008, Bardon was rushed to hospital with a second suspected stroke. However it was later confirmed that he hadn't had another stroke, but was suffering from continued ill health. It was confirmed on 5 October 2008 that Bardon had returned home. On 9 November, John's co-star June Brown
(who plays Dot Branning
) confirmed that we would see Jim again on Christmas Day. Jim was seen on screen briefly on 4 December 2008, when his son Jack went to see him in the care home. Bardon returned to EastEnders
full-time in June 2009 and was on screen from 20 August 2009.
Bardon left the show on 26 May 2011, his character Jim was written to go into a care home. However, it has been hinted at that he may return if Bardon's health permits it.
Bardon is a member of the Grand Order of Water Rats
and lives in Hitchin
, Hertfordshire
.
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...
stage
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
and screen 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...
. He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award
Laurence Olivier Awards
The Laurence Olivier Award is presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre. Named after the renowned British actor Laurence Olivier, they are given for West End shows and other productions staged in London...
in 1988 (1987 season) as 'Best Actor in a Musical' for Kiss Me, Kate
Kiss Me, Kate
Kiss Me, Kate is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. It is structured as a play within a play, where the interior play is a musical version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. The original production starred Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Lisa Kirk and Harold Lang.Kiss...
, sharing the award with co-star Emil Wolk.
Acting career
Bardon is best known for playing Jim BranningJim Branning
James Archibald "Jim" Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by John Bardon, first appearing on 29 April 1996 and becoming a regular character in 1999 and has remained in the series right up to 2011....
in the popular British soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
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...
. His character Jim, the father of established character Carol Jackson
Carol Jackson
Carol Ann Jackson is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Lindsey Coulson. The character was introduced in 1993 as part of a new problem family. Coulson decided to quit the role in 1997, but she returned temporarily in 1999 as part of a storyline that marked Carol's...
, first appeared briefly in 1996. The character of Jim returned to the series in 1999 and this time became a regular character, later marrying Dot Cotton (June Brown
June Brown
June Muriel Brown, MBE is a British actress, best known for her role as the busy-body, chain-smoking gossip Dot Cotton in the long-running British soap opera EastEnders and for making other high profile television appearances on shows such as Doctor Who, Coronation Street, Minder, The Bill and...
). Bardon filmed his final scenes for EastEnders in March 2011.
He also was a regular in Rumpole of the Bailey
Rumpole of the Bailey
Rumpole of the Bailey is a British television series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer which starred Leo McKern as Horace Rumpole, an ageing London barrister who defends any and all clients...
, as a member of the "clan Timson, a family of South London villains", as described by Rumpole.
Bardon had previously made notable guest appearances in Dad's Army
Dad's Army
Dad's Army is a British sitcom about the Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977. The series ran for 9 series and 80 episodes in total, plus a radio series, a feature film and a stage show...
in 1975 and Are You Being Served?
Are You Being Served?
Are You Being Served? is a British sitcom broadcast from 1972 to 1985. It was set in the ladies' and gentlemen's clothing departments of Grace Brothers, a large, fictional London department store. It was written mainly by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft, with contributions by Michael Knowles and John...
in 1976. He also starred in the British police drama The Sweeney
The Sweeney
The Sweeney is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London...
in which he played a villain called "Doc Boyd" in the episode "Faces", first broadcast on Monday 8 September 1975. In the same year, he also appeared as a bookmaker in the film One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing
One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing
One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing is a 1975 British comedy film, which is set in the early 1920s, about the theft of a dinosaur skeleton from the Natural History Museum. The film was produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution Company. The title is a parody of the...
. In 1982 he appeared on
Channel Four as legendary comedian Max Miller in Here's a Funny Thing in a reprise of the role from the stage version of the production which had been seen at Liverpool Playhouse
Liverpool Playhouse
The Liverpool Playhouse is a theatre in Williamson Square in the city of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It originated in 1866 as a music hall, and in 1911 developed into a repertory theatre. As such it nurtured the early careers of many actors and actresses, some of which went on to achieve...
, the Edinburgh Fringe
Edinburgh Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world’s largest arts festival. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place annually in Scotland's capital, in the month of August...
and the Fortune Theatre
Fortune Theatre
The Fortune Theatre is a 432 seat West End theatre in Russell Street, near Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, built in 1922-4 by Ernest Schaufelberg for impresario Laurence Cowen. The façade is principally bush hammered concrete, with brick piers supporting the roof...
in London. He appeared in 1983 as Mr Jarvis in the much acclaimed BBC drama, Johnny Jarvis (Nigel Williams). In 1986 he appeared as a security guard supervisor in an episode of Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses is a British sitcom, created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom between 1981 and 1991, with sporadic Christmas specials until 2003...
from series five called "The Longest Night
The Longest Night
"The Longest Night" is an episode of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. It was the third episode of series 5, and was first screened on 14 September, 1986.-Synopsis:...
", in the same year he appeared as a Railway ticket collector in the film Clockwise
Clockwise (film)
Clockwise is a 1986 British comedy film starring John Cleese. It was directed by Christopher Morahan, written by Michael Frayn and produced by Michael Codron. The film was co-produced by Moment Films and Thorn EMI Screen Entertainment...
. He was also a guest star in two episodes of Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
in the early 1990s. In 1991 he appeared in the BBC sitcom Birds of a Feather
Birds of a Feather
Birds of a Feather was a British sitcom that was broadcast on BBC1 from 1989 until 1998. Starring Pauline Quirke, Linda Robson and Lesley Joseph, it was created by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran, who also wrote some of the episodes along with many other writers.The first episode sees sisters...
, he appeared again in 1998 both a Daryl Stubbs' father. In 1999 he appeared in the film East Is East
East is East (film)
East Is East is a 1999 British black comedy/drama film, written by Ayub Khan-Din and directed by Damien O'Donnell. It is set in a British household of mixed-ethnicity, with a British Pakistani father and an English mother in Salford, Lancashire, in 1971...
as Mr. Moorhouse, a white supremacist at odds with Om Puri
Om Puri
Om Puri is an Indian actor who has appeared in both mainstream Indian films and art films. His credits also include appearances in British and American films. He has received an honorary OBE.-Early life:...
's Pakistani character.
Other appearances
Bardon appeared on the BBC show Just the Two of Us, his singing partner was Jocelyn BrownJocelyn Brown
Jocelyn Lorette Brown is an American R&B and dance music singer...
, together the pair finished fourth.
Personal life
On 14 June 2007, Bardon was admitted to hospital after suffering a strokeStroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
. In November 2007, it was reported that he was making steady progress, when he opened a new stroke ward at the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital
Queen Elizabeth II Hospital
The Queen Elizabeth II hospital is a 315-bed District General Hospital in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, operated by East and North Hertfordshire NHS trust along with the Lister Hospital in Stevenage. It was the first full hospital to be built by the National Health Service.The hospital once...
in Welwyn Garden City
Welwyn Garden City
-Economy:Ever since its inception as garden city, Welwyn Garden City has attracted a strong commercial base with several designated employment areas. Among the companies trading in the town are:*Air Link Systems*Baxter*British Lead Mills*Carl Zeiss...
. It was reported on 27 December 2007 that Bardon had walked for the first time in six months.
On 10 March 2008 it was announced that Bardon would return to EastEnders as Jim Branning in the summer of 2008, and confirmed by June Brown
June Brown
June Muriel Brown, MBE is a British actress, best known for her role as the busy-body, chain-smoking gossip Dot Cotton in the long-running British soap opera EastEnders and for making other high profile television appearances on shows such as Doctor Who, Coronation Street, Minder, The Bill and...
on 16 June 2008 that he had finished filming an episode that would air on 11 August 2008. It was reported he told Executive Producer Diederick Santer
Diederick Santer
Diederick Santer is a British television producer and is best known for his work on the popular BBC television soap opera EastEnders, a post which he assumed on 23 October 2006 and left on 1 March 2010...
he is looking forward to his return. However it was stated that the "plan" would "all depend on his rehabilitation".
On 8 August 2008, Bardon was rushed to hospital with a second suspected stroke. However it was later confirmed that he hadn't had another stroke, but was suffering from continued ill health. It was confirmed on 5 October 2008 that Bardon had returned home. On 9 November, John's co-star June Brown
June Brown
June Muriel Brown, MBE is a British actress, best known for her role as the busy-body, chain-smoking gossip Dot Cotton in the long-running British soap opera EastEnders and for making other high profile television appearances on shows such as Doctor Who, Coronation Street, Minder, The Bill and...
(who plays Dot Branning
Dot Branning
Dorothy "Dot" Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, EastEnders, played by June Brown since 1985. In a special episode entitled EastEnders: Dot's Story a young Dot was played by Tallulah Pitt-Brown in flashbacks. Dot first appeared in EastEnders in July 1985 as the mother of...
) confirmed that we would see Jim again on Christmas Day. Jim was seen on screen briefly on 4 December 2008, when his son Jack went to see him in the care home. Bardon returned to 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...
full-time in June 2009 and was on screen from 20 August 2009.
Bardon left the show on 26 May 2011, his character Jim was written to go into a care home. However, it has been hinted at that he may return if Bardon's health permits it.
Bardon is a member of the Grand Order of Water Rats
Grand Order of Water Rats
The Grand Order of Water Rats is an entertainment industry charity, and brotherhood, based in London. The Water Rats were founded in 1889 by comedian Joe Elvin. The first King Rat, as the head of the charity is termed, was music hall singer Harry Freeman. Comedian Dan Leno joined in 1890 and was...
and lives in Hitchin
Hitchin
Hitchin is a town in Hertfordshire, England, with an estimated population of 30,360.-History:Hitchin is first noted as the central place of the Hicce people mentioned in a 7th century document, the Tribal Hidage. The tribal name is Brittonic rather than Old English and derives from *siccā, meaning...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
.