Roger Tonge
Encyclopedia
Roger Tonge was a British actor
.
Born Anthony Roger Tonge in Birmingham
, he was working as an £8-a-week post office clerk and performing in amateur dramatics in the evenings when he landed the role of Sandy Richardson, the motel owner's son in the ATV
soap opera
, Crossroads, a role he would play for 17 years. He played the disabled son of Meg Richardson, played by the actress Noele Gordon
, in the much maligned soap opera. The character had come down with a temporary illness as part of the ongoing plot and a full recovery was planned until someone wrote in and pointed out that people do not make full recoveries from that illness, which necessitated the star to use a wheelchair for the rest of his time on the show.
But it was the actor's fight against an incurable cancer that resulted in his departure from the programme before the programme was cancelled. During Tonge's tenure in the series, his character became a wheelchair user after a car crash, and in a case of life imitating art, Tonge became one too through his illness. Tonge became the first disabled actor in a soap; however, it was something he always played down and his illness was never talked about. In an on screen interview with Angela Rippon
as part of a show looking at TV Soap Operas in 1981, Tonge claimed that viewers were often astonished to encounter him off-screen and discover he did not use a wheelchair or crutches; this despite him being a wheelchair user at that time. The claim was not challenged on air.
His inroad to an acting career seems like something from a story book; in 1964, when Tonge dropped in at ATV during his lunch break to enquire about acting parts, a cleaner, presuming he had an audition for Crossroads, sent him to a production meeting. He arrived just as Production Manager Margaret French was leaving. She handed him a script and invited him to return for an audition. Reg Watson
, the Producer, had already interviewed hundreds of young hopefuls for the part of Sandy, but without finding what the show was looking for. Eventually when Tonge and another hopeful were shortlisted for the part, both interviewees were asked to act out their reaction to their pet dog being run over. Tonge produced the best woeful response and the part became his.
The show was criticised heavily by the critics and Tonge along with many other members of the cast were part of their target. He was reported as having laughed off their jibes, by saying "I'm allergic to criticism".
Although he was a regular in the soap opera, Tonge found time to appear on other television programmes, including Z-Cars
, Nearest and Dearest
and 'Detective'. He was also in the film Catch Me Going Back.
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Born Anthony Roger Tonge in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, he was working as an £8-a-week post office clerk and performing in amateur dramatics in the evenings when he landed the role of Sandy Richardson, the motel owner's son in the ATV
Associated TeleVision
Associated Television, often referred to as ATV, was a British television company, holder of various licences to broadcast on the ITV network from 24 September 1955 until 00:34 on 1 January 1982...
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,...
, Crossroads, a role he would play for 17 years. He played the disabled son of Meg Richardson, played by the actress Noele Gordon
Noele Gordon
Noele Gordon was an English film and television actress.- Early life :Gordon's father was an engineer in the Merchant Navy and she was born in East Ham, London. After attending convent school at Forest Gate, she was taught to dance by the late Maude Wells and later spent several years living in...
, in the much maligned soap opera. The character had come down with a temporary illness as part of the ongoing plot and a full recovery was planned until someone wrote in and pointed out that people do not make full recoveries from that illness, which necessitated the star to use a wheelchair for the rest of his time on the show.
But it was the actor's fight against an incurable cancer that resulted in his departure from the programme before the programme was cancelled. During Tonge's tenure in the series, his character became a wheelchair user after a car crash, and in a case of life imitating art, Tonge became one too through his illness. Tonge became the first disabled actor in a soap; however, it was something he always played down and his illness was never talked about. In an on screen interview with Angela Rippon
Angela Rippon
Angela M. Rippon, OBE, born 12 October 1944, Plymouth, Devon, England, is an English television journalist, newsreader, writer and presenter. Rippon presented radio and television news programmes in South West England before moving to BBC One's Nine O'Clock News, becoming a regular presenter in 1975...
as part of a show looking at TV Soap Operas in 1981, Tonge claimed that viewers were often astonished to encounter him off-screen and discover he did not use a wheelchair or crutches; this despite him being a wheelchair user at that time. The claim was not challenged on air.
His inroad to an acting career seems like something from a story book; in 1964, when Tonge dropped in at ATV during his lunch break to enquire about acting parts, a cleaner, presuming he had an audition for Crossroads, sent him to a production meeting. He arrived just as Production Manager Margaret French was leaving. She handed him a script and invited him to return for an audition. Reg Watson
Reg Watson
Reginald James "Reg" Watson AM is an Australian television producer, best known for creating soap operas like Prisoner and Neighbours.-Career:...
, the Producer, had already interviewed hundreds of young hopefuls for the part of Sandy, but without finding what the show was looking for. Eventually when Tonge and another hopeful were shortlisted for the part, both interviewees were asked to act out their reaction to their pet dog being run over. Tonge produced the best woeful response and the part became his.
The show was criticised heavily by the critics and Tonge along with many other members of the cast were part of their target. He was reported as having laughed off their jibes, by saying "I'm allergic to criticism".
Although he was a regular in the soap opera, Tonge found time to appear on other television programmes, including Z-Cars
Z-Cars
Z-Cars is a British television drama series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby in the outskirts of Liverpool in Merseyside. Produced by the BBC, it debuted in January 1962 and ran until September 1978.-Origins:The series was developed by...
, Nearest and Dearest
Nearest and Dearest
Nearest and Dearest is a British television sitcom that ran from 1968 to 1973. A total of 46 episodes were made, 18 in monochrome and 28 in colour...
and 'Detective'. He was also in the film Catch Me Going Back.