Michael Sheard | |
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Sheard in Escape to Athena.
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Born |
Aberdeen, Scotland |
18 June 1938
Died | 31 August 2005 Isle of Wight, England |
(aged 67)
Cause of death | Cancer |
Occupation | Actor |
Michael Sheard (18 June 1938 – 31 August 2005) was a Scottish character actor who featured in a large number of films and television programmes, and was known for playing villains. His most prominent television role was as strict deputy headmaster Maurice Bronson in the British children's series Grange Hill which he played from 1985–89. He appeared as Admiral Ozzel in The Empire Strikes Back (1980).
Sheard was born Michael Perkins in Aberdeen, Scotland; the son of a church minister, Donald Perkins, and was trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. During his national service Sheard was a Royal Air Force aircraftman.
Sheard had a lengthy affiliation with science fiction, and appeared in six televised stories of the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, appearing with the First Doctor in The Ark (1966), the Third Doctor in The Mind of Evil (1971), the Fourth Doctor in both Pyramids of Mars (1975) (later recording a DVD commentary) and The Invisible Enemy (1977), the Fifth Doctor in Castrovalva (1982) and the Seventh Doctor in Remembrance of the Daleks (1988). He also worked with the Eighth Doctor in The Stones of Venice, a Doctor Who audio drama produced by Big Finish Productions. He was a regular guest at both Doctor Who and Star Wars conventions over the years in the UK and the U.S.