Don Henderson

Born Donald Francis Henderson in Leystonstone, 1931, Don Henderson was an English actor of stage, television and screen. He was best known for playing both "tough guy" roles and authority figures, and is remembered for his portrayal of detective George Bulman between 1976 and 1987 in a trilogy of popular Granada Television police drama series; The XYY Man, Strangers, and Bulman. Following the end of Bulman, Henderson starred as the priest Frank Kane in the BBC drama series The Paradise Club, penned by Bulman creator Murray Smith. Henderson starred in several cult and sci fi serials and films, most notably in the first Star Wars movie in which he played General Tagge, and Doctor Who and Red Dwarf. Prior to acting, Henderson was a dental technician in the army and a detective sergeant in the Essex constabulary, but he resigned when he found he had sympathy for the criminals he was obliged to arrest. He was married twice, firstly to Hilary who died in 1977, and then to the actress Shirley Stelfox, whom he met filming The XYY Man. The pair set up home in Stratford-Upon-Avon and appeared together professionally many times until his death from throat cancer in 1997.

Après avoir travaillé dans un cabinet de courtiers en valeurs mobilières, il est acteur. Sous divers pseudonymes, il écrit des romans et pièces de théâtre dont Teddington Tragedy en 1935. Sous son nom, il publie en 1943 un thriller psychologique Mr Bowling Buys a Newspaper. Frank MacShane, professeur de littérature à l'université Columbia dans sa biographie de Raymond Chandler écrit que ce dernier considérait ce roman comme « une petite merveille. Il ne se lassait jamais de le recommander à ses amis, à qui il distribua d'ailleurs des douzaines d’exemplaires. Ce qui séduisit Chandler dans ce livre est assez clair : c'est une projection de la manière dont il se voyait lui-même »1. Ce roman est adapté à deux reprises sous le titre éponyme, en 1950 et 1957, pour la BBC. Son seul roman traduit en français est Adieu au meurtre (Goodbye to Murder) qui est également un thriller psychologique.