Simon MacCorkindale, star of TV’s Casualty, has died. Photograph: Samir Hussein/Getty Images
Actor Simon MacCorkindale, who starred in TV's Casualty, has died after a four-and-a-half-year battle with cancer, publicist Max Clifford said today.
The 58-year-old actor, who had a wide-ranging career including six years in the BBC medical drama as Dr Harry Harper, died in the arms of his wife, the actor Susan George, Clifford said. MacCorkindale died at about 10.30pm last night in the London Clinic, Harley Street, he added.
George said today: "To me, he was simply the best of everything, and I loved him with all my heart. He will live on in me for ever."
Born in Cambridge, MacCorkindale at first intended to follow his father into the RAF, but his deteriorating eyesight forced him to choose an alternative career. He took drama classes and put in much time on the repertory theatre stage, culminating in an appearance in the West End in an acclaimed production of Pygmalion with Alec McCowen and Diana Rigg in 1974.
He went on to appear in TV miniseries such as I, Claudius and Jesus of Nazareth. His first major film role was in Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile. He moved to the US in 1980, and found that his good looks were in demand, from soap operas such as Falcon Crest to dramas like Manimal.
He returned to the UK in 1986 and directed, wrote and produced a number of projects. Divorced during his early career from actress Fiona Fullerton, he subsequently married George, a former child actor who went on to star in some of the best known films of the 1970s, including Straw Dogs and Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry.
John Yorke, controller of BBC drama production, paid tribute to the actor: "As the star and male lead of Casualty for over six years we owe Simon a massive debt.
"Not only was he a fabulously iconic consultant, he was also an inspirational team leader. One of the reasons so many people have loved working with him on Casualty is because of the tone he established on the shop floor - always welcoming, always disciplined, always quietly the leader.
"It is a massive tribute to Simon that he bore his illness so stoically - never asking for sympathy or attention, and continuing to work for as long as he was able. He will be missed massively by his many fans, and by everyone who worked with him."
Friday 15 October 2010
Simon MacCorkindale, star of TV's Casualty, has died | UK news | The Guardian
via guardian.co.uk
