Don Henderson

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Don Henderson
Henderson in White Angel (1994)
Born	Donald Francis Henderson (1931-11-10)10 November 1931 Leytonstone, Essex, England
Died	22 June 1997(1997-06-22) (aged 65) Warwick, England
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1964–1997
Spouses	Hilary Henderson ​ (died 1977)​ Shirley Stelfox ​ (m. 1979)​
Children	2

Donald Francis Henderson (10 November 1931 – 22 June 1997)

Henderson was born into a working-class family in Leytonstone, Essex, the son of a carpenter, and grew up in Epping. After completing his national service as a technician in the Royal Army Dental Corps, he served with Essex Constabulary, reaching the rank of detective sergeant in their CID, and worked as an insurance salesman. He did not become a professional actor until his thirties, when a friend dared him to audition for the Royal Shakespeare Company, with whom he subsequently performed from 1966 until 1972, going on to play many leading roles.

Henderson had two children, a son and a daughter, with his first wife Hilary, who died from a mysterious lung disease in 1977. He remarried in 1979; his second wife was the actress Shirley Stelfox, with whom he would appear professionally many times. He lived in his adopted home town of Stratford-upon-Avon for many years, where he was a familiar face to locals.^[4]

Career

Henderson is best remembered for his role as the fictional detective

"I have only once been recognised as having been in Star Wars, and that was when I was making a film in Los Angeles. Somebody in the hotel I was staying at offered me $2000 for my copy of the Star Wars script. As I growled at him in amazement, he took that as a refusal, or that he had offered too little and eventually went up to an offer of $5000! Sadly, as with all my used scripts, I had given it to my kids to scribble and draw on."[3]

Death

Henderson was first diagnosed with throat cancer in 1980. He died of the disease in Warwick on 22 June 1997, aged 65, and was survived by his second wife and his children.

Filmography

Film

Television

Radio

• The Archers (1983) (Radio) ... Ben Warner

References

External links

• Don Henderson at
  IMDb
• Don Henderson BFI