Martin Benson (actor)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Martin Benson" actor – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Martin Benson
One Step Beyond, episode The Sorcerer, 1961
Born	Martin Benjamin Benson (1918-08-10)10 August 1918 London, England
Died	28 February 2010(2010-02-28) (aged 91) Markyate , Hertfordshire, England
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1942–2005
Spouses	Joan Oliver (?–?) divorced Joy Swinson-Benson (m. 1977–2010) (his death)

Martin Benjamin Benson (10 August 1918 – 28 February 2010)

Early life

Benson was born in the East End of London, into a Jewish family,

Career

He is remembered for his role as the Kralaholme in the original London production of The King and I, a role he recreated in the Oscar-winning film version.^[5]

Appearing in films for over six decades, Benson played mostly supporting characters or villains.^[6] His films include The Blind Goddess (1948), Wheel of Fate (1953), Interpol (1957), The Strange World of Planet X (1958), Once More, with Feeling! (1959), Exodus (1960), Five Golden Hours (1961), A Shot in the Dark (1964), Pope Joan (1972), The Sea Wolves (1980) and Angela's Ashes (1999).^[7]

He also had an uncredited role in

, and in 1963 he acted in another historic film, as Ramos in Cleopatra (which also starred Elizabeth Taylor). Benson played both serious roles, such as Ali in Killers of Kilimanjaro (1959) and comic roles, such as Maurice in A Shot in the Dark.^[3]

In 1964, he appeared as Mr. Solo, the gangster who is killed by Goldfinger's henchman Oddjob in the James Bond film Goldfinger.^[5]

Television

He appeared in many roles on television. He appeared as a barrister, using his own name, in the unscripted series The Verdict is Yours which ran for several years in the 1950s. Cases were shown and the previously unknown verdict was given by jury of viewers.

In the same year he played the recurring character the Duke de Medici in the children's adventure series

The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy

, albeit unrecognisable under the heavy make-up and costume of Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz, leader of the Vogon fleet sent to destroy Earth.[6] His last appearance was in the TV series Casualty in 2005.^[10]

Death

Benson died in his sleep on 28 February 2010, from natural causes.^[2]

Filmography

This section includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this section by introducing more precise citations. (April 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Martin Benson". The Daily Telegraph. UK. 29 March 2010. Archived from the original on 28 December 2016.
2. ^ ^{a b c} "Martin Benson obituary". The Times. UK. 4 March 2010. Martin Benson passed away peacefully in his sleep on Sunday 28th February 2010.
3. ^ ^{a b} "Martin Benson". BFI. Archived from the original on 11 July 2012.
4. William D. Rubinstein, Michael Jolles, Hilary L. Rubinstein
   , The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History, Palgrave Macmillan (2011), p. 75
5. ^ ^{a b} Gaughan, Gavin (6 May 2010). "Martin Benson obituary". The Guardian. UK. Archived from the original on 28 March 2016. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
6. ^ ^{a b} "Martin Benson". www.aveleyman.com.
7. ^ "Martin Benson - Movies and Filmography". AllMovie.
8. ISBN 9780786486496
   – via Google Books.
9. ^ "Martin Benson - Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos". AllMovie.
10. ^ "Actor Martin Benson dies". The Stage.
11. ^ "Capstick's Law Episode 6 (1989)". BFI. Archived from the original on 11 August 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2020.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Martin Benson (actor).

• Martin Benson at
  IMDb
• Obituary in The Times
• Martin Benson – Daily Telegraph obituary