- Paul Darrow
Infobox actor
name = Paul Darrow
caption = Photo by Tim Drury.
birthname = Paul Birkby
birthdate = birth date and age|1941|5|2|df=y
birthplace =Surrey ,England , UK
deathdate =
deathplace =
othername =
yearsactive =
spouse =Janet Lees Price
website = http://www.avon-paul-darrow.co.uk/Paul Darrow (born Paul Birkby on
2 May 1941 ) is a Britishcharacter actor best known for his portrayal ofKerr Avon in theBBC science fiction television series "Blake's 7 ". He also guest starred twice on "Doctor Who ", most notably playing Tekker (later Maylin) in the serial "Timelash ".Darrow was born in
Surrey ,England , and attendedHaberdashers' Aske's Boys' School before studying at theRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art . The popularity of his role as Avon has tended to overshadow his extensive work intheatre andtelevision . He is the author of "" (ISBN 0-80651-112-5), a 1989 novel about Avon's father and Avon's own early life. He also plays the character of Kaston Iago in theKaldor City audios - a role which many have theorised is intended to be Kerr Avon.He appeared in all but the first episode of "Blakes 7". In the final episode of the series, in which all of the main characters are seen to be to be shot, Avon shot dead the character Klyn - played by Paul Darrow's wife,
Janet Lees Price .Darrow's other notable TV appearances include: "
Emergency Ward 10 ", "The Saint", "Z Cars ", "Dixon of Dock Green ", "Within These Walls ", as theSheriff of Nottingham in the 1975 BBC series "The Legend of Robin Hood ", as Thomas Doughty in the BBC seriesDrake's Venture , "Maelstrom", "Making News ", "Pie in the Sky ", "Hollyoaks " and "Little Britain ". He also spoke the voiceover for Biblical quotations inRichard Dawkins 's "The Root of All Evil? ".Proud of his work on Blake's 7, Darrow has acted as the show's most prolific spokesperson, both in the
UK and during the late 80s, in theU.S. , when the show was frequently broadcast on US public television. In the mid to late 1990s, he has also purchased the rights to Blake's 7 and attempted to produce a big-budget followup miniseries, "Blake's 7: A Rebellion Reborn". According to Darrow, it would have begun 25 years after the ending of the original series and may have included an aged Avon passing the torch to a new generation. Reportedly, due to creative differences, Darrow left the project.Recently, Darrow has recorded voiceovers and straplines for
Jack FM , aradio station based inOxford ,Oxfordshire ,United Kingdom . Because Jack FM's format is predominantly automated with topical, local and quirky sweepers linking the songs, Darrow is effectively the main voice of the radio station after 9am.He also provides the voice of the character
Grand Moff Tarkin in the computer game .Darrow's autobiography, "You're Him, Aren't You?" (ISBN 1-84435-236-6) was published in 2006.
External links
*
Persondata
NAME=Darrow, Paul
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Birkby, Paul (birth name)
SHORT DESCRIPTION=English actor
DATE OF BIRTH=May 2 ,1941
PLACE OF BIRTH=Surrey ,England ,UK
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
