Mark Burns (actor)

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Mark Burns
Born(1936-03-30)30 March 1936
Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England
Died8 May 2007(2007-05-08) (aged 71)
London, England
Years active1960–2007
Spouses
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1976; div. 1983)​
  • ​
    (m. 1995)​
Children1

Mark Burns (30 March 1936 – 8 May 2007)[1] was an English film and television actor.[2]

Biography[edit]

Burns was born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire and educated at Ampleforth College, North Yorkshire.[1] He originally planned to enter the priesthood, but after a short-service commission with the 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars (1955–57), in which he served in Malaya and Northern Ireland, he became an actor.[1] His career began in 1960 with the film Tunes of Glory followed by the TV series Lorna Doone (1963) and Rupert of Hentzau (1964).[2] One of his most prominent roles was as the male lead in the cult 1966 mystery film Death Is a Woman.[3] Burns also appeared in The Saint episode "The Scales of Justice", and The Prisoner episode "It's Your Funeral" as Number Two's assistant.[4][5]

He played William Morris in The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968), Bernie in A Day at the Beach (1970), the pianist Alfred in Death in Venice (1971) and Hans von Bülow in Ludwig (1972).[2] Mark Burns obtained his first big role in House of the Living Dead by Ray Austin in 1974 and won the prize for best actor in 1974 at the Sitges Film Festival.[6] In 1975, together with Lynne Frederick he did A Long Return by Pedro Lazaga. He also appeared in Count Dracula (1977) and The Bitch (1979).[7] His career stagnated in the 1980s and 1990s, his last film being Stardust (2007). He died from lung cancer.[1]

Filmography[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1960 Sink the Bismarck! Naval Rating in Phone Montage Uncredited
Tunes of Glory One of the Other Officers
Exodus Lt. O'Hara
1962 A Prize of Arms Lt. Ellison
1963 The Day and the Hour Un aviateur anglais
Take Me Over Bill Light
1964 The System Michael Uncredited
1966 Death Is a Woman Dennis Parbury
1967 The Jokers Capt. Browning
It! First Officer
I'll Never Forget What's'isname Michael Cornwall
1968 The Charge of the Light Brigade Capt. William Morris
1970 The Virgin and the Gypsy Major Eastwood
The Adventures of Gerard Col. Russell Coldstream Guards
1971 Death in Venice Alfred
1972 A Time for Loving Geoff Rolling
A Day at the Beach Bernie
1973 Ludwig Hans Von Bülow
Giordano Bruno Bellarmino
1974 House of the Living Dead Sir Michael Brattling / Dr. Breckinridge Brattling
Juggernaut Hollingsworth
1975 Rosebud Shute
The Maids Monsieur
A Long Return David Ortega
1977 Count Dracula Dr. John Seward
1978 The Stud Leonard
1979 The Bitch Leonard Grant
Home Before Midnight Harry Wilshire
1981 Eyewitness Man on TV
La chanson du mal aimé
1983 The Wicked Lady King Charles II
1984 Champions Thorne
The Surrogate Larry
1986 Keeping Track Reporter at Bank
1990 Destroying Angel Reynold Turot
Bullseye! Nigel Holden
1993 Dirty Weekend Mr. Brown
1995 Savage Hearts Doctor
1999 The Clandestine Marriage Capstick
2007 Stardust New Bishop Final film role (posthumous release)

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Evans, Peter (18 July 2007). "Obituary: Mark Burns". The Guardian.
  2. ^ a b c "Mark Burns". BFI. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012.
  3. ^ "Death Is a Woman (1966)". BFI. Archived from the original on 9 August 2012.
  4. ^ "The Scales of Justice (1969)". BFI. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015.
  5. ^ "It's Your Funeral (1967) - BFI". BFI. Archived from the original on 22 September 2015.
  6. ^ "The Unmutual News Archive - Mark Burns RIP (Portmeirion/Prisoner/McGoohan)". theunmutual.co.uk.
  7. ^ Hal Erickson. "Mark Burns - Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos - AllMovie". AllMovie.

External links[edit]

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