Series: Quatermass Episode: S1Ep2 – Lovely Lightning First Aired: 31 October 1979 Character: Joe Kapp
Description: Following the devastation at Ringstone Round, Quatermass hears of similar incidents worldwide and returns to London with district commissioner Annie Morgan and a Ringstone ‘survivor’ Isabel. En route they become separated in a shootout between rival gangs. Meanwhile, the beam of light descends again – near Joe Kapp’s home.
Series: Quatermass Episode: S1Ep1 – Ringstone Round First Aired: 24 October 1979 Character: Joe Kapp
Description: Professor Quatermass comes out of retirement to search for his missing granddaughter and finds a world on the verge of anarchy, and an American-Russian space station destroyed by unknown forces. He is befriended by astronomer Joe Kapp and they witness the obliteration of thousands of Planet People by a beam of light at the stone circle, Ringstone Round.
Gorgeous Simon MacCorkindale who’s starring in the exciting if a little horrifying, series “Quatermass”, is one of those men you meet who are almost too good to be true – tall, dark blond hair and very, very handsome! And just to finish things off, he always looks impeccably dressed and he’s always smiling . .
You can meet Simon in any number of difficult situations but never see him being bad tempered. Whatever he may be feeling under that suntanned smile, it never shows.
Basically, Simon just has to be everyone’s idea of the perfect Englishman, and he’s certainly ours!
When I spoke to Simon at his home he told me that he’s trying very hard to lose this public school image.
“Although it is difficult,” he said, “because I went to public school.My whole background is typical of the image – public school and then the Army.
So you’ll realise that the decision to become an actor was a fairly difficult one.
It was a bit of a shock for my parents, but I must say that after the initial horror was over they took it pretty well. I suppose they had to, really, because by the time I told them, I’d definitely made up my mind!”
Simon MacCorkindale talks about filming CABO BLANCO in Mexico with Charles Bronson
Soon after Simon MacCorkindale returned home from Mexico filming Cabo Blanco with Charles Bronson, we arranged to meet in a London bar.
“How was Bronson?” I asked him.
“Not an easy man to get close to,” said Simon. “I liked him and we got along quite well but on a very superficial level. He sort of withdraws from the world. That’s his protection. He’s also very much a family man. The only time we talked was during working hours. I did play scrabble with him between scenes to pass the time.”
“Who won?”
“He won one and so did I, so we ended up all square.”
Isn’t this a movie which has comparisons to Casablanca? I’d heard Bronson plays a mysterious American who runs a nightclub in an exotic port town who becomes involved with a beautiful woman whose husband worked with the resistance movement in Europe.
What happens when an Angel meets a perfect gentleman? They fall in love, of course, and everything is absolutely heavenly
Once upon a time there was an actress called Fiona Fullerton who always played ever such nice parts Alice in Alice in Wonderland, a nurse in Angels and dashing Dick Barton’s girlfriend.
IF your Mum’s always moaning about the pictures of punks and long-haired layabouts stuck up on your bedroom walls, shell be pleased to see our pin-up of Simon MacCorkindale.
That’s because Simon is a typical clean-cut, old-fashioned Englishman. The type that she’d like to have round for tea!
Riding high on the successes of Death on the Nile and Riddle of the Sand is handsome young British newcomer Simon MacCorkindale.
Shortly after wife Fiona Fullerton (above) welcomed him back to London after a jaunt to Mexico for the filming of Cabo Blanco, Simon was greeted with the news that Thames Television had chosen him for the leading role in the forthcoming TV series, Quatermass.
We’ve looked into the riddle of Simon’s career and now it’s easy to see why his popularity is on the up and up and success is following success.
Simon MacCorkindale admitted cheerfully that he quite like Arthur Davies, the character he plays in his new film, The Riddle Of The Sands. In the film, Simon shares the honours with Michael York and Jenny Agutter and the result is a stylish thriller set in 1901, in which two splendid, young Englishmen manage to foil a dastardly German plot for the invasion of Britain.
Film: The Riddle of the Sands First Aired: 16th March 1979 Character: Arthur Davies
Description: In the early years of the 20th Century, two British yachtsmen (Michael York and Simon MacCorkindale) stumble upon a German plot to invade the east coast of England in a flotilla of specially designed barges. They set out to thwart this terrible scheme, but must outwit not only the cream of the German Navy, but the feared Kaiser Wilhelm himself.
Simon MacCorkindale made a big splash in Death on the Nile as the charming and impoverished Simon Doyle, the who in this Agatha Christie whodunit. The twenty-five-year-old actor established a reputation in British television in productions such as “I, Claudius,” Romeo and Juliet, and Franco Zeffirelli’s “Jesus of Nazareth.” No stranger to London’s West End, MacCorkindale has joined forces with his actress-wife, Fiona Fullerton, to form their own company
plays an impoverished young man who marries a heiress (Lois Chiles) who is murdered. “What you learn from such a magnificent cast as ours,” he says, “is discipline. When, for instance, Bette Davis turns up much earlier than her call, I reckon that’s the way to behave. I’m sure I learned a lot through osmosis; perhaps in years to come I might re-create a Ustinov-ism or a Bette Davis-ism without realising it.” Death On The Nile marks Simon’s major film debut. He’s since made The Riddle Of The Sands with Michael York.
Cast as a charming, impoverished young man who hits it rich with his marriage to an heiress, SIMON MACCORKINDALE makes his major film screen debut in “Death On The Nile.”
The 25-year-old actor has already established his reputation on British television with his performances in such productions as “I Claudius,” “The Life and Times of Shakespeare,” “Just William,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “Within These Walls” and Franco Zeffirelli’s internationally networked “Jesus of Nazareth.”
His role as Simon Doyle in the Agatha Christie’s thriller Death On The Nile has put Simon MacCorkindale on his way to international stardom. He followed this movie with another starring role, opposite Michael York an Jenny Agutter in a thriller spy film, The Riddle Of The Sands. It is set in 1901 and is about two young Englishmen on a sailing holiday off the North-West coast of Germany who discover the Germans are planning an invasion of Britain. They try to investigate and become in plots and counter-plots of German espionage.
Simon MacCorkindale and Lois Chiles, who play husband and wife in the new blockbuster film Death on the Nile, specially featured in Monday’s Clapperboard, talk about the shattering experience of working alongside the greatest names of the cinema
Simon MacCorkindale has been told many times to change his name. It’s unwieldy, hard to remember and won’t look good in lights, are some of the arguments he’s heard and rejected.
No one has ever suggested that he change his face. It’s literally his fortune in Death on the Nile. MacCorkindale, however, is less convinced about his appeal.
When Bette Davis turns up for a scene 10 minutes early, then that must be the way to behave.
No egos. No temperament. Sheer discipline. That’s Simon MacCorkindale’s view of cinema stardom
And he should know, having just finished filming Agatha Christie’s Death On The Nile with stars of such calibre as Peter Ustinov, David Niven and, of course, Miss Davis.
Film: Death on the Nile First Aired: 29 September 1978 (USA) Character: Simon Doyle
Description: As Hercule Poirot enjoys a luxurious cruise down the Nile, a newlywed heiress is found murdered on board. Can Poirot identify the killer before the ship reaches the end of its journey?
Simon MacCorkindale, 26, provides Jenny’s romantic interest in The Riddle Of The Sands. In real-life, he is married to talented young actress Fiona Fullerton.
“It’s a super part for me,” Simon exclaimed. “I had just finished my role in Death On The Nile when this film came along. Jenny and I were sent on a crash course to Cowes to learn all we could about sailing to make us look convincing on the screen.
“I had wanted to be an actor since I was about ten or eleven years old. My family had nothing to do with acting, and I first sprang it on them when I was about sixteen. Fiona’s father is an Army Colonel, and my father is a Squadron-Leader, so we both shared a Services background. We didn’t meet through our families, but indirectly through our work. The discipline is very similar in both professions. I wouldn’t have minded a career in the Services, but acting just happened to appeal to me more.”
After his role in the star-studded Death On the Nile, Simon MacCorkindale, twenty-six, gets his biggest solo break as Arthur Davies. “He is a fascinating character to play,” he says. “He’s a meek gentleman on land, but as soon as he gets afloat he becomes strong and confident as a brilliant sailor. I enjoyed it all enormously, but felt a bit panicky at times since there was so much to be learnt about sailing in such a short time. There was no way I could learn in a week what Davies had learned over several years. I had only done a very little sailing previously, but by the end of filming aboard the ‘Dulcibella’ I was a much more experienced sailor!
Who’s this happy looking couple being overlooked by a world famous landmark? It’s Simon MacCorkindale and Lois Chiles as young marrieds in a scene from Death On The Nile. They decide to spend their honey-moon in Egypt and it proves to be some honeymoon! We can expect some superb colour photography of many exciting Egyptian settings for they were filmed by Jack Cardiff as the movie’s director of photography, and Jack’s one of the best there is. John Guillermin directed this latest film which is based on an Agatha Christie thriller which stars Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot who tops an all-star cast.
Series: The Doombolt Chase Episode: S1Ep1 – Court of Shame First Aired: 12 March 1978 Character: Lt. Cmdr. Madock
Description: When Commander David Wheeler is arrested for a seemingly motiveless attack on a mysterious vessel, his son Richard, along with two friends, embarks on a search for the top-secret information that might clear his name.
Series: Within These Walls Episode: S5Ep6 – Love Me, Love My Bear First Aired: 25 February 1978 Character: Dr Dady
Description: Dr Mayes and prison psychiatrist Dr Dady are puzzled about Kate Bonney. Events prove Kate to be a schizophrenic, but a hospital refuses to admit her for psychiatric treatment.
Series: Within These Walls Episode: S5Ep3 – Raft First Aired: 4 February 1978 Character: Dr Dady
Description: Problems persist for Marian Pearce, a prisoner at Stone Park who has withdrawn into total silence as a result of her total intimidation by one of the officers.
Series: Just William Episode: S1Ep12 – William and the Sleeping Major First Aired: 24 April 1977 Character: Charlie
Description: Williams gets into yet more trouble as he finds a retired Major fast asleep, having been given a tablet by his family to help him sleep off his bad mood
