Lloyd Reckord | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Lloyd Malcolm Reckord (1929-05-26)26 May 1929 |
| Died | 8 July 2015(2015-07-08) (aged 86) Jamaica |
| Occupations | Actor, film maker, and stage director |
| Relatives | Barry Reckord (brother) |
Lloyd Reckord (26 May 1929 – 8 July 2015) was aJamaican actor, film maker, and stage director who lived inEngland for some years. Reckord appeared in 1958 in aWest End production ofHot Summer Night, which as anITV adaptation broadcast on 1 February 1959 contained the earliest known example of aninterracial kiss on television.[1] His brother was the dramatistBarry Reckord.[2]
Lloyd Malcolm Reckord was born inKingston, Jamaica, on 26 May 1929. He began his theatrical career with the Little Theatre Movement (LTM) pantomime at Ward Theatre. As reported by Michael Reckord in theJamaica Gleaner, "Reckord's first big role was as Tobias in a production ofTobias and the Angel at the Garrison Theatre,Up-Park Camp, when he was in his late teens.[3]
Fired from his job at his uncle's hardware store because he insisted that he had to leave early to play his role in the LTM pantomime,Alice in Wonderland, Lloyd left Jamaica in 1951 when he was 21 to join his brotherBarry, also a playwright and actor, in England."[3] He auditioned and was accepted as a student at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, subsequently joining theOld Vic Company inLondon. He would also study theatre in the US, years later, atHoward University,Yale University and theAmerican Theatre Wing.[3]
Reckord appeared in theTed Willis playHot Summer Night at theNew Theatre, St Martin's Lane,London, in 1958, withAndrée Melly as his white girlfriend; a laterArmchair Theatre adaptation the following year concentrated on the couple's relationship.[4] The ITVArmchair Theatre adaptation of this play, broadcast on 1 February 1959, is currently the earliest known example of aninterracial kiss on television,[1][5][6][7][8][9] and three years later he participated in another early televised interracial kiss inYou in Your Small Corner, aGranadaPlay of the Week broadcast in June 1962,[10][11] in which he kissed actorElizabeth MacLennan. This claim had earlier been made forEmergency – Ward 10, which postdates Reckord's earlier kisses. The play was written by Reckord's brother Barry,[12] and directed byClaude Whatham.[10]
Reckord also acted in several television series, including four episodes ofDanger Man (1960–61, 1964–65),[13] andThe Human Jungle ("Enemy Outside", 1964), but feeling typecast as an actor, he wanted to move into direction.
With only limited funds, including a grant from theBFI, he made two non-commercial film shortsTen Bob in Winter (1963, featuring Winston Stona, Bari Johnson,Peter Madden andAndrew Salkey, with a jazz soundtrack byJoe Harriott)[14][15][16] andDream A40 (1965).[13]
Reckord later returned to Jamaica, where he worked as a stage director, with rare screen appearances, as inThe Lunatic (1991) andThird World Cop (1999).
In 2011 his work featured in the Black London's Film Heritage Project, with the compilationBig City Stories[17] including Reckord's 1963 filmTen Bob in Winter, as well an excerpt from the television play by his brother entitledYou in Your Small Corner, in which Lloyd Reckord played the lead male character.[16] His short filmDream A40 was shown at theLondon Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (LLGFF) at the British Film Institute.[16]
Reckord died in Jamaica on 8 July 2015 after a short illness, aged 86,[3] and his life was celebrated at a thanksgiving service on 29 July.[18][19]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Sapphire | Pianist in International Club | Uncredited |
| 1961 | What a Whopper | Jojo | |
| The Human Jungle | Dock worker | ||
| 1965 | Thunderball | Pinder's Assistant | Uncredited |
| 1991 | The Lunatic | The Judge | |
| 1999 | Third World Cop | Reverend | (final film role) |
