Jack Shepherd | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1940-10-29)29 October 1940 Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England |
| Died | 24 November 2025(2025-11-24) (aged 85) |
| Education | CSSD |
| Alma mater | Drama Centre London |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1965–2025 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 5 |
Jack Shepherd (29 October 1940 – 24 November 2025) was an English actor, playwright and theatre director. He was known for his television roles, most notably the title roles inTrevor Griffiths' political dramaBill Brand (1976), and the detective seriesWycliffe (1993–1998). His film appearances includedAll Neat in Black Stockings (1969),Wonderland (1999) andThe Golden Compass (2007). He won the 1983Society of London Theatre Award for Actor of the Year in a New Play for the original production ofGlengarry Glen Ross.[1] He was also nominated for theBritish Academy Television Award for Best Actor in 1977.[2]
Shepherd attendedRoundhay School inLeeds and then studied fine art at Kings College,Newcastle University. During his time inNewcastle he was an amateur actor with thePeople's Theatre. After gaining a BA he went on to study acting, first at theCentral School of Speech and Drama and then as a student founder of theDrama Centre London.[citation needed] He was a talented musician too, playing in a jazz ensemble with fellow drama student,Jon Lord, later ofDeep Purple andWhitesnake. Lord said of him in a 1982 interview, "In my early days I had a band with a lineup of piano, bass, drums, vibes, alto sax and clarinet so we were able to do some quite weird things. The alto sax player was Jack Shepherd, who later turned to acting. For me he was one of the best alto players and he introduced me toCharles Mingus and that school."[3]
Shepherd worked at theRoyal Court Theatre from 1965 to 1969, making his first appearance on the London stage as an Officer of Dragoons inSerjeant Musgrave's Dance. In July 1967 he played Arnold Middleton inDavid Storey'sThe Restoration of Arnold Middleton, which transferred to theCriterion Theatre, a performance for which he received thePlays and Players London Critics' Award as most promising actor of the year. In 1969 he starred in the satirical comedy seriesWorld in Ferment.[4]
During the 1970s Shepherd appeared in many television dramas, including several appearances in the seriesBudgie (1971–72). InReady When You Are, Mr McGill (1976), byJack Rosenthal, he played a television director struggling to maintain his composure during a doomed location shoot, and inTrevor Griffiths'sThames TV seriesBill Brand (also 1976), a radicalLabourMP. Both performances gained ShepherdRoyal Television Society (RTS) Awards. He appeared as Renfield inCount Dracula (1977), withLouis Jourdan in the title role.[citation needed]
Shepherd also spent the decade running a drama studio inKentish Town, north London along with fellow actorRichard Wilson, and during that time became interested in scriptwriting. He devised several plays for the theatre includingThe Sleep of Reason,Real Time,Clapperclaw andHalf Moon.[citation needed]
In 1972, Shepherd was a founding member, along withIan McKellen andEdward Petherbridge, of the democratically runActors' Company, playing Vasques in'Tis Pity She's a Whore, Inspector of Police inRuling the Roost (Edinburgh Festival and tour) and Okano inThe Three Arrows at theArts, Cambridge in October 1972. In December 1972 he played Ben inDavid Mercer'sLet's Murder Vivaldi atThe King's Head Theatre, and in January 1973 took the title role inDracula at theBush Theatre, also collaborating in the writing.[citation needed]
His television work in the 1970s includedAll Good Men,Through the Night andOccupations, all by Trevor Griffiths.[citation needed]
From 1977 to 1985 he was a member ofBill Bryden'sCottesloe Theatre Company at theNational Theatre, playing Teach inAmerican Buffalo, Judas inThe Passion, Boamer inLark Rise, Thomas Clarkeson inThe World Turned Upside Down, Smitty inThe Long Voyage Home, The Correspondent inDispatches and Hickey inThe Iceman Cometh. Shepherd originated the stage role ofRichard Roma inGlengarry Glen Ross at the Cottesloe in 1983, for which he received aSociety of West End Theatre award (later known as theLaurence Olivier Awards) as Actor of the Year in a New Play.[citation needed]
Shepherd's first written work for the stage wasIn Lambeth, an imaginary conversation about revolution between the poet and artistWilliam Blake, his wife Catherine andThomas Paine, author ofThe Rights of Man. He first directed it at thePartisan Theatre in July 1989 before its transfer to theDonmar Warehouse, winning the 1989Time Out Awards for Best Directing and Best Writing.[citation needed]
Shepherd's work in television during the 1980s and 1990s includedBlind Justice, a miniseries by Peter Flannery, and culminated in his acclaimed role as the eponymous Detective SuperintendentCharles Wycliffe in theHTV television seriesWycliffe from 1993 to 1998. He appeared as Butler theButler in the 1996 television miniseriesOver Here.[5][6]
As a theatre director, Shepherd staged several productions at theShakespeare's Globe, including his 'Prologue Production' ofThe Two Gentlemen of Verona, starringMark Rylance as Proteus, which opened the Globe to the theatregoing public in August 1996, a year before the formal opening Gala. In 1998 at the Globe he playedAntonio inRichard Olivier's production ofThe Merchant of Venice.[citation needed]
Shepherd's epic drama about theChartist movement,Holding Fire!, was commissioned by the Shakespeare's Globe Theatre as part of its Renaissance and Revolution season, and was first staged there byMark Rosenblatt in August 2007.[7]
He played the part of the Father in Rupert Goold's production ofSix Characters in Search of an Author in 2009, the Doctor inThe Master Builder at theAlmeida, andMelchior, one of the Magi, in the four-part TV dramaThe Nativity, broadcast onBBC One in December 2010.[citation needed]
He played Ralph Palmer (from a 1980s case) in the 2011 episode "Solidarity” of TV seriesWaking the Dead. In 2013 he played Harry in "Home" by David Storey at the Arcola Theatre and Joe in the BBC TV seriesThe Politician's Husband. In 2014 Serebryakov in "Uncle Vanya at the St James Theatre. Also in 2014/15 he toured in three ghost stories, Whistle and I'll Come to You, and The Signalman for Middleground Theatre Company, and in 2015/6 with the same company he toured in a stage adaptation of the filmThe Verdict. 2017/2018 he played Art Hockstadder in Gore Vidal's playThe Best Man, first on tour and then at the Playhouse Theatre London.[citation needed]
Shepherd's interest in community theatre led to adaptations ofDorian Gray and of Hardy'sUnder the Greenwood Tree for the Players Collective inLewes. His version of the latter was performed by the Hardy Players in Dorchester in December 2016.[citation needed]
He wrote and directed a new play titledThe Cutting Edge, starring Maggie Steed. It premiered at the Arcola Theatre in 2020, but closed almost immediately due toCOVID-19.
Shepherd married Judith Harland in 1965 and they had two children, Jan and Jake Shepherd. The couple later divorced. In 1975 he married film and television producer Ann Scott. They had three children together, Victoria,Catherine and Ben Shepherd.
Shepherd died in hospital on 24 November 2025 at the age of 85 following a short illness.[8]
Plays by Jack Shepherd include:
Co-wrote withKeith DewhurstImpossible Plays, an account of his years in Bill Bryden's Cottesloe Company at the National Theatre. Published by Methuen.[citation needed]
Two of his later plays wereAgainst the Tide, about William Morris, andThe Valley of the Shadow, about World War I.[citation needed]
| Year | Title | Role | Theatre Company | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Confessions of a Justified Sinner | Gil-Martin | Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh | Richard Eyre | Edinburgh International Festival |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
