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John Shrapnel
Born	John Morley Shrapnel (1942-04-27)27 April 1942 Birmingham, Warwickshire, England
Died	14 February 2020(2020-02-14) (aged 77) Wattisfield, Suffolk, England
Years active	1965–2017
Spouse	Francesca Ann Bartley ​ ​(m. 1975)​
Children	3, including Lex Shrapnel
Father	Norman Shrapnel

John Morley Shrapnel (27 April 1942 – 14 February 2020) was an English actor. He is known mainly for his stage work with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre in the United Kingdom and for his many television appearances. One of his well-known roles was Mr Skinner in the 1996 live-action film 101 Dalmatians.

Early life

Shrapnel was born John Morley Shrapnel in Edgbaston, Birmingham, Warwickshire (now West Midlands), on 27 April 1942, the son of journalist / author Norman Shrapnel and Mary Lillian Myfanwy (née Edwards).

Shrapnel was brought up in Stockport and London and was educated first at Mile End School, Stockport, where he started acting as a member of the school's drama society, and then at the City of London School, an independent school for boys in the City of London, where he played Hamlet in the school play; he then attended St Catharine's College, Cambridge, from which he received an MA.

Career

Shrapnel began acting professionally on stage in 1965. He was a member of Laurence Olivier's National Theatre Company and the Royal Shakespeare Company and appeared as Sir Oliver Surface in The School for Scandal (directed by Deborah Warner) at the Barbican Centre in 2011. His final stage appearance was in 2015.

Shrapnel also appeared extensively on television from the 1960s onwards. He played the Earl of Sussex in Elizabeth R and Alexander Hardinge in Edward & Mrs. Simpson. He appeared in Z-Cars, Space: 1999, Inspector Morse, GBH, Coogan's Run, Foyle's War and many other dramas. He presented an episode of the 1983 BBC television travel series Great Little Railways. He performed in three of the BBC Television Shakespeare plays and as Creon in the BBC's productions of the Three Theban plays (1986) of Sophocles. He also played Pompey in the second episode of Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire and the Jail Warden in The 10th Kingdom.

His film career included roles in Nicholas and Alexandra (1971), Pope Joan (1972), Hennessy (1975), Personal Services (1987), Testimony (1988), How to Get Ahead in Advertising (1989), England, My England (1995), 101 Dalmatians (1996) as Mr Skinner, Notting Hill (1999), The Body (2001), K-19: The Widowmaker (2002) and Alien Autopsy (2006). He also appeared in historical films such as Gladiator (2000) as Senator Gaius and in Troy (2004) as Nestor. In Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007) he played Lord Howard and The Duchess (2008) as General Grey.

Shrapnel had the rare distinction of appearing in two episodes of Midsomer Murders as two characters in ‘Death in Chorus’ and ‘Written in Blood’. He appeared in Jonathan Creek episode "The Omega Man" as Professor Lance Graumann. He appeared in Chemical Wedding alongside Simon Callow, telling the tale of the resurrection of occultist Aleister Crowley. He played John Christie (from a 1980s case) in "Solidarity" of Waking the Dead.

He also had experience in the field of BBC radio drama: He played Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse (opposite Robert Glenister as Sgt Lewis) and starred in William Gibson's Neuromancer. Shrapnel played the character Deputy Assistant Commissioner John Felsham in the New Tricks episode The Fourth Man (2010). He also narrated episodes of Wild Discovery.

Shrapnel's final role was as the Archbishop of Canterbury in the 2017 television film King Charles III.

Personal life and death

In 1975, Shrapnel married Francesca Ann Bartley, the younger daughter of Deborah Kerr and Tony Bartley. He and Francesca had three sons, the writer Joe Shrapnel (b. 1976) and the actors Lex Shrapnel (b. 1979) and Tom Shrapnel (b. 1981). His ancestor Henry Shrapnel gave the word shrapnel to the English language.

Shrapnel and his wife divided their time between residences in Highbury, London, and Wattisfield, Suffolk. He died from prostate cancer at his home in Suffolk on 14 February 2020, at the age of 77.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

1. ^ Coveney, Michael (2024). "Shrapnel, John Morley (1942–2020), actor". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.90000381701. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
2. John Shrapnel. EnglishMovies.co.uk. Retrieved: 2 June 2014.
3. Profile on 4. BBC Radio 4. Broadcast: 23 November 1996. Retrieved: 2 June 2014.
4. Michael Billington (22 May 2011). "The School for Scandal - review". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
5. "John Shrapnel, versatile and intelligent actor on stage, film and television – obituary". The Telegraph. 19 February 2020.
6. ^ Coveney, Michael (18 February 2020). "John Shrapnel obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 February 2020.

External links

• John Shrapnel at IMDb

• 1942 births
• 2020 deaths
• 20th-century English male actors
• 21st-century English male actors
• Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge
• Deaths from prostate cancer in England
• English male film actors
• English male Shakespearean actors
• English male stage actors
• English male television actors
• Male actors from Birmingham, West Midlands
• Male actors from London
• People educated at the City of London School
• People from Highbury
• People from Mid Suffolk District
• Royal Shakespeare Company members