Falcon Crest

Background:

Getting his start on the London stage in 1973, British actor, producer and director Simon MacCorkindale (born in 1952, died in 2010) appeared in a number of television roles before making an impact starring as Simon Doyle in the 1978 film “Death on the Nile.” Hollywood quickly took notice and in 1980 he left the United Kingdom for the United States to further his acting career. While in the U.S., MacCorkindale appeared in such movies as “The Sword and the Sorcerer” (1982) and “Jaws 3-D” (1983) and in the series “Manimal” (1983). However, he is probably best known for his role of Greg Reardon on the soap opera “Falcon Crest,” which he played from 1984 to 1986. After leaving the United States, MacCorkindale explored directing, producing and writing on various stage, film and TV productions. He also starred as Peter Sinclair in the Canadian series “Counterstrike” from 1990 to 1993. In 2002, he returned to the United Kingdom and took on the role of Dr. Harry Harper on the BBC series “Casualty,” which he played until 2008. Before his death (cancer), MacCorkindale appeared in the British films “Blind Revenge” (2010) and “13Hrs” (2010).

England

Childhood and Family:

Simon MacCorkindale was born Simon Charles Pendered MacCorkindale on February 12, 1952, in Ely, Cambridgeshire, England, to Scottish parents Gilliver Mary MacCorkindale and Peter Bernard MacCorkindale. His father was a Royal Air Force (RAF) Group Captain Station Commander and Simon spent part of his childhood in Edinburgh but moved frequently because of his father’s job.

Young Simon joined the Air Training Corps, but left at age 13 because of his eyesight. He attended Haileybury and Imperial Service College in Hertfordshire between 1965 and 1970 and after graduating, was accepted to Studio 68 of Theatre Arts in London as a drama student.

On July 10, 1976, Simon married actress Fiona Fullerton, but the couple divorced in 1982. Simon and actress Susan George married on October 5, 1984. They remained married until his death.

In 2006, MacCorkindale was diagnosed with bowel cancer and although he underwent surgery and treatment, the cancer spread to his lungs. He died on October 14, 2010.

Death on the Nile

Career:

Simon MacCorkindale made his professional stage debut in 1973 when he landed a part in “A Bequest to the Nation” at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry. He went on to appear in a production of “Pygmalion” in 1974. His first television role came in 1973 with the BBC miniseries “Hawkeye, the Pathfinder,” where he portrayed Lieutenant Carter in three episodes. He made his feature debut in the Richard Lester disaster film “Juggernaut” (1974), alongside Richard Harris and Omar Sharif.

MacCorkindale next appeared in episodes of television shows like “Sutherland's Law” (1975), “Hunter's Walk” (1976), “Beasts” (1976), “Romance” (1977), “Just William” (1977), “The Doombolt Chase” (1978) and “The Dukes of Hazzard” (1979). He also acted in the TV miniseries “I, Claudius” (1976), “Jesus of Nazareth” (1977) and “Life of Shakespeare” (1978). In addition, he portrayed Paris in television film “Romeo and Juliet” (1976), opposite Christopher Neame, Ann Hasson and Laurence Payne, had a recurring role on the British soap “Within These Walls” (3 episodes, 1976-1978) and joined John Mills and Barbara Kellerman in the science fiction series “Quatermass” (1979). He also reprised his role of Joe Kapp for the film version “The Quatermass Conclusion” (1979).

MacCorkindale's breakthrough screen role arrived when he was cast as Simon Doyle in “Death on the Nile” (1978), a film adaptation of the Agatha Christie mystery novel of the same name that was directed by John Guillermin. He followed it up with a similar role in “The Riddle of the Sands” (1979), opposite Michael York. In 1980, he moved to the United States.

MacCorkindale next appeared with Charles Bronson, Dominique Sanda and Jason Robards on the American drama “Caboblanco” (1980), which was directed by J. Lee Thompson, and portrayed Macduff on the film version of “Macbeth” (1981). He was then cast as Prince Mikah in Albert Pyun's fantasy film “The Sword and the Sorcerer” (1982), starring Lee Horsley, Kathleen Beller, Richard Lynch and Richard Moll, and costarred with Thomas Hellberg and Kenneth Estes on the drama “An Outpost of Progress” (1982), which was directed and co-written by Dorian Walker. He also portrayed Philip FitzRoyce in “Jaws 3-D” (1983), a sequel to Steven Spielberg's hit “Jaws.” On television, MacCorkindale appeared as David Clement in the miniseries “The Manions of America” (1981) and as Hank Richards in the Showtime movie “Falcon's Gold” (1982). He also guest starred on the shows “Hammer House of Horror” (1980), “Fantasy Island” (1981) and “Hart to Hart” (1982). He then received a lead role on “Manimal,” which ran on NBC from September to December 1983.

MacCorkindale received a career boost when he won the role of Greg Reardon on the CBS soap opera “Falcon Crest,” where he stayed between 1984 and 1996. The role brought the actor a 1986 Soap Opera Digest nomination in the category of Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role on a Prime Time Serial. MacCorkindale also made his TV directorial debut with an episode of “Falcon Crest” called “Checkmate” (1986).

After “Falcon Crest,” MacCorkindale returned to the U.K. to create a production company. In 1987, he founded Amy International Artists (with his wife Susan George) and launched Anglo Films International. His feature producing debut, “Stealing Heaven,” a drama directed by Clive Donner that starred Derek de Lint, Kim Thomson and Denholm Elliott, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 20, 1988. It was followed by “Djavolji raj” (“The Summer of White Roses,” 1989), a film starring his wife. In addition to serving as a producer and writer on the film, MacCorkindale also composed music for the movie. During this period, MacCorkindale acted in the direct-to-video “Shades of Love: Sincerely, Violet” (1987) and the TV film “Twist of Fate” (1989).

From 1990 to 1993, MacCorkindale portrayed Peter Sinclair in the Canadian/French espionage TV series “Counterstrike,” opposite Christopher Plummer and Tom Kneebone. He received a 1992 Gemini nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role for his performance. MacCorkindale also appeared in a number of TV films throughout the remainder of the decade, including “At the Midnight Hour” (1995), “No Greater Love” (1995), “The Way to Dusty Death” (1996), “While My Pretty One Sleeps” (1997), “Sands of Eden” (1998) and “Running Wild” (1998). He sporadically made guest appearances in other TV shows as well, including “La Femme Nikita” (1997), “NightMan” (1998) and “Mentors” (1999). In 1995, he directed and wrote the television film “The House that Mary Bought,” which starred his wife Susan George. He then landed a recurring role in the Showtime series “Poltergeist: The Legacy” (5 episodes, 1999). In 1998, MacCorkindale produced the film adaptation of Rohinton Mistry's novel “Such a Long Journey,” starring Roshan Seth, Soni Razdan, Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah and Kurush Deboo. He shared a 1999 Genie nomination for Best Motion Picture for the production. The following year, he appeared on the science fiction movie “Wing Commander” (1999), which was based on the video game of the same name.

Entering the new millennium, MacCorkindale guest starred in “Earth: Final Conflict” (1 episodes, 2000), “Dark Realm” (2 episodes, 2001), “Queen of Swords” (1 episode, 2001) and “Relic Hunter” (3 episodes, 2001-2002) and portrayed Jack McCabe in the 2000 TV film “The Dinosaur Hunter.” After turning down the part of Captain Jonathan Archer in “Star Trek: Enterprise,” he returned to the U.K. and in 2002, joined the cast of the BBC series “Casualty” as Dr. Harry Harper. He stayed with the show until 2008.

While working on “Casualty,” MacCorkindale did various other projects. From 2002 to 2003, he served as co-producer of the TV series “Adventure Inc.,” starring Michael Biehn, Karen Cliche and Jesse Nilsson, and in 2003, played Steve Vandermeer in the TV film “The Girl Next Door.” He also reprised his role of Harry Harper on two episodes of “Holby City” (2004-2005) and three episodes of “Casualty @ Holby City” (2005).

Prior to his death, MacCorkindale portrayed Andrew Boles in the British film “Blind Revenge” (2010), which was directed by Raúl Ruiz. Costars of the film included Daryl Hannah, Tom Conti, Miriam Margoyles and Elaine Page. He also portrayed Duncan Moore on the horror film “13Hrs,” starring Tom Felton, Isabella Carthorpe and Gemma Atkinson. On the small screen, he guest starred as Sir David Bryant on an episode of “New Tricks” called “Good Morning Lemmings.”

Awards:

• Evening Standard British Film: Most Promising Newcomer - Actor, 1980