Maurice Colbourne
Known For
Acting
Born
1939-09-24 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, UK
Died
1989-08-04
Biography
Maurice Colbourne (24 September 1939 – 4 August 1989) was a British stage and television actor who specialised in playing villains and hard men until 1985, when he took the key role of Tom Howard in the BBC Television serial, Howards' Way. Colbourne was born Roger Middleton but took his stage name after reading about the death of actor Maurice Colbourne who shared the same birthday as he did. Colbourne's biggest success in the 1970s was as the lead in the crime drama series Gangsters. In the 80s he starred in Johnny Jarvis and the acclaimed adaptation of John Wyndham's classic sci-fi novel, The Day of the Triffids. Staying with sci-fi, he had a recurring guest role in Doctor Who as the mercenary Lytton, playing opposite the fifth and sixth doctors (Peter Davison and Colin Baker) in adventures featuring the timelords deadliest foes; the Daleks and the Cybermen. But it was the leading role in Howards' Way that he will perhaps best be remembered for. He played Tom Howard until 1989, when he died suddenly aged 49 from a heart attack. The show ended a year later.
Most Known For
Doctor Who
as Commander Lytton
Doctor Who
as Lytton
Play for Today
as John Kline
Van der Valk
as Nick Scholtz
Return of the Saint
as Jed Blacket
Howards' Way
as Tom Howard
Shoestring
as Priest
Gangsters
as John Kline
Churchill's People
as Dr Gedge
The Duellists
as Tall Second
The Day of the Triffids
as Jack Coker
Bloodline
as Jon Swinton
Jesus of Nazareth
as Zacharias
Gangsters
as John Kline
Times For
as man
Hawk the Slayer
as Axe Man 1
Venom
as Sampson
Hitler's SS: Portrait in Evil
as SS Officer
Cry of the Banshee
as Villager
Doctor Who: Resurrection of the Daleks
as Lytton