Dennis Burgess (18 February 1926 – 3 November 1980) was a British television actor born in Neath, Glamorgan, Wales.BFI.org He is perhaps best remembered for his roles as Hercule Flambeau in Father Brown (1974) and C in The Sandbaggers (1980).
Biography In 1926, Burgess was born in Neath, in Wales.
Burgess grew up in Port Talbot, attending Port Talbot Secondary School.
In 1958, Burgess married Glenys Maria Hare at Neath.
Burgess worked as a drama teacher for most of his adult life. He dedicated a lot of his time to helping his father care for his invalid mother, and it wasn't until after she had died that Burgess became a professional actor.
In 1973, at 47 years of age, Burgess moved from Wales to the south east of England to focus on his acting career. His first professional role was in the film Bluebeard (1972), starring his boyhood friend Richard Burton, who had helped him into the profession. Burton and Burgess had remained great friends, and a series of letters written by the screen legend to his old friend have previously been exhibited at the National Library of Wales at Aberystwyth. They included an invitation to Burton's 50th birthday party in 1975, from his then wife Elizabeth Taylor.Wales Online, "Letters from Richard Burton on show at National Library", 11 February 2009. Accessed 18 August 2013
Burgess went on to feature in The Professionals, The Sandbaggers, and The Elephant Man, and played the recurring role of Flambeau in Father Brown.
Death His second career was to be a short one. On the evening of 3 November 1980, at age 54, Dennis Burgess was driving to his home in Chesham when he suffered a massive heart attack and veered off the road. He was found dead at the wheel of his car, in the middle of a cricket pitch, in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes1972 Bluebeard The Coroner 1973 Massacre in Rome Maj. Dobbrick 1980 The Elephant Man 1st Committee Man Television Year Title Role Notes1974 Father Brown Hercule Flambeau 5 episodes1975 Space: 1999 Neman 1 episode (Mission Of The Darians)1978 Within These Walls Mr. Linton 2 episodes1978 Off to Philadelphia in the Morning Sir William Crawley 1 episode1980 Fox Mr. Pegram 2 episodes1979-1980 The Professionals Galbraith / Dr. Forbes 2 episodes1980 The Sandbaggers 'C' / Tower Gibbs 8 episodes1981 Triangle George Terson 10 episodes
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