Don Henderson

Acting

Don Henderson

Born 1932-11-10 · Leytonstone, London, England, UK

Born Donald Francis Henderson in Leystonstone, 1931, Don Henderson was an English actor of stage, television and screen. He was best known for playing both "tough guy" roles and authority figures, and is remembered for his portrayal of detective George Bulman between 1976 and 1987 in a trilogy of popular Granada Television police drama series; The XYY Man, Strangers, and Bulman. Following the end of Bulman, Henderson starred as the priest Frank Kane in the BBC drama series The Paradise Club, penned by Bulman creator Murray Smith. Henderson starred in several cult and sci fi serials and films, most notably in the first Star Wars movie in which he played General Tagge, and Doctor Who and Red Dwarf. Prior to acting, Henderson was a dental technician in the army and a detective sergeant in the Essex constabulary, but he resigned when he found he had sympathy for the criminals he was obliged to arrest. He was married twice, firstly to Hilary who died in 1977, and then to the actress Shirley Stelfox, whom he met filming The XYY Man. The pair set up home in Stratford-Upon-Avon and appeared together professionally many times until his death from throat cancer in 1997.

Acting credits

Star Wars poster
8.2

Princess Leia is captured and held hostage by the evil Imperial forces in their effort to take over the galactic Empire. Venturesome Luke Skywalker and dashing captain Han Solo team together with the loveable robot duo R2-D2 and C-3PO to rescue the beautiful princess and restore peace and justice in the Empire.

Star Wars

1977

Brazil poster
7.7

Low-level bureaucrat Sam Lowry escapes the monotony of his day-to-day life through a recurring daydream of himself as a virtuous hero saving a beautiful damsel. Investigating a case that led to the wrongful arrest and eventual death of an innocent man instead of wanted terrorist Harry Tuttle, he meets the woman from his daydream, and in trying to help her gets caught in a web of mistaken identities, mindless bureaucracy and lies.

Brazil

1985

No Escape poster
6.2

In the year 2022, a ruthless prison warden has created the ultimate solution for his most troublesome and violent inmates: Absolom, a secret jungle island where prisoners are abandoned and left to die. But Marine Captain John Robbins, convicted of murdering a commanding officer, is determined to escape the island in order to reveal the truth behind his murderous actions and clear his name.

No Escape

1994

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen poster
7.0

An account of Baron Munchausen's supposed travels and fantastical experiences with his band of misfits.

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

1988

Voyage of the Damned poster
6.0

A luxury liner carries Jewish refugees from Hitler's Germany in a desperate fight for survival.

Voyage of the Damned

1976

Carry On Columbus poster
3.9

Christopher Columbus believes he can find an alternative route to the far East and persuades the King and Queen of Spain to finance his expedition...

Carry On Columbus

1992

The Island poster
5.3

David Nau leads a band of modern day pirates who raid yachts and sail boats of people on vacation in the Caribbean. When reporter Blair Maynard and his son arrive to investigate the mystery of the disappearing boats, Nau and his band of raiders decide to induct them into their tribe.

The Island

1980

The Big Sleep poster
5.8

Private eye Philip Marlowe investigates a case of blackmail involving the two wild daughters of a rich general, a pornographer and a gangster.

The Big Sleep

1978

The Prince and the Pauper poster
6.1

Tom Canty is a poor English boy who bears a remarkable resemblance to Edward, Prince of Wales and son of King Henry VIII. The two boys meet and decide to play a joke on the court by dressing in each other's clothes, but the plan goes awry when they're separated and each must live the other's life.

The Prince and the Pauper

1977

The Baby of Mâcon poster
6.8

In 17th-century Tuscany, a church play is performed for the benefit of young aristocrat Cosimo. In the play, a grotesque old woman gives birth to a beautiful baby boy. The child's older sister is quick to exploit the situation, selling blessings from the baby, and even claiming she's the true mother by virgin birth. However, when she attempts to seduce the bishop's son, the Church exacts a terrible revenge.

The Baby of Mâcon

1993

The Trial poster
6.0

Joseph K. awakes one morning, to find two strange men in his room, telling him he has been arrested. Joseph is not told what he is charged with, and despite being "arrested," is allowed to remain free and go to work. But despite the strange nature of his arrest, Joseph soon learns that his trial, however odd, is very real, and tries desperately to spare himself from the court's judgement.

The Trial

1993

Brannigan poster
6.0

A hard-nosed Chicago cop is sent to London to bring back an American mobster being held for extradition. Brannigan in his Irish-American way brings American law to the people of Scotland Yard but has to contend with a stuffy old London first.

Brannigan

1975

Callan poster
6.9

David Callan, secret agent, is called back to the service after his retirement, to handle the assassination of a german businessman, but Callan refuses to co-operate until he finds out why this man is marked for death.

Callan

1974

My Friend Walter poster
7.0

Bess Throckmorton, a farmer's daughter from Devon, encounters an ancient relative who soon reveals himself to be the ghost of Sir Walter Raleigh, determined to escape the Tower of London once and for all and return to Devon. When Sir Raleigh learns that a pair of dastardly brothers have designs on his ancestors' farm, he devises a plan to thwart them.

My Friend Walter

1992

The Wind in the Willows poster
5.7

Jailed for his reckless driving, rambunctious Mr. Toad has to escape from prison when his beloved Toad Hall comes under threat from the wily weasels, who plan to build a dog food factory on the very meadow sold to them by Toad himself.

The Wind in the Willows

1996

No artwork available
8.0

A costume drama / satire about financial skull-duggery, and confidence tricksters in both the upper and lower classes in Victorian London. A working class man impersonates a lord who is supposedly very rich and a financial wizard. As such he is invited to all the best peoples' parties.

The Fool

1990

No artwork available
7.7

An English woman returns to her homeland after losing her fortune in America, and is stalked by a serial killer.

Murder Elite

1985

The BFG poster
6.4

Sophie is snatched from her orphanage early one morning by the BFG (Big Friendly Giant), whom she witnesses engaged in mysterious activities. She is soon put at ease, as she learns that BFG's job is to collect, catalog and deliver pleasant dreams to children. She joins him that night, but a mean giants follow them, planning to eat the children of the world.

The BFG

1990

White Angel poster
4.9

Ellen Carter's career is on the rocks. She hasn't written a worthy novel since her husband went missing and she was suspected by the police of murdering him. To top it all off, she has reason to believe that her new tenant Leslie Steckler is the serial killer responsible for a number of deaths in the region. But what she doesn't know is that, in the meantime, Steckler has discovered a little secret about her...

White Angel

1994

Atlantis poster
NR

Goff and Lytton have a dream – a canal boat of their own on which to cruise the inland waterways. The reality is the boatyard of Josh Adkins and a rusting hulk called Atlantis.

Atlantis

1983

Preaching to the Perverted poster
6.2

A computer wizard infiltrates a London sex club to get evidence for a shutdown, but falls for the proprietress.

Preaching to the Perverted

1997

Maigret poster
7.5

Jules Maigret, a meticulous Parisian police detective, is a famous literary character. In this film adaptation of his stories, he's trying to solve a murder of a friend, a P.I. who was looking into an industrialist and his family.

Maigret

1988

Danielle Steel's Zoya poster
4.9

A young Russian countess escapes the 1917 revolution and, despite hardship, makes a new life for herself in America.

Danielle Steel's Zoya

1997

Footsteps poster
7.0

Gemma Jones stars as a woman suffering from hyperacusis, which affects the muscles of the ears. As a result she has become highly sensitive to noise, a condition that is only exacerbated by living in a crowded boarding house.

Footsteps

1974