Alan Badel

Biography

British thespian Alan Badel came to prominence after graduating from RADA a Gold Medal winner. He made an almost instant impact on the stage in both modern and classical roles. One of his first critically acclaimed performances was as Romeo, opposite Claire Bloom's Juliet at the Old Vic. Despite his velvety, resonant voice and commanding personality, Badel never quite made the first rank on screen. In the theatre, however, he was never less than a star, particularly after his tour-de-force impersonation of 19th century actor Edmund Kean in Jean-Paul Sartre's 1971 play. His motion picture career took in parts as John the Baptist in Salome (1953), Richard Wagner in Magic Fire (1956) and as the corrupt manager of a rugby club in This Sporting Life (1963). On the small screen he was excellent as Edmund Dantes, the Count of Monte Cristo (1964), and as the eccentric, enigmatic Count Fosco in The Woman in White (1982). Badel, who died unexpectedly in 1982 at the age of 58, had a distinguished military record dating back to his wartime service with the 13th Parachute Battalion. He took part in Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings in 1944. He fought with distinction as a platoon commander and saw action in the Normandy and Ardennes Campaigns and the subsequent advance through northern Germany. After VE Day, he was posted to the Far East as part of the 6th Airborne Division for a projected invasion of Japan, which never took place due to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Badel spent some time in Palestine, until he was demobbed in June 1947.