Patrick Allen (actor)

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Patrick Allen

Patrick Allen (born March 17, 1927 in Nyasaland , † July 28, 2006 in London ) was a British actor and speaker . In Germany it is one-hit-number-primarily as the striking speaker at the single Two Tribes of the band Frankie Goes to Hollywood known.

Life

Allen was born in what is now Malawi, South Africa, as the son of tobacco growers. After his parents returned to Great Britain, he was evacuated to Canada at the outbreak of World War II , where he was able to gain experience as a presenter for local radio and as an actor in television plays and documentaries before returning to Great Britain in 1953.

Career

He made his film debut in Alfred Hitchcock's On Call Murder . He then played as a character actor in over 120 films and TV series, including the movies When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth , The Wild Geese Come , The Command and The Sea Wolves , as well as in the TV series UFO , Moon Base Alpha 1 , Simon Templar and with umbrella, charm and melon . He was also seen on stage in performances by the Royal Shakespeare Company .

In addition to his work as an actor, Patrick Allen had another very successful career as a speaker. His distinctive and authoritative voice was known throughout Great Britain and other parts of the English-speaking world until his death - even among those who did not know him as an actor.

He also became known in Germany when he was heard on the global hit Two Tribes by the band Frankie Goes to Hollywood in 1983 as a spokesperson, who read out rules of conduct in the event of a nuclear war . The lines heard there were slightly modified new recordings of his speaker commentary, which was very popular in Great Britain, in the educational films which the British government had produced in the late 1970s as part of its Protect and Survive awareness campaign in the event of a nuclear attack.

Patrick Allen has been a commentator and narrator in countless films, TV series and radio plays. For example, he was the narrator's voice in the original version of the first season of the TV series Blackadder , in the last episode of which he also played the role of Philip of Burgundy. Allen has also acted as the spokesperson for a variety of radio and TV commercials.

His work as a speaker animated him to eventually found three companies that served the voice recording market and, at their most successful times in the late 1970s, handled around 60% of British commercial production.

In 2005, when he was no longer fully dedicated to his career due to old age, he was still station voice of the British TV channel E4 , which made him known again to a new generation of viewers. In the same year he also recorded another modified version of the Two Tribes version of his Protect and Survive commentary for the German cover band Welcome To The Pleasuredome . Also for the British broadcaster Kerrang! Not long before his death, he did TV parodic versions of the same film comments.

Allen was married to actress Sarah Lawson, with whom he has two sons.

Filmography (selection)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Allen, Patrick
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British actor and speaker
DATE OF BIRTH March 17, 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH Nyasaland
DATE OF DEATH July 28, 2006
Place of death London