Don Henderson
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.
Filmography · 84
Play for Today
1970
Doctor Who
1963 · Gavrok
Casualty
1986 · Jerry Hunter
Star Wars
1977 · General Taggi
Minder
1979 · Billy Lynch
BBC Play of the Month
1965 · Mercier
Theatre 625
1964
Screen Two
1985 · The Flogger
Red Dwarf
1988 · Rogue Simulant
The Protectors
1972 · Walters
Angels
1975
TFI Friday
1996
2Point4 Children
1991 · Frank
Thriller
1973 · Boz Bostyne
Dempsey and Makepeace
1985 · Don
Cracker
1993 · Hennessy Senior
Van der Valk
1972 · Ullman
Dramarama
1983 · The Great Callisto
New Scotland Yard
1972 · Harry Watson
The Detectives
1993 · Brother Ryan
Poldark
1975 · Tom Carne
Strangers
1978 · DS George Bulman
The New Statesman
1987 · Brigadier Miljanic
The Paradise Club
1989 · Frank Kane
Brazil
1985 · First 'Black Maria' Gu...
Dick Turpin
1979 · Bracewell
Warship
1973 · Master-at-Arms Frank H...
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
1988 · Commander
No Escape
1994 · Killian
Making Out
1989
The XYY Man
1976 · DS George Bulman
Bulman
1985 · George Bulman
Ripping Yarns
1976 · Sgt. Major
Scorpion Tales
1978 · Easterman
The Enigma Files
1980 · Prince
The Prince and the Pauper
1977 · Burly Ruffian
Voyage of the Damned
1976 · Engineering Officer
Bottle Boys
1984 · Les Burton
Liberation
1994 · Lord Curzon
Annika
1984 · Mr Daniels
Preaching to the Perverted
1997 · Commander Cope
The BFG
1990 · Bloodbottler / Fleshlu...
White Angel
1994 · Inspector Taylor
The Island
1980 · Rollo
Dandelion Dead
1994
The Wind in the Willows
1996 · The Sentry
Jo Brand Through the Cakehole
1994
The Big Sleep
1978 · Lou
Brannigan
1975 · Geef
The Baby of Mâcon
1993 · The Father Confessor
The Trial
1993 · The Flogger
Dead Head
1986 · DI Malcolm
Danielle Steel's Zoya
1997 · Feodor
The Ghoul
1975 · The Ghoul
Merlin of the Crystal Cave
1991 · Galapas
Carry On Columbus
1992 · The Bosun
Maigret
1988 · Barge Captain
Atlantis
1983 · Eddie
The War That Never Ends
1991 · Socrates
The Master of Ballantrae
1984 · Hicks (uncredited)
Across the Andes by Frog
1977 · Sgt. Major
Squaring the Circle
1984 · Kuron
The Littlest Horse Thieves
1976
Doctor Who: Delta and the Bannermen
1987 · Gavrok
A Crack in the Ice
1985 · The Peasant
The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends: The Tale of Mr. Tod
1998 · Tommy Brock (voice)
Billy the Kid and the Green Baize Vampire
1985 · The Wednesday Man
As You Like It
1992 · The Dukes
Callan
1974 · George
Pat and Margaret
1994 · Billy
Tank Malling
1989 · Percy
My Friend Walter
1992 · Bertie Borrowbill
Gotcha / Campion's Interview
1977 · Sellors
Tomorrow Calling
1993 · Mervyn Kihn
The Secret World of Polly Flint
1987 · Old Mazy
Blanc de Chine
1988 · Malcolm
Footsteps
1974 · Policeman
The Doctors: 30 Years of Time Travel and Beyond
1995
Regan
1974 · Strip Club Heavy
One Day at a Time
1977 · Jack
The Finishing Line
1977
Danton's Death
1978 · Mercier
A Killer in Every Corner
1974 · Boz Bostyne
Miss Queencake
1991