Roger Caesar Marius Bernard de Delgado Torres Castillo Roberto (1
March 1918 â€" 18 June 1973) was a British actor. He played many roles
on television, radio and in films, and had "a long history of playing
minor villains" before becoming best known as the first actor to play
The Master in Doctor Who (1971â€"73).Delgado was born in Whitechapel,
in the East End of London; he often remarked to Doctor Who co-star and
close friend Jon Pertwee that this made him a true Cockney, as he was
born within the sound of the Bow bells, even though his mother was
Belgian and his father was Spanish. He did not live in the East End,
but was brought up in Bedford Park in west London. He attended
Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School, a Roman Catholic secondary school in
Holland Park, and the London School of Economics for a brief period
but did not complete his degree. He served in the Second World War
with both the Leicestershire Regiment and the Royal Corps of Signals,
attaining the rank of major.Delgado worked extensively on the British
stage, and on television, film and radio. His theatre debut was in
1939 and his first television appearance was 1948. He appeared in the
1955 BBC Television Service serial Quatermass II, the 1956 Powell and
Pressburger wartime drama Battle of the River Plate, and came to wide
popular attention in Britain when he played the duplicitous Spanish
envoy Mendoza in the ITC Entertainment series Sir Francis Drake from
1961 to 1962, after which he was in much demand. An in-joke in the
1971 Doctor Who story Colony in Space refers to that role, when the
Brigadier tells the Doctor not to worry as the suspected sighting of
the Master "was only the Spanish Ambassador". Delgado was frequently
cast as a villain, appearing in many noted British action-adventure TV
series by ITC, including Danger Man (1961), The Saint (1962 and 1966),
The Champions (1969), and Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) (1969).
March 1918 â€" 18 June 1973) was a British actor. He played many roles
on television, radio and in films, and had "a long history of playing
minor villains" before becoming best known as the first actor to play
The Master in Doctor Who (1971â€"73).Delgado was born in Whitechapel,
in the East End of London; he often remarked to Doctor Who co-star and
close friend Jon Pertwee that this made him a true Cockney, as he was
born within the sound of the Bow bells, even though his mother was
Belgian and his father was Spanish. He did not live in the East End,
but was brought up in Bedford Park in west London. He attended
Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School, a Roman Catholic secondary school in
Holland Park, and the London School of Economics for a brief period
but did not complete his degree. He served in the Second World War
with both the Leicestershire Regiment and the Royal Corps of Signals,
attaining the rank of major.Delgado worked extensively on the British
stage, and on television, film and radio. His theatre debut was in
1939 and his first television appearance was 1948. He appeared in the
1955 BBC Television Service serial Quatermass II, the 1956 Powell and
Pressburger wartime drama Battle of the River Plate, and came to wide
popular attention in Britain when he played the duplicitous Spanish
envoy Mendoza in the ITC Entertainment series Sir Francis Drake from
1961 to 1962, after which he was in much demand. An in-joke in the
1971 Doctor Who story Colony in Space refers to that role, when the
Brigadier tells the Doctor not to worry as the suspected sighting of
the Master "was only the Spanish Ambassador". Delgado was frequently
cast as a villain, appearing in many noted British action-adventure TV
series by ITC, including Danger Man (1961), The Saint (1962 and 1966),
The Champions (1969), and Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) (1969).
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