Raymond Stanley Lonnen (18 May 1940 – 11 July 2014) was an English stage and television actor. His most prominent roles include Willie Caine in the ITV cult classic Cold War-era spy drama series, The Sandbaggers (1978–80), and also Harry Brown in the television miniseries Harry's Game (1982).

Early life

Lonnen was born in Bournemouth, where he attended the Stourfield School and the Hampshire School of Acting. At 19 he gained his first professional acting job at a theatre in Belfast. He then appeared in repertory theatre in English towns and cities including York and made his first television appearance alongside John Alderton in Emergency – Ward 10.

Television career

Lonnen's early acting appearances include TV series such as Mrs Thursday (1966), The Power Game (1966) and Market in Honey Lane (1967), and a small role in the film Zeppelin (1971).

He had a small part as a uniformed Guardian, Brum G, in Episode 3 of the 1971 LWT TV series, The Guardians. He then had a semi-regular role in the British crime drama series Z-Cars as Detective Sergeant Terry Moffatt from 1972 to 1975, before becoming a regular when Moffatt was promoted to become the new D.I. for the series from 1976 to 1977. Lonnen appeared as Gardiner in "Frontier in Space", a 1973 episode of the BBC cult TV sci-fi series Doctor Who,

Stage roles

From the 1960s onwards Lonnen performed in a variety of stage productions, including dramas, comedies and musicals. His stage credits include Under Milk Wood (as the Narrator), Same Time, Next Year, In Praise of Love, Run for Your Wife, Wonderful Town, Lock Up Your Daughters, Guys and Dolls, Bells Are Ringing, Rebecca and The Perfect Murder.

Personal life

Lonnen was first married to Jean Conyers and then to the actress Lynn Dalby, with whom he had three children. His third wife was the actress Tara Ward.

Partial filmography

  • Zeppelin (1971) - Sgt. Grant
  • Action at Dog Island (1972)
  • Murder Elite (1985) - Ron Price
  • Midsomer Murders (2007) - Peter Baxter

References

  • "The Sandbaggers" OpsRoom.org; accessed 12 July 2014.
  • Ray Lonnen - obituary (The Telegraph, July 2014)