Ed Bishop
Known for: Acting
George Victor Bishop (11 June 1932 – 8 June 2005), known professionally as Ed Bishop or sometimes Edward Bishop, was an American actor. He was known for playing Commander Ed Straker in UFO, Captain Blue in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons and for voicing Philip Marlowe in a series of BBC Radio adaptations of the Marlowe novels by Raymond Chandler. Bishop made his film acting debut as an ambulance driver in Stanley Kubrick's 1962 movie Lolita. He played an American astronaut going to the Moon in the film The Mouse on the Moon (1963) and also appeared in The Bedford Incident (1965) and Battle Beneath the Earth (1967). He had small speaking roles in the James Bond films You Only Live Twice (1967) and Diamonds Are Forever (1971), but was not included in the film credits for either. He appeared in a second Kubrick film, 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), in which he played the Captain of the Aries 1B Moon shuttle. The role initially featured dialogue but this was later cut from his scenes. Bishop appeared in various film and television projects created by producer Gerry Anderson. He provided narration, in addition to the voice of Captain Blue, for Anderson's Supermarionation puppet series, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (1967), and appeared in Anderson's science-fiction film Doppelgänger (1969). Perhaps his most prominent screen role was that of Commander Ed Straker in Anderson's science-fiction series UFO (1970–71). Bishop's dark hair was initially dyed blond for the role, though he eventually wore a blond wig instead. In later years, he appeared in films such as Twilight's Last Gleaming, Saturn 3, Silver Dream Racer, and The Lords of Discipline. He provided vocal work for the 1974 animated TV series of Star Trek, and appeared as Lieutenant Colonel Harrity in the final episode of the British World War II prisoner-of-war drama Colditz. In the 1980s, he made several appearances on The Kenny Everett Television Show, Whoops Apocalypse (he also appeared in the subsequent film), and had a role in the children's television series Chocky's Children. He continued to act on film, TV and radio, usually in British and European productions, and was a frequent guest at science fiction conventions. He and fellow Anderson actor Shane Rimmer (a Canadian actor who often worked in the UK) joked about how frequently their professional paths crossed and termed themselves "Rent-a-yank". They appeared together as NASA operatives in the opening of You Only Live Twice and as United States Navy sailors in The Bedford Incident, as well as the 1983 film of the Harold Robbins novel The Lonely Lady. In 1989, Bishop was reunited with Rimmer and another Anderson actor, Matt Zimmerman, in the BBC Radio 4 adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's A Study in Scarlet. He and Rimmer also toured together in theatre shows, including Death of a Salesman in the 1990s, and they both appeared in the BBC drama-documentary Hiroshima (2005), one of Bishop's last TV projects.
Filmography
Series
The Saint
George Felson
1962
Series
The Saint
Tony Allard
1962
Series
The Saint
Cy Imberline
1962
Series
Highlander: The Series
Edward Banner
1992
Film
Lolita
Ambulance Attendant (uncredited)
1962
Series
The Professionals
Dr. Ernest Harbinger
1977
Series
The Professionals
Braddock
1977
Film
2001: A Space Odyssey
Aries-1B Lunar Shuttle Captain
1968
Series
Theatre 625
Padfield
1964
Series
Waking the Dead
Tyler
2001
Series
American Playhouse
General Tom Farrell
1982
Series
Performance
Stanton Case
1991
Series
UFO
Ed Straker
1970
Series
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
David Beeston
1969
Series
Thriller
Carson
1973
Series
Thriller
Gang Boss (voice)
1973
Series
The Protectors
Colonel John Hunter
1972
Film
You Only Live Twice
Hawaii CapCom (uncredited)
1967
Series
Star Trek
Asmodeus (voice) (uncredited)
1973
Film
Diamonds Are Forever
Klaus Hergersheimer (uncredited)
1971
Series
Man in a Suitcase
1967
Series
Out of the Unknown
Commandant Tom Decker
1965
Series
2Point4 Children
Chet
1991
Series
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Narrator / Captain Blue (voice)
1967
Series
Orson Welles' Great Mysteries
The Millionaire
1973
Film
Threads
US President (voice) (uncredited)
1984
Series
The Adventurer
Wayne
1972
Series
Sherlock Holmes
1964
Series
The Kenny Everett Television Show
Various
1982
Series
Colditz
Lt. Col. Harrity
1972
Series
Warship
1973
Series
Wilde Alliance
Wingman
1978
Series
Two's Company
Jack
1975
Series
Just Good Friends
Vernon
1983
Series
1990
1977
Film
Saturn 3
Harding (uncredited)
1980
W. Somerset Maugham
Edward Barnard
1969
Series
Philip Marlowe, Private Eye
District Attorney
1983
Series
Strange Report
Moran
1969
Series
Worlds Beyond
Mr Hitchcock
1986
Film
Madame Claude
Smith
1977
Film
Twilight's Last Gleaming
Maj. Fox
1977
Series
Quiller
Frank Ilroy
1975
Series
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Pinkerton
1951
Film
S.O.S. Titanic
Henry Harris
1980
Series
The Two Mrs. Grenvilles
Strasser
1987
Series
The Demon Headmaster
TV Supremo
1996
Series
Whoops Apocalypse
Jay Garrick
1982
Space Cadets
Self
1997
Film
The Bedford Incident
Lieutenant Hacker U.S.N. - Communications
1965
Film
Silver Dream Racer
Al Peterson
1980
Breakaway
Scott Douglas
1980
Film
Brass Target
Col. Stewart
1978
Life at Stake
Jim Lovell
1978
Series
The Portrait of a Lady
Caspar Goodwood
1968
Film
White Christmas
1995
Film
The War Lover
Vogt
1962
Series
Armchair Theatre
Karl
1956
Series
Take a Letter, Mr Jones
Joe Bradley
1981
Film
Doppelgänger
David Poulson
1969
Film
Judgment in Berlin
Dyson Wilde
1988
Kelly Monteith
1979
Film
Pets
Victor Stackman
1973
Film
The Mouse on the Moon
American Astronaut (as Edward Bishop)
1963
Film
Nutcracker
Sam Dozier
1982
Film
The Lonely Lady
Dr. Baker
1983
Film
The Lonely Lady
1983
Film
The Baron: Mystery Island
Operations Officer
1972
Film
Hiroshima
Stimson
2005
Film
Turnaround
Gerald
1987
Film
Whoops Apocalypse
Wink Persiman (TV interviewer)
1986
Film
Funny Man
Card Player
1994
Film
Invasion: UFO
Cmdr. Ed Straker
1980
Film
The Day After Tomorrow: Into Infinity
TV Announcer
1975
Film
Man in the Middle
1964
Series
The Mad Death
Tom Siegler
1983
Film
The Desperados
Army Captain (voice)
1969
Film
Beach Head
Commandant Tom Decker
1969
Film
Born to Ride
Dr. Tate
1991
Film
Going for the Gold: The Bill Johnson Story
1985
Film
UFO: Take Them Alive
Commander Ed Straker
1972
Film
Rise and Fall of Idi Amin
Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
1981
Film
UFO: Destroy Luna Base!
Commander Ed Straker
1971
Film
Three Wishes for Jamie
Proddy
1987
Film
UFO: Red alert... Attack on Earth!
Commander Ed Straker
1971
Film
Nurse Will Make It Better
Carson
1975
Film
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Spring Break Adventure
Sentry
1999
Nudism: The Inside Story
Narrator (voice)
1992
Film
Stainless Steel and the Star Spies
Stainless Steel (voice)
1981
Film
Big City
Narrator (as Edward Bishop)
1963
Film
2001: The Making of a Myth
Self
2001
Film
The Master of Ballantrae
Pinkerton
1984
Film
Restless Natives
Reporter
1985
Film
UFO: Annihilate SHADO... Kill Straker...
Commander Ed Straker
1972
Film
Paul Starr
Paul Starr (voice)
1964
Film
Testimony
American Commentator
1988
Film
Gerry Anderson: A Life Uncharted
Self (archive footage)
2022
Film
Target: Captain Black!
Captain Blue (voice)
Film
Battle Beneath the Earth
Lt. Cmdr. Vance Cassidy (as Edward Bishop)
1967
Film
The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax
Carstairs
1999
Film
The Fifth Missile
Adm. Stewart Cullinane
1986
The Candy Show
Geoffrey
1989
Film
This Is Supermarionation
Captain Blue (voice)
2014
Film
Chocky's Children
Dr. Deacon
1985
Film
500!
Padre Jones
2001
Film
Wynne and Penkovsky
Alexander
1985
Film
The Serpent of Death
Grant
1990
Film
Captain Scarlet vs. The Mysterons
Captain Blue (voice)
1980
Film
London Is Drowning
American reporter
1981
Film
Broken Glass
Stanton Case
1996
Film
Death in Deep Water
Gang Boss (voice)
1975
Film
Dylan: The Life and Death of a Poet
Prof. Goonmeyer
1978
Film
Captain Scarlet and the Return of the Mysterons
Captain Blue (voice)
1999
Film
Revenge of the Mysterons from Mars
Captain Blue (voice)
1981
Film
Calliope
Lewis Belvedere
1994
Series
Chocky's Children
Dr. Deacon
1985
Butch Minds the Baby
Damon Runyon (voice)
1979
Film
Automania 2000
Narrator
1964
Film
UFO: Radar contact... They're landing!
1974
Children of the Gods
Brother Bethlehem
1979