Lyndon Brook

British actor (1926–2004)


title: "Lyndon Brook" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1926-births", "2004-deaths", "alumni-of-the-university-of-cambridge", "english-male-film-actors", "english-male-television-actors", "english-male-stage-actors", "male-actors-from-london", "20th-century-english-male-actors", "people-educated-at-stowe-school"] description: "British actor (1926–2004)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyndon_Brook" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary British actor (1926–2004) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

FieldValue
nameLyndon Brook
imageActor_Lyndon_Brook.jpg
birth_date
birth_placeLos Angeles, California, US
death_date
death_placeLondon, England
occupationactor, screenwriter
yearsactive1942–1987
spouseElizabeth Kentish (m. 1953)
children2
parentsClive Brook (father)
Mildred Evelyn (mother)
relativesFaith Brook (sister)
::

| name = Lyndon Brook | image = Actor_Lyndon_Brook.jpg | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = | birth_place = Los Angeles, California, US | death_date = | death_place = London, England | occupation = actor, screenwriter | yearsactive = 1942–1987 | spouse = Elizabeth Kentish (m. 1953) | domesticpartner = | children = 2 | website = | parents = Clive Brook (father) Mildred Evelyn (mother) | relatives = Faith Brook (sister)

Lyndon Brook (10 April 1926 – 9 January 2004) was a British actor, on film and television.

Family and early life

Lyndon Brook was born on 10 April 1926 in Los Angeles, California, to British parents. He came from an established acting family: his father, Clive Brook, had been a star of the silent movies and had moved to Hollywood to play quintessential Englishmen in a host of films. His parents sent their son back to England to be educated at Stowe School, and he subsequently gained stage experience at Cambridge University. His elder sister, Faith, also became an actress.

Career

In 1949, Brook was given a minor part in the film Train of Events, which starred Valerie Hobson (the future Mrs John Profumo) and John Clements.

In 1951 he was asked by Laurence Olivier to join his company at the St James's Theatre, London, in Shakespeare's Anthony and Cleopatra and George Bernard Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra. The double production was set up to celebrate the Festival of Britain. It was whilst appearing in these productions that he met his future wife, the actress Elizabeth Kentish.

In 1954 he played an impressionable navigator opposite Gregory Peck in The Purple Plain. The film was set during the Burma campaign and involved a lengthy trek through the jungle. It enjoyed a huge success at the box office. Two years later, Brook co-starred with Kenneth More in one of the most popular of all Second World War dramas, Reach for the Sky.

He appeared with Michael Hordern and Dirk Bogarde in The Spanish Gardener (1956), and as Richard Wagner opposite Bogarde's Franz Liszt in Song Without End (1960).

Thereafter, Brook became a regular in many popular television dramas. He appeared in I, Claudius; three times in The Avengers and The New Avengers; and one appearance in Crown Court (episode "The Getaway", in 1974). He also played George VI alongside Timothy West's Winston Churchill in the BBC's Churchill and the Generals (1979). His later film roles in the 1970s and 1980s included The Hireling, Plenty and Defence of the Realm.

Brook was a much-published author, and scripted the 1957 television series Love Her to Death, which had Peter Wyngarde in the leading role.

Death

Brook died in London on 9 January 2004.

Filmography

::data[format=table]

YearTitleRoleNotes
1942A Yank at EtonEton StudentUncredited
1949The History of Mr. PollyShop AssistantUncredited
Trottie TrueBit RoleUncredited
Train of EventsActorSegment: "The Actor"
1954The Purple PlainCarrington
The Passing StrangerMike
1955Above Us the WavesDiver Navigator, X2
One Way OutLeslie Parrish
1956Reach for the SkyJohnny Sanderson
The Spanish GardenerRobert Burton
1957The Surgeon's KnifeDr. Ian Breck
1958The Gypsy and the GentlemanJohn Patterson
Innocent SinnersCharles
1959Violent MomentDouglas Baines
1960Song Without EndRichard Wagner
Surprise PackageStarvin
1961Adventure StoryPhilotas
1961Edgar Wallace MysteriesGerry Domford"Clue of the Silver Key" episode
1962The Longest DayLt. WalshUncredited
1964The Massingham AffairJustin Derry6 episodes
1965InvasionBrian CarterUncredited
1966Danger ManColin Ashby1 episode
1967–1968The AvengersDr. Manx/Lyall2 episodes
1973The HirelingDoctor
1974Who?Dr. Barrister
1975Edward the SeventhA.J. Balfour3 episodes
1976I, ClaudiusSilanus1 episode
1979Churchill and the GeneralsKing George VITV movie
1985PlentyBegley
1986Defence of the RealmPugh
1987Life StoryErwin Chargaff
::

References

References

  1. Shorter, Eric. "Obituary: Lyndon Brook". The Guardian.
  2. (13 March 2012). "Faith Brook". The Daily Telegraph.
  3. "Train of Events (1949)". British Film Institute.
  4. "Lyndon Brook". British Film Institute.
  5. "Lyndon Brook – Obituaries". The Stage.
  6. Erickson, Hal. "The Purple Plain (1954) – Robert Parrish – Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  7. "Lyndon Brook". aveleyman.com.
  8. Erickson, Hal. "Lyndon Brook – Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos". AllMovie.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

1926-births2004-deathsalumni-of-the-university-of-cambridgeenglish-male-film-actorsenglish-male-television-actorsenglish-male-stage-actorsmale-actors-from-london20th-century-english-male-actorspeople-educated-at-stowe-school