Ronald Allen

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Ronald Allen

Born December 16, 1930
Reading, Berkshire, England, UK
Died June 18, 1991
Reading, Berkshire, England, UK
Notable roles David Hunter, Crossroads

Ronald Allen (December 16, 1930 in Reading, Berkshire- June 18, 1991) was an established English character actor.

His most famous role was perhaps in the long-running soap opera Crossroads in which he played David Hunter, who, together with Meg Mortimer, Tish Hope and Bernard Booth, was a share holder of the Crossroads Motel. He appeared in the series from 1969 to 1985. He also twice appeared as a lead actor in the science fiction programme Doctor Who, in the stories The Dominators and The Ambassadors of Death.

Ronald Allen also made a number of guest appearances in The Comic Strip Presents. In the first episode, Five Go Mad in Dorset, which spoofed Enid Blyton's The Famous Five stories, he makes a surprise appearance as Uncle Quentin; deliberately (and wonderfully!) sending up his staid image, he most memorably told The Famous Five, "Your Aunt Fanny is an unrelenting nyphomaniac - and I am a screaming homosexual." (The show's TV Times entry had listed him as "Surprise Guest"). Allen reprised the role in the sequel Five Go Mad on Mescalin, and also appeared in South Atlantic Raiders Part 2, The Strike and Oxford, in addition to the feature film The Supergrass. There was much comic mileage to gained from Allen sending up his ultra conservative image. In a 1987 interview, he said that he was approached by a very intimidating-looking punk. He shook his hand and said "I thought you were really cool in The Supergrass." Then, as he was about to walk away, he turned back and said, almost apologetically, "I loved you in Crossroads too!"

Other roles included television's The Adventures of Robin Hood, Danger Man, Bergerac and The Avengers.

Allen had always been very close friends with his co-star and on-screen wife, Sue Lloyd. When the British media started to intrude into their private lives, they made it known they were a couple. After Allen was told that his cancer was terminal, they married. He died three months later.

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