Donald Gray

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Donald Gray (3 March 1914 to 7 April 1978) was a South African actor, probably best remembered for providing the voices to Colonel White, Captain Black and the Mysterons in the TV series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons and for being the reason that Donald Marshall Gray changed his name to Charles Gray when he became an actor.

Coincidentally, in some spin-off media, Colonel White's real name is stated as Charles Grey.

He earlier starred as one-armed detective Mark Saber in the British series which ran for 156 episodes from 1955 to 1961. The series was originally called "The Vise" in the U.S. and "Mark Saber" in the UK, but was later called "Detective's Diary" and "Saber of London". Gray had lost an arm during the war.

A biography of Gray has been written by Trevor Jordan, called "Colonel White meets Mark Saber". I am Trevor Jordan my book is available at EBAY. Donald Elred Owemann Tidbury was born on 3rd of March 1914 in the Hamlet of Tidbury's Toll (named after a hotel of that name owned by Donald's Grandfather). Tidbury's Toll is 14 miles from Fort Beaufort the nearest railhead in the Stockenstrom District of Cape Province. The city of East London is 107 miles away. Elred was educated at the Marist Brothers College at Uitenhage near to the city of Port Elizabeth. When he passed to Senior school he went to Queestown College but he then had the opportunity to go to one of the great schools in South Africa the Christian Brothers College at Kimberley. Here he was remembered as an all round Sportsman excelling at most and even getting a Rugby trial for the Springboks. In 1933 Paramount Pictures advertised in the Union of South Africa and Rhodesia then British Colonies for young hopefulls to be screen tested to join Paramount Picture Bit Players in Hollywood. The competition stretched throughout the English speaking world as the Search for Beauty. Australia, Canada, New Zealand, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales all sent two winners one male one femail but American states were treated differently Alabama, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusettes, Minnesota, New York, Pensylvania and Texas sent their own winners rather than 2 just for US as a whole. Elred Tidbury entered reciting poetry and he based his speaking voice on then established actor Basil Rathbone another South African who had made it big in Hollywood. The competition was fierce but eventually Elred Tidbury then called Eldred Tidbury by Paramount beat strong competition and set off for Hollywood in September 1933 with the all Africa female winner Lucille Du Toit with Edith Raynham as first reserve. Ahead of them was five weeks of screen testing when it was important not only to appear well but be able to act as well. Other winners of the heats set up in other parts of the world also left their respective countries and converged on Hollywood. The actress Clara Lou (Ann) Sheriden and New Zealander Actor Colin Tapley were discovered as a result of this competition. What lay ahead was 50 dollars a week a $1000 bonus for best Male performance and female performance and the chance to appear in the Search For Beauty Film then being shot in Hollywood. It was pretty poor stuff the winners from each country had their winners cut in but it couldn't fail to make big bucks for studio having been as a result of The Search For Beauty competition. For the lucky few there would be a bit player contract but after 5 weeks 30 men and 30 women had been whittled down to five men and five women who were to be awarded contracts. Some looked nice but couldn't act but you had to be accomplished in both. Eldred Tidbury was so good in his roles that together with Scottish female winner Gwenllien Gill they were selected for $1000 bonuses. An ecstatic Tidbury bought himself a car but Lucille Du Toit returned to South Africa to marry her fiance and never again tread the boards. For five weeks afterwards beauty's could be seen trawling the other studios but most returned to their jobs. Of the 5 men and 5 women awarded contracts only 3 became established actors. These were Eldred Tidbury, Ann Sheriden who appeared in the credits in 73 films in her lifetime and Colin Tapley who appeared in te credits 56 films in his lifetime. As bit players they appeared in roles in countless films but usually only as extras. Tidbury remained in Hollywood until 1935 when his passport expired and he had to return to South Africa but eagle eyed viewers can still see Tidbury in minor roles behind major stars of Bogart Lombard and Dietricht. Colin Tapley was to remain in Hollywood until enlisting in World War II. Returning to South Africa Tidbury went on arrived in England in late 1935. His contract with Paramount still had time to run and the option was taken up by their UK subsidiary British and Dominion Pictures with Irishmen Herbert Wilcox in charge. By 1936 Tidbury had dropped the Eldred and was calling himself Don Tidbury but then this was again in turn dropped after two movies to the name he kept for the rest of his life Donald Gray. In 1936 Donald Gray appeared in his first film in that name Well Done Henry with Scottish comedian Will Fyfe at Fox British. In 1937 Gray secured the juvenile lead in Strange Experiment with Alistair Sim after the then lead James Mason had a tantrum and walked off the set. In 1938 Gray got his best lifetime film as one of the four leads in Alexander Korda's The Four Feathers set in Sudan. The actor Leslie Phillips was a boy actor but Gray was the only one of the four leads (Richardson, Clements and Allan the others) not to get a knighthood in his later career. After this was Repertory in Aberdeen with Stewart Granger his then wife Elspeth March, and newlyweds Dulcie Gray and Michael Denison. On the outbreak of war Gray tried to enlist in the Gordon Highlanders but was rejected duodenal ulcer. In 1940 after claiming Scottish Ancestry the Gordon's took him and here he remained until 1941 when he was commissioned War Substantive Second Lieutenant in the Kings Own Scottish Borderers based at Berwick upon Tweed. Here he was staff Officer to Colonel C. G. Renny (later Bridgadier). In 1942 he was released temporarily to appear as Vera Lynn's Scottish boyfriend in the film "We'll Meet Again". In 1944 Gray took part in the D Day landings as Batallion Inteligence Officer and stood next to Renny in the battle of Troarne in northern France. Gray was hit in the upper left arm by a German anti tank shell and the commanding officer rendered first aid stopping the bleeding by applying a tournequet. Gray's war was over and he returned to convalesce in Musselburgh near Edinburgh where he learnt to do without his left arm. In 1946 he returned to South Africa on tour in "While the Sun Shines" but he then returned to England appearing in "Idol of Paris" 1948 but then in 1948 he joined the BBC Radio Repertory company where loss of arm was no handicap. Through this Gray was offered the role of Continuity announcer at the BBC fledgling television service at Alexandra Palace where he provided relief for Sylvia Peters, Mary Malcolm and Macdonald Hobley. Reading the news he was the recipiant of fan mail from women wanting to marry or mother him but he also received a death threat from an irate husband and was put under Police guard for some months. In 1951 he went to the Carribean to shoot "Island of Desire" with Linda Darnell and Tab Hunter. Though filmed in technicolour it won an award for its photography however on viewing recently this film is was pretty dire stuff. Gray had a screen fight with a 19 year old Tab Hunter fresh out of the marines and won. Gray's acting saved a pretty bad script. There followed in the fifties roles in movies Burnt Evidence, Timeslip, Satellite in the Sky, Flight From Vienna, Secret Tent and the Chidren's Film Foundations Supersonic Saucer. In 1955 he was chosen for the role he is most famous for now as the detective Mark Saber in Danziger Pictures shorts "Mark Saber" "Saber of London". The public took to the gallant Saber that despite only having one arm he showed the British bulldog spirit and always got his man. Altogether over 5 years there were 156 episodes appearing with Gray in the title role with friend Colin Tapley of Hollywood days as Inspector Parker and a succession of assistants notably Neil McCallum as Pete Paulson and Robert Arden as Bob Page. Also there were two secretary's singer Diane Decker as Stevie Ames and Teresa Thorne as Judy. The love interest was played by Jennifer Jayne as Ann Summers. When the series finished Gray returned to his cottage Woodlabnd Cottage, Crooksbury near Farnham Surrey where he had by then married Shiela Green a BOAC Air Stewardess and he had two young daughters Loretta and Deborah. In 1960 to 1962 he went to work in South Africa where he went on and off to work until his death in 1978. By 1962 on his return he was largely forgotten but he had appeared in his last film Murder on the Campus a second feature directed by Michael Winner. He was now the anonymous voice behind commercials and it was from here he went to ATV London first as a Continuity announcer and then to Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons where he did the voices of Colonel White, Captain Black and the Mysterons. The puppets were done without strings in what Gerry Anderson called Supermarionation. The eyes look uncannily real and they were photographs of production team. Gray's own Colonel White puppet was based on his then features and even the FANDERSON biography of Colonel White had his name as Charles Gray. Over the next few years minor roles appeared in Dixon of Dock Green, Doctor in Charge but by 1975 these had ended in the "Hill of the Red Fox" on BBC television. 1974 was a guest appearance in Emmerdale Farm where he appeared as Roy Boyd's father and he had appeared in 1971 with Anthony Valentine in "The Donati Conspiracy". There was some extra work and the eagle eyed can see him in the background on films and television but towards the end of his life there was only voice over work. He died in 1978 while holidaying with his sister Pat in East London.