Actor James Laurenson passed away earlier this week aged 84. While he was born and raised in New Zealand he made his mark in Britain with an acting career that spanned five decades.
A familiar face on British dramas throughout the years he made history in 1970 when he famously performed the first gay kiss on British television with Sir Ian McKellen.
The pair starred alongside each other in an adaptation of Christopher Marlowe’s Edward II, just three years after homosexuality was decriminalised in England.
Laurenson is remembered for playing Reverend Peter Hope in the long running British soap opera Coronaiton Street, but more recently he played Scottish physician and homeopath Doctor Sir John Weir in the hit Netflix series The Crown.
Laurenson also appeared on Australian television. In 1972 he starred in the detective series Boney as Detective Inspector Napoleon ‘Boney’ Bonaparte. The character was described as having an Aboriginal mother and a Caucasian father, and Laurenson was cast despite having no Aboriginal heritage.
Throughout his career he appeared on many British television programs including Space 1999, Z-Cars, The Professionals, Prime Suspect, Lovejoy, State of Play, Hustle, Spooks, Bergerac, Inspector Morse and many others.
