Jack Shepherd(I)
- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Jack Shepherd was born in Leeds, on October 29th, 1940. His father was
a cabinet maker and his mother an infant school teacher. He was
educated at Roundhay School, Leeds and went on to study fine art at
Kings College, Newcastle. After gaining a BA in Fine Art, he first
studied acting at the Central School and then at the Drama Centre
London, a drama school he helped found.
He worked at the Royal Court theatre from 1965 to 1969, and here he was
involved in the first production of "Saved" by
Edward Bond, and also "Narrow Road
To the Deep North" and "Early Morning" by the same author. He won the
"Most promising actor of year" in 1967, for his performance in
David Storey's restoration of
"Arnold Middleton".
During the 1970s, he went on to appear and star in many television
dramas, including:
Ready When You Are, Mr. McGill (1976)
by Jack Rosenthal,
All Good Men (1974),
Through the Night (1975),
the series Bill Brand (1976) (all
by Trevor Griffiths) and in
1977 appeared in
Count Dracula (1977).
In 1971, he teamed up with the actor
Richard Wilson and together
they ran a drama studio in north London. Their intention was to provide
workshops for professional actors to meet and develop their skills.
Shepherd and Wilson took the classes on alternate weeks, each taking
part in the others. It was during these times that Shepherd developed
an interest in devising plays for theatre. He wrote "The Sleep of
Reasons" which was produced at the Edinburgh festival in 1974; in 1982
he wrote "Real Time"; in 1983 he wrote the play "Revelations";
"Underdog" and "Clapperclaw" were both written for the BBC. Most
recently, in 1998 he wrote "Half Moon".
He was a member of the National Theatre from 1978 to 1986 and was a
regular member of Bill Bryden's
company in Cottlesloe. He appeared in "American Buffal" as Teach, and
won "best actor" for his performance as Roma in "Glengarry Glen Ross".
He appeared as Hickey in "The Iceman Cometh" and a variety of biblical
characters in the mysteries which were recently revived to celebrate
the millennium.
During the 80s and 90s, he continued to work in television. Some of his
work includes:
Escape from Sobibor (1987),
Blind Justice (1988),
Ball-Trap on the Cote Sauvage (1989),
A Day in Summer (1989)
and, most famously, the part of Detective Superintendent Charles
Wycliffe, in Wycliffe (1993) (from
1994-1998). His work has not been exclusive to theatre and television.
He has appeared in several films throughout his long career; these
include:
The Virgin Soldiers (1969),
Lights and Shadows (1988),
Twenty-One (1991) and
Wonderland (1999). Quite recently,
Richard Wilson and Shepherd were re-united in the ITV six-part comedy
series High Stakes (2001).
Not only does he act and write, he has also directed many stage plays,
notably "Two Gentlemen of Verona" for the opening season at The Globe,
"King Lear" at Southwalk Playhouse, "The School of Night" by Peter
Whelan at Chichester and "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Most recently,
Shepherd has been seen in the ITV hit drama
The Jury (2002) and in the BBC
adaptation of Tony Parsons'
Man and Boy (2002).
Shepherd is an accomplished jazz musician, favouring the saxophone, but
has also been known to play piano and flute in some of his television
appearances.
a cabinet maker and his mother an infant school teacher. He was
educated at Roundhay School, Leeds and went on to study fine art at
Kings College, Newcastle. After gaining a BA in Fine Art, he first
studied acting at the Central School and then at the Drama Centre
London, a drama school he helped found.
He worked at the Royal Court theatre from 1965 to 1969, and here he was
involved in the first production of "Saved" by
Edward Bond, and also "Narrow Road
To the Deep North" and "Early Morning" by the same author. He won the
"Most promising actor of year" in 1967, for his performance in
David Storey's restoration of
"Arnold Middleton".
During the 1970s, he went on to appear and star in many television
dramas, including:
Ready When You Are, Mr. McGill (1976)
by Jack Rosenthal,
All Good Men (1974),
Through the Night (1975),
the series Bill Brand (1976) (all
by Trevor Griffiths) and in
1977 appeared in
Count Dracula (1977).
In 1971, he teamed up with the actor
Richard Wilson and together
they ran a drama studio in north London. Their intention was to provide
workshops for professional actors to meet and develop their skills.
Shepherd and Wilson took the classes on alternate weeks, each taking
part in the others. It was during these times that Shepherd developed
an interest in devising plays for theatre. He wrote "The Sleep of
Reasons" which was produced at the Edinburgh festival in 1974; in 1982
he wrote "Real Time"; in 1983 he wrote the play "Revelations";
"Underdog" and "Clapperclaw" were both written for the BBC. Most
recently, in 1998 he wrote "Half Moon".
He was a member of the National Theatre from 1978 to 1986 and was a
regular member of Bill Bryden's
company in Cottlesloe. He appeared in "American Buffal" as Teach, and
won "best actor" for his performance as Roma in "Glengarry Glen Ross".
He appeared as Hickey in "The Iceman Cometh" and a variety of biblical
characters in the mysteries which were recently revived to celebrate
the millennium.
During the 80s and 90s, he continued to work in television. Some of his
work includes:
Escape from Sobibor (1987),
Blind Justice (1988),
Ball-Trap on the Cote Sauvage (1989),
A Day in Summer (1989)
and, most famously, the part of Detective Superintendent Charles
Wycliffe, in Wycliffe (1993) (from
1994-1998). His work has not been exclusive to theatre and television.
He has appeared in several films throughout his long career; these
include:
The Virgin Soldiers (1969),
Lights and Shadows (1988),
Twenty-One (1991) and
Wonderland (1999). Quite recently,
Richard Wilson and Shepherd were re-united in the ITV six-part comedy
series High Stakes (2001).
Not only does he act and write, he has also directed many stage plays,
notably "Two Gentlemen of Verona" for the opening season at The Globe,
"King Lear" at Southwalk Playhouse, "The School of Night" by Peter
Whelan at Chichester and "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Most recently,
Shepherd has been seen in the ITV hit drama
The Jury (2002) and in the BBC
adaptation of Tony Parsons'
Man and Boy (2002).
Shepherd is an accomplished jazz musician, favouring the saxophone, but
has also been known to play piano and flute in some of his television
appearances.