Born in Ely, Cambridgeshire, England, the light-haired,
aristocratically handsome Simon MacCorkindale's first career choice was
to follow in his Air Force pilot father Peter's bootsteps by joining
the Air Training Corps., but his deteriorating eyesight forced him to
choose an alternative vocation. Taking drama classes following high
school graduation, he attended the highly prestigious Haileybury and
Imperial Service College in Hertfordshire in the late 60s. He
subsequently put in much time on the repertory theatre stage, which
culminated in a West End debut appearance in the highly acclaimed
production of "Pygmalion" with
Alec McCowen
and
Diana Rigg in 1974. Simon later appeared
in several heralded TV miniseries productions such as
I, Claudius (1976) and
Jesus of Nazareth (1977).
His major breakthrough in film came with the role of the charming and
cunning shipboard suspect in the all-star whodunnit
Death on the Nile (1978), with
similar shady roles in such films as
The Riddle of the Sands (1979)
keeping the momentum going. Hollywood became an option for him in the
80s and he found his patrician good looks well suited for TV, with
series roles ranging from soap operas
(
Falcon Crest (1981)) to
adventures (
Manimal (1983)). Since
then, Simon has delved into stage projects featuring him as both
director and actor, more notably in "Macbeth" and "The Merchant of
Venice". Much of the last decade was spent starring as a doctor in the
British TV series
Casualty (1999).
Divorced during his early career from actress
Fiona Fullerton, he subsequently married
Brit actress
Susan George and
produced a few of her films. They also raised Arabian horses together.
He focused for a time as a producer/director/writer on a variety of
personal projects, but has since concentrated again on performing.
Simon lost his over four-year-old battle with bowel cancer in October 2010.
NightMan(1997)
The House That Mary Bought(1995)
Falcon Crest(1981)
That Summer of White Roses(1989)
New Tricks(2003)as Sir David Bryant
Night Wolf(2010)as Duncan
Blind Revenge(2009)as Andrew Boles
Casualty(1986)as Harry Harper
Blizzard: Race to the Pole(2006)as Narrator
Adventure Inc.(2002)
Relic Hunter(1999)
Queen of Swords(2000)
Such a Long Journey(1998)
City of Life(2009)
The Wright Stuff(2000)as Self - Panelist, Self - Guest Panelist
This Morning(1988)as Self
Breakfast(2000)as Self
Songs of Praise(1961)as Self
The Alan Titchmarsh Show(2007)as Self
Screenwipe(2006)as Joe Kapp
E! True Hollywood Story(1996)as Self (Jaws 3-D)
Death on the Nile: Making of Featurette(1978)as Simon Doyle
