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  • BIRTH 30/09/1943
  • Country United Kingdom
  • SHOWS 14
  • MOVIES 18

Ian Ogilvy

Ian Raymond Ogilvy (born 30 September 1943) is an English film and television actor. He is best known as the star of the TV series Return of the Saint (1978–79), in which he assumed the role of Simon Templar from Roger Moore (1962–69).

The role led to his being considered a leading contender for the role of James Bond in the early 1980s, when Moore announced his intention to leave the role. He never played the part (in part due to Moore reconsidering his resignation on several occasions), although he did play a Bond-like character in a series of North American TV commercials broadcast in the early 1990s. At least once, in an episode of Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, "Dragon's Wing II", he played a Bond-like British agent, complete with white dinner jacket.

He was a friend of film-maker Michael Reeves and starred in all three of Reeves's films: Revenge of the Blood Beast (1966), The Sorcerers (1967), and Witchfinder General (also known as The Conqueror Worm, 1968). He guest-starred in The Avengers in the 1968 episode "They Keep Killing Steed" as Baron Von Curt, and on the BBC in Somerset Maugham's The Door of Opportunity, opposite Marianne Faithfull.

He appeared in the films Stranger in the House (1967), and The Day the Fish Came Out (1967), and had a major role in the epic film Waterloo (1970).

In 1976, he featured in the pilot episode of the television comedy series Ripping Yarns. He also appeared in I, Claudius (1976, as Drusus), and guest-starred in 6 episodes of Murder, She Wrote and 4 episodes of Diagnosis Murder. He appeared as Edgar Linton in a film version of Wuthering Heights (1970) and as Owen Gereth in BBC dramatization of The Spoils of Poynton (also 1970).

In the 1990s, he guest-starred in the TV series Babylon 5 (1998). The series' star, Bruce Boxleitner, is the former husband of Ogilvy's second wife, actress Kathryn Holcomb. He also had a role in the short-lived 1990s American soap opera, Malibu Shores. He appeared as Lawrence Kirbridge in the series Upstairs, Downstairs. He's had roles in over 100 TV shows, often appearing as a guest star. He then co-starred with Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn in Death Becomes Her (1992); and with Richard Dreyfuss and Nia Vardalos in My Life in Ruins (2009), among others.

He has had an extensive career in the theatre playing leading roles in many London West End productions, including Design for Living, Happy Family, Three Sisters, Rookery Nook by Ben Travers, Run for Your Wife, The Millionaires by Shaw, The Waltz of the Toreadors, and others. He has also worked widely in the American theatre.

He is a playwright and novelist, currently working on a series of children's books: Measle and the Wrathmonk, Measle and the Dragodon, Measle and the Mallockee, Measle and the Slitherghoul, and Measle and the Doompit. He has written and published two novels – Loose Chippings and The Polkerton Giant – and two plays: A Slight Hangover and Swap!. His memoir, Once a Saint, was published in May 2016. His book of film reviews 'Withering Slights', based on his Facebook page, was published in 2020.

Ian Ogilvy

Shows (14)

Walker, Texas Ranger
Walker, Texas Ranger
Shredder Stonham
JAG
JAG
Jeffrey Mason
The Avengers
The Avengers
Baron Von Curt
Murder, She Wrote
Murder, She Wrote
Harold Baines / Lawson Childress / Peter Templeton / Wade Foster
Babylon 5
Babylon 5
Lord Jano
Dharma & Greg
Dharma & Greg
Geoffrey
The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.
The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.
Furlong
I, Claudius
I, Claudius
Drusus
Kung Fu: The Legend Continues
Kung Fu: The Legend Continues
Sterling
Diagnosis Murder
Diagnosis Murder
Jerry Lane / Larry Duggin / Lyle Fairbanks
Robin of Sherwood
Robin of Sherwood
Lord Edgar
Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs
Lawrence Kirbridge
Hallmark Hall Of Fame
Hallmark Hall Of Fame
Edward VIII
Malibu Shores
Malibu Shores
Marc Delacourt

Movies (18)

Death Becomes Her
Death Becomes Her
Chagall
The Saint
The Saint
The Fixer
Waterloo
Waterloo
De Lancey
From Beyond the Grave
From Beyond the Grave
William Seaton
Witchfinder General
Witchfinder General
Richard Marshall
My Life in Ruins
My Life in Ruins
Mr. Stewart Tullen
Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights
Edgar Linton
The Saint Steps In... To Television
The Saint Steps In... To Television
Himself
Όταν τα Ψάρια Βγήκαν στη Στεριά
Όταν τα Ψάρια Βγήκαν στη…
Peter
Puppet Master 5
Puppet Master 5
Dr. Jennings
And Now the Screaming Starts!
And Now the Screaming Starts!
Charles Fengriffen
Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror
Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History…
Self / Poem Reader (voice)
We Still Steal the Old Way
We Still Steal the Old Way
Richie Archer
Renegades
Renegades
Peck
Fugitive Mind
Fugitive Mind
Dr. Grace
Horse Sense
Horse Sense
Miles
The Sorcerers
The Sorcerers
Mike Roscoe
We Still Kill the Old Way
We Still Kill the Old Way
Richie Archer