Gerald Harper was an actor himself, having worked on stage – at the West End in the likes of Crucifer of Blood and A Personal Affair – and across television during his long career
Veteran stage and TV performer Gerald Harper – who was in a brief relationship with an actress 40 years his junior – has died.
Gerald made his name on British TV in the 1960s and 1970s, starring as the lead role in the adventure drama Adam Adamant Lives! and then as the main character in Hadleigh. He then went on to forge an illustrious career on the stage, featuring in various West End shows, including Crucifer of Blood and A Personal Affair at the Haymarket Theatre.
Although he was also in popular films, such as 1979 mystery comedy The Lady Vanishes, Gerald will also be remembered for his relationship with Coupling and Green Wing star Sophie Alexander. He was in his early 70s when Sophie, then aged around 30, became lovers. Sophie was at the height of her own fame at the time, as she was a regular in sitcom Coupling and had been in Smack the Pony for four years.
Speaking at the time, a source who saw the couple together told our sister title, the Sunday People: “They were super-glued together! They were all over each other and didn’t care who saw them. Funnily enough, the young lady was making a lot of the running and kept grabbing him to French kiss him – it was quite a display.”
But Sophie, who has since been in Hollywood film I Could Never Be Your Woman, ended things with Gerald in 2002. She left Gerald for actor Peter Serafinowicz, whom she since married.
Gerald died on Wednesday, his agent confirmed yesterday. CDM Talent Agency posted on social media: “It is with great sadness that Gerald Harper has recently passed away – he was a valued client before he went to Spain to enjoy his retirement.” It is unclear where the actor died.
He leaves behind two grown-up children, one from each of his two marriages before he met Sophie. Gerald, who also a radio presenter, was married to actress Jane Downs from 1957 until they divorced in 1975. In 1976, he married Carla Rabaiotti, a former Pan American air stewardess; they were divorced in 1983. He had a daughter with Heartbeat star Jane, who herself passed away in 2015, and a son with Carla.
Yet it is the fling with Sophie, long after the marriages, which caused the stir in Notting Hill, central London, where Gerald lived. Sophie reportedly moved in with the star, some 42 years her senior, which was believed to have raised eyebrows in the affluent area. It is said, though, Gerald was “absolutely bereft” when Sarah left him for Amandaland star Peter in 2002.
Since then, Gerald’s TV work declined and he focused more on plays and radio presenting. The charismatic performer presented The Sunday Affair for Capital Radio in the 1970s, and a series of Saturday afternoon shows for BBC Radio 2 in the early 1990s, in which he played classic songs from the past and gave away bottles of champagne and chocolates.
Speaking to the Daily Express in 2006, dad-of-two Gerald, who grew up in Barnet, northwest London, said: “I was a TV star on my own terms and for the best part of 20 years I virtually didn’t have a day off.”