Acting
Ed Bishop
George Victor Bishop (11 June 1932 – 8 June 2005), known professionally as Ed Bishop or sometimes Edward Bishop, was an American actor. He was known for playing Commander Ed Straker in UFO, Captain Blue in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons and for voicing Philip Marlowe in a series of BBC Radio adaptations of the Marlowe novels by Raymond Chandler. Bishop made his film acting debut as an ambulance driver in Stanley Kubrick's 1962 movie Lolita. He played an American astronaut going to the Moon in the film The Mouse on the Moon (1963) and also appeared in The Bedford Incident (1965) and Battle Beneath the Earth (1967). He had small speaking roles in the James Bond films You Only Live Twice (1967) and Diamonds Are Forever (1971), but was not included in the film credits for either. He appeared in a second Kubrick film, 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), in which he played the Captain of the Aries 1B Moon shuttle. The role initially featured dialogue but this was later cut from his scenes. Bishop appeared in various film and television projects created by producer Gerry Anderson. He provided narration, in addition to the voice of Captain Blue, for Anderson's Supermarionation puppet series, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (1967), and appeared in Anderson's science-fiction film Doppelgänger (1969). Perhaps his most prominent screen role was that of Commander Ed Straker in Anderson's science-fiction series UFO (1970–71). Bishop's dark hair was initially dyed blond for the role, though he eventually wore a blond wig instead. In later years, he appeared in films such as Twilight's Last Gleaming, Saturn 3, Silver Dream Racer, and The Lords of Discipline. He provided vocal work for the 1974 animated TV series of Star Trek, and appeared as Lieutenant Colonel Harrity in the final episode of the British World War II prisoner-of-war drama Colditz. In the 1980s, he made several appearances on The Kenny Everett Television Show, Whoops Apocalypse (he also appeared in the subsequent film), and had a role in the children's television series Chocky's Children. He continued to act on film, TV and radio, usually in British and European productions, and was a frequent guest at science fiction conventions. He and fellow Anderson actor Shane Rimmer (a Canadian actor who often worked in the UK) joked about how frequently their professional paths crossed and termed themselves "Rent-a-yank". They appeared together as NASA operatives in the opening of You Only Live Twice and as United States Navy sailors in The Bedford Incident, as well as the 1983 film of the Harold Robbins novel The Lonely Lady. In 1989, Bishop was reunited with Rimmer and another Anderson actor, Matt Zimmerman, in the BBC Radio 4 adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's A Study in Scarlet. He and Rimmer also toured together in theatre shows, including Death of a Salesman in the 1990s, and they both appeared in the BBC drama-documentary Hiroshima (2005), one of Bishop's last TV projects.
Filmography
Target: Captain Black!
Film · 2026
Spectrum is 20: The Death and Life of New Captain Scarlet
Film · 2026
Gerry Anderson: A Life Uncharted
Film · 2022
This Is Supermarionation
Film · 2014
Hiroshima
Film · 2005
2001: The Making of a Myth
Film · 2001
500!
Film · 2001
Waking the Dead
Series · 2001
The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax
Film · 1999
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Spring Break Adventure
Film · 1999
Captain Scarlet and the Return of the Mysterons
Film · 1999
Space Cadets
Series · 1997
Broken Glass
Film · 1996
The Demon Headmaster
Series · 1996
White Christmas
Film · 1995
Calliope
Film · 1994
Funny Man
Film · 1994
Nudism: The Inside Story
Film · 1992
Highlander: The Series
Series · 1992
Born to Ride
Film · 1991
2Point4 Children
Series · 1991
Performance
Series · 1991
The Serpent of Death
Film · 1990
The Candy Show
Film · 1989
Testimony
Film · 1988
Judgment in Berlin
Film · 1988
Three Wishes for Jamie
Film · 1987
Turnaround
Film · 1987
The Two Mrs. Grenvilles
Series · 1987
The Fifth Missile
Film · 1986
Whoops Apocalypse
Film · 1986
Worlds Beyond
Series · 1986
Chocky's Children
Film · 1985
Wynne and Penkovsky
Film · 1985
Restless Natives
Film · 1985
Going for the Gold: The Bill Johnson Story
Film · 1985
Chocky's Children
Series · 1985
The Master of Ballantrae
Film · 1984
Threads
Film · 1984
The Lonely Lady
Film · 1983
The Lonely Lady
Film · 1983
Philip Marlowe, Private Eye
Series · 1983
Just Good Friends
Series · 1983
The Mad Death
Series · 1983
The Baker Street Boys
Series · 1983
Nutcracker
Film · 1982
Whoops Apocalypse
Series · 1982
The Kenny Everett Television Show
Series · 1982
American Playhouse
Series · 1982
Stainless Steel and the Star Spies
Film · 1981
Amin: The Rise and Fall
Film · 1981
Revenge of the Mysterons from Mars
Film · 1981
London Is Drowning
Film · 1981
Take a Letter, Mr Jones
Series · 1981
Saturn 3
Film · 1980
Captain Scarlet vs. The Mysterons
Film · 1980
Invasion: UFO
Film · 1980
S.O.S. Titanic
Film · 1980
Silver Dream Racer
Film · 1980
Breakaway
Series · 1980
Oppenheimer
Series · 1980
Children of the Gods
Film · 1979
Butch Minds the Baby
Film · 1979
Kelly Monteith
Series · 1979
Dylan: The Life and Death of a Poet
Film · 1978
Brass Target
Film · 1978
Wilde Alliance
Series · 1978
Madame Claude
Film · 1977
Twilight's Last Gleaming
Film · 1977
1990
Series · 1977
The Professionals
Series · 1977
The Professionals
Series · 1977
The Day After Tomorrow: Into Infinity
Film · 1975
Nurse Will Make It Better
Film · 1975
Death in Deep Water
Film · 1975
Quiller
Series · 1975
Two's Company
Series · 1975
UFO: Radar contact... They're landing!
Film · 1974
Pets
Film · 1973
Star Trek
Series · 1973
Warship
Series · 1973
Thriller
Series · 1973
Thriller
Series · 1973
Orson Welles' Great Mysteries
Series · 1973
UFO: Annihilate SHADO... Kill Straker...
Film · 1972
UFO: Take Them Alive
Film · 1972
The Baron: Mystery Island
Film · 1972
Colditz
Series · 1972
The Protectors
Series · 1972
The Adventurer
Series · 1972
Diamonds Are Forever
Film · 1971
UFO: Destroy Luna Base!
Film · 1971
UFO: Red alert... Attack on Earth!
Film · 1971
UFO
Series · 1970
Doppelgänger
Film · 1969
The Desperados
Film · 1969
Beach Head
Film · 1969
Strange Report
Series · 1969
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
Series · 1969
W. Somerset Maugham
Series · 1969
2001: A Space Odyssey
Film · 1968
The Portrait of a Lady
Series · 1968
You Only Live Twice
Film · 1967
Battle Beneath the Earth
Film · 1967
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Series · 1967
Man in a Suitcase
Series · 1967
The Bedford Incident
Film · 1965
Out of the Unknown
Series · 1965
Man in the Middle
Film · 1964
Automania 2000
Film · 1964
Paul Starr
Film · 1964
Sherlock Holmes
Series · 1964
Theatre 625
Series · 1964
Big City
Film · 1963
The Mouse on the Moon
Film · 1963
The War Lover
Film · 1962
Lolita
Film · 1962
The Saint
Series · 1962
The Saint
Series · 1962
The Saint
Series · 1962
Armchair Theatre
Series · 1956
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Series · 1951