British Actor Christopher Cazenove, 1943-2010

British actor Christopher Cazenove, known for his roles in THE DUCHESS OF DUKE STREET and DYNASTY, has passed away at the age of 66.

Cazenove's death comes less than a week after the passing of his DYNASTY costar, John Forsythe. Cazenove played Ben Carrington, brother to Forsythe's Blake, in the latter part of the show's run in the '80s.

For me, Cazenove is best remembered as Charlie Tyrrell of THE DUCHESS OF DUKE STREET, which I watched on MASTERPIECE THEATRE in the late '70s. I highly recommend adding the DVD set to your Netflix queue if you've not yet had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with one of the great British series, which followed in the tradition of UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS.

Cazenove was also in JENNIE: LADY RANDOLPH CHURCHILL, which comes to DVD this summer.

In the spring of 2008 I was very fortunate to see Cazenove on stage in a touring production of MY FAIR LADY. I went to see the show specifically because he was in it. In my review I wrote "Cazenove knows his way around a stage and is a compelling, charismatic presence as Professor Henry Higgins. While the ghost of Rex Harrison is present in some of Cazenove's Harrison-perfect line readings -- which is a good thing -- Cazenove also makes the role fully his, including a childlike petulance at times, which is most amusing."

He was a superb Henry Higgins, and I'm grateful I had the opportunity to see him perform in person.

Cazenove was married for many years to actress Angharad Rees, who achieved fame for bringing Demelza Poldark to vivid life in the classic British series POLDARK. A few years after they divorced, they tragically lost one of their sons in a traffic accident.

More on Cazenove's life and career has been published at the New York Times.