Stratford Johns

Alan Edgar Stratford Johns (22 September 1925 – 29 January 2002), known as Stratford Johns, was a British stage, film and television actor who is best remembered for playing the role as senior CID officer Charlie Barlow a character he originated in the early years of the long-running BBC police series Z-Cars, and then continued to play in several spin-off series in the 1960s and 1970s. Early life Johns was born and grew up in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. After serving as a deckhand in the South African navy during World War II, he worked for a time in accountancy, but soon became involved in amateur theatre. Career In 1948, Johns bought a one-way ticket to Britain and learned his craft working in repertory theatre at Southend-on-Sea for almost five years. He began to appear in British films from the mid-1950s, including a bit part in the classic Ealing comedy The Ladykillers (1955). He ran a small hotel in London during the 1950s, and was a member of the English Stage Company at the Royal Court Theatre during the Angry Young Men period when new playwrights, including John Osborne, introduced new themes to British theatre. His most famous character, Barlow, was noted for his hard edges, owing much to the changes in characterisation pioneered at the Royal Court. In 1961 he appeared in The Avengers Season One episode "The Frighteners" in the role of Sir Thomas Weller.