Stage & Screen Actor Christopher Cazenove Dies

Actor Christopher Cazenove, a star of stage and screen best known for his role as Ben Carrington in the 1980s soap Dynasty, has died aged 64.

In a statement released through his agent Lesley Duff, his family and girlfriend Isabel Davis said: “Christopher died peacefully on April 7 surrounded by his loved ones having contracted septicaemia at the end of February.

“Despite a valiant fight and the untiring efforts of the wonderful team at St Thomas’s, he was overwhelmed. All who knew and loved him will be devastated by the loss of this incredible man who touched so many lives.”

After training at the Bristol Old Vic, Cazenove launched his career on stage with seasons at the Phoenix Theatre in Leicester, Colchester’s Library Theatre and the Pitlochry Festival Theatre.

He found fame in the 1970s and 1980s with a number of film and television roles including those in The Regiment, Zulu Dawn, Heat and Dust, Dynasty, The Lady and The Highwayman and Three Men and a Little Lady. More recently, he appeared on screen in A Knight’s Tale, Beginner’s Luck and Judge John Deed.

Following his early credits, his many stage appearances included Othello, Cyrano de Bergerac, Time and the Conways, The Sound of Music, Home Truths, Private Lives, The Turn of the Screw and, in the West End, Brief Encounter, An Ideal Husband, Joking Apart, In Praise of Rattigan and The Winslow Boy.

Cazenove had been cast as the Narrator in the current UK tour of The Rocky Horror Show, but due to his illness he was replaced earlier this year.

In a 2002 interview with Whatsonstage.com, he was asked whether he preferred acting on stage, TV or film. In reply, he said: “I like a combination of all three. If I had to choose one alone, I’d choose films provided they were all in lovely places. I’ve been very lucky in the films that I’ve done”. He went on to describe his “whole life as a holiday”.