Ferdy Mayne

Ferdy Mayne
Born	Ferdinand Philip Mayer-Horckel 11 March 1916 Mainz, Germany
Died	30 January 1998 (aged 81) Lordington, West Sussex, England
Cause of death	Parkinson's disease
Residence	United Kingdom United States
Alma mater	RADA Old Vic School
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1922–96
Spouse(s)	Deirdre de Payer (m. 1955; div. 1972)
Children	Belinda Mayne Fernanda Mayne (adopted)

Ferdy Mayne (11 March 1916 – 30 January 1998) was a German actor long resident in England.^[1][2]

Early life

He was born Ferdinand Philip Mayer-Horckel in Mainz, Germany. His German father was the Judge of Mayence, while his half-English mother was a singing instructor.^[3]

Because his family was Jewish, Mayne was sent to Britain in 1932 to protect him from the Nazis. He stayed with his aunt, the photographer and sculptress Lee Hutchinson.^[3] His parents were detained in Buchenwald but, thanks to his mother's connections, were able to leave Germany for Britain.

At the start of the Second World War, Mayne operated as an informant for MI5. Significant clues to his secret service work were provided by Joan Miller in her posthumously published memoir One Girl's War (1986). Mayne had served as a witness at her marriage in 1945.

Career

Mayne appeared in 230 films and television programmes. In 1967, he achieved international recognition in his role as Count von Krolock in Roman Polanski's The Fearless Vampire Killers.^[2]

In 1977, he appeared in "It Pays to Advertise", an episode of Are You Being Served?,^[4] in the role of "The Ten Pound Perfume".^[5]

Later, Mayne moved to the United States and played the semi-regular role of Albert Grand in the TV series Cagney and Lacey.^[6]

Partial filmography

• The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) (uncredited)
• Old Mother Riley Overseas (1943)
• Meet Sexton Blake (1945)
• The Echo Murders (1945)
• One Night with You (1948)
• Vote for Huggett (1949)
• Hotel Sahara (1951)
• Made in Heaven (1952)
• The Man Who Watched Trains Go By (1952)
• The Broken Horseshoe (1953)
• Desperate Moment (1953)
• The Captain's Paradise (1953)
• The Blue Parrot (1953)
• Three Steps to the Gallows (1953)
• Marilyn (1953)
• You Know What Sailors Are (1954)
• Malaga (1954)
• Twist of Fate (1954)
• Third Party Risk (1954)
• Value for Money (1955)
• Gentlemen Marry Brunettes (1955)
• Storm Over the Nile (1955)
• The Narrowing Circle (1956)
• The Baby and the Battleship (1956)
• Find the Lady (1956)
• You Pay Your Money (1957)
• The Big Chance (1957)
• The End of the Line (1957)
• Blue Murder at St. Trinian's (1957)
• The Safecracker (1958)
• A Woman of Mystery (1958)
• The Big Money (1958)
• Next to No Time (1958)
• Our Man in Havana (1959)
• Third Man on the Mountain (1959)
• Ben-Hur (1959) (uncredited)
• Tommy the Toreador (1959)
• The Spider's Web (1960)
• Crossroads to Crime (1960)
• The Green Helmet (1961)
• Highway to Battle (1961)
• Three Spare Wives (1962)
• Masters of Venus (1962)
• The Password Is Courage (1962)
• Operation Crossbow (1965)
• Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965)
• Promise Her Anything (1965)
• The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967)
• The Bobo (1967)
• Les grandes vacances (1967)
• Gates to Paradise (1968)
• The Limbo Line (1968)
• Where Eagles Dare (1968)
• The Best House in London (1969)
• The Magic Christian (1969)
• The Adventurers (1970)
• The Walking Stick (1970)
• The Vampire Lovers (1970)
• When Eight Bells Toll (1971)
• Gebissen wird nur nachts or The Vampire Happening (1971)
• Von Richthofen and Brown (1971)
• The Blonde in the Blue Movie (1971)
• Jo (1971)
• Eagle in a Cage (1972)
• Au Pair Girls (1972)
• Innocent Bystanders (1972)
• Trip to Vienna (1973)
• Die Ameisen kommen (1974)
• Bis zur bitteren Neige (1975)
• Barry Lyndon (1975)
• Silence in the Forest (1976)
• The Eagle Has Landed (1976) (uncredited)
• Fedora (1978)
• Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978)
• The Pirate (1978 TV movie)
• A Man Called Intrepid (1979 TV movie)
• The Music Machine (1979)
• Hawk the Slayer (1980)
• The Formula (1980)
• Frightmare (1983)
• The Black Stallion Returns (1983)
• Yellowbeard (1983)
• The Secret Diary of Sigmund Freud (1984)
• Conan the Destroyer (1984)
• Night Train to Terror (1985)
• Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf (1985)
• Pirates (1986)
• Knight Moves (1992)
• The Tigress (1992)
• Benefit of the Doubt (1993)
• Warlock: The Armageddon (1993)

Personal life

In 1955, Mayne married Deirdre de Payer. Their daughter Belinda Mayne is also an actor. They also adopted a daughter, Fernanda, in 1965. The couple divorced in 1972.

In the 1990s, Mayne developed Parkinson's disease, from which he died on 30 January 1998 in London, aged 81.^[3]

References

1. "Ferdy Mayne". BFI.
2. Hal Erickson. "Ferdinand "Ferdy" Mayne - Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos - AllMovie". AllMovie.
3. "Obituary: Ferdy Mayne". The Independent.
4. TV.com: Are You Being Served? "It Pays To Advertise"
5. Britannia.org: Are You Being Served? Episode Details - "It Pays To Advertise"
6. "Ferdy Mayne". TV.com. CBS Interactive.

External links

• Ferdy Mayne at the Internet Movie Database