Cy Grant Dies

18th February 2010



Cy Grant voiced Lieutenant Green from Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons

Fanderson was saddened to hear of the death of Cy Grant, voice of Lieutenant Green in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, on February 13th at the age of 90.

Born in what was then British Guiana in 1919, Grant is widely recognised as the first black man to regularly appear on British television. In 1953 he made his debut in an episode of the BBC's Sunday Night Theatre, Trouble in the Sun, before becoming a household name with his appearances as a satirical calypso singer in the Tonight magazine show.

Prior to this he served in the RAF during the Second World War as a navigator on Lancaster bomber runs to the Ruhr region, before being shot down over the Netherlands in1943. After parachuting to safety he was betrayed, captured and imprisoned at Stalag Luft III near Berlin, where he sat out the rest of the war until he was freed by the Russians in 1945. After the war Grant retrained as a barrister in England, but ended up entering the acting profession. His war memoir, A Member of the Royal Air Force of Indeterminate Race, was published 2006.

As well as voicing the role of Lieutenant Green, Colonel White's loyal aide on Cloudbase, he also appeared as Dr Gordon in Gerry Anderson's Doppelganger feature film in 1969. He made appearances in other series such as The Persuaders!, Softly Softly and Blakes 7, and in 1974 set up Drum, an arts centre for black acting talent.

Fans will fondly remember his last appearance at a Fanderson convention in 2006, where he answered questions alongside Francis Matthews and Jules de Jongh, his successor to the role of Lieutenant Green in New Captain Scarlet. He leaves behind his wife, Dorith, and their four children. An obituary will appear in FAB 65.

Cy Grant served as a navigator in the RAF in World War 2
(© Crown Copyright/MOD)

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