GORDON Jackson, the late great Glasgow star of stage and screen, is Times Past reader Iain Henderson’s favourite actor.
But his family connections to the legendary performer stretch beyond his famous roles.
“My late mum, Moira, worked in munitions at Rolls-Royce in Hillington during the Second World War – where the young Jackson was an apprentice draughtsman,” says Iain.
“Every morning when he came in, he always smiled over at mum, and she had very fond memories of him.
“He was more out of the office than in, she said, working in films, in the theatre and on the radio.”
Iain, who was prompted to get in touch after our recent feature on Jackson, also recalls his parents talking about Floodtide, the romantic comedy from 1949 in which the up and coming actor played David Shields, a young man who decides to become a shipbuilder rather than follow the family tradition of farming.
It also starred Rona Anderson, John Laurie and Jimmy Logan.
“My mum and dad remembered the film being shot around the Clyde,” says Iain.
“This was the film on which Jackson met his future wife, Edinburgh-born actress Rona Anderson.
“And I can recall going to see it at the GFT in Glasgow with my mum in 1975, as part of the Glasgow 800 celebrations in the city.
“It also starred Glasgow-born actress Elizabeth Sellars and Janet Brown.”
He adds: “I corresponded with Gordon Jackson for many years, from around 1973 until his death in 1989.
“I’ll always remember him as Mr Hudson the butler in Upstairs Downstairs, and as George Cowley, head of CI5 in The Professionals.”
In his book The Straight Man: My Life in Comedy, Parsons recounts a story in which the two men had roles in Marigold, a period play during which Parsons was supposed to enter through a door and join Jackson on stage.
However, the door was stuck fast, and the two men suddenly had to ad-lib.
“The two of us,” Parsons writes, “continued to ad-lib through the shut door, trying to sound as natural as possible.
“The audience by this time were laughing delightedly at our embarrassment as we tried to force the door and shook the whole set in the process.”
At length, Parsons decided to enter the stage via a chimney. “The audience gave me a round of applause. Gordon said something about it not being Christmas and asked why I had come in that way...”
READ MORE: Five facts you probably didn't know about Glasgow actor Gordon Jackson
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