Alan Scarfe

Classically-trained thespian Alan John Scarfe possessed the eloquence, a perfectly modulated voice and the expansive personality equally suited to portraying avuncular benevolence or sinister villainy. Originally from London but raised in Vancouver, he was one of three sons of university professors Neville Vincent Scarf (1908-1985) and Gladys Ellen Hunt (1908-1990). Alan made his theatrical debut as Marc Anthony in Julius Caesar at the Vancouver Playhouse in 1964. He completed his training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art between 1964 and 1966. From the 70s and thereafter, he acted in numerous classic plays on stages throughout Europe and America, including eight seasons spent with the Stratford Shakespearean Festival in Ontario. His portfolio of famous literary personae has included King Lear, Doctor Faustus, Iago, Petruchio, Hamlet, Cyrano de Bergerac and Uncle Vanya. Scarfe also portrayed such diverse historical figures as the poet Verlaine, the actor John Barrymore and Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. Given this volume of leading performances in classical theatre, it is not surprising that Scarfe also ventured into larger-than-life roles on the screen. By the early '90s, he had established himself as a versatile all-rounder, initially noted for his villains on the big screen in Double Impact (1991) and Lethal Weapon 3 (1992). Beginning with an instalment of Alien Nation (1989), Scarfe became one of the 'go to' players sought-after in episodic science fiction. He explained in a 2007 interview "Science fiction on film and television, especially if you are playing some kind of alien character with fantastic make-up, is great for actors with a strong stage background. The productions need that kind of size and intensity of performance. You can't really mumble if you're a Klingon". Or, for that matter, a Romulan: Scarfe memorably guest-starred as two of those on Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) (the humane prison commander Tokath in the two-parter 'Birthright' and Admiral Mendak in 'Data's Day'. His wide range of characters has included ruthless alien administrators in episodes of Star Trek: Voyager (1995) and Stargate: Atlantis (2004), a homicidal therapist in Quantum Leap (1989), a Catholic exorcist in Babylon 5: The Lost Tales (2007) and the ill-fated Paradine Flavin in Andromeda (2000). Scarfe portrayed Dr. Bradley Talmadge, NSA member and director of Backstep Project operations, for the entire run of the time-travelling UPN series Seven Days (1998). Moreover, he enjoyed first billing as the courageous Civil War-era Union officer and engineer Cyrus Harding in the TV series Mysterious Island (1995), based on the novel by Jules Verne. A Canadian-New Zealand co-production, it ran for one season, consisting of 22 episodes. Beginning in 2003, Scarfe published four novels, initially under the nom de plume Clanash Farjeon (an anagram of his real name). Perhaps the best known of these is a work of crime fiction entitled A Handbook for Attendants on the Insane: the Autobiography of Jack the Ripper as Revealed to Clanash Farjeon. Alan John Scarfe retired from screen acting in 2007. He died from colon cancer on April 28 2024 at the age of 77.