Actor who made history with TV’s first gay kiss dies aged 84: Tributes are paid to Coronation Street and The Crown star James Laurenson who famously kissed Ian McKellen in 1970 BBC broadcast of Edward II
Coronation Street and The Crown legend James Laurenson has died aged 84 after a 50-year career.
He first appeared in the long-running Manchester soap in 1968 as Reverend Peter Hope.
More recently, he played Scottish physician and homeopath doctor Sir John Weir in the hit Netflix series The Crown.
Laurenson also famously performed the first gay kiss with Sir Ian McKellen in an adaptation of Christopher Marlowe’s Edward II in 1970, just three years after homosexuality was decriminalized in Britain.
Coronation Street and the Crown star James Laurenson has died aged 84
Laurenson as Richard Crossdyke in The Cry alongside Sarah Lancashire
He appeared as Scottish physician and homeopath Doctor Weir in the Netflix series The Crown
Pictured: He famously performed the first gay kiss with Ian McKellen in Christopher Marlowe’s Edward II in 1970 – just three years after homosexuality was decriminalized
Laurenson in play After The Fall at the National Theatre, London in 1990
He is survived by second wife Cari Haysom and his son Jamie, from his previous marriage to actress Carol Macready.
Born in New Zealand, Laurenson studied at the then Canterbury University College in Christchurch before moving to Britain.
His film debut was a supporting role in Women in Love in 1969. He subsequently appeared in numerous Shakespeare productions, including Richard II and Hamlet.
He also played the lead role in the West End production 42nd Street at the Theater Royal, Drury Lane in 1984 – his only appearance in a musical.
Laurenson starred in All for Love at the Almeida Theater in London, opposite Diana Rigg
The Olivier Award-nominated actor first appeared in Coronation Street in 1968
James Laurenson as Harry McDonald in TV program Crown Court
Laurenson as Professor George Amory in ITV series Endeavor – a spin-off of Inspector Morse
He also starred in Waiting for Godot at the Theater Royal in Bath. He moved to Somerset in the 1990s
Laurenson is survived by his second wife Cari Haysom and his son Jamie
As Peter Williams in series one of the BBC show Hustle, with Robert Vaughan (right)
Laurenson with Pamela Stephenson in series 2 of Space 1999 in November 1976
His other credits include Midsomer Murders, Bergerac, Lovejoy, Taggart and Prime Suspect.
He starred in the BBC version of Henry IV in The Hollow Crown as the Earl of Westmoreland, and as Professor George Amory in ITV’s Endeavour.
The actor moved to Frome, Somerset, in the 1990s, where he enjoyed walking his dog Maisie ‘away from the spotlight’.