Gary Bond was an English actor and singer. He is known for originating the role of Joseph in Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, his performances in several high-profile West End plays and musicals, and his portrayal of protagonist John Grant in the Australian film Wake in Fright (1971).

Who was Gary James Bond?

Bond was born in the village of Liss, Hampshire, England, the first child of his parents. The army was a career that anyone in the family was destined for; his father and many uncles were in the army. As a result, it was always assumed that he would follow in this tradition, and his family frequently persuaded him that this was his career path. Yet Bond, from a young age, had always harbored a love for acting.

Education and Passion for Acting

He was educated at Churcher’s College in Petersfield and later Portsmouth College of Technology. His father died in December 1956 when Bond was just 16, and as a result, the young Bond was able to pursue his preferred path without any interference from family members. After leaving education, he moved to Johannesburg, South Africa, for a gap year.

However, he quickly returned to England, as he won a scholarship at London’s prestigious Central School of Speech & Drama. While there for three years, he received several awards, including the Margaret Rawlings Cup, shared with Angela Morant, and the Elsie Fogerty Prize for the Best Individual Performance by a Man.

Early Career

At 23, Bond received his first acting job with the Connaught Theatre, Worthing. He made his stage debut in the play Not in the Book and then performed in Doctor in the House as Dr. Simon Sparrow.

In 1962, the big break came when he featured as Pip in the Royal Court’s production of Arnold Wesker’s Chips with Everything. As directed by John Dexter, this was one of the theatrical landmarks of the 1960s. Due to this play’s huge success, he began his Broadway appearance the following year in 1963, when it was transferred.

In 1968 he joined the Prospect Theatre Company at an invitation made, where Bond was relishing in the prospect of appearing in classical roles when he appeared in many productions, including Sebastian in Twelfth Night, Sergius in Shaw’s Arms and the Man, and No Man’s Land.

What were Gary Bond’s notable theatre performances?

In late August 1972, he created the role of Joseph in Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Premiering at the Edinburgh International Festival by the Young Vic Theatre Company, it was directed by Frank Dunlop. He later joined the London production at the Albery Theatre to great acclaim. Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber composed a song for Bond called “Disillusion Me,” which he released as a single.

Significant theatre roles by Gary Bond include:

• • Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

• • Che Guevara in Evita.

• • Various roles with the Royal Shakespeare Company, including Brutus in Julius Caesar.

• • Leading performances in Much Ado About Nothing and Aspects of Love.

Films

Although probably most famously an actor for the stage in England, he appeared in a variety of feature films. Following his screen introduction when he acted as Private Cole in Zulu (1964), he was Mark Smeaton in Anne of the Thousand Days (1969) and in the Australian Wake in Fright (1971).

Television

• • BBC production of War and Peace

• • The Duchess of Malfi

• • The Importance of Being Earnest

• • The Highland Jaunt

• • Frontier

• • The Linden Tree

• • Affairs of the Heart

• • Wings of Song

• • Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Wake in Fright

Although his film output is small, consisting of only three films, Bond is perhaps best remembered for appearing in the Australian film Wake in Fright (occasionally renamed Outback) as teacher John Grant.

A film version of Wake in Fright, based on the 1961 novel by Kenneth Cook, was already attached to actor Dirk Bogarde and director Joseph Losey as early as 1963, but Group W acquired the rights, hiring Canadian director Ted Kotcheff to make the movie.

The film was lost for decades until a print of it was found and, after being restored, it was seen to be in the Cannes Film Festival 2009 catalog on 15 May 2009 when it was chosen as a Cannes Classic title by the head of the department, Martin Scorsese

Was Gary Bond Openly Gay?

In the theatrical profession, Bond was openly gay and, from 1969 to 1976, was the partner of actor Jeremy Brett. In Garry O’Connor’s 2019 biography of Ian McKellen, he mentions that the two were in a relationship early in both of their careers, but it came to an end in 1972 when Bond was about to open in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

In the same biography, a former lover of Bond said that

He was part of one of the first relatively out [gay] couples with Jeremy Brett, but theirs was an on-off liaison that lasted for years. Bond was irresistible, with an easy warmth of manner, wonderful humor, and sometimes a wicked sense of fun. He was divine, lovely, and wonderful in bed.

In the book Casting About: A Memoir, Agent David Graham mentions,

Had it been within my power to choose, Gary Bond would have become my life’s companion. When Chips with Everything was brought to New York [which was in 1963], he was among the original British cast that came with it. Ashley-Steiner had been prevailed upon by his agent to do the job; I was just the lucky sod who was set to mind him. Young, blond, and attractive, he reminded me of the most handsome chap I had ever seen.

How Did Gary Bond Pass Away?

Bond died of AIDS-related causes on 12 October 1995 in Ealing Hospital at the age of 55. He had been with his partner, E.J. Taylor, for 16 years, and he died exactly one month after Jeremy Brett.