Terence Was A First Class Stamp

Terence Stamp has passed away at the age of eighty seven and we must doff our caps to this versatile English actor. He could do theatre, he could do film. He was masterful in ‘Far From The Madding Crowd’, ‘Poor Cow’ and Passolini’s ‘Theorem’. He brought gravitas to Zod in ‘Superman’ and had a late blossoming turn as the steely but caring transgender matriarch Bernadette in ‘The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert’. What dignity, what class… and… those zingers. Ouch.

But one of my absolute favourite cameos in any film was his terrifying role in ‘The Company Of Wolves’, where he’s The Devil in a gliding limousine in the forest, offering a salve to a young man, which ultimately kills him.

He wasn’t just a handsome actor, he was intelligent, wild, and very much his own unique presence. People throw around adjectives like “dark” and “brooding”, but he couldn’t be categorised or stuck in easy Hollywood niches. Even The Kinks were inspired enough to write ‘Waterloo Sunset’ about him and his relationship with Julie Christie. Stamp was a genuine icon.. Class and contrarian, like all the best artists: we should all raise our glasses.