Early Life
Don Henderson was born on November 10, 1931, in Leytonstone, London. Some obituaries give 1932. He grew up in Epping, Essex, the son of a carpenter.
His path to acting was not direct. After national service as a technician in the Royal Army Dental Corps, he joined the Essex Constabulary and rose to detective sergeant in the CID.
He left the police to sell insurance.
A friend dared him to audition for the Royal Shakespeare Company in his thirties. He got in, and stayed from 1966 to 1972.
Early Career & First Roles
His early screen work ran from the late 1960s into the 1970s, mostly genre films that made use of his size.
He appeared in horror titles like 'The Ghoul' (1975) and 'The Touch of Satan' (1974), and had a small role in the star-studded drama 'Voyage of the Damned' (1976). His most famous early credit is a brief but memorable one: General Tagge in George Lucas's original 'Star Wars' (1977).
In Imperial grey, he scowled his way through the Death Star conference room opposite Peter Cushing's Grand Moff Tarkin. These were small parts, and he made them count.
Major Roles
Don Henderson's career is mostly the story of one character, played across a decade of British television.
Detective George Bulman – 'The XYY Man', 'Strangers', and 'Bulman'
Detective Sergeant George Bulman first appeared in Granada Television's 1976 adaptation of Kenneth Royce's novels, 'The XYY Man'. Henderson, with his own CID background, played the dogged, world-weary police minder to reformed cat burglar Spider Scott.
This was not a glamorous detective. Bulman was rumpled and pragmatic, with a dry wit. He was the procedural anchor in a series that leaned towards thriller conventions. Granada spun the character off into his own series, 'Strangers', in 1978.
Here Henderson made the role his own. Bulman was promoted to head the "Strangers" unit, a mobile team investigating serious crime across different police jurisdictions. He played him as intuitive and fiercely independent, often tactless.
He clashed with superiors and could be stubborn to the point of self-defeat. He was loyal to his small team, particularly his long-suffering colleague Detective Sergeant David Singer.
The final chapter, simply titled 'Bulman' (1985-1987), saw the character retired from the police force and working as a freelance detective out of a small antiques and clock-repair shop. He kept solving cases. This run let Henderson play up Bulman's eccentric, entrepreneurial side.
Across three series and over a decade, Henderson built a detective who was brilliant and frustrating in equal measure, his mind his greatest weapon and his personality his biggest obstacle.
Gavrok – 'Doctor Who: Delta and the Bannermen'
Against the procedural realism of Bulman, Henderson played an over-the-top villain in the 1987 'Doctor Who' serial 'Delta and the Bannermen'. As Gavrok, leader of the genocidal Bannermen, he went with the show's heightened tone.
In a black uniform, with a dead-eyed stare, Gavrok was sheer malice. Henderson played it straight, with no camp and no winking at the audience.
That deep voice, usually used for weary authority, became a tool of tyranny. Fans still remember the performance fondly.
Other Notable Work
Henderson turned up in big productions. He was the First Black Maria Guard in Terry Gilliam's 'Brazil' (1985), and the besieging Commander in 'The Adventures of Baron Munchausen' (1988).
On television he was a steady presence. He played Master-at-Arms Frank Heron in the BBC series 'Warship' (1973-1975) and Tom Carne in the original 'Poldark' (1975).
Later roles include John Hennessey in an episode of 'Cracker' (1993) and a posthumously aired appearance as a Rogue Simulant in the 'Red Dwarf' episode 'Beyond a Joke' (1997), series 7. He also voiced multiple giants in the animated 'The BFG' (1989).
Acting Style
Henderson's authority on screen was unforced. Whether he played a detective, a villain or a spaceship commander, he committed to the character's logic completely.
He had a solid, imposing presence he used sparingly, and a deep, textured voice that could carry weary intelligence, dry wit or threat with small shifts in tone.
He was often cast as "tough guys" or figures of authority, and he kept them from turning one-dimensional. He was good at showing the mind working behind the eyes, whether Bulman was piecing together a clue or Gavrok was calculating a cruelty.
That plainness made even his most outlandish roles believable. His skill was in making strength interesting and authority complicated.
Personal Life
Away from the camera, Henderson's life was marked by both profound love and difficult tragedy. He was first married to Hilary, with whom he had a son and a daughter. Her death from a mysterious lung disease in 1977 was a devastating blow.
He married actress Shirley Stelfox in 1979. They worked together many times. They made their home in Stratford-upon-Avon, where Henderson became a familiar local figure.
In 1980, he was diagnosed with throat cancer. He battled the disease with characteristic fortitude for many years, continuing to work consistently throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s. Don Henderson ultimately passed away from the illness at Warwick Hospital on June 22, 1997, at the age of 65. He was survived by his wife Shirley and his children.
In closing...
Henderson came to acting with real-world experience behind him, and it showed in the performances.
He will be remembered for George Bulman, his curmudgeonly detective, but the body of work around it holds up. From the Death Star to Granada's England, he commanded attention without raising his voice.
New audiences keep finding him, and he remains one of the better remembered figures of that era of British television.