{{Short description|British actor (born 1947)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{BLP sources|date=June 2022}} {{Infobox person | name = John Alkin | image = | caption = | birth_name = John Kenneth Foinquinos | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1947|1|17}} | birth_place = Rugby, Warwickshire, England | occupation = {{hlist|Actor|spiritual healer}} | years_active = 1970–1984 (acting) <br/> 1980s–present (spiritual healer) | spouse = {{plainlist| * {{marriage|Lesley Gail|1971|<!--unknown?-->|end=divorced}} * {{marriage|Lee Middleton|1985|24 February 2022|reason=died}} }} | children = 2 }}
'''John Alkin''' (born 17 January 1947) is an English actor turned spiritual healer. He was born in Rugby, Warwickshire, under the name John Kenneth Foinquinos.<ref>{{cite book|author=Howard Maxford|title=Hammer Complete: The Films, the Personnel, the Company|publisher=McFarland, Incorporated|year=2019|isbn=9781476629148|page=12}}</ref>
==Biography== ===Early life=== After attending public school at Stamford until the age of 18, Alkin went onto study at Cheltenham College. There, he started a hotel management course, training as a chef, intending to follow in the family business of catering. However, he took an interest in the college drama productions and after the establishment won an inter-country drama festival he decided to change his career to the stage.
In 1966, Alkin was taken on by Everyman Theatre as an assistant stage manager, doing odd jobs like making tea and sweeping up. Gradually, he worked his way up and after a year with the company, moved to London, appearing at theatres in Richmond and Bromley, as well as having appearances on television.
<ref>{{cite news |title=From Phoenix to theatre job at Harvard|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/865193549/ |date=10 June 1970 |accessdate=20 April 2026 |work=Leicester Mercury |page=18}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=John's family didn't go to war over his career!|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/797624264/ |date=5 February 1971 |accessdate=20 April 2026 |work=Lichfield Mercury |page=11}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Comedy star's rise to fame|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/905072614/ |date=17 June 1981 |accessdate=20 April 2026 |work=Coventry Evening Telegraph |page=3}}</ref>
===Acting career=== Alkin is best remembered for two roles: DC Tom Daniels in Thames Television's police drama ''The Sweeney'' and barrister Barry Deeley Q.C. in Granada Television's drama ''Crown Court''. One of his earliest television appearances was as Robert Martin in the 1972 BBC TV production of Jane Austen's ''Emma''. In 1978 Alkin played Flight Lieutenant Andre De Beers, a character based on the real-life Baron Jean de Selys Longchamps DFC, who attacks the Gestapo Headquarters in Brussels, German-occupied Belgium, in the ''Secret Army'' episode "Day of Wrath".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00yhm0m | title=BBC One - Secret Army, Series 2, Day of Wrath}}</ref>
He also appeared in numerous guest roles on TV shows such as ''Z-Cars'', ''Timeslip'', ''Minder'', ''The Sandbaggers'', ''Space: 1999'' and ''Doctor Who''.
===Spiritual healing=== He left acting in the mid-1980s to set up a spiritual healing centre with his second wife, Lee Everett Alkin, former wife of DJ and TV comic Kenny Everett. He was iinvolved in meditation and became aware of its healing powers as a teenager in the 1960s.<ref>{{cite news |title=Healing hand at the motel |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/846589340/ |date=21 October 1984 |accessdate=20 April 2026 |work=Sunday Mercury |page=25}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=I have lived on the earth before says Lee the mystic |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/796281992/ |date=4 October 1985 |accessdate=20 April 2026 |work=Aldershot News |page=S2}}</ref>
==Filmography== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- |1970|| ''The Games'' || John || |- |1976|| ''The Liver Birds'' || Rex || |- |1977|| ''Sweeney!'' || rowspan= "2"|Det. Sgt. Tom Daniels || |- |1978|| ''Sweeney 2'' || |- |1978|| ''No Longer Alone'' || Bruce || |- |1979|| ''The Lady Vanishes'' || Party Guest #1 || |- |1978|| ''Secret Army'' || Flight Lieutenant Andre De Beers |}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|id=0019804|name=John Alkin}} * [https://theatricalia.com/person/1rqd/john-alkin John Alkin] at Theatricalia * [https://web.archive.org/web/20211205225534/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba064a8c9 John Alkin] at British Film Institute
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alkin, John}} Category:1947 births Category:Living people Category:Actors from Rugby, Warwickshire Category:English male television actors Category:Male actors from Warwickshire Category:People educated at Cheltenham College Category:20th-century English male actors
{{UK-tv-actor-1940s-stub}}