A while back on the Classics list we were discussing various tv/film portrayals of Classicists ... here's the Guardian obituary of Michael Sheard, whose portrayal wasn't mentioned:
... folks unfamiliar with the series might recall this, though:
The actor Michael Sheard, who has died of cancer aged 65, will be remembered by younger viewers as the abrasive and terrifying Latin teacher Maurice Bronson from the TV series Grange Hill, which was set in a London comprehensive. His stern countenance, barked orders and ill-fitting toupee made him a television icon in the programme between 1985 and 1989.
... folks unfamiliar with the series might recall this, though:
He was delighted when George Lucas cited his demise, choked to death as Admiral Ozzel by the menacing stare of Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back (1980), as his favourite ever movie death scene. He embraced the cult status that Mr Bronson, and his brushes with science fiction gave him, appearing at conventions with gusto. Sheard was, in reality, a convivial and friendly man who was popular on set, earning the gratitude of the younger Grange Hill actors by demanding that the children were treated no differently from the adults.