Ferdy Mayne

Ferdy Mayne (born Ferdinand Philip Mayer-Horckel; 11 March 1916 – 30 January 1998) was a German-British stage and screen actor. Born in Mainz, he emigrated to the United Kingdom in the early 1930s to escape the Nazi regime. He resided in the UK for the majority of his professional career. He was best known as a character actor, often portraying aristocratic villains and eccentrics in films like The Fearless Vampire Killers, Where Eagles Dare, Barry Lyndon, and Benefit of the Doubt.

He was born Ferdinand Philip Mayer-Horckel in Mainz, Germany. His German father was the Judge of Mainz, while his half-English mother was a singing instructor.

Because his family was Jewish, Mayne was sent to Britain in 1932 to protect him from the Nazis. He stayed with his aunt, the photographer and sculptress Lee Hutchinson. His parents were detained in Buchenwald but, thanks to his mother's connections, were able to leave Germany for Britain.

At the start of the Second World War, Mayne operated as an informant for MI5. Significant clues to his secret service work were provided by Joan Miller in her posthumously published memoir One Girl's War (1986). Mayne had served as a witness at her marriage in 1945.

Mayne appeared in 230 films and television programmes. In 1967, he achieved international recognition in his role as Count von Krolock in Roman Polanski's The Fearless Vampire Killers.

In 1977, he appeared in "It Pays to Advertise", an episode of Are You Being Served?, in the role of "The Ten Pound Perfume".

Later, Mayne moved to the United States and played the semi-regular role of Albert Grand in the TV series Cagney and Lacey.

In 1955, Mayne married Deirdre de Payer. Their daughter Belinda Mayne is also an actress. They also adopted a daughter, Fernanda, in 1965. The couple divorced in 1972.

In the 1990s, Mayne developed Parkinson's disease, from which he died on 30 January 1998 in London, aged 81.