Ian Hendry's last acting role in Brookside [1984]
Visit: https://ianhendry.com
[Revised compilation video with improved picture quality]
As Gabriel Hershman points out in his biography on Ian, he didn't have throat cancer but had had surgery on his throat shortly before his appearance in the soap. His distinctive voice, one of the trademarks of his craft, struggled at times to deliver the lines. It is certainly not an easy watch but it is significant in that it marks the end of a career spanning four decades, 600+ TV performances and 30+ films.
Gabriel's biography also includes interviews with actor Michael Tierney and director Chris Clough. Their recollections are heartening as, despite Ian's health issues, he appears to have enjoyed his spell working in Liverpool.
Michael Tierney recalled:
"He was underrated and unsung. He'd done so much stuff before Brookside. He'd been told to lay off the booze. he was on a lager a day. He was very open and very honest, and in an odd way, meeting him was very chastening. He was a little bowed, quite stricken but a life-affirming character. He'd had a colourful life. Before I was introduced to him I'd heard stories about him - that he'd been difficult. He'd just had a throat operation and his voice sounded like a board vibrating. It was much drier. He was very wounded, in pain and suffering, but very warm. He took me up on something bitter I'd said. I was struck by his gentleness. I think he'd settled accounts with his life. He looked on it as a real positive. It was a bit like talking to a favourite uncle. My memory of him was of a person of depth and charisma - with the charm of a feeling man who doesn't show his feelings - at least not in an ostentatious way."
Tragically, just 9 months later on 24th December 1984, Ian died at his home in North London.