Gerry Sundquist

[Miss Guided]

Whatever happened to Gerry?



He was the only man I was going to marry - apart from Benedict Taylor and Mark Hamill.

[batman]

Gerry committed suicide in 1993.

[Miss Guided]

name='batman']Gerry committed suicide in 1993.

Yes , I see he did. Anyone got any more info about him??

[Mr Flash]

Something of a tragic character, he spent much of the eighties in a downward spiral of depression, hard drug use and unemployment. His family were very supportive and there seemed to be a light at the end of the tunnel when he began writing a film called The Whistling Boys which was meant to star a member of West Life. Unfortunately his personal problems got the better of him and he took his own life in 1993 by, rather horrifically, throwing himself in front of a moving train. Gerry’s brother Geoffrey Sundquist later wrote the children’s book Father Christmas and the Missing Reindeer, which was dedicated to Gerry. It was later made into an animated short film, David Jason did one of the voices.

[Miss Guided]

Well, any photo's or information about Gerry would add to my virtual scrapbook of pre and post teen heart throbs and celebrity crushes, of which Gerry was the main man. How tragic and ever so sad..

[Joenoir]

[batman]

IIRC Gerry had a rather passionate affair with Nastassja Kinksi and was devastated when it came to an end.

[jamesharris]

name='batman']IIRC Gerry had a rather passionate affair with Nastassja Kinksi and was devastated when it came to an end.

who wouldn't be?



I did not know he'd taken his own life..I was just watching him in Space 1999

[Miss Guided]

name='jamesharris']who wouldn't be?



I did not know he'd taken his own life..I was just watching him in Space 1999

I'd take my own life to have an affair with Natasha

[Lord Brett]

name='Mr Flash']Something of a tragic character, he spent much of the eighties in a downward spiral of depression, hard drug use and unemployment. His family were very supportive and there seemed to be a light at the end of the tunnel when he began writing a film called The Whistling Boys which was meant to star a member of West Life. Unfortunately his personal problems got the better of him and he took his own life in 1993 by, rather horrifically, throwing himself in front of a moving train. Gerry’s brother Geoffrey Sundquist later wrote the children’s book Father Christmas and the Missing Reindeer, which was dedicated to Gerry. It was later made into an animated short film, David Jason did one of the voices.

Oh that's awful - the poor man. Depression and the loss of a beloved career are no picnic to get through, but adding hard drugs to the mix is something I can't even begin to imagine.

[wadsy]

he & his brother attended my old school, St Augustine,s RC grammar in wythenshawe.

A tragic loss!

[EllyMack]

Apologies for a newbie bringing up an old subject, but this thread came up during a Google search.



Gerry was a lost hero of mine. I adored him in the 70s and 80s and then lost sight of him. It was only when I decided to look him up a few years ago that I found out about his death. There's a very emotive account of the circumstances of his death as told by his brother Geoffrey, following the latter's own success as an author.



I was devastated at the news and Gerry has since become a bit of an 'Elvis' character for me. I've collected a number of his films on VHS and DVD and make regular seaches of the internet for pictures and information on him. I've also followed his brother Geoffrey's lead and have a written a teen novel inspired by him. If it's ever published, it'll be dedicated to him. I believe he was very much underestimated as an actor and that he would have flourished had he lived. He's also indirectly got me into writing, because I've grown to love it from writing that novel and am now working on another. What I'd like to do, eventually, is to build a website dedicated to his memory (and I'd like to write his biography too, but that's a very unlikely prospect).



I was so pleased when I found this thread - I'm not the only one who remembers him and that's a huge comfort. Call me a daft old woman, but as I've hinted, it's no different to those who follow Elvis, River Phoenix or any other late lamented actor. Someone has to remember the guy.





and not such a good pic here, but still ...

[Lord Brett]

Thanks for bringing this thread back. I'm sure I'm not the only one who think of Gerry Sundquist as one of the great lost talents of the British screen. I think he had the misfortune of coming to prominance right at the period when British cinema was at its low point, and when filmed TV of the glossy ITC kind was on the way out (though he did an episode of Space: 1999, which was the only production shooting at Pinewood at the time).



I recall his film The Music Machine, which didn't seem to get much cinema distribution, but the novelisation was absolutely everywhere.



Here's an interesting link to a newspaper article about Gerry and Georrfrey Sundquist Grief spurred brother to debut book success

[wadsy]

I used to tell girlfriends that I knew Gerry, It earned me some brownie points. I



dont think I ever spoke to him or Geoffrey at school. Gerry was a year below me



& Geoff was in the year above me. I was & still am so very proud that someone from



my old school achieved so much.

[Mr Flash]

Gerry during the making of Don’t Open Till Christmas circa 1984

[EllyMack]

Thanks for posting those, Mr Flash. If it's OK with you, I'll copy them to my hard drive for my own collection.

[Mr Flash]

Sure, they were taken from a documentary called The Making of a Horror Film, which is available as an extra on the US DVD release of a film called Living Doll.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Living-Doll-Mark-Jax/dp/B0009WFESW/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1215287968&sr=8-1"]Amazon.com: Living Doll [/ame]

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Living-Doll-Mark-Jax/dp/B0009WFESW/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1215287968&sr=8-1"][/ame]

[EllyMack]

Thanks for that. I've just ordered a copy (told you I was obsessed with the guy, did I? )

[Mr Flash]

By sheer coincidence, an old episode of Crown Court, Gerry appeared in (“Meeting Place” 1978) was repeated on Sky channel RedTV last week.

[Ali M]

Hello! Another newbee here. I stumbled across your site and was delighted to see that someone out there remembers Gerry Sundquist. I first discoverd him in Last Days of Pompeii in 1983 and then again as PIP in Great Expectations. He was an understated talent and not too bad on the eyes either. Elly Mack, like you I am a daft old woman I hope you do decide to do a memorial web site. May God Bless Gerry...where ever he is.