Andrew Faulds (Jet Morgan)
Andrew Matthew William Faulds was born on 1st March 1923 in Isoko, Tanganyika (now Tanzania). He was the son of a Church of Scotland missionary but was brought up by his uncle, who live in Edinburgh.
Faulds married Bunty Whitfield in London in 1945.
After graduating from the University of Glasgow, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1948.
Playing Jet Morgan in Charles Chilton's radio drama Journey Into Space brought him to the attention of a wider audience.
He returned to Stratford in 1956 to join the Shakespeare Memorial Company and played Laertes in Hamlet, along with several other roles.
In 1959, Faulds was first captured by the idea of standing for political office when he and his wife played host to Paul Robeson who had travelled to England to appear at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford upon Avon.
In the 1966 UK general election, Faulds (who had joined the Labour party) defeated Conservative Peter Griffiths in the constituency (seat) of Smethwick. He served until his retirement in 1997.
Faulds was famous around Westminster as a ladies man, many of his fellow, quieter, MPs admired his cheek.
There has been speculation that Faulds was denied ministerial office because of his open support of the Palestinian cause. Faulds was outspoken in parliament. In 1967, supporting the Abortion Bill, Faulds berated an unmarried member of the Conservative party (who was speaking against the Bill): "Is it in order for an Honourable Member to delay this necessary social measure when he has not the capacity to put a bun in anybody's oven?"
Faulds continued acting throughout the 1960s and 1970s. He appeared in Jason and the Argonauts (1963) and took part in Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion skeleton fight scene.
Faulds died on 31st May 2000 (aged 77) in Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, England. He was survived by his wife and his daughter.
