Ahoy there! Howard Lang

On Easter Sunday, Marianne watched ‘Ben Hur’ for the umpteenth time and among the support actors, she recognised a familiar face - Howard Lang. He was the man beating time – or to give his proper job description, the hortator, on the slave galley that included Ben Hur played by Charlton Heston. The hortator varied the rapidity of his drum strikes – the more beats the faster the rowers had to pull on their oars, with a little encouragement from soldiers who hit them with whips. The fastest tempo was sea battle or ‘ramming’ speed.

We had a conversation about Howard Lang. He is probably best-known for another maritime role as Captain Baines in the long-running BBC series ‘The Onedin Line’. This portrayed a fictional shipping company in Liverpool from 1860 to the 1880s. It was compulsory viewing for Marianne but wasn’t a programme that appealed to Dick.

In real life Howard Lang was born in London as Donald Yarranton. At the time of the 1911 census on 2 April, his parents Edward and Clara were living at 43 Tadmor Street in Shepherd’s Bush where they lodged with her parents. The young couple very precisely recorded that they had been married for 1 year 11 months. Edward was working as a clerk at colourman’s merchant, perhaps Windsor and Newton, who sold art materials. While several sources give Donald’s date of birth as 1911, the return shows the couple had no children. In fact, he was born the following year on 20 March.

We know nothing about Donald’s early life, but in 1939 at the outbreak of WWII, he was living with his father and stepmother at 8 Mardale Drive, The Hyde, Kingsbury. He was unmarried and unemployed; his last job had been managing a lady’s sportswear department.

We don’t know when Donald decided to become an actor or adopt his acting name of Howard Lang, as many of his early appearances are uncredited. He made his first film appearance in 1940, as a sailor in ‘The Middle Watch’. Three more films followed before Donald joined the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve in January 1941 becoming a gunnery officer and temporary Lieutenant. He was still using his birth name in 1946, when newly demobbed, a newspaper described him as a pre-war stunt actor, now working on David Lean’s film ‘Great Expectations’. From then on, Donald appeared regularly in films and on TV. Stage appearances included the violent van driver Bert Hudd in Harold Pinter’s ‘The Room’, in a production by the author at Hampstead Theatre Club in 1960. One critic praised Donald’s acting while another commented, ‘one’s fascination with the play’s subtle atmosphere of terror was mixed with frustration at not understanding it better.’ On TV he played Horg in the first series of Dr Who in 1963.

Donald’s big break came when he was cast as Captain William Baines on the schooner the ‘Charlotte Rhodes’. He appeared in 89 of the 91 episodes of ‘The Onedin Line’ from 1971, including the last which aired in 1980. There are clips of the series and full episodes online.

Cast of the Onedin Line 1978. Howard Lang second from right (Getty Images)

During his career Donald played many maritime characters, but he genuinely loved the sea: he was a crew member on a yacht in the America Cup race across the Atlantic Ocean and his own yacht was moored in Chichester Harbour. In a 1976 interview for a newspaper, he said he was mad keen on most sport, and a lifelong supporter of Queen’s Park Rangers. He was very proud of half-brother (Sir) Peter Yarranton, a noted rugby union player who had been capped five times for England, and who went on to be chair of the United Kingdom Sports Council from 1989 to 1994. Donald told the reporter that aside from sailing his main interests were travelling, the ‘Great Outdoors’ and music. He said he was divorced but remained good friends with his ex-wife.

After WWII Donald lived in West Hampstead for over 40-years: first at 61 Gondar Gardens, where the electoral roll from 1947 to 1951 also lists Lesley Patricia Yarranton, who may have been his wife. The newspaper article didn’t name her, and we haven’t been able to trace their marriage which was probably abroad. When she sailed to India in 1951, Lesley gave an address in Hove and her occupation as ‘film artist’. She was married in Bombay the following year.

From about 1970 Donald’s last home was at 2 Parsifal Road, which explains why Marianne used to regularly see him on West End Lane. After a long career, he died at home on 11 December 1989 and left £16,849, his family requesting donations be made to The Royal Theatrical Fund.

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History of Kilburn and West Hampstead

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