Classic Television News & Features: INTERVIEW: ClassicTelly.com Interview with Albert Moses

Actor, writer, producer and author Albert Moses grew up in Sri Lanka before pursuing an acting career in the UK where he starred as Ranjeet Singh in Mind Your Language and countless other productions on the stage and screen. We caught up with him this Summer to find out some more:

Q. You were born and raised in Sri Lanka - how often do you return?
I have been back four times. I flew out from India three times

1. When I was filming JEWEL IN THE CROWN in Simla
2. When I was filming the James Bond movie OCTOPUSSY in Jaipur
3. When I was filming QUEENIE with Kirk Douglas
in Udaipur.
4. The film JUNGLE BOOK 2 was filmed on location in Sri Lanka and we flew our from London.

Yes the place has changed a lot but the Island is still a Gem in the Indian Ocean.

Q. One of your best known roles was in Mind Your Language - how was it perceived in Sri Lanka back then?
The series was a number one hit in Sri Lanka and I became their hero when they realised I was a Sri Lankan and had great reviews in the local papers. It was big surprise that the series was such a hit there and my character Ranjeet Singh so popular.

Q. Are you still in contact with any of the Mind Your Language cast?
We have all now moved along now and live far away from each other. We did meet once for a get together.

Q. Did all the cast have as much fun making the show as we think?
Of course, it was great fun and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We were all very sad that the series ended. But I managed to revive it and produced 13 more episodes as an independent
Producer.

Q. You've worked with many famous actors in many many productions of tv, stage and film. Do any have any special memories?
There are lots of memories but it is not fair for me to mention them now - wait for my memoirs!

Q. Has anybody told you, as a young man you bore a strong resemblance to Clark Gable? :-) Did the stunt work?
When GONE WITH THE WIND was shown in the cinemas in Sri Lanka, lots of people realised I was his double. I too couldn't believe it. I sent him a
photo of me to Hollywood and he too was surprised and sent me his photo. It
is as the Germens say "DOPPLEGANGER"

Q. You've written poems too - do you have a favourite you can share with us here?
Yes I have written 89 poems, all of which were published individually as anthologies over the years and I have published all of them in one book as A COLLECTION OF POEMS.

ISN'T NATURE WONDERFUL
Dawn breaks gently over the sea
the sunrises above the borders for all to see
signalling the beginning of a brand new day
as if telling us in bed one should not stay

The chorus of a single blackbird
coming through the still air is heard
soon there is a cacophony of different birds
sending children out of their beds

The gentle breeze blows around the hills
whistling its way through the sills
The fragrance of flowers in the air it fills
It will be nice to know what it tells

The sound of raindrops is heard as it drips
the soil the raindrops eagerly sips
The water the parched earth desperately needs
in turn nourishing the dormant seeds

The green shoots soon pop their head
and blooms appear sooner than said
making the meadows so beautiful
isn't nature wonderful?

Q. What do you do to keep busy at the moment? Are you working on anything we can look out for?
I paint in water colour in my leisure. I have written, produced and directed two half hour dramas on location in Malta, and I do a cameo role in both like Director Alfred Hitchcock. I have just finished a part in an episode of THE BILL, the UK police TV drama. I am hoping to get a TV station interested in a 90 minute Drama I have written, you never know. I may find
a taker.

Many thanks to Albert Moses for his time, please visit Albert's web site at http://www.albertmoses.com.



Subscribe to RSS Feed