CY GRANT - born 8 November 1919, died 13 February 2010.

Horizon is sad to announce the death, aged 90, of Cy Grant, who played Hal Mellanby in the S3 episode 'Aftermath'.

Multi-talented Cy Grant was an actor, singer, broadcaster and writer. The first black actor to appear regularly on British television, he used his fame to help other black actors and was a respected human rights campaigner. His best known SF role was as Lt Green in the original Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons.

In World War II he was a navigator on a Lancaster bomber with 103 Squadron (Bomber Command). He only made a few operational flights before his plane was hit and the crew had to bail out over Holland in 1943. Cy Grant spent the rest of the war in a POW camp, and wrote a memoir of his wartime experiences in his old age. He was a very strong advocate for recognition of the role of Caribbean aircrew in WWII, as there were not very many of them, and they tended to get forgotten compared to men from larger Commonwealth countries like Australia and Canada.

After the war he qualified as a Barrister before turning to acting where he enjoyed a long and varied career.

He is survived by his wife Dorith, their three children and a son from a previous marriage to whom we send our sincere condolences. He was obviously a remarkable man. You can read more about him at the Cy Grant website

Thanks to site member dragonq for additional information