Roger Daltrey

Handsome, curly-haired Brit Roger Daltrey established himself as singer and front man for the rock'n'roll band The Who before launching an acting career as an outlet for his leading man good looks. When Ken Russell brought The Who's rock opera "Tommy" to the screen in 1975, there was no question that Daltrey would take the title role he'd sung in concerts beginning in 1969. In its aftermath, he immediately reteamed with Russell to play Franz Liszt in the outlandishly extravagant "Lisztomania" (1975). Since then, Daltrey has appeared in numerous features, including starring turns as England's Public Enemy No 1 in "McVicar" (1980) and as Terry Clark in "Buddy's Song" (1991). His portrayal of the Street Singer for Menahem Golan's "Mack the Knife" (1989) was his second time exploring the terrain, having played MacHeath in a 1984 BBC-TV version of John Gay's "The Beggar's Opera", on which Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill based their "The Threepenny Opera" (Golan's source material). He also appeared in "If Looks Could Kill" and "Cold Justice" (both 1991) and "Lightning Jack" (1994), among other films.

Daltrey released his first solo album "Daltrey" in 1975, and though he has not experienced the kind of success as a solo artist that attends his famous band's output, he has continued to make recordings alone as well as the occasional The Who disc. Too old to play "Tommy" when it finally reached Broadway in 1993, he did sing the role in the 1989 tour celebrating its 20th anniversary and the band's 25th, culminating in Fox's September broadcast of a concert taped the previous month in Los Angeles. The 90s have seen Daltrey frequently on the small screen in such vehicles as the 1993 "Forever Ambergris" episode of HBO's "Tales From the Crypt", "The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True" (TNT, 1995), as the Tin Man, "Vampirella" (Showtime, 1996), as Vlad to Talisa Soto's title character, and TNT's "Pirate Tales" (1997), portraying William Dampier--the Pirate Storyteller. He also provided the voice of Barnaby the Stableboy for the HBO animated special "Happy Birthday to You" (1992).

• Also Credited As:
  Roger Harry Daltrey
• Born:
  March 1, 1944 in Hammersmith, London, England, United Kingdom
• Job Titles:
  Singer, Actor, Musician, Producer, Construction worker, Sheet metal worker

Family

• Child: Jamie Daltrey. mother, Heather Taylor
• Daughter: Rosie Lea Daltrey. mother, Heather Taylor
• Daughter: Willow Amber Daltrey. mother, Heather Taylor
• Father: Harry Daltrey.
• Mother: Irene Daltrey.
• Son: Simon Daltrey. from first marriage

Significant Others

• Wife: . divorced; mother of Simon

Milestones

• 1968 Appeared with The Who in Monterey Pop
• 1973 Released first solo album, Daltrey
• 1975 Reteamed with Russell, portraying piano legend Franz Liszt in Lisztomania
• 1975 Starred in rock opera film, Tommy (composed by The Who member, Pete Townshend), directed by Ken Russell
• 1978 The Who s original drummer Keith Moon died of an overdose of the seditive Heminevrin, prescribed to curb his alcoholism
• 1979 Acted in Richard Marquand s The Legacy
• 1979 Executive producer for feature Quadrophenia ; also music director
• 1979 The Who s new lineup s reception marred when 11 concertgoers were killed--trampled to death or asphyxiated--in a rush for festival seating at Cincinnati s Riverfront Coliseum in December
• 1980 Starred as England s Public Enemy Number 1 John McVicar in McVicar
• 1982 Proclaimed an open-ended sabbatical from The Who
• 1983 Portrayed the highwayman MacHeath in Jonathan Miller s production of John Gay s The Beggar s Opera for BBC-TV
• 1984 Critically acclaimed for his turn as the Dromio twins in The Comedy of Errors part of the BBC/PBS Shakespeare series
• 1986 Appeared on The Noel Edmunds Show , a British import shown in the USA for a week on ABC
• 1989 Returned to the familiar themes of The Beggar s Opera , playing the Street Singer in Mack the Knife , Menahem Golan s feature adaptation of The Threepenny Opera , which Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill had adapted from the John Gay opus
• 1989 Reunited with The Who for an American tour, restaging Tommy in full (in celebration of its 20th anniversary as well as the 25th anniversary of the band); Fox broadcast tape of August performance in Los Angeles
• 1990 Appeared in the TNT TV-movie Forgotten Prisoners: The Amnesty Files
• 1991 Acted the role of an English priest who ingratiates himself to the inhabitants of a rough Chicago neighborhood in Cold Justice
• 1991 Played Blade in If Looks Could Kill
• 1991 Starred as Terry Clark in Buddy s Song
• 1992 Provided the voice of Barnaby the Stableboy for HBO s animated special Happy Birthday to You
• 1993 Acted in Forever Ambergris , an episode of HBO s Tales From the Crypt
• 1994 Appeared in Lightning Jack , starring Paul Hogan
• 1995 Joined star-studded cast as the Tin Man in TNT s The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True
• 1995 Seen with The Who in The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus , recorded in 1968 but not released for 27 years
• 1996 Played Vlad to Talisa Soto s title character Vampirella (Showtime)
• 1997 Portrayed William Dampier--The Pirate Storyteller--in TNT special Pirate Tales
• 1998 Had small role as an aging gay music executive in Like It Is
• 1998 Played Scrooge in the annual NYC production of A Christmas Carol
• 1998 Toured USA with a 60-piece orchestra performing hits by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who and other rock bands
• 1999 Appeared in the NBC miniseries The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns
• 1999 Played recurring role of a burnt-out alcoholic rock star in the Showtime series Rude Awakening
• 2001 Hosted the VH1 series Strange Frequency
• Grew up in the London working-class area of Shepherd s Bush
• Played lead guitar for the Detours, switching to lead vocals when the original singer left, allowing rhythm guitarist Pete Townsend s power chords to serve as both rhythm and lead guitar
• The Detours became the High Numbers and finally The Who, establishing themselves with violent stage shows that often ended with them destroying their equipment