Ben Cross, R.I.P.

Actor, director, musician and screenwriter Ben Cross, best known for his appearance in the 1981 Academy Award winning film Chariots of Fire, has passed away at the age of 72. A cause of death has not been made public.

Cross was a largely unknown actor when he was cast in Chariots of Fire to portray Harold Abrahams, a runner who overcame anti-Semitic prejudice to win a Gold medal for Britain in the 100 meter dash in the 1924 Olympics in Paris along with the silver medal in the 4 x 100 relay. Co-starring in Chariots of Fire was Ian Charleson who played Eric Liddell, a devout Christian who would not run on the Sabbath. 

As I was all of 9-years old when the film came out, I remember not so much the plot but the images of Cross and Charleson running along the beach wearing white accompanied by the Oscar winning score composed by Vangelis. They looked like the vibrant young men they played. And then art imitated life.

Liddell died of a brain tumor in 1945 at the age of 43 while engaging in missionary work in China while Charleson died of AIDS at the age of 40. Abrahams would live a long life occupied by the law, journalism and amateur sport before passing away in 1978 at the age of 78. So too would Cross have a busy life in film, TV and stage before meeting his end.

Although prolific, Cross himself stated of his career following Chariots of Fire, “Suddenly, you get offered lots of work, which is lovely. But since then I have done 80 or 90 projects, none of which have been in any way as successful.” I wonder if Cold Sweat, the 1993 direct to video movie he co-starred with Adam Baldwin and Shannon Tweed is what he had in mind or perhaps the short-lived revival of the TV series Dark Shadows with Roy Thinnes and Joanna Going. 

Aside from Chariots of Fire, I remember Cross from the 1983 BBC miniseries The Citadel which would air in North America on Masterpiece Theatre. Perhaps Cross' most notable role after Chariots of Fire was his portrayal of Sarek in the J.J. Abrams' 2009 reboot of Star Trek. 

But I shall always remember Ben Cross running across the beach as a young man in a hurry. Now that his race is run may someone else carry his torch. R.I.P.