Peter Egan

Peter Egan (born 28 September 1946) is a British actor known for his TV roles, including Hogarth in Big Breadwinner Hog, the future King George IV of the United Kingdom in Prince Regent (1979); smooth neighbour Paul Ryman in the sitcom Ever Decreasing Circles (1984–89); and Hugh "Shrimpie" MacClare, Marquess of Flintshire, in Downton Abbey (2012–15). He is married to retired actress Myra Frances.

Early life

Egan was born in London, England, the son of Doris (née Pick) and Michael Thomas Egan, who is of Irish descent. He was educated at St. George's Roman Catholic Comprehensive School, Maida Vale. He also attended the London Oratory School.

Life and career

Peter Egan's first stage performance was in 'Charlie Girl'. Peter Egan's first television role was as the sex-and-cinema-obsessed Seth Starkadder in a BBC serialisation of Cold Comfort Farm (1968). In 1969 he had come to notoriety as the acid-throwing gangster Hogarth in the controversial Granada TV series Big Breadwinner Hog. Later he had other starring roles as John Everett Millais in the BBC serial The Love School (1975), and as Oscar Wilde in the serial Lillie (1978), starring Francesca Annis as Lillie Langtry; as Magnus Pym in the BBC dramatisation of John le Carré's A Perfect Spy (1987) and another BBC sitcom Joint Account (1989–90).

Peter Egan (columnist)

Peter Egan is an American writer known for his monthly columns, Side Glances in Road & Track magazine and Leanings in Cycle World magazine, as well as road tests and occasional features in both magazines. His columns are chiefly autobiographical and anecdotal in nature, typically cheerful, self-deprecating and sometimes displaying an ironic or dark sense of humor. He has written extensively about his many road trips, including detailed accounts of the failings of the vehicles and his interactions with the people who accompany him and those he meets. He was described in a 2010 New York Times book review as one of America's "standout auto writers."

Early life

Egan was born in Elroy, Wisconsin in 1948. He first became acquainted with sports cars from photographs of celebrities and their cars in his sister Barbara's glamour magazines. He would later watch sports car racing at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.

When he dropped out of college, Egan was drafted into the US Army, entering basic training in March 1969, and eventually serving in Vietnam. Characteristically, he later described a Jeep he had that the Viet Cong hit with a mortar shell as "the only non-English vehicle I ever drove that exploded." After his tour of duty, he visited Paris, France, from which he and a friend road-tripped on bicycles to Marseille.