John Edward Cater (born 17th January 1932 in Hendon, Middlesex; died 21st March 2009 in Lambeth, London) appeared on Coronation Street in July 1973 as Bernard Fox, the agent of occasional Rovers' organist Renee Delafonte.
Prior to this role, he appeared in The Ghost of Batsworth Castle Walks Again, a second season episode of the spin-off Pardon the Expression, transmitted in May 1966.
At the age of four, John was enrolled at the Jean Boggan school of dance and after the Second World War trained at RADA. After National Service, he began work at Dundee and then moved to Nottingham, Guildford, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Cork before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1961 appearing in The Duchess of Malfi, Ondine and The Devils. Prior to that, he made his uncredited television debut in 1949 and other credits included roles in No Hiding Place, Z Cars, The Avengers, Serjeant Musgrave's Dance, Emergency-Ward 10, Doctor Who, Orlando, The Government Inspector, Girl in a Black Bikini, Virgin of the Secret Service, Canterbury Tales, The Black Tulip, The Roads to Freedom, Alcock and Gander, South Riding, Madame Bovary, Rosie, The Other 'Arf, The Setbacks, Jack of Diamonds, John Silver's Return to Treasure Island, A Dorothy L. Sayers Mystery, Shalom Salaam, The Ruth Rendell Mysteries, The Bill, The Chief, Sitting Pretty, Casualty, In a Land of Plenty and Down to Earth.
He was best known for two serials which were first transmitted in 1976: I, Claudius where he played Narcissus, the Greek adviser to the Emperor, and The Duchess of Duke Street, in which he played the doorman Starr alongside his faithful terrier, Fred. He also appeared as Arthur Williams in Crossroads in over three-hundred episodes between 2001 and 2002.
On film, he had a brief period where he was a favourite within the Gothic horror genre, appearing in The Abominable Dr. Phibes, Dr. Phibes Rises Again and Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter.
For radio, he appeared in the 1961 serial The Owls' House (alongside June Barry) and several productions for both Afternoon Theatre and Saturday-Night Theatre.
