Ben Cross ✝

Harry Bernard Cross (16 December 1947 – 18 August 2020) was an English stage and film actor. He was best known for playing Billy Flynn in the original West End production of the musical Chicago, and his portrayal of the British Olympic athlete Harold Abrahams in the 1981 film Chariots of Fire. Harry Bernard Cross was born in London on 16 December 1947, to a working-class family. He was the son of Catherine (née O'Donovan), a cleaner, and Harry Cross, a doorman. His father died of tuberculosis when Cross was aged eight. While his father was a member of the Church of England, Cross grew up in his Irish mother's Catholic faith, in the Tulse Hill neighbourhood of London. Cross started his career by taking manual jobs, including working as a window cleaner, waiter, and joiner. He also worked as a carpenter for the Welsh National Opera, and was the Property Master at The Alexandra theatre in Birmingham.