Simon MacCorkindale, a British actor best known for the 1978 film Death on the Nile and many television appearances in the U.K. and U.S., died of cancer on October 14, 2010, in London. He was 58.

MacCorkindale was born February 12, 1952, in Ely, England. His father was a Royal Air Force captain father who sent young Simon to the prestigious boarding school Haileybury and Imperial Service College.

According to some reports, he considered following his father into the Air Force, poor eyesight prevented him from doing so.

After completing high school he took drama classes and peformed in repertory theatre before achieving success on the London stage. Roles in such series as I, Claudius and Jesus of Nazareth followed.

In Death on the Nile, a large-scale adaptation of the Agatha Christie novel, MacCorkindale played the husband of an heiress, played by Lois Chiles, who is murdered on a boat cruising down the Nile River. The cast included many major stars, including Bette Davis, Maggie Smith and Peter Ustinov.

In 1980, MacCorkindale moved to the United States to pursue further acting work. Three years later he starred on the short-lived NBC series Manimal as a doctor who used his ability to transform into animals to help solve crimes.

He also appeared on the CBS drama Falcon Crest, as well as Dynasty, Hart to Hart and The Dukes of Hazzard.

MacCorkindale’s most successful television venture was the British series His biggest TV role, however, was in the British medical drama Casualty. He appeared on the show from 2002 until 2009, when illness required him to leave.

His other film roles included Jaws 3-D and The Sword and the Sorcerer.

In addition, he continued to work in the theater as an actor and director. In 2008 he played Captain von Trapp in a West End revival of The Sound of Music.

MacCorkindale was married from 1976 to 1981 to actress Fiona Fullerton. His survivors include his second wife, British actress Susan George, whom he married in 1984.