Peter Paul Wyngarde (born Cyril Goldbert; circa 1926 or 1927 – 15 January 2018), until 1945 called Cyril Louis Goldbert, was a British actor who spent his early life in the Far East. He had a successful career on stage from the mid-1940s and slowly gained screen roles, especially in television in the 1950s and 1960s, before becoming well known for portraying the character of Jason King in the television series Department S (1969) and Jason King (1971). His acting career came to an end in the 1990s, but he had occasional appearances in the 21st century.
Wyngarde's flamboyant dress sense and stylish performances led to his becoming a style icon in Britain and elsewhere in the early 1970s. Various details of Wyngarde's early and personal life, including his place and date of birth, birth name, family and ethnic background, and sexual orientation, have been disputed.
Background and early life Name Wyngarde's name as a child was Cyril Goldbert,"Wills & probate: Deceased Estates", The London Gazette, Issue 62632, 3 May 2019, p. 8100, accessed 13 September 2025 and in reporting his death, BBC News gave his full name as Cyril Louis Goldbert.
Date and place of birth By his own account, Wyngarde was born on 23 August 1933.Marco Giannangeli, "Jason King still reigns, just less of a woman's man", 29 March 2015, Express.co.uk, at archive.ph, accessed 7 September 2025 However, in an interview in 1993 he said he did not know his age."From the archive: Andrew Billen talks to Peter Wyngarde in 1993", The Observer Sunday 19 December 1993, accessed 9 September 2025 On 14 December 1945, he arrived in England on the SS Arawa, and the ship's passenger list gives his age as 18, suggesting he was born before 15 December 1927. On official documents related to sea voyages in 1960, his date of birth was given as 28 August 1929 for a voyage into San Francisco,"California, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1882–1959", National Archives, Washington, D.C., at Ancestry.com, accessed 7 September 2017 then as 27 July 1929 on the way home to England in October."UK and Ireland, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960", National Archives of the United Kingdom, at Ancestry.com, accessed 7 September 2017 In 2003, The Encyclopedia of British Film gave the year as 1927,Anthony Slide, ed., The Encyclopedia of British Film (London: Methuen, 2003), p. 746 and the registration of his death states his date of birth as 23 August 1927.General Register Office for England and Wales, Reference: DOR Q1/2018 in KENSINGTON AND CHELSEA (239-1A), Entry Number 516736478
A biography published in 2020 which draws on personal knowledge of Wyngarde and on a large archive gives his date of birth as 28 (not 23) August 1928.Wyngarde-Hopkins (2020), p. 18 Most official documents state the year as 1927 or 1929, while the more informal sources have reported a range between 1924 and 1937.
After speaking to his mother in September 1956, The Straits Times said he was then aged 26."140-mile drive to see a very special film", The Straits Times at gov.sg, 13 September 1956, p. 8, accessed 6 September 2025
Wyngarde was first included on an electoral register at Belsize, Hampstead, in 1948, which might support 1927 as his year of birth, as only those aged 21 and over were allowed to vote in the United Kingdom at that time.Borough of Hampstead Belsize No. 2 London (D) Polling Dist. Belsize Ward (1948), p. 25, Ancestry.com : Peter Wyngarde is registered with six others at 1, Thurlow Road.Brian McFarlane, ed., The Encyclopedia of British Film, fourth edition (Oxford University Press, 2016, , p. 12 at Google Books (dead link)
Wyngarde's mother seems to have told The Straits Times that he was born in Marseilles, France, and Wyngarde said he was born at an aunt's home in Marseilles. His death registration states his birthplace as Singapore, and for the sea voyages in 1960 his place of birth was also stated as Singapore. In July 1972, he spent ninety minutes at Changi International Airport, Singapore, waiting for a connecting flight to Athens, and commented on this "I don't believe I have been to Singapore"."Sun-hunt lands Peter in S'pore", New Nation newspaper (Singapore) at gov.sg newspaper archive, accessed 11 September 2025 Throughout his life, Wyngarde gave Marseilles as his place of birth, and this is the view taken by the biography published in 2020.
Family
When Wyngarde travelled from Shanghai to Britain by sea in 1945, as Cyril Goldbert, the records of the ship, Arawa, name his next of kin as "Mr. H. Goldbert, c/o Ministry of Shipping, London","Board of Trade: Commercial and Statistical Department and successors: Inwards Passenger Lists, Class: BT26; Piece: 1215; Item: 46. SS Arawa, December 1945", National Archives of the United Kingdom, Kew, England, Ancestry.com, accessed 17 September 2025 :Arrival Date: 14 Dec 1945SHIP'S NAME: ArawaOFFICIAL NUMBER: 140148 STEAMSHIP LINE: Cunard White StarREGISTERED TONNAGE: 14461 / 8598MASTER'S NAME: T. V. ROBERTSVOYAGE: From Shanghai Hong Kong Kowloon Singapore Suez to SouthamptonSummary of British and Alien Passengers: 767 [Passenger list of 582 names headed "EX SHANGHAI"] NAME: Gol[d]bert C.AGE: 18 SEX: M NAT: Br. NEXT OF KIN: Mr. H. Goldbert, c/o Ministry of Shipping, LondonDESTINATION: U.K. and the biography published in 2020 names him as Henry Goldbert. A citizen of the Russian Empire by birth, in October 1919 Goldbert was naturalized as a British subject in Singapore, with The Straits Times reporting that he had lived in the Straits Settlements for nineteen years.Untitled, The Straits Times, 25 October 1919, page 9, at gov.sg, accessed 6 September 2025 Born in 1897, his parents were Marco Goldbert and Rosa Klivger,"U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936–2007", Ancestry.com, accessed 17 September 2025: Name: Henry Goldbert / Gender: Male / Race: White / Birth Date: 1 Jan 1897 / Birth Place: Hicolieff, Soviet Union / Father: Marco Goldbert / Mother: Rosa Klivger / SSN: 112227371 / Notes: Oct 1945: Name listed as HENRY GOLDBERT and in April 1904 Mrs Goldbert took over the license of the Singapore Hotel"LICENSING JUSTICES", The Straits Times, 8 April 1904, p. 5, at gov.sg, accessed 7 September 2025"LICENSING JUSTICES", The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (Weekly), 13 October 1904, p. 236 at gov.sg, accessed 8 September 2025 in North Bridge Road."Public House Licences", The Straits Times, 30 June 1904, p. 8, gov.sg, accessed 10 September 2025 In 1910, her licence was moved to another address."LICENSING JUSTICES", The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (Weekly), 24 March 1910, p. 13 the new address was 46 & 47, Nelson Road, Singapore; online at gov.sg, accessed 8 September 2025 In December 1906, Henry Goldbert won a school prize for "Scripture (Jews)","The Prize List", Eastern Daily Mail and Straits Morning Advertiser, 24 December 1906, p. 3 at gov.sg, accessed 8 September 2025 and in 1913 he was taking YMCA Engineering Classes and was about to sit for a Board of Education South Kensington certificate."Y.M.C.A. Engineering Classes", The Straits Times, 7 February 1913, p. 10, gov.sg, accessed 10 September 2025
Wyngarde's mother was Marcheritta Marie Goldbert, born Ahin (1908–1992), known as Madge.Scottish Statutory Death Register 1992, ref. 221/ 96, Stornoway In interviews, Wyngarde said she was French.Weekend magazine, 16 April 1969. There was a Eurasian family called Ahin living in Singapore.Myrna Braga-Blake, Ann Ebert-Oehlers, Alexius A. Pereira, Singapore Eurasians: Memories, Hopes and Dreams (World Scientific, 21 December 2016, ), page 279 In 1947, she stated the name and nationality of her father as Andrew Nicolich Ahin, deceased, Swiss. She and Henry Goldbert were separated by 1937.
On 6 March 1929, The Straits Echo reported that Mr H. Goldbert was leaving his position as branch manager of the United Motor Works, Seremban, and that he and his wife were about to leave for Singapore on the night mail train."Mr and Mrs H. Goldbert", The Straits Echo (Mail Edition), Wednesday 6 March 1929, p. 191 at gov.sg, accessed 8 September 2025
In June 1934, in Singapore, a "V. Ahin", described as a young Eurasian mechanic and a brother of Mrs Golbert (sic), was fined fifteen Straits dollars for his behaviour in March in trying to stop the posting of a summons on his sister's door in Kim Yean Road."SERVICE OF A SUMMONS", Malaya Tribune, 21 June 1934, p. 18, at gov.sg, accessed 9 September 2025 A Victor Ahin was noted in 1941 as a nephew of Mr P. A. Ahin, chief engineer in the dredging section of the Public Works Department."Death of Eurasian Pensioner", Malaya Tribune, 1 July 1941, p. 5, gov.sg, accessed 13 September 2025
Wyngarde had two younger Goldbert siblings: Adolphe Henry Peter Goldbert (1930–2011), and Marion Colette Simone Goldbert (1932–2012). In 1946, they also came by ship from Shanghai to England, arriving at Southampton on RMS Strathmore on 30 April 1946, aged sixteen and thirteen, both stating their destination as Prenton, Birkenhead."UK and Ireland, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960", Passenger list for RMS Strathmore, April 1946, ancestry.co.uk, accessed 10 September 2025 : Name: Marion Goldbert / Arrival Age: 13 / Birth Date: abt 1933 / Intended address: 28 Rocky Banks, Prenton, Birkenhead / Class: 1st / Profession Student; Name: Adolf Goldbert / Arrival Age: 16 / Birth Date: abt 1930 / Intended address: 28 Rocky Banks, Prenton, Birkenhead / Class: T.D. / Profession: Student; Port of Departure: Shanghai, China / Arrival Date: 30 Apr 1946 / Port of Arrival: Southampton, England / Ports of Voyage: Shanghai and Hong Kong / Ship Name: Strathmore / Shipping Line: P. and O. Steam Navigation Company Ltd / Official Number: 164521 In England, Adolphe dropped his first name and was known as "Joe". Henry Goldbert was in England at the time and arranged for his younger children to be fostered by a family in Liverpool. He then set off for Bombay on the Franconia, intending to return to his life in the East.Wyngarde-Hopkins (2020), p. 34 Wyngarde met his brother and sister after their arrival, but had little further contact with them or their children.
Henry Goldbert had an older brother, Cyril Arthur Goldbert, born in 1895 in Mykolaiv, now in Ukraine, who died in 1958 in Australia."Cyril Arthur Goldbert / Birth abt 1895, Mykolaiv, Ukraine / Death 23 Mar 1958, Turramurra, New South Wales, Australia / Mother Rosa Klivger / Father Marco Goldbert", ancestry.com, accessed 7 September 2025 A sea port of the Russian Empire, in the later 19th century about a fifth of Mykolaiv's population was Jewish, and although the community suffered a pogrom in 1899, the same was true in 1926."Mykolaiv, Ukraine", Jewish Virtual Library, accessed 7 September 2025 The surname Goldbert is rare, with only some 118 people worldwide known to be using it in 2025, almost half of them living in Israel."Goldbert Surname", forebears.io, accessed 5 September 2025 If Cyril and Henry Goldbert's family were Jewish, conversions to Christianity were then common in the Russian Empire,There were some 40,000 conversions between 1836 and 1875, see Das Missionsblatt des Rheinisch-Westphälischen Vereins für Israel (Barmen: J. F. Steinhaus, 1878), p. 122 (in German) and Wyngarde's biographer reports that Henry Goldbert was a Roman Catholic.Wyngarde-Hopkins (2020), p. 35