Andrew Jack
Andrew Jack, dialect coach to the stars and lover of mucking about in boats, cars and planes.
Born in 1944 in London to parents Stephen and Julia Hutchinson, Andrew spent most of his childhood playing on the green and in the allotments around Village Road in Finchley, North London. His school days were spent at Mill Hill School, before launching himself into the world of performance by becoming a student at both ArtsEd and Central School of Speech and Drama.
Andrew’s first professional break came when he was cast in Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet, followed swiftly by being accepted into the RSC’s Rep company, spending many happy days in Stratford-Upon-Avon.
In the mid 1970s, he returned to London. Out of work and looking for an adventure, he became an air steward for British Airways – a role he was in for six and a half years. It was here that he flew around the world, listening to and recording accents, teaching himself phonetics and delving into different cultures. In the last few years of flying he met Felicity Filmore. They fell in love and were married in 1974. Two children came: Katherine Helen in 1978 and Rupert Angus in 1982.
Andrew quit flying and began teaching Voice, Accents and Dialect at LAMDA, thanks to the trust and generosity of his lifelong friend and champion, Nigel Rideout. Andrew taught at LAMDA for ten years.
In 1988 he began living on his much loved narrow boat on the Union Canal, River Thames, and it was during this time that he entered into the world of dialect coaching for TV and Film. It all started with Spielberg’s Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, followed by films such as The Last of the Mohicans, Chaplin, Tomorrow Never Dies, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Batman Begins, Sherlock Holmes, Star Wars to name but a few. He worked closely with many actors, being both coach and confidant and dedicating his life to the profession. It was during these years that he met his second wife, Paula Jack, a fellow dialect coach in the industry.
He moved from film to film, working as both dialect coach and actor. He traded in his narrow boat for a bigger and better model called Vrouwe Johanna, his beloved. In 2014 he met Gabrielle Rogers, his third wife and fellow dialect coach. After they were married, Andrew spent the last few years of his life in Australia with Gabrielle, where he would sit and soak in the beautiful views with a gin blossom cocktail in his hand.
Whilst working on The Batman film early this year, and living on his boat on the Thames, Andrew contracted Corona Virus. He was admitted to Chertsey Hospital on Sunday 29th March and passed away on the Tuesday 31st March.
Andrew is survived by his wife Gabrielle, children Katherine (Kit) and Rupert, his grandchildren Oliver and Alice, and his step children Will and Mimi.