Klytus

TITLE: Mings' right hand man.
HOME: Mingo City, planet Mongo.

BUDDIES: Ming, Kala.
ENEMIES: Flash, Dale, Zarkov, Barin, Vultan, Aura.
FACIAL HAIR: Possibility of outrageous seventies moustache remaining beneath mask.
COSTUME PERVERSITY RATING: 6 / 10
COOLNESS RATING: 9 / 10
ACTING METHOD: Sneering and dry wit.
ROLE: Presents Earth to Ming as a play thing. Fancies Aura. Commands really stupid men. Brainwashes Zarkov. Allows Flash to see Dale before his execution. Uses Zarkov to lead him to Flash, but is then thrown onto the spikes at Vultan'ss place for suggesting that Aura enjoyed being whipped. Heh heh.

Peter Wyngarde

Peter Wyngarde's performance in Flash Gordon is easily one of the most enjoyable (sometimes I think THE most enjoyable) in the film.  I often drift off into daydreams in which I envisage Klytus and Ming, before the events of the movie, whiling away the hours together finding acts of unspeakable evil and debauchery to indulge in for their idle amusement.  It is Klytus, after all, who presents our own Planet Earth to Ming as a 'play-thing'.  They must have had some fun times..... slapping one another heartily on the back as they torture some unfortunate Prince, sharing a chuckle as they destroy a Kingdom or two...

For those not fully aware, Wyngarde is best remembered (apart from as Klytus!) as the King of Austin-Powers-like Cool in the late Sixties/early Seventies, Jason King.  Outrageous is a word that cannot begin to describe either King's wardrobe OR his facial hair.

Filmography

Flash Gordon (1980) .... Klytus
Himmel, Scheich und Wolkenbruch (1979)
"Jason King" (1971) TV Series .... Jason King
"Department S" (1969) TV Series .... Jason King
Midsummer Night's Dream, A (1968/II) (TV)
Night of the Eagle (1962) .... Norman Taylor
Innocents, The (1961) .... Peter Quint
Siege of Sidney Street, The (1960) .... Peter
Alexander the Great (1956) .... Pausanias

Well, according to the Internet Movie Database, playing Klytus seems to have killed Wyngardes film career in a 'flash'. Ha. I prefer to think that he retired happy in the knowledge that no better role could ever present itself. Because the list was so short, here are some of Wyngardes' guest appearances in popular T.V. shows:

"Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, The" (1994) playing "Langdale Pike" in episode: "Three Gables, The" (episode # 1.1) 1994
"Doctor Who" (1963) playing "Timinov" in episode: "Planet of Fire" (episode # 21.5) 1984
"Saint, The" (1962) playing "Turen" in episode: "Gadic Collection, The" (episode # 6.1) 9/22/1968
"I Spy" (1965) in episode: "Let's Kill Karlovassi" (episode # 3.1) 9/11/1967
"Avengers, The" (1961) playing "Stewart Kirby" in episode: "Epic" 1967
"Prisoner, The" (1967) playing "Number 2" in episode: "Checkmate" 1967
"Avengers, The" (1961) playing "John Cartney" in episode: "Touch of Brimstone, A" 1966
"R3" (1964) playing "Dr Henri Lefebvre" in episode: "Forum, The" (episode # 1.7) 1965
"Out of this World" (1962) playing "Captain Barton" in episode: "Cold Equations" 1962

Also he has had a significant career as a stage actor, but that's far too boring to look into.

This filmography was stolen from the Internet Movie Database. Click here to sue me.

Visit the Official Peter Wyngarde Appreciation Society!