# Albert Moses
**Albert Moses** (19 December 1937 – 15 September 2017) was a Sri Lankan actor and producer based in the United Kingdom, best known for playing the Sikh student Ranjeet Singh in the ITV sitcom *Mind Your Language* and for appearing in two [James Bond](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-bond) films, *The Spy Who Loved Me* (1977) and *Octopussy* (1983).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0608553/) • [2](https://watch.plex.tv/en-GB/person/albert-moses)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 19 December 1937, Gampola, Kandy District, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0608553/) |
| Died | 15 September 2017, London, England, UK, aged 79[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0608553/) |
| Signature role | Ranjeet Singh in *Mind Your Language*, 42 episodes, 1977–1986[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0608553/) |
| Bond films | Barman in *The Spy Who Loved Me* (1977); Sadruddin, head of the MI6 Indian station, in *Octopussy* (1983)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0608553/) • [3](https://jamesbond007.se/eng/memoriam/albert_moses_sadruddin_octopussy) |
| Other films | *The Man Who Would Be King* (1975), *An American Werewolf in London* (1981), *Pink Floyd The Wall* (1982), *East Is East* (1999)[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/albert_moses) |
| Output | 78 acting credits and one producing credit on IMDb; 52 credited productions listed by TV Guide[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0608553/) • [5](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/albert-moses/credits/3000501666/) |
| Burial | Remains buried at St Andrew's Church in his native Gampola, Sri Lanka, in December 2017[6](https://www.dhakatribune.com/showtime/132545/%E2%80%98mind-your-language%E2%80%99-star-albert-moses-dead-at-79) |
## Early life and career beginnings
Moses was born in Gampola in the Kandy District of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0608553/) According to a 2008 interview in the Sri Lankan *Sunday Times*, he worked at the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya, before migrating to Africa for employment, and then moved to England to study theater and drama at a drama school in London, where his television and film career began.[7](https://www.sundaytimes.lk/080511/TV/tv-times00003.html)
His acting career had started in India in the 1960s, where he appeared in seven films and then produced and directed an eighth.[7](https://www.sundaytimes.lk/080511/TV/tv-times00003.html) • [8](https://www.inside.lk/entertainment/tv/rip-ranjit-singh-albert-moses/) From India he moved to Africa, where he worked on documentaries for a period.[8](https://www.inside.lk/entertainment/tv/rip-ranjit-singh-albert-moses/) He settled in Britain in 1970, and his early British credits included *Budgie* (1971), *On the Buses* (1973), *The Two Ronnies* (1973), and [John Huston](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-huston)'s *The Man Who Would Be King* (1975), in which he played Ghulam.[9](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/albert_moses/) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/albert_moses)
## Mind Your Language and Ranjeet Singh
In 1977 Moses saw a newspaper advertisement calling for candidates to play a Sikh in the comedy series *Mind Your Language*, auditioned, and won the role of Ranjeet Singh.[7](https://www.sundaytimes.lk/080511/TV/tv-times00003.html) He prepared by spending time with his Indian Sikh friends to learn their manner, culture, speech, and how to wear a turban.[7](https://www.sundaytimes.lk/080511/TV/tv-times00003.html)
The character, a [London Underground](https://www.edgepedia.org/london-underground) employee from Punjab and a devout Sikh, appeared in all four series, a total of 42 episodes between 1977 and 1986.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0608553/) • [10](https://thegoonshow.co.uk/wiki/index.php?title=Mind_Your_Language) Ranjeet's recurring line "a thousand apologies", delivered whenever the English teacher corrected him, became the character's catchphrase and the role for which Moses remained best known.[10](https://thegoonshow.co.uk/wiki/index.php?title=Mind_Your_Language) • [6](https://www.dhakatribune.com/showtime/132545/%E2%80%98mind-your-language%E2%80%99-star-albert-moses-dead-at-79) He was one of four students, along with Giovanni Capello, Juan Cervantes, and Anna Schmidt, to appear in every series.[2](https://watch.plex.tv/en-GB/person/albert-moses) Moses later became a producer on the show himself, credited on 13 episodes in 1986.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0608553/) • [7](https://www.sundaytimes.lk/080511/TV/tv-times00003.html)
## Film and television career
Moses worked steadily across British film and television for four decades. His screen appearances included *The Spy Who Loved Me* (1977), in which he played the barman at Max Kalba's club; *Carry On Emmannuelle* (1978); *An American Werewolf in London* (1981) as the hospital porter; *Pink Floyd The Wall* (1982); *Octopussy* (1983) as Sadruddin, head of the MI6 Indian station; *The Jewel in the Crown* (1984) on PBS; *The Little Drummer Girl* (1984); *Foreign Body* (1986); and the TV miniseries *Queenie* (1986–87).[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/albert_moses) • [3](https://jamesbond007.se/eng/memoriam/albert_moses_sadruddin_octopussy)
**Television guest roles** filled the later decades: *Minder*, *Casualty*, *The Bill* (four episodes between 1984 and 2007), *London's Burning*, *The Knock*, *Crocodile Shoes*, *Holby City* (2003–2004), *Murder in Mind*, and *Tripping Over* (2006), among many others.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0608553/) His last screen appearance was posthumous, as a hospital patient in *The Snarling* (2018).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0608553/)
**The Bond connection.** Moses got his role in *The Spy Who Loved Me* after attending a casting that sought actors who spoke Arabic, a language he knew; the impression he made there helped him win the larger part of Sadruddin in *Octopussy*, with scenes opposite [Roger Moore](https://www.edgepedia.org/roger-moore), Kabir Bedi, and [Vijay Amritraj](https://www.edgepedia.org/vijay-amritraj).[3](https://jamesbond007.se/eng/memoriam/albert_moses_sadruddin_octopussy) He remained friendly with Bond fans in later years, appearing at events such as A Celebration of James Bond at [Pinewood Studios](https://www.edgepedia.org/pinewood-studios) in 2005.[11](https://jamesbond007.se/eng/stars/albert-moses)
## Skills and other work
Contemporary accounts describe Moses as a multi-faceted performer: his specialties as a younger actor included fencing, dancing, singing, motorcycle stunts, karate, and judo.[7](https://www.sundaytimes.lk/080511/TV/tv-times00003.html) • [8](https://www.inside.lk/entertainment/tv/rip-ranjit-singh-albert-moses/) He was fluent in English, Arabic, Tamil, and Sinhalese, with moderate German and Sanskrit, and one of his popular themes was playing the double of [Clark Gable](https://www.edgepedia.org/clark-gable).[7](https://www.sundaytimes.lk/080511/TV/tv-times00003.html) • [8](https://www.inside.lk/entertainment/tv/rip-ranjit-singh-albert-moses/) His stage work included prominent roles in productions such as *Freeway* at the National Theatre, *Phaedra Britannica* with [Diana Rigg](https://www.edgepedia.org/diana-rigg), and *Long March to Jerusalem* at Watford Theatre.[8](https://www.inside.lk/entertainment/tv/rip-ranjit-singh-albert-moses/) Beyond *Mind Your Language*, he produced and directed at least two television thrillers.[12](https://colombogazette.com/2017/12/10/final-bow-for-mind-your-language-star)
## Death and legacy
Moses died in London on 15 September 2017 at the age of 79.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0608553/) The news was widely reported only months later, after a death notice in a Sri Lankan newspaper drew attention; many readers said they had never realized that the actor behind the turbaned Ranjeet Singh was Sri Lankan.[12](https://colombogazette.com/2017/12/10/final-bow-for-mind-your-language-star) His remains were buried at St Andrew's Church in Gampola.[6](https://www.dhakatribune.com/showtime/132545/%E2%80%98mind-your-language%E2%80%99-star-albert-moses-dead-at-79) His *Octopussy* co-stars remembered him warmly: Vijay Amritraj called him a lovely man, and [Kabir Bedi](https://www.edgepedia.org/kabir-bedi) wrote that Bond fans would mourn his passing.[3](https://jamesbond007.se/eng/memoriam/albert_moses_sadruddin_octopussy)
## References
1. [Albert Moses, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0608553/)
2. [Albert Moses, Plex](https://watch.plex.tv/en-GB/person/albert-moses)
3. [A Celebration of Sri Lankan actor Albert Moses (1937-2017), From Sweden with Love](https://jamesbond007.se/eng/memoriam/albert_moses_sadruddin_octopussy)
4. [Albert Moses, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/albert_moses)
5. [Albert Moses List of Movies and TV Shows, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/albert-moses/credits/3000501666/)
6. ['Mind Your Language' star Albert Moses dead at 79, Dhaka Tribune](https://www.dhakatribune.com/showtime/132545/%E2%80%98mind-your-language%E2%80%99-star-albert-moses-dead-at-79)
7. ['Thousand apologies, I am Ranjeet Singh', Sunday Times Sri Lanka (11 May 2008)](https://www.sundaytimes.lk/080511/TV/tv-times00003.html)
8. [RIP Ranjit Singh (Albert Moses), Inside Magazine Sri Lanka](https://www.inside.lk/entertainment/tv/rip-ranjit-singh-albert-moses/)
9. [Albert Moses, British Comedy Guide](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/albert_moses/)
10. [Mind Your Language, The Goon Show Depository](https://thegoonshow.co.uk/wiki/index.php?title=Mind_Your_Language)
11. [Albert Moses (Actor), From Sweden with Love](https://jamesbond007.se/eng/stars/albert-moses)
12. [Final bow for 'Mind Your Language' star, Colombo Gazette (10 December 2017)](https://colombogazette.com/2017/12/10/final-bow-for-mind-your-language-star)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › Surnames L to Y*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license