Malcolm Storry

 

Malcolm Storry:  

Craggy 6'2" actor Malcolm Storry is something of a stayer. Since the '70s he has loomed over the cast of an impressive collection of popular TV shows and appeared on the big screen in some big films, yet his is another of those names you might find harder to recall.   

With Lynn Redgrave in the 1985 BBC
drama 'Death Of A Son'

His height makes him an imposing casting for a policeman, and he has played them in a wide range of settings; from the gas-lit streets of the Jeremy Brett 'Return Of Sherlock Holmes', to the more recent cases of 'Rumpole Of The Bailey'. 'The Singing Detective',  'The Chief' (with Tim Piggott-Smith), 'Inspector Morse', and the Bill Murray spy-comedy film, 'The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997).  

As the comically ruthless Peterson in the 
excellent 1987 series 'The Biederbecke Tapes' 

His comedy performances are also splendidly varied. He crops up in various roles in the David Jason vehicle 'A Sharp Intake Of Breath', and is the conventionally intimidating agent Peterson in 'The Biederbecke Tapes', failing to intimidate the show's cynical teacher duo. There was also the David Nobbs farce 'Dogfood Dan & The Carmarthen Cowboy' about truck driving pals unknowingly having affairs with each other's wives.    

With Peter Blake in 'Dogfood Dan & The
Carmarthen Cowboy' 

In the world of drama, he impresses in 'The Death Of A Son', 'Bread Or Blood', 'The Shadow Line', and is memorable in green wig and beard in the 1991 'Gawain & The Green Knight'. A lot of decent middle-brow stuff is also in there: 'Wycliffe' and 'Doc Martin' for example, depending on your tastes, and a ton of popular/populist shows from 'Pie In The Sky', 'Ruth Rendell Mysteries' and 'Midsomer Murders' to 'Boon' and 'The Professionals'. On the whole it's all quality stuff, recent primetime hits having included 'Father Brown' and 'Doc Martin'     

In 'Father Brown'

The big box office films he's been in: 'The Princess Bride' (1987), 'Last Of The Mohicans' (1992) and 'Firefox' (1987), and 'The Scarlet Letter' (1995) are probably not the best benchmarks of his career, in my opinion, but a wander through some of his TV outings cannot fail to entertain.     

Malcolm Storry-imdb

Michael Stainton

 

Michael Stainton: 

A lot of policemen. Quite a few landlords. But a LOT of policemen. The perpetually unamused Michael Stainton must be familiar to anyone who had even a casual acquaintance with British television in the '70s and '80s. In comedy and in drama, this solidly imposing actor appeared frequently in blue as one of the quintessential portrayers of the uniformed plod. He's the  copper in 'Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads?', 'Rising Damp', Citizen Smith',  'Only Fools And Horses', 'Never The Twain' and 'Mind Your Language', but also in 'Juliet Bravo', 'The Ruth Rendell Mysteries', 'Lord Peter Wimsey', numerous television plays and even 'Brideshead Revisited'.       

Michael Stainton as the copper who brings an end to Terry's attempt
to give Bob a stag night in 'Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads?'

 

Michael Stainton's earliest roles were on TV back in the mid '50s, already stepping easily from historical dramas and crime shows into light entertainment and comedy such as 'Hancock', 'The Army Game', 'Benny Hill', 'Hugh & I' and Sid James's popular show 'Citizen James'.   

As the vicar in the pilot episode of 'Last Of The Summer Wine'

In the '60s and '70s, the mix of drama and comedy was still strong, with the likes of 'Softly Softly', The Plane Makers', and 'No Cloak-No Dagger' more than offset by 'The Liver Birds', 'All Gas And Gaiters', 'Dad's Army', Moody & Pegg', 'The Two Ronnies' and 'Steptoe & Son'. To these we can add old favourites of this blog, 'Shelley', 'A Sharp Intake Of Breath' and 'Ripping Yarns'. He was also a regular in Jimmy Edwards' school comedy 'Whack-O!', which seems more bizarre every time the recollection of it crops up these days.    

As Don the ever-sympathetic landlord in 'You Must Be
The Husband', with the late Tim Brooke-Taylor  

As the Beano-esque Father in the silly Mickey Dolenz-directed
kids series 'Metal Mickey', which at least featured Irene Handl

This momentum was carried into the '80s and he appears in a lot of popular shows. He was Sergeant Tipper in the genteel detective series 'Charters & Caldicott', and pops up in programmes as diverse as the TV comedy vehicles of Russ Abbott, Kenny Everett, Kelly Monteith, Les Dawson and Les Dennis and the drama potboilers of 'The Bill' and 'London's Burning'.   

 As Alleyn's implacable desk officer in 
an episode of 'The Ruth Rendell Mysteries'  

Big screen appearances have been scant, a few obscure films and an uncredited part in 'Carry On Dick' (1974). To view his TV track record though, is to scan lightly over the history of British middle-brow entertainment of five decades, and for that he is surely due a salute.     

Michael Stainton-imdb