Valete

Curtain calls...

By way of a change, I thought I'd share a few of my favourite character actors who would certainly have been high on my list, but who fell outside of my self-imposed restriction of including only actors who are still alive (at time of writing at least - some of the posts on here have subsequently become obituaries - see Eric Sykes, Graham Stark, Ken Jones, Stella Tanner, Philip Madoc, et al).

Sykes and Stark are possibly more properly thought of as comedy stars than as 'mere' character actors, and there are a few more of their ilk gone since this started: Richard Briers, Clive Dunn, Frank Thornton, Roger Lloyd-Pack and Rik Mayall, for example, all of whom I'd have liked to have included even if they were not at all 'unknown'. 

Rik Mayall (1958-2014)

In any case, in belated tribute, here are some others who have sadly died since I started this project in April 2010, a few of whom I'd actually started to prepare as entries, but who passed away before I got round to them.

I salute you.

Ingrid Pitt (1937-2010)

 Graham Crowden (1922-2010)

Barbara New (1923-2010)

Joe Melia (1935-2012)

Pamela Green (1929-2010)

John Horsley (1920-2014)

Malcolm Tierney (1928-2014)

Angus McKay (1926-2013)

Robin Davies (1954-2010)

Cy Grant (1919-2010)

Patricia Gage (1940-2010)

Trevor Bannister (1934-2011)

Nosher Powell (1928-2013)

I'd be interested to hear other suggestions for recently deceased (post 2010) character actors who would have made interesting entries on the Familiar Unknown blog. I will probably run another of these 'Curtain calls...' posts.

Let me know via the comments box below.  

Michael Troughton

 

Michael Troughton as Piers Fletcher-Dervish

  Michael Troughton: 

Chunky and clean-cut in appearance, he's the son of the second Dr Who, Patrick Troughton. Young Michael has little of the eccentricity and brooding intensity of his late father, but he is certainly a very accomplished character actor. He has dovetailed neatly into a collection of roles, usually cast in a naturally affable middle-class mould. He was Piers Fletcher-Dervish, the idiotic sidekick to Rik Mayall's monstrous Alan B'Stard in 'The New Statesman', a part which didn't really give him a lot of room to be anything other than the utterly dim foil to Mayall's showboating. Before that he had a more sympathetic sidekick role in 'Minder' as DC Mellish, forever at the elbow of Arthur Daley's would-be nemesis, DS Rycott.        


Popular, comfortable comedies have used his talents on a number of occasions, for example, 'Goodnight Sweetheart', '2 point 4 Children', 'The Detectives' with Jasper Carrott and Robert Powell, and 'My Family'. He's also done a bit of TV drama, ranging from 'Testament of Youth' and 'Strangers and Brothers' to 'Blakes 7', 'Boon' and 'Cat's Eyes'. Seemed to be in demand for kids' shows too, particularly in the '80s, so those of a certain age might remember him from the likes of 'Graham's Gang' and 'Woof!'.   

'Dorothy L Sayers Mysteries: Have His Carcase'

DC Taff Jones (Michael Povey) and DC Mellish in 'Minder'

Update: Nice to see him pop up in the 2014 Christmas episode of Dr Who. A nice nod to his old man's Whovian legacy.


Michael Troughton - imdb