Roy Kinnear

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Roy Kinnear
Born Roy Mitchell Kinnear
8 January 1934(1934-01-08)
Wigan, Lancashire, England, UK
Died 20 September 1988 (aged 54)
Madrid, Spain
Years active 1960 – 1988
Spouse(s) Carmel Cryan

Roy Mitchell Kinnear (8 January 1934 – 20 September 1988) was an English character actor.

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[edit] Early life

Kinnear was born in Wigan, Lancashire, England, the son of Annie Smith (née Durie) and Roy Muir Kinnear.[1] His father was a dual international both for rugby union and league - Great Britain national rugby league team international, making one Lions appearance and three for Other Nationalities, and scoring 81 tries in 184 games for Wigan; he collapsed and died while playing rugby union with the RAF during the war. Scotland Rugby League have named their Student Player of the Year Award after him.

Kinnear was educated at George Heriot's School, in Edinburgh. At the age of 17, he enrolled in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art; however, National Service conscription brought an interruption to his studies.

[edit] Career

From the 1950s, he began a career in repertory theatre, when he appeared in a show at Newquay; and in 1959 he joined Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, performing in both the 1960 play and 1963 film of Sparrows Can't Sing. He continued to work on stage and radio before achieving fame as part of the television show That Was The Week That Was. He later appeared in many films and UK TV shows including comedies Doctor at Large, Man About The House, George and Mildred, "The Dick Emery Show" (as the long suffering dad to Emery's gormless bovver boy character, Gaylord) and starred in Cowboys, a sitcom about builders. Undoubtedly, his best-known films are those he made with director and close friend Richard Lester: Help!, A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum, How I Won the War, The Bed-Sitting Room, and the Musketeer series of the 1970s and 1980s. He also appeared, along with Christopher Lee in the Hammer Horror film "Taste The Blood of Dracula" (1970). He played the father of spoiled rich girl Veruca Salt in the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, an adaptation of Roald Dahl's famous children's novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He also guest starred in The Goodies' episode "Rome Antics", in which he appeared as the Roman Emperor. He also narrated and provided voices for the stop-motion kids television show Bertha. He also appeared in two music videos for Mike + The Mechanics's ("All I Need is a Miracle" and "Taken In") as the band's manager, the former of which saw him reunited with his Help! co-star Victor Spinetti.

He also narrated Towser and Bertha and voiced Pipkin in the 1978 film Watership Down and voiced Texas Pete's henchman Bulk in SuperTed (also with Victor Spinetti who also voiced the evil Texas Pete).

Kinnear's name also cropped up regularly on the stage; in his later life he appeared in productions such as The Travails of Sancho Panza - playing the title role, and in The Cherry Orchard, in 1985.

His final television role was the ITV sitcom Hardwicke House, which was cancelled after just two episodes.

[edit] Personal life and death

Kinnear was married to actress Carmel Cryan. They had three children, including TV and theatre actor Rory and casting director Kirsty. Their eldest daughter, Karina, was born with cerebral palsy. It was Karina Kinnear who was the inspiration of the foundation in her father's name, to help young adults with multiple disabilities.

In 1988 he completed the role of The Common Man in A Man for All Seasons a made-for-television film directed by and starring Charlton Heston as Thomas More, with John Gielgud as Cardinal Wolsey and Vanessa Redgrave as Lady More. Mr. Heston dedicated the film to Roy Kinnear as a memorial to a great actor and personal friend.

On 19 September 1988, Kinnear fell from a horse during the filming of The Return of the Musketeers in Toledo, Spain, sustaining a broken pelvis. He was taken to hospital in Madrid, and died from a heart attack the following day. He was 54 years old.[2] The film's director, Richard Lester, quit his own film career as a direct result of Kinnear's death.[3] In 1994 the Roy Kinnear Trust was founded, which helps improve the life of young adults with physical and mental disabilities.

After his death, Kinnear's family demanded an official investigation into the medical care he had received in Spain. Just before the accident, he had recorded scenes as a patient in the BBC1 hospital drama Casualty. This episode had been postponed as a mark of respect. It was due to air in autumn 1988, and was finally aired in August 1989.[4]

Kinnear is buried in East Sheen Cemetery.

[edit] Filmography

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[edit] Theatre (selection)

[edit] References

  1. ^ Roy Kinnear Biography (1934-1988)
  2. ^ Roy Kinnear Is Dead At 54 After Falling From Horse in Film Susan Heller Anderson, September 23, 1988 The New York Times, accessed 28 April 2008
  3. ^ "Rory Kinnear: becoming an actor was a way of getting to know my father better". Telegraph (Telegraph Media Group). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/01/27/sv_rorykinnear.xml. Retrieved on 2008-05-21. 
  4. ^ http://www.holby.tv/db/index.php?id=10,1291,0,0,1,0

[edit] External links


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