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Brian Murphy (actor)

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For other people with the same name, see Brian Murphy (disambiguation).

Brian Murphy
Born (1932-09-25) 25 September 1932 (age 91)
Ventnor, Isle of Wight, England
OccupationActor
Years active1960–present
Spouse(s)Carol M Gibson (1957–?) (divorced)
Linda Regan (m. 1995)
Children2

Brian Trevor John Murphy (born 25 September 1932) is an English actor and comedian, best known as the henpecked husband George Roper in the popular sitcom Man About the House and its spin-off series George and Mildred, and Stan the shop owner in the children's series Wizadora. He's later best known as Alvin Smedley in Last of the Summer Wine.

Acting career

Murphy was born in Ventnor, Isle of Wight, the son[1] of grocer's assistant Gerald Murphy and his wife Mabel, both of whom later became restaurateurs. His two brothers Ken and Eric were killed during active service in the Second World War.[2] He was called up to do his national service at RAF Northwood, where he met future The Good Life actor Richard Briers. On leaving the RAF the two aspiring actors both performed in productions by the Dramatic Society at the Borough Polytechnic Institute, now London South Bank University. Murphy was a member of Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop (alongside Yootha Joyce), and a jobbing actor in the 1960s and early 1970s, combining his theatre work with appearances in television shows such as The Avengers, Z-Cars, Callan and Dixon of Dock Green, before being cast in the role which would make him a household name.

In Man About the House, Murphy played the lazy George Roper, whose wife, Mildred, was played by Yootha Joyce. Her domineering, social-climbing characteristic was a sharp contrast to George's desire for an easy and quiet life and the pairing was an instant hit. A contributing factor to their immediate chemistry was that they had been friends for many years. Aside from their Theatre Workshop years, Murphy also featured in Sparrows Can't Sing (1963) with Joyce and other Theatre Workshop colleagues.

When Man About The House ended in 1976, a spin-off was created for Murphy and Joyce, entitled George and Mildred. This ran for five series until 1979. In 1978 he released the single 'Jogging' (B Side 'The Great Gnome Robbery') on the Pye Records Label. Murphy reprised his role in feature films of both sitcoms. Joyce died in 1980, and George and Mildred was cancelled. Another sitcom was created for Murphy with him in the title role in The Incredible Mr. Tanner along with Man About The House and George and Mildred co-star Roy Kinnear, but the show failed to gain popularity.

He was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1997.

Murphy continued to appear regularly on television, most notably as "Alvin Smedley" in Last of the Summer Wine from 2003 to 2010, that was promoted by a cast return to Rose Theatre site and also with roles in On Your Way, Riley (1985) as Arthur Lucan,[3] Lame Ducks (as a private investigator); The Bill (as a drunken tramp dressed as an elf at Christmas); comedy series Pond Life, an animation series, as Len Pond, the father of protagonist Dolly Pond (Sarah Ann Kennedy), One Foot in the Grave starring Richard Wilson (playing a character called Mr Foskett);,[4] Brookside; and as a shopkeeper called Stan in the pre-school children's TV series Wizadora. In 2010 he appeared in an episode of Hustle called "The Thieving Mistake". He has more recently made appearances in comedy shows The Catherine Tate Show, This is Jinsy and Benidorm. Murphy can also be seen in all three episodes of the ITV comedy The Booze Cruise, playing Maurice. He also appeared as Frank Dobson in The Cafe from 2011 and 2013.

Family

Murphy's second wife is Hi-de-Hi! actress Linda Regan; they live in Kent. Murphy has two adult children, Trevor and Kevin, from his first marriage.[5] His grandson is the playwright Martin Murphy, whose play Manor was performed at the Tristan Bates Theatre in Covent Garden in 2010.[6]

Theatre

Radio

From October 1987 to July 1991, Murphy played Ernest Bond in BBC Radio 4's drama series Citizens.

Murphy also played Robert Collins in an episode of the audio series of Doctor Who by Big Finish Productions in an episode entitled "The Home Guard" in November 2019.

Selected film and television roles

Year Title Role
1960 Probation Officer Max Fletcher
1961 The Avengers Haslam
1961 The Interrogator Corporal Doggart
1962 Z Cars Wallace Brackett
1963 Sparrows Can't Sing Jack
1965 San Ferry Ann Garage Mechanic
1969 The Activist Member of committee
1971 The Devils Adam
1971 The Boy Friend Peter
1972 The Ragman's Daughter Tony's Father
1973–1976 Man About the House George Roper
1974 Man About the House George Roper
1976 I'm Not Feeling Myself Tonight Caretaker
1979 The Plank Truck Driver
1976–1979 George and Mildred George Roper
1980 George and Mildred George Roper
1981 The Incredible Mr Tanner Ernest Tanner
1981 Black Jack Archibald
1982 It's Your Move Chauffer
1982 L for Lester Lester Small
1985 On Your Way Riley Arthur Lucan / Old Mother Riley
1984–1985 Lame Ducks Ansell
1986 Cinderella: The Shoe Must Go On Amnesia
1987 All in Good Faith Greg Sproat
1992 Boon Buster
1993–1997 Wizadora Stan
1994 One Foot in the Grave Mr. Foskett
1995 Brookside George Manners
1996 Delta Wave Mr. Seffel
1996 Mike and Angelo Mervyn K. Mertz
1996-2001 Pond Life Len Pond
1997 The Famous Five Mr. Wooh
1998 Jonathan Creek Ken Speed
1999 Mrs Merton & Malcolm Mr Capstick
1999 Hilltop Hospital Dr. Atticus
1999 Casualty Walter Burnley
1999 The Bill Danny the Elf
2000 Sunburn Sid Dawson
2000 The Mumbo Jumbo Mr. Tipple
2003 The Booze Cruise Maurice
2003–2010 Last of the Summer Wine Alvin Smedley
2005–2006 The Catherine Tate Show Neville
2005 Room 36 George Roberts
2005 The Booze Cruise II: The Treasure Hunt Maurice
2006 The Booze Cruise III: The Scattering Maurice
2010 The Slammer Alan
2010 Hustle Larry
2010 Benidorm Clive Mitchell
2011 White Van Man Albert
2011 This is Jinsy Melty Harris
2011-2013 The Cafe Jack Dobson
2011 Grave Tales Arthur
2011 The Estate Geoff
2012 Blitz and Bananas Clarence Spratt
2012 Run For Your Wife Allotment Man
2013 Man Down Mr Field-Williams
2013 Plebs Victor
2014– It's An Unknown World George Timemile
2014 Holby City Charlie Evans
2016 Casualty Frank Haines
2018 Claude Mr. Lovelybuns
2019 Holby City Buster Kitchener
2020 Mighty 6 Old Man L.

References

  1. ^ "Brian Murphy – This Is Your Life. 5th January , 1998".
  2. ^ "FreeBMD – Search". freebmd.org.uk. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  3. ^ "On Your Way Riley". 2 January 1985. Retrieved 22 December 2016 – via IMDb.
  4. ^ 'Mr Foskett' Archived 16 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 24 September 2007
  5. ^ 'Allo 'Allo star dies BBC News. 4 August 2002. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
  6. ^ http://feastcreative.com, Feast Creative. "Tristan Bates Theatre". tristanbatestheatre.co.uk. Retrieved 22 December 2016. {{cite web}}: External link in |last= (help)

External links

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