Roy Kinnear

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Roy Kinnear
Publicity photo of Kinnear possibly taken in the 1980s
Born	Roy Mitchell Kinnear (1934-01-08)8 January 1934 Wigan, Lancashire, England
Died	20 September 1988(1988-09-20) (aged 54) Madrid, Spain
Resting place	East Sheen Cemetery, London, England
Education	Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1955–1988
Spouse(s)	Carmel Cryan ​ (m. 1970)​
Children	3, including Rory Kinnear

Roy Mitchell Kinnear (8 January 1934 – 20 September 1988) was a British character actor. He is known for his roles in films directed by Richard Lester; including Algernon in The Beatles' Help! (1965), Clapper in How I Won the War (1967) and Planchet in The Three Musketeers (1973). He reprised the role of Planchet in the 1974 and 1989 sequels, and died following an accident during filming of the latter. He is also known for playing Private Monty Bartlett in The Hill (1965), Henry Salt in the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, and cruise director Curtain in Juggernaut (1974).

Kinnear made his stage debut in 1955, and came to prominence in the BBC satirical comedy series That Was the Week That Was in 1962. He went on to appear in numerous British television comedy programmes, including The Dick Emery Show (1979–1981), and in the sitcoms Man About the House (1974–1975), George and Mildred (1976–1979) and Cowboys (1980–1981).

Early life[]

Kinnear was born in Wigan, Lancashire, the son of Annie (née Durie, previously Smith) and Roy Kinnear.^[1] He had a sister, Marjory. His parents were Scottish, originally from Edinburgh. His father was an international in both rugby union and rugby league, having played for Scotland and Great Britain. He scored 81 tries in 184 games for Wigan; he collapsed and died while playing rugby union with the RAF in 1942, at the age of 38. 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, but national service interrupted his studies.

Career[]

In the 1950s, Kinnear began a career in repertory theatre when he appeared in a show at Newquay. 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. Prior to joining Littlewood's company, he was a member of the cast of Perth Repertory Theatre. The cast also included Valerie Lush, Jane Cain (the original voice of the Speaking Clock) and Russell Hunter. He continued to work on stage and radio before gaining national attention as a participant in the television show That Was The Week That Was.

Kinnear was Stanley Baker's original choice to play VC recipient Frederick Hitch in the film Zulu. Baker did not know Kinnear's name, and told the casting director to get "the actor from That Was the Week That Was whose surname begins with K." David Kernan, also a cast member of that programme, was summoned and Baker chose to hire him rather than search for Kinnear.

Kinnear later appeared in many films and television shows, including Help!, Till Death Us Do Part, Doctor at Large, Man About the House, George and Mildred, The Dick Emery Show (as Gaylord's long-suffering father) and four episodes of The Avengers. He starred in Cowboys, a sitcom about builders. 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, Juggernaut and the Musketeer series of the 1970s and 1980s.^[2]

He appeared with Christopher Lee in the Hammer horror film Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970).^[3] Also in 1970 he played Mr. Perkins, Melody's father in Waris Hussein's Melody, a puppy love story.^[4] He played the father of spoiled rich girl Veruca Salt in the film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), an adaptation of Roald Dahl's children's novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.^[5]

He guest-starred in The Goodies' episode "Rome Antics" (1975) as the Roman Emperor, and in the BBC's Ripping Yarns episode "Escape From Stalag Luft 112B" (1977) as the fearsome German Sergeant Vogel.^[6][7]

He narrated and provided voices for the stop-motion children's television show Bertha.^[8] He appeared in two music videos for Mike + The Mechanics ("All I Need Is a Miracle" and "Taken In") as the band's manager; in the former, he was reunited with his Help! co-star Victor Spinetti.

He narrated Towser and Bertha, voiced Pipkin in the 1978 film Watership Down and voiced Texas Pete's henchman Bulk in SuperTed (also with Victor Spinetti, who voiced the evil Texas Pete). Kinnear appeared regularly on the stage. In later life he appeared in productions such as The Travails of Sancho Panza (playing the title role), and in The Cherry Orchard, in 1985.

In 1987, Kinnear starred in the ITV sitcom Hardwicke House, but the show caused such a storm of protest it was cancelled after just two episodes.

His final completed roles were in A Man for All Seasons (1988) a made-for-television film directed by and starring Charlton Heston, John Gielgud and Vanessa Redgrave, as a patient in the BBC1 hospital drama Casualty, and a voice role as Mump in The Princess and the Goblin, which was released in 1991, three years after his sudden death in September 1988. Following his death, the Casualty episode was postponed. It finally aired in August 1989.^[9]

Personal life[]

Kinnear was married to actress Carmel Cryan. They had three children, including theatre actor Rory and casting director Kirsty. Their elder daughter, Karina, was quadriplegic and had learning difficulties;^[10] she died from Coronavirus in May 2020.^[11]

Death[]

Roy Kinnear's grave in East Sheen Cemetery, London

On 19 September 1988, Kinnear fell from a horse during the making of The Return of the Musketeers in Toledo, Spain, and sustained a broken pelvis and internal bleeding. He was taken to hospital in Madrid, but died the next day from a heart attack, brought on by his injuries. He was 54 years old.^[12]

He was buried in East Sheen Cemetery. After his death, Kinnear's family sued the production company and the film's director, charging, from eyewitness testimonies, that the producer was cutting corners to save money and time, and that the rushed speed of filming contributed to the accident. In 1991, they received a £650,000 settlement. They later went on to demand an official investigation into the level of medical care Kinnear had received in Spain.

Richard Lester, the director of Kinnear's final film and his close friend, finished work on the production then returned only to direct Paul McCartney's concert film Get Back (1991)^[13] and present Hollywood U.K. in 1993, a five-part series on British cinema in the 1960s for the BBC^[14] before retiring from the film industry.

Legacy[]

In May 1994, the Roy Kinnear Trust, which was inspired by his daughter, Karina, was founded to help improve the life of young adults with physical and mental disabilities.

Shows[]

• The Roy Kinnear Show
• The Clairvoyant

Filmography[]

Theatre (partial)[]

• Make Me an Offer
• Sparrers Can't Sing
• The Clandestine Marriage
• The Travails of Sancho Panza
• The Cherry Orchard
• The Duchess of Malfi
• Cinderella

References[]

External links[]

• Roy Kinnear at IMDb
• Roy Kinnear at the BFI's Screenonline
• Roy Kinnear at the TCM Movie Database
• Roy Kinnear House