Roy Kinnear

Roy Kinnear
Roy Mitchell Kinnear (8 January 1934 – 20 September 1988) was an English character actor and comedian. He was known for his acting roles in movies such as Henry Salt in the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, 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 also played Private Monty Bartlett in The Hill (1965), and cruise director Curtain in Juggernaut (1974). On television, Kinnear was in The Dick Emery Show (1979–1981), Man About the House (1974–1975), George and Mildred (1976–1979), and Cowboys (1980–1981).
Early life
Kinnear was born on 8 January 1934 in Wigan, Lancashire, the son of Annie (née Durie, previously Smith) and Roy Kinnear. 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 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 (RADA).
Career
Kinnear's acting career began in 1955, playing Albert in The Young in Heart, at the repertory theatre, 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.
Kinnear's television debut was on the STV children's series Mr. Fixit in 1959, before gaining national attention as a participant in the television show That Was the Week That Was.
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.
He appeared with Christopher Lee in the Hammer horror film Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970). Also in 1970 he played Mr. Perkins, Melody's father in Waris Hussein's Melody, a puppy love story. 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.
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.
He narrated and provided voices for the stop-motion children's television show Bertha. He appeared in two music videos for Mike and 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.
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 BBC One 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. In Oct 1988 Radio 4 first broadcast The T Machine, an episode of the comedy series The Fall of the Mausoleum Club in which he played the lead character, Mr Tilly.
Personal life
Kinnear was married to actress Carmel Cryan. They had three children, including actor Rory and casting director Kirsty. Their elder daughter, Karina, was a paraplegic and had profound learning difficulties; she died in May 2020.
Death
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 a hospital in Madrid, but died the next day from a heart attack, brought on by his injuries. He was 54 years old.
He was buried in East Sheen Cemetery, London. Following 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.
Legacy
In May 1994, the Roy Kinnear Trust, which was inspired by his daughter, Karina (1972–2020), was founded to help improve the life of young adults with physical and mental disabilities.
Shows
The Roy Kinnear Show
The Clairvoyant
Filmography
The World Owes Me a Living (1944) (uncredited)
Oh... Rosalinda!! (1955)
The Millionairess (1960) as Man Carrying Crate (uncredited)
Tiara Tahiti (1962) as Capt. Enderby
The Boys (1962) as Bus conductor (uncredited)
Sparrows Can't Sing (1963) as Fred
The Small World of Sammy Lee (1963) as Lucky Dave
Heavens Above! (1963) as Fred Smith
The Informers (1963) as Shorty
French Dressing (1964) as Henry Liggott
A Place to Go (1964) as Bunting
A World of His Own (1964–65) as Stanley Blake
The Avengers 1963 S03E25: Esprit De Corps, as Private Jessop; 1964 S04E09: The Hour That Never Was, as Benedict Napoleon Hickey (vagrant); also 1969, S06E33: Bizarre, as Bagpipes Happychap (of Happy Meadows Funeral Parlour)
The Hill (1965) as Monty Bartlett
Help! (1965) as Algernon
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966) as Gladiator Instructor
The Deadly Affair (1967) as Adam Scarr
How I Won the War (1967) as Clapper
The Mini-Affair (1967) as Fire Extinguisher Salesman
Lock Up Your Daughters (1969) as Sir Tunbelly Clumsey
The Bed Sitting Room (1969) as Plastic mac man
Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970) as Weller
On A Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970) as Prince Regent
Scrooge (1970) as 2nd Gentleman of Charity
Egghead's Robot (1970) as Park Keeper
The Firechasers (1971) as Roscoe
Melody (1971) as Mr. Perkins
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) as Henry Salt
Madame Sin (1972) as Holidaymaker
The Pied Piper (1972) as Burgermaster Poppendick
The Alf Garnett Saga (1972) as Wally
Raising the Roof (1972) as Dad Burke
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1972) as Cheshire Cat
That's Your Funeral (1972) as Purvis
The Cobblers of Umbridge (1973) as Dan and Doris Cobbler
The Three Musketeers (1973) as Planchet
Juggernaut (1974) as Social Director Curtain
The Four Musketeers (1974) as Planchet
Barry McKenzie Holds His Own (1974) as Bishop of Paris
Royal Flash (1975) (scenes deleted)
The Amorous Milkman (1975) as Sergeant
Eskimo Nell (1975) as Benny U. Murdoch
Three for All (1975) as Hounslow Joe
One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing (1975) as Superintendent Grubbs
The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (1975) as Moriarty's Assistant
Not Now, Comrade (1976) as Hoskins
Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977) as Quincey
The Last Remake of Beau Geste (1977) as Boldini
Ripping Yarns (1977) as Vogel
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1978) as Selden the Axe Murderer
Watership Down (1978) as Pipkin (voice)
The London Connection (1979) as Bidley
Quincy's Quest (1979) as Top
High Rise Donkey (1980) as Mr. Garnett
Hawk the Slayer (1980) as Innkeeper
Cowboys (1980–81) as Joe Jones
Rhubarb Rhubarb (1980) as Home Owner
If You Go Down in the Woods Today (1981) as Fishfingers
Blake's 7 – "Gold" (1981) as Keiller
The Incredible Mr Tanner (1981, TV series) as Sidney Pratt
Hammett (1982) as English Eddie Hagedorn
Anyone for Denis? (1982) as Boris
The Boys in Blue (1982) as Mr. Lloyd
Return of the Ewok (1982) as the Talent Agent
SuperTed (1983–86) as Bulk
Anna Pavlova (1983) as Gardener
Towser (1984) as Narrator
Squaring the Circle (1984) as Kania
The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood (1984) as Friar Tuck
Bertha (1985) as Narrator / Ted / Roy
Super Gran (1985) as Chistleton football manager
Pirates (1986) as Dutch
Hardwicke House (1987) as R G Wickham / Mr. Wickham
Casanova (1987) as Balbi
Unusual Ground Floor Conversion (1987) as Previous Tenant
Mr. H Is Late (1987) as Piper
The Ray Bradbury Theater – Episode 17: "There Was an Old Woman" – Funeral home director (1988)
Storybook - The Elves and the Shoemaker (1988) (uncredited)
Just Ask for Diamond (1988) as Jack Splendide
A Man for All Seasons (1988) as The Common Man
The Return of the Musketeers (1989) as Planchet
The Princess and the Goblin (1991) as Mump (voice) (final film role)
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
1934 births
1988 deaths
20th-century English male actors
Accidental deaths from falls
Alumni of RADA
Deaths by horse-riding accident in Spain
English male film actors
English male stage actors
English male television actors
English male voice actors
English people of Scottish descent
People educated at George Heriot's School
Actors from Wigan
People from Lancashire (before 1974)
20th-century English people
English male comedians
Comedians from Lancashire