Bob Grant

Kim Benwell (m. 1971–2003; his death)

**Robert St Clair Grant** (21 April 1932 – 8 November 2003) known as **Bob Grant** was an English actor, comedian and writer, best known for playing bus conductor Jack Harper in the television sitcom *On the Buses*, as well as its film spin-offs and stage version.

## Early life

He was born in Hammersmith, West London, the son of Albert Grant (1909-1985) and Florence Grant (*née* Burston) (1910-?).

## Early career

Grant trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, working in his spare time as a frozen food salesman and also (coincidentally, in view of his later career) as a bus driver. After doing national service in the Royal Artillery, he made his stage debut in 1952 as Sydney in *Worm's Eye View* at the Court Royal, Horsham. In 1954 he married Jean Hyett; the marriage would end in divorce.

Grant's first London appearance was in *The Good Soldier Schweik* at the Duke of York's Theatre in 1956, and he spent several years at the Theatre Royal Stratford East before getting the lead role in the musical *Blitz!* at the Adelphi Theatre in the West End for two years. In 1962 he married for the second time, to Christine Sally Kemp; they later divorced. In 1964 he appeared at the Piccadilly Theatre in *Instant Marriage*, a musical farce, for which he wrote the book and lyrics, with music by Laurie Holloway.

He had by now started to make film appearances, including *Sparrows Can’t Sing* (1963), the screen version of a play written by his future *On the Buses* co-star Stephen Lewis in which he had previously acted on stage, and the film version of *Till Death Us Do Part* (1969) in which he appeared with another *On the Buses* co-star, Michael Robbins.

He returned to the Theatre Royal, Stratford, in 1967, and starred in the satirical play *Mrs Wilson’s Diary* as George Brown, the Foreign Secretary in Harold Wilson’s Labour government; this play later transferred to the West End. When the real-life Brown resigned in 1968, Grant was so concerned that his unflattering portrayal of him as a drunk may have contributed to his resignation that he offered to stand down from the part, but reluctantly continued.

## *On the Buses*

Grant played the bus conductor Jack Harper in the television sitcom *On the Buses*, which ran for 74 episodes between 1969 and 1973; he co-wrote 12 episodes with co-star Stephen Lewis (who played Blakey, the Inspector). It was an instant success with the viewers, and led to three feature films *On the Buses* (1971), *Mutiny on the Buses* (1972) and *Holiday on the Buses* (1973). He was in a relationship with guest star Gaye Brown, until he broke up with her to date (and eventually marry) Kim Benwell. The series was the peak of his career; when Grant married for the third time in 1971, there were huge crowds outside the register office, and the couple had to abandon their hired Rolls-Royce and walk to the reception. A double-decker bus had been provided for the guests, but they had to walk as well.

## Later years and death

When *On the Buses* finished, Grant found himself heavily typecast as Jack Harper and struggled to get other parts. He toured Australia in the farce *No Sex Please, We're British*, and continued to appear in musicals and pantomimes. In 1975, he wrote and starred in a one-off pilot *Milk-O* alongside his *On the Buses* co-star Anna Karen, an attempt to reinvigorate his career by means of a similar character, a milkman who spent his time fighting off amorous housewives he was delivering to. However, this did not lead to a series, and Grant never acted for television again. In 1981 he appeared in a touring production of the once-controversial revue *Oh! Calcutta!*, accompanied by a chorus line of naked men and women less than half his age.

In 1980, Grant played the title role in John Arden's BBC radio adaptation of Don Quixote, with Bernard Cribbins as Sancho Panza.

In the 1980s, he suffered from deep depression, bipolar disorder and other mental health problems, because of a lack of work and his vast debts. This eventually led to a suicide attempt: in 1987 he disappeared from his home in Leicestershire for five days; it later emerged that he had taken the ferry to Dublin intending to kill himself. "I was in a horrible state", Grant said during an interview after the event, "I just had to get out of the house. I left the house and thumbed a lift to Melton Mowbray, and then got a train to Birmingham New Street where I sat sobbing in a station buffet. Everyone ignored me. Normally I get asked in the street something like 'When you back on telly then?', but not this time".

Grant started to write his first note to Kim, intending to have sent it to her after he had killed himself. "Tears streamed down my face as I wrote", he recalled. After hours of pounding the streets of Birmingham, Grant instead caught the ferry to Dublin, "It was a horrible night on that boat", he continued. "I'd been to Dublin before and it seemed such a nice place. I wanted to end it all, either by jumping in the River Liffey or ironically under a bus" Grant stayed at a guesthouse in Dublin to think things over. He called Kim, but there was no answer; she was at the time filming an appeal to find him. Grant eventually returned to England, because of the appeal, where his absence had caused a small stir, leading him to gain a few more acting jobs.

In 1990, it was announced that *On the Buses* would be revived as a new show called *'Back on the Buses'*, and the entire cast including Grant himself, Reg Varney, Stephen Lewis, Doris Hare, Michael Robbins and Anna Karen would appear on *Wogan*, *Back on the Buses* eventually fell through when funding from STV fell through. The project was to have been backed by STV's executive producer Bryan Izzard who had producer series seven episodes of On the Buses and the final spin-off film Holiday on the Buses.

Another long gap in employment led to another second suicide attempt in 1995, this time by carbon monoxide poisoning in his car. Grant was discovered just in time, slumped over the steering wheel of his car, which was filled with exhaust fumes, and admitted to hospital for treatment. He and Kim took a holiday in Goa in India to recover and on their return, it seemed things were finally going right again. They moved to a small cottage in Church End Twyning, about a mile south of Twyning, near Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire with the ambition of making a fresh start. Grant lived very reclusively and neighbours would only see him when he was trimming his hedge. His last acting role was in the West End in *Hobson's Choice* early in 1996.

His 'new life' did not last as once more substantial bills continued to arrive and work did not. In despair, Grant made a third and final suicide attempt in 2003. This time he succeeded, dying in his fume-filled car in his garage with a hose attached to the exhaust pipe, and was found dead soon after.