Neil McCarthy (actor)

2022-10-10T00:20:34Z

2A00:23C7:1604:7F01:A17E:4271:C9C7:1B49:

{{short description|English actor}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2016}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Neil McCarthy
| image = Actor Neil McCarthy.jpg
| caption = McCarthy in ''[[Steptoe and Son Ride Again]]'' (1973)
| birth_name = Eugene Neil McCarthy
| birth_date = {{birth date|1932|7|26|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Lincoln, England|Lincoln]], [[Lincolnshire]], England
| death_date = {{death date and age|1985|2|5|1932|7|26|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Fordingbridge]], [[Hampshire]], England
| occupation = Actor
| years active = 1959–1982
}}
'''Eugene Neil McCarthy''' (26th July 1932 – 5th February 1985)<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090113201929/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/49042 "McCARTHY, Neil"] BFI Film & TV Database. Retrieved 2 July 2012.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=ZGiXAXBvRsCKAU5sEdmd4g&scan=1|title=Neil McCarthy birth GRO index entry|access-date=18 August 2019|work=FreeBMD|publisher=ONS}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://images.findagrave.com/photos/2017/156/143748409_1496764587.jpg|title=Neil McCarthy gravestone|access-date=18 August 2019|work=FindAGrave}}</ref> was an English actor known for his dramatic physical appearance caused by [[acromegaly]].<ref>{{cite web | url= http://theavengers.tv/forever/pnote-mccarthy.htm | title= Neil McCarthy | work=The Avengers Forever | first=Pete | last=Stampede | access-date=29 January 2014}}</ref> He was also a talented [[linguist]] and [[pianist]].<ref name="theavengers.tv">{{Cite web|url=http://theavengers.tv/forever/pnote-mccarthy.htm|title=The Avengers Forever: Neil McCarthy}}</ref>

== Early life ==
Born in [[Lincoln, England|Lincoln]], [[Lincolnshire]], the son of [[Sleaford]] dentist Eugene Charles McCarthy (1899–1954) and Beatrice Annie (''née'' Corney, 1901–1978),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=TNA/R39/6382/6382H/021/04|title=1939 register, Eugene C. McCarthy and family|access-date=20 July 2021|work=FindMyPast|publisher=Crown Copyright, The National Archives, London, England.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=HcjEiVdQFkuMfweOAc8dtg&scan=1|title=McCarthy-Corney marriage GRO index entry|access-date=18 August 2019|work=FreeBMD|publisher=ONS}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=9Vl1VUHQTioZy4MSsrvfvA&scan=1|title=E McCarthy birth GRO index entry|access-date=18 August 2019|work=FreeBMD|publisher=ONS}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=Mxdy%2BDiv8%2F9%2FxMKWfrTOZQ&scan=1|title=E McCarthy GRO death index entry|access-date=18 August 2019|work=FreeBMD|publisher=ONS}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=w5MbbBiHZHrcXPVSIkkBJg&scan=1|title=B Corney birth GRO index entry|access-date=18 August 2019|work=FreeBMD|publisher=ONS}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=2R33pN%2FxbO1y7wOe%2FDENIA&scan=1|title=B McCarthy GRO death index entry|access-date=18 August 2019|work=FreeBMD|publisher=ONS}}</ref> McCarthy was educated at [[Stamford School]] (where his contemporaries included cricketer [[M. J. K. Smith]] and author [[Colin Dexter]]) before reading modern languages at [[Trinity College Dublin]], and trained as a Latin and French teacher (he could also speak fluent Greek).<ref name=WhosWho>''Who's Who on Television'', Independent Television Publications Ltd 1970</ref>

== Career ==
After his teacher training, McCarthy appeared in repertory theatre in [[Oxford]], at the [[Edinburgh Festival Fringe]] and in the [[West End theatre|West End]].<ref name=WhosWho />

McCarthy's film credits include memorable roles as Welsh soldier Private Thomas in ''[[Zulu (1964 film)|Zulu]]'' (1964), as Sergeant Jock McPherson in ''[[Where Eagles Dare]]'' (1967), as Gates in ''[[The Ruffians]]'' (1973), as the villain Calibos in ''[[Clash of the Titans (1981 film)|Clash of the Titans]]'' (1981) and as a robber in ''[[Time Bandits]]'' (1981).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmovie.com/artist/neil-mccarthy-p46968|title=Neil McCarthy – Movies and Filmography – AllMovie|work=AllMovie}}</ref> His television credits include: ''[[Barnaby Rudge (TV series)|Barnaby Rudge]]'', ''[[Man of the World (TV series)|Man of the World]]'', ''[[Danger Man]]'', ''[[The Avengers (TV series)|The Avengers]]'', ''[[The Saint (TV series)|The Saint]]'', ''[[Z-Cars]]'', ''[[Dixon of Dock Green]]'', ''[[Great Expectations (1967 TV series)|Great Expectations]]'', ''[[Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)]]'', ''[[Catweazle]]'', ''[[My Wife Next Door]]'' (A Sense of Movement), ''[[Softly, Softly: Taskforce]]'', ''[[Department S (TV series)|Department S]]'', ''[[Who Pays the Ferryman?]]'', ''[[Return of the Saint]]'', ''[[Doctor Who]]'' (in the serials ''[[The Mind of Evil]]'' and ''[[The Power of Kroll]]''), ''[[Enemy at the Door]]'', ''[[Shōgun (1980 miniseries)|Shogun]]'', ''[[The Professionals (TV series)|The Professionals]]'', ''[[Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em]]'', ''[[Only When I Laugh (TV series)|Only When I Laugh]]'', ''[[The Gentle Touch]]'' and ''[[Emmerdale]] Farm'', and the television adaptation of the [[Lord Peter Wimsey]] novel, ''[[The Nine Tailors]]''.

He died of [[motor neurone disease]]<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a5-fBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA246 |title=Send in the Clowns – The Yo Yo Life of Ian Hendry|isbn=978-1-291-27097-6|last1=Hershman|first1=Gabriel|date=April 2013}}</ref> in [[Fordingbridge]], [[Hampshire]] in 1985, aged 52.<ref name="theavengers.tv" />

== Selected filmography ==
* ''[[Breakout (1959 film)|Breakout]]'' (1959) – Chandler's henchman (uncredited)
* ''[[Sands of the Desert]]'' (1960) – Hassan
* ''[[Barnaby Rudge (TV series)|Barnaby Rudge]]'' (1960) – Hugh (TV mini-series)
* ''[[The Criminal (1960 film)|The Criminal]]'' (1960) – O'Hara
* ''[[Offbeat (film)|Offbeat]]'' (1961) – Leo Farrell
* ''[[Solo for Sparrow]]'' (1962) – Dusty
* ''[[The Pot Carriers]]'' (1962) – Bracket
* ''[[We Joined the Navy]]'' (1962) – Sergeant
* ''[[Two Left Feet (film)|Two Left Feet]]'' (1963) – Ted (uncredited)
* ''[[The Cracksman]]'' (1963) – Van Gogh
* ''[[Zulu (1964 film)|Zulu]]'' (1964) – Private Thomas
* ''[[The Hill (film)|The Hill]]'' (1965) – Burton
* ''[[Cuckoo Patrol]]'' (1967) – Superman No.2
* ''[[Great Expectations (1967 TV series)|Great Expectations]]'' (1967) – Joe Gargery (TV mini-series)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0196253/|title=Great Expectations|access-date=8 June 2019|via=www.imdb.com}}</ref>
* ''[[Seven Times Seven]]'' (1968) – Mr. Docherty
* ''[[Where Eagles Dare]]'' (1968) – Sgt. Jock MacPherson
* ''[[Follow Me! (film)|Follow Me!]]'' (1972) – Parkinson
* ''The Zoo Robbery'' (1973) – Skipper
* ''[[Steptoe and Son Ride Again]]'' (1973) – Lennie
* ''[[Operation Daybreak]]'' (1975) – Man at Quarry (uncredited)
* ''[[Side by Side (1975 film)|Side by Side]]'' (1975) – Alf (uncredited)
* ''Fern, the Red Deer'' (1976) – Poacher
* ''[[Trial by Combat (film)|Trial by Combat]]'' (1976) – Ben Willoughby
* ''[[The Incredible Sarah]]'' (1976) – Sergeant
* ''[[BBC Television Shakespeare#Measure for Measure|Measure for Measure]]'' (1979) – Abhorson
* ''[[Shōgun (1980 miniseries)|Shōgun]]'' (1980, TV series) – Spillbergen
* ''[[George and Mildred (film)|George and Mildred]]'' (1980) – Eddie
* ''[[The Monster Club]]'' (1980) – Watson – B-Squad Member
* ''[[The Professionals (TV series)|The Professionals]]'' (1980, TV series) – Sam Armitage
* ''[[Clash of the Titans (1981 film)|Clash of the Titans]]'' (1981) – Calibos
* ''[[Time Bandits]]'' (1981) – 2nd Robber
* ''[[Nancy Astor (TV series)|Nancy Astor]]'' (1982, TV series) – Reverend Neve

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
*{{IMDb name|id=0565272|name=Neil McCarthy}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCarthy, Neil}}
[[Category:1932 births]]
[[Category:1985 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century English male actors]]
[[Category:Neurological disease deaths in England]]
[[Category:Deaths from motor neuron disease]]
[[Category:English male film actors]]
[[Category:English male stage actors]]
[[Category:English male television actors]]
[[Category:People from Lincoln, England]]
[[Category:Male actors from Lincolnshire]]
[[Category:People with acromegaly]]
[[Category:People educated at Stamford School]]
[[Category:Alumni of Trinity College Dublin]]

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Neil McCarthy (actor)