Roy Kinnear

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 Art
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1955–1988
Spouse	Carmel Cryan ​ (m. 1970)​
Children	3, including Rory Kinnear

Roy Mitchell Kinnear (8 January 1934 – 20 September 1988) was a British character actor. He was 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 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 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.

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.

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 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.

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 quadriplegic and had learning difficulties; she died from COVID-19 in May 2020.

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 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. 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. They later went on to demand an official investigation into the level of medical care Kinnear had received in Spain. The Kinnears reached a settlement with the hospital in 1994, with the production's responsibility being reduced and the Spanish hospital paying for most of the £650,000 settlement agreed on.

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

• 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 (1965, Episode: The Hour That Never Was) as Benedict Napoleon Hickey (vagrant)
• 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
• Albert Carter, Q.O.S.O. (1968) as Albert Carter
• 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

External links

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