Raise
a glass also to actor John Thaw who for many years played Chief Inspector
Endeavour Morse in the television series “Inspector Morse”. John lost his
battle with cancer at the age of 60 on February 21st.
Born
in Manchester on 3rd January 1942 John, along with his younger
brother Raymond, was brought up by his lorry driver father after his mother fled
the family home when John was just four years old. It was while still at Ducie
Technical High School that he was encouraged by his drama teacher to become an
actor and he was accepted into London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts at the
age of 16. While still a student, he made his first film appearance in “The
Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner” in 1962.
Fresh
out of RADA in 1964 at the age of 23 he landed his first major role as Sergeant
John Mann in the television series “Redcap”, a show about the special
investigation branch of the Royal Military Police, starring opposite Diana Rigg.
Finding himself in great demand, he appeared in many major TV series’ and
plays as well as a number of films including “The Bofors Gun” in 1968,
“Praise Marx And Pass The Ammunition” in 1970 and “Dr Phibes Rises
Again” in 1972.
The
early seventies saw John working on the West End stage in the comedy production
“What About Love?” opposite the great theatrical legend Sheila Hancock who
soon became his wife. In 1974 he was cast as Detective Inspector Regan in the
hugely popular TV series “The Sweeney”. A full-length feature film was made
in 1977, which won him the Evening Standard Best Film Actor of the Year award.
An equally successful follow up was made the following year.
As
the seventies gave way to the eighties, John found himself working alongside
Diana Rigg again in a production of Tom Stoppard’s “Night And Day” and in
seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company at Stratford upon Avon in “Henry
VII” and “Twelfth Night”.
John’s other very popular TV series was
“Kavanagh QC” which started in 1994 and ran throughout the remainder of the
decade. He had a charmed career indeed with many awards for his diverse
performances. During his professional life of forty years on both film and
television screen and in the theatre his many triumphs could not be listed
within the confinement of these pages. The aforementioned are just the tip of
the iceberg.