Roy Kinnear


Roy Mitchell Kinnear was a British character actor and comedian. He was known for playing Algernon in The Beatles' Help!, Clapper in How I Won the War, Mr. Salt in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, and Planchet in The Three Musketeers and its two sequels. On television, Kinnear starred in The Dick Emery Show, Man About the House, George and Mildred, and Cowboys.
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Early life

Kinnear was born on 8 January 1934 in Wigan, Lancashire, the son of Annie 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. Aged 17, he enrolled in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

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 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. 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, an adaptation of Roald Dahl's children's novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
He guest-starred in The Goodies' episode "Rome Antics" as the Roman Emperor, and in the BBC's Ripping Yarns episode "Escape From Stalag Luft 112B" 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 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. Kinnear appeared regularly on the stage. In later life he appeared in productions such as The Travails of Sancho Panza, and in The Cherry Orchard, in 1985.
His final completed roles were in A Man for All Seasons 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 October 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 and death

Kinnear was married to actress Carmel Cryan, and they had three children: Karina, casting director Kirsty, and actor Rory. Karina, who suffered from quadriplegia and profound learning disabilities, died in May 2020 from COVID-19 and was buried near her father.
On 19 September 1988, Kinnear fell from a horse while filming The Return of the Musketeers in Toledo, Spain, sustaining a broken pelvis and internal bleeding. He died the following day, at age 54, in Ruber International Hospital in Madrid, from a heart attack brought on by his injuries. Kinnear was buried in East Sheen Cemetery, London. Following his death, Kinnear's family sued the film's production company and director, Richard Lester, receiving a £650,000 settlement in 1991.

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

Filmography

The World Owes Me a Living Oh... Rosalinda!! The Millionairess as Man Carrying Crate Tiara Tahiti as Capt. EnderbyThe Boys as Bus conductor Sparrows Can't Sing as FredThe Small World of Sammy Lee as Lucky DaveHeavens Above! as Fred SmithThe Informers as ShortyFrench Dressing as Henry LiggottA Place to Go as BuntingA World of His Own as Stanley BlakeThe Avengers 1963 S03E25: Esprit De Corps, as Private Jessop; 1964 S04E09: The Hour That Never Was, as Benedict Napoleon Hickey ; also 1969, S06E33: Bizarre, as Bagpipes Happychap The Hill as Monty BartlettHelp! as AlgernonA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum as Gladiator InstructorThe Deadly Affair as Adam ScarrHow I Won the War as ClapperThe Mini-Affair as Fire Extinguisher SalesmanLock Up Your Daughters as Sir Tunbelly ClumseyThe Bed Sitting Room as Plastic mac manTaste the Blood of Dracula as WellerOn A Clear Day You Can See Forever as Prince RegentScrooge as 2nd Gentleman of CharityEgghead's Robot as Park KeeperThe Firechasers as RoscoeMelody as Mr. PerkinsWilly Wonka & the Chocolate Factory as Henry SaltMadame Sin as HolidaymakerThe Pied Piper as Burgermaster PoppendickThe Alf Garnett Saga as WallyRaising the Roof as Dad BurkeAlice's Adventures in Wonderland as Cheshire CatThat's Your Funeral as Purvis

Theatre (partial)