Another sad loss - that marvellously fruity veteran actor Murray Melvin.
From the Familiar Unknown blog:
A truly individual actor, Murray Melvin's acid-camp performances are always mesmerising in their precision, microtonally nuanced in emotion. His path took him from West End office clerk to sweeping the stage at the East London's Theatre Royal Stratford East, where Joan Littlewood nurtured a company of remarkable natural actors plucked from all walks of society. She chose him to play the implicitly gay Geoffrey in the ground-breaking play A Taste Of Honey, a role he reprised in the film version in 1961, winning himself a Best Actor award at Cannes.
Having carved his singular niche as a striking-looking and slightly-menacing-in-an-effete-way character actor, he went on to appear in myriad classic films including Sparrows Can't Sing, Alfie, The Boy Friend, The Devils, Lisztomania and Barry Lyndon, and on telly in The Avengers, The Onedin Line, Jonathan Creek and Torchwood.
We always reckoned he was the reincarnation of Pharaoh Akhenaten:
By way of a tribute, here's a full 40-minute reminiscence, with the great man in conversation with eminent reviewer Michael Bilington:
RIP, Murray Melvin (10th August 1932 – 14th April 2023)
J'ai adore Murray Melvin, tellement triste d'apprendre son deces.
ReplyDeleteL'a vu dans le film 'Smashing Time' avec Rita Tushingham et Lynn Redgrave et bien sur 'A Taste of Honey'. C'est la vie, tres magnifique. *d'Anjou
I've never seen Smashing Time, but I really feel I should.
DeleteA sad loss, Jx
Omg Akhenaten is dead.
ReplyDeleteMr. Melvin was the very essence of what homosexuality was before our more liberated times. He could say more with a look that some actors could with words.
A sad loss indeed.
Ps three cheers for Joan Littlewood.
It would have been a tragic wast of talent if he spent his life as an office clerk. Or even worse sweeping the stage rather than being on it.
Oh, he was a superb actor - and yes, hurrah for Joan Littlewood! Without her, we'd have had no Richard Harris, Brian Murphy, Victor Spinetti nor Barbara Windsor (all, like Mr Melvin, her proteges). Jx
DeleteAs the clips loaded I recognised Rita Tushingham, but was struggling for the man's name. Yes, of course! A towering lead and support.
ReplyDeleteIt is funny - there are so many actors we instantly recognise, yet their names elude us. Jx
Delete...and that is the same boat I'm in. I've seen this guy in so many roles and enjoyed his work...I'm glad he had a good long run. And yes, definitely Akhenaten!
DeleteI wonder if anyone ever brought it to his attention. He would have loved the comparison, I'm sure. Jx
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