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Leo McKern

May 18, 2023

Reginald "Leo" McKern, AO (16 March 1920 – 23 July 2002) was an Australian actor who appeared in numerous British, Australian and American television programmes and films, and in more than 200 stage roles. His notable roles include Clang in Help! (1965), Thomas Cromwell in A Man for All Seasons (1966), Tom Ryan in Ryan's Daughter (1970), Paddy Button in The Blue Lagoon (1980), Dr. Grogan in The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981), Father Imperius in Ladyhawke (1985), and the role that made him a household name as an actor, Horace Rumpole, whom he played in the British television series Rumpole of the Bailey. He also portrayed Carl Bugenhagen in the first and second instalments of The Omen series and Number Two in the TV series The Prisoner.

Leo McKern

AO
McKern in Ryan's Daughter (1970)
Born
Reginald McKern

(1920-03-16)16 March 1920
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Died23 July 2002(2002-07-23) (aged 82)
Bath, Somerset, England
EducationSydney Technical High School
OccupationActor
Years active1944–1999
Known for
Television
Height5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Spouse
Jane Holland
​
(m. 1946)​
Children2, including Abigail McKern
AwardsAustralian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role (1987)

Early life

Reginald McKern was born in Sydney, New South Wales, the son of Vera (née Martin) and Norman Walton McKern. Known as "Leo" from a young age, he attended Sydney Technical High School.[1] On leaving school, he initially worked in a factory, where at the age of 15, he suffered an accident which resulted in the removal of his left eye.[2] He first worked as an engineering apprentice, then as an artist, followed by service as a sapper with the Australian Army's Royal Australian Engineers during World War II.[3] In 1944, in Sydney, he performed in his first stage role.

Career

Theatre

McKern fell in love with Australian actress Jane Holland, moved to the United Kingdom to be with her, and married her in 1946. He soon became a regular performer at London's Old Vic theatre and the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre (now the Royal Shakespeare Theatre) in Stratford-upon-Avon, despite the difficulties posed by his glass eye and Australian accent.

McKern's most notable Shakespearean role was as Iago in Othello, in 1952. In 1955 he appeared in "The Burnt Flower Bed" by Ugo Betti directed by Peter Hall at the Arts Theatre Club in London. He played Big Daddy in Peter Hall's production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at the Comedy Theatre in 1958 and went on to play the German ambassador in another Peter Hall production, Brouhaha starring Peter Sellers at the Aldwych Theatre. He originated the role of Common Man in Robert Bolt's A Man for All Seasons in the West End in 1960, but for the show's Broadway production appeared as Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex, a role he would reprise for the 1966 film version. He also portrayed Subtle in Ben Jonson's The Alchemist in 1962. In 1965, he played the lead in Bolt's The Thwarting of Baron Bolligrew, and Disson in Harold Pinter's Tea Party.

He appeared at the Royal Exchange, Manchester in Uncle Vanya in 1977 and in Crime and Punishment in 1978.

In 1989, he played James Boswell in the one-man show, Boswell for the Defence in theatres in Melbourne, Hong Kong and London.[4]

Film

McKern's film debut was in Murder in the Cathedral (1952). His more notable film appearances included the science-fiction classics X the Unknown (1956), The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961), the World War I drama King and Country (1964), Help! (1965), the Academy Award-winning adaptation of A Man for All Seasons (1966), The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968), Ryan's Daughter (1970), Massacre in Rome (1973), The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (1975), The Omen (1976), The Blue Lagoon (1980), The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981) and Ladyhawke (1985). He was presented with the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for Travelling North (1987). In Monsignor Quixote (1985), he co-starred as Sancho Zancas opposite Alec Guinness as Father Quixote.

Television

One of McKern's earliest television roles was in the 1950s black-and-white series The Adventures of Robin Hood (as Sir Roger DeLisle, usurper of the Locksley manor and lands, and Herbert of Doncaster, a corrupt moneylender). During the 1960s, he was one of several Number Twos in the TV series The Prisoner. Along with Colin Gordon, McKern was one of only two actors to play Number Two more than once. He first played the character in the episodes "The Chimes of Big Ben" and "Once Upon a Time", and reprised the role in the final episode, "Fall Out". The filming of "Once Upon a Time" was a particularly intense experience for McKern; according to one biographer, the stress caused him to suffer either a nervous breakdown or a heart attack (accounts differ), forcing production to stop for a time.[5] In 1976, McKern narrated and presented The Battle of the Somme, a British Broadcasting Corporation documentary marking the 60th anniversary of the World War I battle.[6] He played the Earl of Gloucester in Granada Television's production of King Lear (1983). Also in 1983, he starred in episodes of the mini-series Reilly, Ace of Spies as 'Zaharov', director of Vickers.

Rumpole of the Bailey

In 1975, McKern made his first appearance in the role that would make him a household name as an actor, Horace Rumpole, whom he played in Rumpole of the Bailey, originally an episode of the BBC's Play for Today. A series of the same name, comprising 44 episodes, was produced for ITV between 1978 and 1992. According to Rumpole's creator, author John Mortimer, McKern "not only played the character Rumpole—he added to it, brightened it and brought it fully to life."[7]

Although he enjoyed the role, McKern expressed doubts about its popularity and the extent to which his life was becoming intertwined with Rumpole's. "McKern was often unhappy, decrying his television fame as an "insatiable monster". He stressed that his Peer Gynt was a greater performance and lamented: "If I get an obit in any paper, they will say, '.. of course, known to millions as Rumpole.'"[8] In the later series, his daughter Abigail McKern joined the cast as Liz Probert.

Commercial work

Starting in 1985, McKern appeared in a series of advertisements for Lloyds Bank, playing the upholder of quality standards.[9][10] In 1987, investment firm Smith Barney selected McKern to succeed John Houseman as its spokesman. The move was part of a broader shift in their TV commercials, including hiring Dinah Sheridan to play McKern's wife.[11] In 1989, Smith Barney again changed spokesmen, dropping McKern for American actor George C. Scott.[12]

Radio

McKern wrote one radio play, London Story, which became the film Chain of Events (1958). He also provided the voice of Captain Haddock in the 1992 and 1993 BBC Radio adaptation of Hergé's The Adventures of Tintin.

Personal life

In 1983, McKern was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for his services to the performing arts.[13]

He frequently travelled between England and Australia, both to visit family and friends and to appear in various films and plays. As he was frightened of flying, he booked tickets to travel on cargo ships. This gave him time and peace to read scripts and contracts, with the added benefit of feeling he was on holiday.

Worried that his stout frame would not appeal to audiences, McKern suffered from stage fright, which became harder to control with age.[14]

In 1997 he appeared in a party political broadcast for the United Kingdom Independence Party.[15]

McKern and his wife, fellow Australian actor Jane Holland (A Son is Born, 1946), had two daughters, Abigail and Harriet.[16]

Suffering in his final years from ill health, McKern moved into a nursing home near Bath in Somerset in 2002, where he died a few weeks later, on July 23, at the age of 82; his body was cremated at Haycombe Cemetery in Bath.[16]

Selected filmography

References

  1. ^ Leo McKern Biography (1920–2002)
  2. ^ "Australian letters", Sun Books, 1: 1963, 1957, retrieved 18 September 2011
  3. ^ . World War Two Nominal Roll. Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  4. ^ "SNIPPETS". Canberra Times (ACT : 1926–1995). 29 June 1989. p. 11. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  5. ^ Fairclough, Robert (2002). The Prisoner: The Official Companion to the Classic TV Series. I Books. ISBN 978-0-7434-5256-4.
  6. ^ 'Battle of the Somme' television documentary, BBC (1976), British Film Institute catalogue (2020). https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6f275c56
  7. ^ Goldman, Ari L. (24 July 2002). "Leo McKern, 82, Veteran Actor Who Gave Voice to 'Rumpole'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  8. ^ . The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 9 November 2012.
  9. ^ Stewart-Hunter, Mary. "Lloyds Bank: How TV Advertising Helped Increase Customer Commitment". WARC. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  10. ^ "LLOYDS BANK TV ADVERT 1986 banking in the computer age LEO MCKERN PHILIP FRANKS HD 1080P". Youtube. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  11. ^ Smith Barney In Ad Change – The New York Times, 16 September 1987
  12. ^ Elliot, Stuart (25 August 1995). "THE MEDIA BUSINESS: ADVERTISING; Smith Barney summons the ghost of a haughty John Houseman in a revival of its 'timeless' ads". New York Times. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  13. ^ "It's An Honour search". Australian Honours search. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  14. ^ "Obituary: Leo McKern". BBC News. 23 July 2002. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  15. ^ Daniel, Mark (2005). Cranks and Gadflies: The Story of Ukip. Timewell. ISBN 978-1857252095.
  16. ^ a b "Rumpole star McKern dies". BBC News. 23 July 2002. Retrieved 21 March 2022.

External links

May 18, 2023
mckern, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, april, 2020, learn,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Leo McKern news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Reginald Leo McKern AO 16 March 1920 23 July 2002 was an Australian actor who appeared in numerous British Australian and American television programmes and films and in more than 200 stage roles His notable roles include Clang in Help 1965 Thomas Cromwell in A Man for All Seasons 1966 Tom Ryan in Ryan s Daughter 1970 Paddy Button in The Blue Lagoon 1980 Dr Grogan in The French Lieutenant s Woman 1981 Father Imperius in Ladyhawke 1985 and the role that made him a household name as an actor Horace Rumpole whom he played in the British television series Rumpole of the Bailey He also portrayed Carl Bugenhagen in the first and second instalments of The Omen series and Number Two in the TV series The Prisoner Leo McKernAOMcKern in Ryan s Daughter 1970 BornReginald McKern 1920 03 16 16 March 1920Sydney New South Wales AustraliaDied23 July 2002 2002 07 23 aged 82 Bath Somerset EnglandEducationSydney Technical High SchoolOccupationActorYears active1944 1999Known forA Man for All Seasons play and film Travelling North film TelevisionThe PrisonerRumpole of the BaileyHeight5 ft 7 in 170 cm SpouseJane Holland m 1946 wbr Children2 including Abigail McKernAwardsAustralian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role 1987 Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2 1 Theatre 2 2 Film 2 3 Television 2 3 1 Rumpole of the Bailey 2 4 Commercial work 2 5 Radio 3 Personal life 4 Selected filmography 5 References 6 External linksEarly life EditReginald McKern was born in Sydney New South Wales the son of Vera nee Martin and Norman Walton McKern Known as Leo from a young age he attended Sydney Technical High School 1 On leaving school he initially worked in a factory where at the age of 15 he suffered an accident which resulted in the removal of his left eye 2 He first worked as an engineering apprentice then as an artist followed by service as a sapper with the Australian Army s Royal Australian Engineers during World War II 3 In 1944 in Sydney he performed in his first stage role Career EditTheatre Edit McKern fell in love with Australian actress Jane Holland moved to the United Kingdom to be with her and married her in 1946 He soon became a regular performer at London s Old Vic theatre and the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre now the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford upon Avon despite the difficulties posed by his glass eye and Australian accent McKern s most notable Shakespearean role was as Iago in Othello in 1952 In 1955 he appeared in The Burnt Flower Bed by Ugo Betti directed by Peter Hall at the Arts Theatre Club in London He played Big Daddy in Peter Hall s production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at the Comedy Theatre in 1958 and went on to play the German ambassador in another Peter Hall production Brouhaha starring Peter Sellers at the Aldwych Theatre He originated the role of Common Man in Robert Bolt s A Man for All Seasons in the West End in 1960 but for the show s Broadway production appeared as Thomas Cromwell 1st Earl of Essex a role he would reprise for the 1966 film version He also portrayed Subtle in Ben Jonson s The Alchemist in 1962 In 1965 he played the lead in Bolt s The Thwarting of Baron Bolligrew and Disson in Harold Pinter s Tea Party He appeared at the Royal Exchange Manchester in Uncle Vanya in 1977 and in Crime and Punishment in 1978 In 1989 he played James Boswell in the one man show Boswell for the Defence in theatres in Melbourne Hong Kong and London 4 Film Edit McKern s film debut was in Murder in the Cathedral 1952 His more notable film appearances included the science fiction classics X the Unknown 1956 The Day the Earth Caught Fire 1961 the World War I drama King and Country 1964 Help 1965 the Academy Award winning adaptation of A Man for All Seasons 1966 The Shoes of the Fisherman 1968 Ryan s Daughter 1970 Massacre in Rome 1973 The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes Smarter Brother 1975 The Omen 1976 The Blue Lagoon 1980 The French Lieutenant s Woman 1981 and Ladyhawke 1985 He was presented with the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for Travelling North 1987 In Monsignor Quixote 1985 he co starred as Sancho Zancas opposite Alec Guinness as Father Quixote Television Edit One of McKern s earliest television roles was in the 1950s black and white series The Adventures of Robin Hood as Sir Roger DeLisle usurper of the Locksley manor and lands and Herbert of Doncaster a corrupt moneylender During the 1960s he was one of several Number Twos in the TV series The Prisoner Along with Colin Gordon McKern was one of only two actors to play Number Two more than once He first played the character in the episodes The Chimes of Big Ben and Once Upon a Time and reprised the role in the final episode Fall Out The filming of Once Upon a Time was a particularly intense experience for McKern according to one biographer the stress caused him to suffer either a nervous breakdown or a heart attack accounts differ forcing production to stop for a time 5 In 1976 McKern narrated and presented The Battle of the Somme a British Broadcasting Corporation documentary marking the 60th anniversary of the World War I battle 6 He played the Earl of Gloucester in Granada Television s production of King Lear 1983 Also in 1983 he starred in episodes of the mini series Reilly Ace of Spies as Zaharov director of Vickers Rumpole of the Bailey Edit In 1975 McKern made his first appearance in the role that would make him a household name as an actor Horace Rumpole whom he played in Rumpole of the Bailey originally an episode of the BBC s Play for Today A series of the same name comprising 44 episodes was produced for ITV between 1978 and 1992 According to Rumpole s creator author John Mortimer McKern not only played the character Rumpole he added to it brightened it and brought it fully to life 7 Although he enjoyed the role McKern expressed doubts about its popularity and the extent to which his life was becoming intertwined with Rumpole s McKern was often unhappy decrying his television fame as an insatiable monster He stressed that his Peer Gynt was a greater performance and lamented If I get an obit in any paper they will say of course known to millions as Rumpole 8 In the later series his daughter Abigail McKern joined the cast as Liz Probert Commercial work Edit Starting in 1985 McKern appeared in a series of advertisements for Lloyds Bank playing the upholder of quality standards 9 10 In 1987 investment firm Smith Barney selected McKern to succeed John Houseman as its spokesman The move was part of a broader shift in their TV commercials including hiring Dinah Sheridan to play McKern s wife 11 In 1989 Smith Barney again changed spokesmen dropping McKern for American actor George C Scott 12 Radio Edit McKern wrote one radio play London Story which became the film Chain of Events 1958 He also provided the voice of Captain Haddock in the 1992 and 1993 BBC Radio adaptation of Herge s The Adventures of Tintin Personal life EditIn 1983 McKern was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for his services to the performing arts 13 He frequently travelled between England and Australia both to visit family and friends and to appear in various films and plays As he was frightened of flying he booked tickets to travel on cargo ships This gave him time and peace to read scripts and contracts with the added benefit of feeling he was on holiday Worried that his stout frame would not appeal to audiences McKern suffered from stage fright which became harder to control with age 14 In 1997 he appeared in a party political broadcast for the United Kingdom Independence Party 15 McKern and his wife fellow Australian actor Jane Holland A Son is Born 1946 had two daughters Abigail and Harriet 16 Suffering in his final years from ill health McKern moved into a nursing home near Bath in Somerset in 2002 where he died a few weeks later on July 23 at the age of 82 his body was cremated at Haycombe Cemetery in Bath 16 Selected filmography EditMurder in the Cathedral 1952 Third Knight All for Mary 1955 Gaston Nikopopoulos The Adventures of Robin Hood 1955 TV Series Herbert of Doncaster Sir Roger de Lisle X the Unknown 1956 Police Inspector McGill Time Without Pity 1957 Robert Stanford Confess Killer 1957 Lt Kolski with Naomi Chance A Tale of Two Cities 1958 Attorney General Web of Evidence 1959 McEvoy Yesterday s Enemy 1959 Max The Mouse That Roared 1958 Benter Leader of the Opposition The Running Jumping amp Standing Still Film 1959 uncredited Scent of Mystery 1960 Tommy Kennedy Jazz Boat 1960 Inspector Saturday Playhouse 1960 Episode The Man Who Came to Dinner Sheridan Whiteside Mr Topaze 1961 Muche The Day the Earth Caught Fire 1961 Bill Maguire The Amazing Dr Clitterhouse 1962 Dr Clitterhouse The Inspector 1962 Brandt Doctor in Distress 1963 Harry Heilbronn Hot Enough for June 1964 Simoneva A Jolly Bad Fellow 1964 Professor Kerris Bowles Ottery King amp Country 1964 Captain O Sullivan The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders 1965 Squint Help 1965 High Priest Clang Alice in Wonderland 1966 TV Movie Jonathan Miller s 1966 television adaptation Duchess A Man for All Seasons 1966 both Cromwell and Common Man in original play Thomas Cromwell The Prisoner 1967 Episodes The Chimes of Big Ben Once Upon a Time and Fall Out Number Two Assignment K 1968 Smith Nobody Runs Forever 1968 Flannery uncredited Decline and Fall of a Birdwatcher 1968 Captain Grimes The Shoes of the Fisherman 1968 Cardinal Leone Ryan s Daughter 1970 Thomas Ryan Massacre in Rome 1973 General Kurt Malzer The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes Smarter Brother 1975 Professor Moriarty Play for Today 1975 Episode Rumpole of The Bailey Horace Rumpole Space 1999 1976 Episode The Infernal Machine Companion Voice of Gwent The Omen 1976 Carl Bugenhagen uncredited Candleshoe 1977 Harry Bundage Damien Omen II 1978 Carl Bugenhagen uncredited Rumpole of the Bailey 1978 1992 TV Series Horace Rumpole The Nativity 1978 TV Movie Herod the Great The Blue Lagoon 1980 Paddy Button The French Lieutenant s Woman 1981 Dr Grogan Reilly Ace of Spies 1983 Basil Zaharoff King Lear 1983 Earl of Gloucester The Chain 1984 Thomas Murder with Mirrors 1985 Inspector Curry Ladyhawke 1985 Imperius Monsignor Quixote 1987 Sancho Zancas Travelling North 1987 Frank A Foreign Field 1993 Cyril Dad and Dave On Our Selection 1995 Dad Joseph Rudd Molokai The Story of Father Damien 1999 Bishop Maigret final film role References Edit Leo McKern Biography 1920 2002 Australian letters Sun Books 1 1963 1957 retrieved 18 September 2011 World War Two Nominal Roll World War Two Nominal Roll Archived from the original on 17 September 2016 Retrieved 15 May 2019 SNIPPETS Canberra Times ACT 1926 1995 29 June 1989 p 11 Retrieved 15 May 2019 Fairclough Robert 2002 The Prisoner The Official Companion to the Classic TV Series I Books ISBN 978 0 7434 5256 4 Battle of the Somme television documentary BBC 1976 British Film Institute catalogue 2020 https www bfi org uk films tv people 4ce2b6f275c56 Goldman Ari L 24 July 2002 Leo McKern 82 Veteran Actor Who Gave Voice to Rumpole The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 15 May 2019 Expat The Daily Telegraph Archived from the original on 9 November 2012 Stewart Hunter Mary Lloyds Bank How TV Advertising Helped Increase Customer Commitment WARC Retrieved 23 December 2021 LLOYDS BANK TV ADVERT 1986 banking in the computer age LEO MCKERN PHILIP FRANKS HD 1080P Youtube Retrieved 23 December 2021 Smith Barney In Ad Change The New York Times 16 September 1987 Elliot Stuart 25 August 1995 THE MEDIA BUSINESS ADVERTISING Smith Barney summons the ghost of a haughty John Houseman in a revival of its timeless ads New York Times Retrieved 23 December 2021 It s An Honour search Australian Honours search Retrieved 15 May 2019 Obituary Leo McKern BBC News 23 July 2002 Retrieved 21 March 2022 Daniel Mark 2005 Cranks and Gadflies The Story of Ukip Timewell ISBN 978 1857252095 a b Rumpole star McKern dies BBC News 23 July 2002 Retrieved 21 March 2022 External links EditLeo McKern at IMDb Leo McKern at AllMovie Leo McKern at the TCM Movie Database Leo McKern at the Internet Broadway Database Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Leo McKern amp oldid 1152183864, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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