Malcolm Raymond McFee (16 August 1949 – 18 November 2001) was an English actor best known for his role as Peter Craven in the TV series Please Sir!, the film of the same name, and the spin-off TV series The Fenn Street Gang.
Malcolm McFee made his first appearance on television in 1967. In 1968, he began a three-season stint in the London Weekend Television situation comedy series Please Sir! playing the part of smooth wide-boy[1] Peter Craven. He continued the role into the 1971 feature film comedy version, also called Please Sir!. McFee had made his film debut in the 1969 satirical anti-war musical Oh! What a Lovely War.[2]
The Please Sir! TV series spawned a comedy sequel called The Fenn Street Gang, which ran from 1971 to 1973. McFee was unavailable for season one as he was appearing in the West End play Forget-Me-Not-Lane[3] and the part of Craven was played for that season by Leon Vitali. McFee returned for seasons two and three. He appeared on television many times in the 1970s but was only rarely seen after this, until 1993.
After turning to the stage, McFee made a career as an actor and director, working as a theatre director in small theatres in Greater London and the provinces.
His last TV role was in an episode of the long-running Thames Television police drama series The Bill,[4] in 1997.
McFee also appeared as a guest on This is Your Life for John Alderton in 1974, and presented three episodes of BBC pre-school programme You and Me in 1978.[5] He was the reporter and clown in the 1980s BBC schools science programme Science Workshop.[6]
Music journalist Simon Goddard has suggested that McFee is the subject of Morrissey's song "Little Man, What Now?" from his 1988 album Viva Hate,[7][8] although previous opinions have suggested Jack Wild[9] or Roger Tonge[10][11] as the subject. The song mentions an ATV series axed after four years, and Morrissey watching it on a Friday night (season 1 of Please Sir! was indeed broadcast on Friday nights although subsequent seasons went out on Saturday or Sunday nights), and tells of the fall of a TV star of the 1960s who later became unknown.[12]
Television appearances
Apart from Please Sir! and The Fenn Street Gang, McFee appeared in the following television programmes:[13]
Playing with Fire (Season 13, Episode 81, playing a different character to 1993 episode)[38]
Personal life
From 1960 to 1965, McFee attended Plaistow County Grammar School. He was briefly the drummer in a band called The Abstracts with some schoolfriends before devoting himself to acting.
In 1971, he married Margaret Kearnan.[citation needed] They divorced in 1995.[citation needed] McFee had three children,[4] including a daughter, Victoria, born to Margaret in 1980.[citation needed]
In an interview in 1973, McFee said that he owned a Ford Capri and had a cat called Perdita Pusscat.[39][40]
McFee died suddenly on 18 November 2001, at the age of 52, at his home in Braintree, Essex, shortly before he was due to appear as a dame in a pantomime of Beauty and the Beast at the Elgiva Theatre in Chesham. He had been suffering from cancer.[41] McFee had been raising money for the Oncology Department of Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford, Essex as a "Thank you" for the treatment he received from them. David Barry and Penny Spencer, who both appeared with McFee in Please Sir!, attended his funeral.[42]
malcolm, mcfee, malcolm, raymond, mcfee, august, 1949, november, 2001, english, actor, best, known, role, peter, craven, series, please, film, same, name, spin, series, fenn, street, gang, born, 1949, august, 1949forest, gate, essex, england, ukdied18, novembe. Malcolm Raymond McFee 16 August 1949 18 November 2001 was an English actor best known for his role as Peter Craven in the TV series Please Sir the film of the same name and the spin off TV series The Fenn Street Gang Malcolm McFeeBorn 1949 08 16 16 August 1949Forest Gate Essex England UKDied18 November 2001 2001 11 18 aged 52 Braintree Essex England UKOccupationActorYears active1967 2001Children3 Contents 1 Career 2 Television appearances 3 Personal life 4 Filmography 5 References 6 External linksCareer EditMalcolm McFee made his first appearance on television in 1967 In 1968 he began a three season stint in the London Weekend Television situation comedy series Please Sir playing the part of smooth wide boy 1 Peter Craven He continued the role into the 1971 feature film comedy version also called Please Sir McFee had made his film debut in the 1969 satirical anti war musical Oh What a Lovely War 2 The Please Sir TV series spawned a comedy sequel called The Fenn Street Gang which ran from 1971 to 1973 McFee was unavailable for season one as he was appearing in the West End play Forget Me Not Lane 3 and the part of Craven was played for that season by Leon Vitali McFee returned for seasons two and three He appeared on television many times in the 1970s but was only rarely seen after this until 1993 After turning to the stage McFee made a career as an actor and director working as a theatre director in small theatres in Greater London and the provinces His last TV role was in an episode of the long running Thames Television police drama series The Bill 4 in 1997 McFee also appeared as a guest on This is Your Life for John Alderton in 1974 and presented three episodes of BBC pre school programme You and Me in 1978 5 He was the reporter and clown in the 1980s BBC schools science programme Science Workshop 6 Music journalist Simon Goddard has suggested that McFee is the subject of Morrissey s song Little Man What Now from his 1988 album Viva Hate 7 8 although previous opinions have suggested Jack Wild 9 or Roger Tonge 10 11 as the subject The song mentions an ATV series axed after four years and Morrissey watching it on a Friday night season 1 of Please Sir was indeed broadcast on Friday nights although subsequent seasons went out on Saturday or Sunday nights and tells of the fall of a TV star of the 1960s who later became unknown 12 Television appearances EditApart from Please Sir and The Fenn Street Gang McFee appeared in the following television programmes 13 Years Programme Episode1967 Associated Rediffusion s drama series Sanctuary Sisters amp Brothers Season 1 Episode 5 14 1968 BBC children s drama series Ramshackle Road 15 Episode 1 onwards 16 17 1969 Long running BBC police drama series Z Cars Sunday Sunday Parts 1 and 2 Season 6 Episodes 231 amp 232 18 19 1970 BBC anthology drama series Play For Today I Can t See My Little Willie by Douglas Livingstone 20 Season 1 Play Number 6 1971 BBC2 s historical drama series Elizabeth R Episode 5 The Enterprise of England 21 22 1971 Thames Television s detective anthology series The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes The Case of Laker Absconded Season 1 Episode 13 23 1973 Thames Television s situation comedy series Bless This House A Girl s Worst Friend is Her Father Season 3 Episode 12 24 1976 Yorkshire Television s drama series Hadleigh Recurring character in Season 4 but episodes not known 25 1978 Thames Television s crime panel series Whodunnit Which Way Did he Go Season 6 Episode 10 1978 ITV family comedy The Chiffy Kids Jam Session Season 2 Episode 5 26 1978 Euston Films police drama series for ITV The Sweeney Messenger of the Gods Season 4 Episode 1 27 1979 BBC Schools programme Everyday Maths Ten Per Cent Per Ted Season 2 Episode 1 28 1979 BBC children s comedy adventure series Graham s Gang Mildred s Party Season 2 Episode 3 29 1980 Euston Films long running comedy drama series for ITV Minder Monday Night Fever Season 1 Episode 9 uncredited 30 31 32 1993 Thames Television s crime drama series The Bill The Hard Sell Season 9 Episode 135 33 1996 Alomo Productions BBC situation comedy series Goodnight Sweetheart It Ain t Necessarily So Season 3 Episode 1 34 35 1997 BBC police drama spoof The Detectives Mine s a Large One Season 5 Episode 6 36 1997 Alomo Productions BBC situation comedy series Birds of a Feather Relative Strangers Season 7 Episode 4 37 1997 The Bill 2nd appearance Playing with Fire Season 13 Episode 81 playing a different character to 1993 episode 38 Personal life EditFrom 1960 to 1965 McFee attended Plaistow County Grammar School He was briefly the drummer in a band called The Abstracts with some schoolfriends before devoting himself to acting In 1971 he married Margaret Kearnan citation needed They divorced in 1995 citation needed McFee had three children 4 including a daughter Victoria born to Margaret in 1980 citation needed In an interview in 1973 McFee said that he owned a Ford Capri and had a cat called Perdita Pusscat 39 40 McFee died suddenly on 18 November 2001 at the age of 52 at his home in Braintree Essex shortly before he was due to appear as a dame in a pantomime of Beauty and the Beast at the Elgiva Theatre in Chesham He had been suffering from cancer 41 McFee had been raising money for the Oncology Department of Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford Essex as a Thank you for the treatment he received from them David Barry and Penny Spencer who both appeared with McFee in Please Sir attended his funeral 42 Filmography EditYear Title Role Notes1969 Oh What a Lovely War Frederick Percy Freddie Smith1971 Please Sir Peter CravenReferences Edit Please Sir The Fenn Street Gang Television Heaven Retrieved 8 October 2011 Full cast and crew for Oh What a Lovely War IMDb Retrieved 22 November 2011 Daily Mirror 7 August 1971 a b Malcolm McFee Biography tv com uk Retrieved 12 October 2011 You and Me IMDb Retrieved 17 November 2011 Programmes for Schools and Colleges Module 3 TV cream Retrieved 5 April 2013 Goddard Simon 2012 Google books Mozipedia ISBN 9780091927103 Retrieved 9 April 2013 Goddard Simon Mozipedia p 224 Obituary Jack Wild BBC News 2 March 2006 Retrieved 9 April 2013 Bret David April 2007 Google books Morrissey Scandal and Passion ISBN 9781861059680 Retrieved 9 April 2013 Bret David Morrissey Scandal and Passion p 109 Little Man What Now Lyrics Lyrics Freak Retrieved 9 April 2013 Filmography by type for Malcolm McFee Internet Movie Database IMDb Retrieved 13 November 2011 Sanctuary Sisters amp Brothers IMDb Retrieved 15 November 2011 Ramshackle Road IMDb Retrieved 15 November 2011 Thread Malcolm McFee Britmovie co uk 16 April 2012 Retrieved 5 April 2013 Radio Times 19 August 1968 Z Cars Sunday Sunday Part 1 IMDb Retrieved 13 November 2012 Z Cars Sunday Sunday Part 2 IMDb Retrieved 13 November 2012 Play for Today I Can t See My Little Willie IMDb Retrieved 13 November 2011 Elizabeth R BFI Archived from the original on 19 January 2009 Retrieved 14 November 2011 Cast Elizabeth R The Enterprise of England BFI Archived from the original on 1 June 2009 Retrieved 14 November 2011 The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes The Case of Laker Absconded IMDb Retrieved 14 November 2011 Bless This House Episode Guide The British Comedy Guide Retrieved 14 November 2011 Full cast and crew for Hadleigh IMDb Retrieved 17 November 2011 The Chiffy Kids Jam Session IMDb Retrieved 15 November 2011 The Sweeney Messenger of the Gods IMDb Retrieved 14 November 2011 Everyday Maths Ten Per Cent Per Ted IMDb Retrieved 15 November 2011 Graham s Gang Mildred s Party IMDb Retrieved 14 November 2011 Minder Monday Night Fever IMDb Retrieved 2 October 2012 The Sweeney Lounge Appear in a Minder documentary in December The TV Lounge 20 December 2005 Archived from the original on 4 March 2016 Retrieved 11 January 2013 The Sweeney Lounge Sweeney actors together in other programs The TV Lounge 10 September 2007 Archived from the original on 3 March 2016 Retrieved 11 January 2013 The Bill The Hard Sell IMDb Retrieved 14 November 2011 Goodnight Sweetheart BFI Archived from the original on 8 November 2007 Retrieved 14 November 2011 Cast Goodnight Sweetheart It Ain t Necessarily So BFI Archived from the original on 10 January 2010 Retrieved 14 November 2011 The Detectives Mine s a Large One IMDb Retrieved 15 November 2011 Birds of a Feather Relative Strangers IMDb Retrieved 15 November 2011 The Bill Playing with Fire IMDb Retrieved 14 November 2011 Pink issue 25 8 September 1973 Malcolm McFee entry No 17 Britmovie 25 September 2011 Archived from the original on 19 April 2013 Retrieved 3 October 2012 Biography for Malcolm McFee IMDb Retrieved 3 April 2013 Please Sir Classic TV Show Please Sir Fan Tributes Item 5 by Victoria McFee Classic Telly Retrieved 9 November 2011 External links EditMalcolm McFee at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Malcolm McFee amp oldid 1120936895, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
