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Michael Elphick

January 01, 1970

Michael John Elphick (19 September 1946 – 7 September 2002) was an English film and television actor. He played the eponymous private investigator in the ITV series Boon and Harry Slater in BBC's EastEnders.[1] He was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1983 film Gorky Park.

Michael Elphick
Elphick as Ken Boon in Boon
Born
Michael John Elphick

(1946-09-19)19 September 1946
Chichester, West Sussex, England
Died7 September 2002(2002-09-07) (aged 55)
Willesden Green, London, England
Alma materRoyal Central School of Speech and Drama
OccupationActor
Years active1969–2002
TelevisionThree Up, Two Down
Boon
Harry
EastEnders
PartnerJulia Alexander (1963–1996)

In his prime, Elphick always looked older than he was, and with his gruff Sussex accent and lip-curling sneer he often played menacing hard men.[2]

Elphick struggled with an addiction to alcohol; at the height of his problem, he admitted to consuming two litres of spirits a day,[3] which contributed to his death from a heart attack in 2002.

Early life edit

Elphick grew up in Chichester, Sussex, where his family had a butcher's shop. He was educated at Lancastrian Secondary Modern Boys School in Chichester, where he took part in several school productions including Noah and A Midsummer Night's Dream. He initially considered joining the Merchant Navy and helped out in his local boatyard during school holidays.[1]

It has been reported that he stumbled upon acting by chance when, at the age of 15, he took a job as an apprentice electrician at the Chichester Festival Theatre while it was being built.[1] He gained an interest in acting whilst watching stars such as Laurence Olivier, Michael Redgrave and Sybil Thorndike. Olivier advised Elphick to go to drama school and gave him two speeches to use at auditions. Elphick was offered a number of places but decided to train at the Central School of Speech and Drama in Swiss Cottage (aged 18), because Olivier had attended there.[4]

Career edit

After graduating from drama school Elphick was offered roles primarily as menacing heavies. He made his debut in Fraulein Doktor (an Italian-made First World War film circa 1968). He went on to play the Captain in Tony Richardson's version of Hamlet (1969); landed parts in cult films such as The First Great Train Robbery and The Elephant Man and appeared in Lindsay Anderson's allegorical O Lucky Man! (1973). He was also seen as Phil Daniels' father in the cult film Quadrophenia (1979), as Pasha in Gorky Park (1983) and as the poacher, Jake, in Withnail & I (1987). In 1984 he played the lead, Fisher, a British detective recalling under hypnosis a dystopian, crumbling Europe and his hunt for a serial killer, in Lars von Trier's Palme D'Or nominated debut film, The Element of Crime.

On stage, Elphick played Marcellus and the Player King in Tony Richardson's stage version of Hamlet at the Roundhouse Theatre and on Broadway and he later played Claudius to Jonathan Pryce's Hamlet at the Royal Court Theatre, directed by Richard Eyre. In 1981 he appeared in the Ray Davies/Barrie Keeffe musical Chorus Girls at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East and he was also seen in The Changing Room, directed by Lindsay Anderson, at the Royal Court Theatre. His last West End stage appearance was in 1997 as Doolittle in Pygmalion directed by Ray Cooney at the Albery Theatre.

However, it was for his television roles that Elphick became best known. He briefly appeared in Coronation Street (1974) as Douglas Wormold, son of the landlord Edward, who for many years owned most of the properties in the road. Douglas unsuccessfully tried to buy the newsagent shop The Kabin from Len Fairclough. He played three characters in the popular Granada Television series Crown Court—in 1973 as a defendant, in 1975 as a witness (Frank Hollins, private secretary to a female soprano in the episode Songbirds out of Tune), and from 1975 to 1983 as the barrister Neville Griffiths Q.C..

He played one of the main roles in the film Black Island in 1978 for the Children's Film Foundation, played a villain in The Sweeney episode "One of Your Own" (1978) and played a policeman in The Professionals episode "Backtrack" (1979) and had a minor role in Hazell (1979), and appeared in the Dennis Potter play Blue Remembered Hills (1979). Elphick took the title role in Jack Pulman's six part comedy-drama Private Schulz (1981). Here he played alongside Ian Richardson the German forger Gerhard Schulz, who is conscripted into SS Counter Espionage during the Second World War to destroy the British economy by flooding it with forged money.

He appeared as the Irish labourer Magowan during the first series of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (1983)[5] and starred as Sidney Mundy in the ITV sitcom Pull the Other One (1984), before playing Sam Tyler in four series of Three Up, Two Down (1985–89). In 1986 Elphick landed his biggest television success, Boon (1986–92, 1995). He played Ken Boon, a retired fireman who opened a motorbike despatch business and later became a private investigator. Boon was very successful and ran for seven series, attracting audiences of 11 million at its peak. There was also a one-off episode screened in 1995, two years after it had been made. During breaks from Boon, Elphick continued to act in film with cameo roles in The Krays (1990) and Let Him Have It (1991), and in 1991 he played Des King in Buddy's Song, starring Chesney Hawkes and Roger Daltrey. For Independent Television company TSW, he took a rare TV presenting role, alongside Don Henderson from The XYY Man, in the food programme The Absolute Beginner's Guide to Cookery.[6]

In 1993 Elphick took the role of a former Fleet Street journalist running a Darlington news agency in Harry (1993, 1995). He played the alcoholic and ruthless Harry Salter, who frequently used exploitation and underhand tactics to get a story. This series however was less successful and it was soon cancelled. Elphick went on to play Billy Bones in Ken Russell's televised version of Treasure Island (1995) and Barkis in David Copperfield (1999).

In 2001 he joined the cast of EastEnders, where he played Harry Slater, a romantic interest for Peggy Mitchell (Barbara Windsor). The plotline indicated that Slater had sexually abused his niece, Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace), at the age of 13 and her "sister" Zoe (Michelle Ryan) was the daughter born to her when she became pregnant by him. Elphick's heavy drinking began to affect his performances, so the character promptly left the series and was killed off off-screen.

Personal life edit

Elphick met his long-term partner, schoolteacher Julia Alexander, in 1963 and remained with her until her death from cancer in 1996.[7] The couple had a daughter.[7]

For many years Elphick struggled with alcoholism. He made the first of many attempts to stop drinking in 1988.[2] He sought help from Alcoholics Anonymous in the early 1990s, although he admitted he was still drinking in 1993.[1] In 1996, he admitted that he had begun drinking heavily again and also contemplated suicide after the death of his partner of 33 years. However, he rallied and returned to the stage in Loot.[2]

The actor also confessed to having taken cocaine and once, while high on drugs, grabbing a shotgun and chasing a gang of thugs after he had been carjacked near his villa in Portugal.[8]

Elphick was admitted to the Priory Hospital in Roehampton, in an attempt to beat his addictions.[8] Reports of his alcohol abuse persisted, however, and during his brief spell on EastEnders in 2001, it was reported that the BBC was considering dropping his character if his drinking was not curtailed.[3]

Death edit

On 7 September 2002, Elphick died of a heart attack complicated by his drinking problem. He had collapsed at his home in Willesden Green, London, after complaining of pains. He was rushed to hospital where he died shortly before his 56th birthday.[9]

His funeral was held at Chichester Crematorium.[10]

Filmography edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d "The life of Michael Elphick". BBC News. 10 September 2002. from the original on 17 December 2002. Retrieved 20 March 2007.
  2. ^ a b c "Michael Elphick". The Daily Telegraph. London. 11 September 2002. from the original on 10 July 2009.
  3. ^ a b . Sunday Mirror. 22 April 2001. Archived from the original on 10 December 2007. Retrieved 20 March 2007.
  4. ^ Purser, Philip (11 September 2002). "Michael Elphick". The Guardian. London. from the original on 4 January 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2007.
  5. ^ "The Alien". IMDB. 1984. Retrieved 7 July 2020. The lads reluctantly bail out Magowan, a violent Irish worker jailed for fighting
  6. ^ https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-don-henderson-1257860.html
  7. ^ a b Sapsted, David (23 November 2002). "Drinker Elphick leaves £50,000". The Daily Telegraph. from the original on 26 February 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  8. ^ a b Hayward, Anthony (11 September 2002). . The Independent. Archived from the original on 10 December 2007. Retrieved 20 March 2007.
  9. ^ "Actor Michael Elphick dies". BBC News. 10 September 2002. from the original on 8 August 2003. Retrieved 20 March 2007.
  10. ^ "TV star Elphick to be cremated". Irish Examiner. 16 September 2002. Retrieved 2 April 2020.

External links edit

  • Michael Elphick at IMDb
  • BBC tribute page
  • Guardian obituary

January 01, 1970
michael, elphick, michael, john, elphick, september, 1946, september, 2002, english, film, television, actor, played, eponymous, private, investigator, series, boon, harry, slater, eastenders, nominated, bafta, award, best, supporting, actor, performance, 1983. Michael John Elphick 19 September 1946 7 September 2002 was an English film and television actor He played the eponymous private investigator in the ITV series Boon and Harry Slater in BBC s EastEnders 1 He was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1983 film Gorky Park Michael ElphickElphick as Ken Boon in BoonBornMichael John Elphick 1946 09 19 19 September 1946Chichester West Sussex EnglandDied7 September 2002 2002 09 07 aged 55 Willesden Green London EnglandAlma materRoyal Central School of Speech and DramaOccupationActorYears active1969 2002TelevisionThree Up Two DownBoonHarryEastEndersPartnerJulia Alexander 1963 1996 In his prime Elphick always looked older than he was and with his gruff Sussex accent and lip curling sneer he often played menacing hard men 2 Elphick struggled with an addiction to alcohol at the height of his problem he admitted to consuming two litres of spirits a day 3 which contributed to his death from a heart attack in 2002 Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Personal life 4 Death 5 Filmography 6 References 7 External linksEarly life editElphick grew up in Chichester Sussex where his family had a butcher s shop He was educated at Lancastrian Secondary Modern Boys School in Chichester where he took part in several school productions including Noah and A Midsummer Night s Dream He initially considered joining the Merchant Navy and helped out in his local boatyard during school holidays 1 It has been reported that he stumbled upon acting by chance when at the age of 15 he took a job as an apprentice electrician at the Chichester Festival Theatre while it was being built 1 He gained an interest in acting whilst watching stars such as Laurence Olivier Michael Redgrave and Sybil Thorndike Olivier advised Elphick to go to drama school and gave him two speeches to use at auditions Elphick was offered a number of places but decided to train at the Central School of Speech and Drama in Swiss Cottage aged 18 because Olivier had attended there 4 Career editAfter graduating from drama school Elphick was offered roles primarily as menacing heavies He made his debut in Fraulein Doktor an Italian made First World War film circa 1968 He went on to play the Captain in Tony Richardson s version of Hamlet 1969 landed parts in cult films such as The First Great Train Robbery and The Elephant Man and appeared in Lindsay Anderson s allegorical O Lucky Man 1973 He was also seen as Phil Daniels father in the cult film Quadrophenia 1979 as Pasha in Gorky Park 1983 and as the poacher Jake in Withnail amp I 1987 In 1984 he played the lead Fisher a British detective recalling under hypnosis a dystopian crumbling Europe and his hunt for a serial killer in Lars von Trier s Palme D Or nominated debut film The Element of Crime On stage Elphick played Marcellus and the Player King in Tony Richardson s stage version of Hamlet at the Roundhouse Theatre and on Broadway and he later played Claudius to Jonathan Pryce s Hamlet at the Royal Court Theatre directed by Richard Eyre In 1981 he appeared in the Ray Davies Barrie Keeffe musical Chorus Girls at the Theatre Royal Stratford East and he was also seen in The Changing Room directed by Lindsay Anderson at the Royal Court Theatre His last West End stage appearance was in 1997 as Doolittle in Pygmalion directed by Ray Cooney at the Albery Theatre However it was for his television roles that Elphick became best known He briefly appeared in Coronation Street 1974 as Douglas Wormold son of the landlord Edward who for many years owned most of the properties in the road Douglas unsuccessfully tried to buy the newsagent shop The Kabin from Len Fairclough He played three characters in the popular Granada Television series Crown Court in 1973 as a defendant in 1975 as a witness Frank Hollins private secretary to a female soprano in the episode Songbirds out of Tune and from 1975 to 1983 as the barrister Neville Griffiths Q C He played one of the main roles in the film Black Island in 1978 for the Children s Film Foundation played a villain in The Sweeney episode One of Your Own 1978 and played a policeman in The Professionals episode Backtrack 1979 and had a minor role in Hazell 1979 and appeared in the Dennis Potter play Blue Remembered Hills 1979 Elphick took the title role in Jack Pulman s six part comedy drama Private Schulz 1981 Here he played alongside Ian Richardson the German forger Gerhard Schulz who is conscripted into SS Counter Espionage during the Second World War to destroy the British economy by flooding it with forged money He appeared as the Irish labourer Magowan during the first series of Auf Wiedersehen Pet 1983 5 and starred as Sidney Mundy in the ITV sitcom Pull the Other One 1984 before playing Sam Tyler in four series of Three Up Two Down 1985 89 In 1986 Elphick landed his biggest television success Boon 1986 92 1995 He played Ken Boon a retired fireman who opened a motorbike despatch business and later became a private investigator Boon was very successful and ran for seven series attracting audiences of 11 million at its peak There was also a one off episode screened in 1995 two years after it had been made During breaks from Boon Elphick continued to act in film with cameo roles in The Krays 1990 and Let Him Have It 1991 and in 1991 he played Des King in Buddy s Song starring Chesney Hawkes and Roger Daltrey For Independent Television company TSW he took a rare TV presenting role alongside Don Henderson from The XYY Man in the food programme The Absolute Beginner s Guide to Cookery 6 In 1993 Elphick took the role of a former Fleet Street journalist running a Darlington news agency in Harry 1993 1995 He played the alcoholic and ruthless Harry Salter who frequently used exploitation and underhand tactics to get a story This series however was less successful and it was soon cancelled Elphick went on to play Billy Bones in Ken Russell s televised version of Treasure Island 1995 and Barkis in David Copperfield 1999 In 2001 he joined the cast of EastEnders where he played Harry Slater a romantic interest for Peggy Mitchell Barbara Windsor The plotline indicated that Slater had sexually abused his niece Kat Slater Jessie Wallace at the age of 13 and her sister Zoe Michelle Ryan was the daughter born to her when she became pregnant by him Elphick s heavy drinking began to affect his performances so the character promptly left the series and was killed off off screen Personal life editElphick met his long term partner schoolteacher Julia Alexander in 1963 and remained with her until her death from cancer in 1996 7 The couple had a daughter 7 For many years Elphick struggled with alcoholism He made the first of many attempts to stop drinking in 1988 2 He sought help from Alcoholics Anonymous in the early 1990s although he admitted he was still drinking in 1993 1 In 1996 he admitted that he had begun drinking heavily again and also contemplated suicide after the death of his partner of 33 years However he rallied and returned to the stage in Loot 2 The actor also confessed to having taken cocaine and once while high on drugs grabbing a shotgun and chasing a gang of thugs after he had been carjacked near his villa in Portugal 8 Elphick was admitted to the Priory Hospital in Roehampton in an attempt to beat his addictions 8 Reports of his alcohol abuse persisted however and during his brief spell on EastEnders in 2001 it was reported that the BBC was considering dropping his character if his drinking was not curtailed 3 Death editOn 7 September 2002 Elphick died of a heart attack complicated by his drinking problem He had collapsed at his home in Willesden Green London after complaining of pains He was rushed to hospital where he died shortly before his 56th birthday 9 His funeral was held at Chichester Crematorium 10 Filmography editFraulein Doktor 1968 as Tom Where s Jack 1969 as Hogarth Hamlet 1969 as Captain Parkin s Patch 1970 as Thomas The Best Things in Life 1970 as Jed Lucas Cry of the Banshee 1970 as Burke The Buttercup Chain 1970 as The Driver Armchair Theatre 1971 as Robert Delmonds The Misfit 1971 TV Series as Mike Halloran See No Evil 1971 as Gypsy Tom Albert and Victoria 1971 as Nigel Godfrey Adult Fun 1972 as Garage Manager Country Matters 1973 as Jack Adam Smith 1973 as Ben Davies O Lucky Man 1973 as Bill And Now the Screaming Starts 1973 as Drunk uncredited Justice 1973 TV Series as Peter Rodwell Orson Welles Great Mysteries 1973 as Gorenflot Amchair Theatre 1973 as Chopper Best Man New Scotland Yard 1973 as Al Farmer Crown Court 1973 1983 TV Series as Simon Chase New Scotland Yard 1974 as Joss Adrian ITV Playhouse 1974 1979 TV Series as Norma s Friend Barrister at Partyzs Oscar Jack The Nearly Man 1974 as Ron Hibbert The Brothers 1974 TV Series as Patrolman Coronation Street 1974 as Douglas Wormold Crown Court 1975 1983 TV Series as Neville Griffiths QC Frank Hollins The Nearly Man 1975 as Ron Hibbert Three Men in a Boat 1975 as 2nd Porter Hadleigh 1976 TV Series as Brian Ainsworth BBC2 Playhouse 1976 as Frank Charlie Eddie Holding On 1977 as Charlie Wheelright This Year Next Year 1977 as Jack Shaw Last Summer 1977 as Oscar ITV Sunday Night Drama 1977 as Himself Saturday Sunday Monday 1978 as Michel Hazell 1978 TV Series as Griffiths Send in the Girls 1978 as Jimmy Play for Today 1978 1979 TV Series as Thomas Venables Peter The Ghosts of Motley Hall 1978 as Captain Narcissus Bullock The Odd Job 1978 as Raymonde The One and Only Phyllis Dixey 1978 as Wallace Parnell The Sweeney 1978 as Jimmy Fleet The Knowledge 1979 as Gordon Weller The First Great Train Robbery 1979 as Burgess Quadrophenia 1979 as Jimmy s Father The Professionals 1979 TV Series as Sergeant Garbett The Quiz Kid 1979 as Jack Black Island 1979 as Jack Daker Cribb 1980 as Sol Herriott The Elephant Man 1980 as Night Porter Shoestring 1980 TV Series as Pete Johnson Masada 1981 TV Mini series as Vettius Private Schulz 1981 as Gerhard Schulz Roger Doesn t Live Here Anymore 1981 as Stanley Tony 1981 1988 TV Series as Johnny Magowan Andy Robson 1982 as Jake Carnaby Smiley s People 1982 TV Mini series as Detective Chief Superintendent Bird Fancier 1983 as Darville Bloomfield 1983 as Billy Gibbs Privates on Parade 1983 as Sergeant Major Reg Drummond Krull 1983 as Rhun voice uncredited Curse of the Pink Panther 1983 as Valencia Police Chief Gorky Park 1983 as Pasha Auf Wiedersehen Pet 1983 84 as Magowan Memed My Hawk 1984 as Jabbar The Element of Crime 1984 as Fisher Ordeal by Innocence 1984 as Inspector Huish Pull the Other One 1984 as Sidney Mundy Arthur s Hallowed Ground 1984 as Len Oxbridge Blues 1984 as Curly Bonaventura Much Ado About Nothing 1984 as Dogberry Three Up Two Down 1985 89 as Sam Tyler Super Gran 1985 as Roly Roofless Hitler s SS Portrait in Evil 1985 as Ernst Rohm Lake Starter 1985 as Jack Owen Jenny s War 1985 as Schumann Tony 1985 as Johnny Magowan The Supergrass 1985 as Constable Collins Boon 1986 1995 TV Series as Ken Boon Pirates 1986 as Sentry Valhalla 1986 as Udgaardsloki English version voice Fellows and Magowan 1987 91 as Johnny Magowan Withnail amp I 1987 as Jake Little Dorrit 1987 as Mr Merdle Asterix and the Big Fight 1989 as Crysus English version voice The Krays 1990 as George in Prison uncredited I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle 1990 as Inspector Cleaver Buddy s Song 1991 as Des King Let Him Have It 1991 as Prison Officer Jack Stanley and the Women 1991 as Bert Hutchinson The Ballad of Kid Divine The Cockney Cowboy 1992 as Dr Nathaniel Bonner Harry 1993 1995 TV Series as Harry Salter Murder Most Horrid 1994 as Bill Todd Richard III 1995 as 2nd Murderer uncredited Treasure Island 1995 as Billy Bones Dangerfield 1997 TV Series as Brian Taylor The Fix 1997 as Peter Campling David Copperfield 1999 as Barkis Metropolis 2000 TV Mini series as Brickhill The Bill 2001 as George Stubbs Baddiel s Syndrome 2001 as Drugs tsar EastEnders 2001 as Harry Slater Out of Bounds 2003 as Lionel Stubbs final film role References edit a b c d The life of Michael Elphick BBC News 10 September 2002 Archived from the original on 17 December 2002 Retrieved 20 March 2007 a b c Michael Elphick The Daily Telegraph London 11 September 2002 Archived from the original on 10 July 2009 a b Sad Elphick told stop drinking or quit Eastenders Sunday Mirror 22 April 2001 Archived from the original on 10 December 2007 Retrieved 20 March 2007 Purser Philip 11 September 2002 Michael Elphick The Guardian London Archived from the original on 4 January 2018 Retrieved 20 March 2007 The Alien IMDB 1984 Retrieved 7 July 2020 The lads reluctantly bail out Magowan a violent Irish worker jailed for fighting https www independent co uk news people obituary don henderson 1257860 html a b Sapsted David 23 November 2002 Drinker Elphick leaves 50 000 The Daily Telegraph Archived from the original on 26 February 2017 Retrieved 30 August 2013 a b Hayward Anthony 11 September 2002 Obituary Michael Elphick The Independent Archived from the original on 10 December 2007 Retrieved 20 March 2007 Actor Michael Elphick dies BBC News 10 September 2002 Archived from the original on 8 August 2003 Retrieved 20 March 2007 TV star Elphick to be cremated Irish Examiner 16 September 2002 Retrieved 2 April 2020 External links editMichael Elphick at IMDb BBC tribute page Guardian obituary Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Michael Elphick amp oldid 1213965801, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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