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The Scottish actor Alex McAvoy was born on March 10th 1928 in Glasgow.
As a young man McAvoy enrolled at the ill fated School of Art so badly damaged again in last nights fire, he went on to study at the city’s Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama before joining The Citizen Theatre.
In the earlier part of his career McAvoy ventured into variety and light entertainment and was the first foil to Scottish comedy singer Andy Stewart. The summer show promoter George B Bowie envisaged him as a future star comedian, and headlined him in the holiday season revue of 1963 at the Barrfields Pavilion, Largs. He went on to tread the boards and was best loved for starring in Panto in Edinburgh and Glasgow.
On screen he had roles in the usual staple diet of cop and drama shows like Z Cars, Minder and The Bill, but it is two roles that McAvoy is best remembered, probably by two entirely different audiences, the first is the part of the young deck hand Sunny Jim in the very popular Vital Spark TV series between 1965 and 1974, a role he took over from the late great Angus Lennie.
Secondly McAvoy’s role as the Teacher made him a familiar face from Pink Floyd’s The Wall, the cult 1982 cult film featuring Bob Geldof as a burnt-out rock star.
Alex achieved a long-held ambition when he went to Paris to study and work in L’Ecole de Jacques LeCoq. He became deeply immersed in the international world of mime and right up to his death was still in touch with that famous school.
McAvoy had been ill from leukaemia for some years but retained his link with live theatre and, before being hospitalised, had taken on some cameo parts on stage. He was described as a sensitive man of the arts to the end. He died on 16th June, 2005, in London, aged 77.
On March 8th 1824, John Elder, the Scottish marine engineer and shipbuilder, was born.
John Elder was a marine engineer and shipbuilder, who developed practical compounding marine engines and conceived the modern integrated shipbuilding yard, basically without his work the shipbuilding yards of the Clyde would not be the same. Elder gave the world major contributions to engineering and shipbuilding:
The practical development of compounding in marine engines. This made long-distance steam shipping both possible and economic, and also improved the economics of shorter-haul steam navigation. It allowed the extension of steam power to cargo liners and tramp ships, and greatly accelerated the substitution of steam for sail in the world’s shipping. To this should be added his patent for triple and quadruple expansion marine engines, foreshadowing later 19th century developments.
He initiated the conception of the modern heavy engineering workshop, with overhead gantry cranes developed, as seen in the still-existing Fairfield Engine Works in Govan.
The conception of the modern integrated shipbuilding yard. With only minor alterations the plan of the present Govan Shipyard survives largely as John Elder conceived it. It was the foremost yard on the Clyde until the great liners were built at John Brown’s, and has outlasted most, including the builder of the “Queens”. As one of BAe Systems’ yards, it is still a highly effective production unit, notable for building the largest elements of the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers.
At its peak production in 1868-69, the final eighteen months of Elder’s life, the Fairfield Yard employed 4,000 people and produced 18 engine sets of 6100 aggregate horsepower and 14 ships of 27,000 aggregate tonnage. Elder had created one of the greatest enterprises of its kind in the world.
Elder was also a model employer of his 4,000 workforce, with a real concern for the well-being of his men and their families. At his funeral, as reported by the Rev. Norman MacLeod “a very army of workmen, dressed like gentlemen, followed his body - column after column. Respectful crowds lined the streets, as if gazing on the burial of a prince; and every one of us .. felt that we had left a friend behind us.”
His statue in Elder Park, Govan, erected by public subscription in 1888, carries the inscription: “By his many inventions, particularly in connection with the compound engine, he effected a revolution in engineering second only to that accomplished by James Watt, and in great measure, originated the developments in steam propulsion which have created modern commerce” and: “His unwearied efforts to promote the welfare of the working classes, his integrity of character, firmness of purpose, and kindness of heart, claim, equally with his genius, enduring remembrance”.
If you have ever been in The Lord of the Isles Wetherspoon bar in Renfrew, you may have notice some prints and memorabilia of Elder in the pub. Elder Park, Govan is also named in his honour, you will also see the statue there.
His statue in Elder Park, Govan, erected by public subscription in 1888, carries the inscription: “By his many inventions, particularly in connection with the compound engine, he effected a revolution in engineering second only to that accomplished by James Watt, and in great measure, originated the developments in steam propulsion which have created modern commerce” and: “His unwearied efforts to promote the welfare of the working classes, his integrity of character, firmness of purpose, and kindness of heart, claim, equally with his genius, enduring remembrance”.
If you have ever been in The Lord of the Isles Wetherspoon bar in Renfrew, you may have notice some prints and memorabilia of Elder in the pub. Elder Park, Govan is also named in his honour, you will also see the statue there.
iHappy birthday the Bonnie Kelly MacDonald, born on February 23rd 1976 in Glasgow.
Kelly’s parents divorced when she was young, and she was raised by her mother she attended Eastwood High School, Newton Mearns and as a hobby, she acted in an amateur theatrical club, which she enjoyed a great deal.
MacDonald was working as a barmaid, when she saw a leaflet for an open casting call for a film. She went along and was cast as Diane in Trainspotting, since then she hasn’t looked back, with many TV and Film appearances, winning an Emmy along the way for her role as Gina in The Girl in the Café.
Among her acting credits are, No Country for Old Men, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Trainspotting, T2 and the voice of Merida in the Pixar/Disney film Brave.
US television viewers will know Kelly mainly as Margaret in Boardwalk Empire from 2010 till 2014.
The past couple of years Kelly has been in The Victim, on BBC 1 and Giri/Haji on BBC 2 on the small screen. On the film front she was in Australian drama Dirt Music and is filming WWII film Operation Mincemeat with Colin Firth.
In 2021 starred alongside fellow,Scot, Martin Copmstom in the fab Police drama Line of Duty, since then she was in another very good Police drama, set mainly un Edinburgh, Dept Q, nest up she is in a US show, Lanterns where she plays a town Sherriff..
Scottish actor Russell Hunter was born 18th February 1925 in Glasgow.
Born Russel Ellis in Glasgow, Hunter’s childhood was spent with his maternal grandparents in Lanarkshire, until returning to his unemployed father and cleaner mother when he was 12. He went from school to an apprenticeship in a Clydebank shipyard. During this time, he did some amateur acting for the Young Communist League before turning professional in 1946.
He was with the left wing Unity theatre, and due to appear in The Plough And The Stars at the first Edinburgh Festival in 1947. At the last moment, the Arts Council withdrew funding - but the show had to go on. It therefore became part of the inaugural Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and the posters were altered from “Sponsored by the Scottish committee of the Arts Council” to read “Eliminated by … ”
Hunter worked in repertory theatre and Scottish variety before making his film debut in Lilli Marlene (1950). He appeared with Archie Duncan in The Gorbals Story, which was a major London success the same year. Rarely without work, he was particularly thrilled to join Peter Hall’s Royal Shakespeare Company, and loved working with Peggy Ashcroft and Dame Edith Evans. Particularly suited to clown roles, he treasured a review by the Sunday Times’s Harold Hobson, who wrote that he had “never seen such a lovely little Bottom”.
Of course with his comic style Russell was well suited to the Panto circuit and appeared in numerous performances, many with his wife, the Scottish actress Una MacLean, herself a great actor and comedian.
The role of Lonely - the dirty, unkempt character in Callan made Hunter a household name, and he would remain recognised by the public for that part for the rest of his life, but his bread and butter was Scottish Theatre and he was rarely without work.
Although in the advanced stages of cancer, Hunter’s last theatrical stint was in the Reginald Rose play 12 Angry Men back where it all started at The Edinburgh Fringe in 2003, he also appeared in the romantic comedy, American Cousins that year, playing an Italian grandfather in a Glasgow chip shop.
Russell Hunter passed away in Edinburgh’s Western General Hospital on February 26th 2004.
A wee bit trivia to wrap up this post up, Peter Jackson is said to have remembered the series Callan from his youth and used Hunter’s portrayal of Lonely as the model for the look of Gollum, with the bug eyes, the thin wavering lips, and the sniveling personality, I don’t know how much credence to give this but they do look a wee bit similar!
Happy Birthday Scottish actor Daniel Portman, born February 13th 1992 in Glasgow.
Daniel attended Shawlands Academy, where he was head boy, before gaining an HNC in acting at Reid Kerr Colege, Paisley. Aged sixteen he had his first role in supernatural thriller ‘Outcast’, starring James Nesbitt and fellow Scot Kate Dickie. He then had a recurring role in the Scottish soap River City. His second film role was a small part in Scottish comedy The Angels’ Share as Snipers pal.
Daniel’s auld man is the veteran Scottish actor Ron Donachie, and don’t they look alike? They both turned up in the HBO fantasy drama series Game of Thrones, Daniel as Podrick Payne, and Ron as Rodrik Cassel, Daniel clocked up 35 shows culminating in the final episode in 2019, a great feat in a show that revelled in killing off leading characters.
Daniel appeared as Angus McDonald in Robert the Bruce, with Angus McFadyen as our warrior king. Daniel was on our screens last year in the BBC series Vigil, the show, set mainly in Scotland has a great cast including Gary Lewis and Martin Compston. He is also in preproduction a The Brontes, not much info on this apart fro it is about the famous writing siblings.
Daniel last appeared on our small screens last year in the TV Series Fear. Set in Glasgow the psychological thriller series also starred Martin Compston. Portman is set to star as Branwell Brontë in an upcoming drama titled The Brontes, although the production seems to dragging on a fair bit.
January 27th 2004 saw Scotland lose one of our best loved stars in Rikki Fulton.
Robert Kerr “Rikki Fulton was a Scottish comedian and actor best remembered for writing and performing in the long-running BBC Scotland sketch show, Scotch and Wry.
The youngest of three brothers, Robert Kerr Fulton was born into a non-theatrical family at 46 Appin Road, Dennistoun, Glasgow. Fulton completed his education in 1939 and decided to enter the world of acting after a backstage visit at the Glasgow Pavilion Theatre.
In 1941, aged 17, Fulton joined the Royal Navy. The following year he was posted to HMS Ibis, but that November the ship was sunk in the Bay of Algiers. Fulton spent five hours in the water before being rescueHe later joined the Coastal Forces for D-Day, travelling back and forth between Gosport and Arromanches with vital supplies. In 1945, four years after signing up, Fulton was invalided out of the Navy due to blackout, leaving with the rank of sub-lieutenant
In the early 1950s, Fulton moved to London and became the compère of The Show Band Show, working alongside the likes of singer Frank Sinatra.
After a short period, Fulton returned to Scotland to perform for Howard & Wyndham Ltd in
n pantomime from 1956 at the Alhambra Theatre, Glasgow with Jimmy Logan and Kenneth McKellar followed by the "Five Past Eight” summer revues with Stanley Baxter and Fay Lenore. In 1985, under the pseudonym “Rabaith”, Fulton, along with Denise Coffey, adapted the French playwright Molière’s, Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme as A Wee Touch o’ Class.
Alongside his Scotch and Wry co-stars Gregor Fisher and Tony Roper, Fulton made two appearances in Rab C. Nesbitt; once in 1988 and 10 years later in 1998. Although he would reprise his famous Rev I.M Jolly character one last time for a short skit on New Year’s Eve 1999 as part of the “Millennium” celebrations. Rikki’s early shows include,The Rikki Fulton Show The Five past eight, The Adventures of Francie and Josie but he also acted in various shows like Charles Esquire , Square Mile of Murder, It Ain’t Half Hot Mum, Bergerac, Local Hero, Gorky Park, Comfort and Joy, The Holy City, The Girl in the Picture, Supergran and the aforementioned Rab C. Nesbitt. Notable Characters Scotch and Wry Supercop a frequently dimwitted traffic cop who rides a motorbike, his trademark is how he removes his goggles (pings off and flies off camera), is often getting into more trouble than those he stops.
Rev. I.M Jolly a very downtrodden and pessimistic minister of the Church of Scotland, presents a fictional show “Last Call” where he has a heart to heart with the audience where he tells them what he has been up to that week. his tone is always low-key and down beat.
Dickie Dandruff owner of “The Fourways Café” also goes by the moniker “The Gallowgate Gourmet” and presents a cooking segment called “Dirty Dick’s Delicat'messen” where he prepares food in comedic style from his filthy café kitchen in the Gallowgate area of Glasgow.
Fulton’s death sparked numerous dedications in his memory. The then-BBC Scotland Controller, John McCormick, said “he [Fulton] was a legend for people across the whole country.”
Fulton’s funeral took place six days after his death. In tribute to his Scotch and Wry character Supercop (a police traffic officer), police motorcyclists escorted the funeral cortège as it made its way to Clydebank Crematorium. The Reverend Alastair Symington, who was a close friend of Fulton, led the service, which featured tributes from Fulton’s widow Kate Matheson and Tony Roper. Symington had previously collaborated with Fulton on the book, For God’s Sake, Ask!. Both Rikki and his Kate were strong supporters of the Scottish SPCA, which received a financial donation following Fulton’s funeral. A Scottish SPCA inspector represented the animal welfare organisation at the service.
January 16th 1936 saw the birth of Michael “Chalky” White, in Glasgow.
Born in Glasgow, Michael was the son of Victor White, a glovemaker and merchant, and his wife Doris, a property developer and businesswoman, both from eastern European Jewish immigrant families.
White was educated in Switzerland and at the Sorbonne in Paris and after working as a Wall Street runner in New York in the fifties, he took an interest in theatre, spending five years as assistant to Sir Peter Daubeny at the World Theatre in London.
In 1973, White produced the original Theatre Upstairs production of The Rocky Horror Show, and went on to produce the film version The Rocky Horror Picture Show in 1975.
He was executive producer on The Hound Of The Baskervilles in 1978 and also wrote an autobiography called Empty Seats.
His former girlfriend Lyndall Hobbs said in an interview about him “Michael had an appetite for life that was unmatched in my opinion. A unique man who put on hundreds of shows and truly was a theatrical pioneer.”
Michael White was the hidden celebrity of his age, and one of its greatest party-givers, counting Mick Jagger, Kate Moss – who presented him with that Olivier award – Anna Wintour, Yoko Ono and Jack Nicholson among his closest friends
One of his biggest earliest West End successes was with Barry Humphries in Housewife, Superstar! at the Apollo in 1970. And in film he produced the hilarious Monty Python and the Holy Grail and groundbreaking and excellent, The Comic Strip Presents, starting from Channel 4 television’s opening night in 1982. No other producer had as sure a nose for the comedy zeitgeist and no other tuned in like he did. It has been said that he never produced anything he did not want to see himself.
Hec was a much loved man but prone to the excesses of life, White said he loved everyone and had no enemies, even though he felt he had been treated badly over the Rocky Horror film rights; he signed away his share, he cheerfully admitted, in a druggy haze.
White was declared bankrupt in 2005 – being a compulsive gambler did not help – shortly after suffering the first of several strokes in Los Angeles. He downsized from his Notting Hill mansion to a one-bedroom apartment. The work stopped, but his zest for life in the fast lane continued on crutches and at times a wheelchair.
It’s said that there was nothing dull about anything he did. Even his flops were spectacular.
White got married twice: first to the model and designer Sarah Hillsdon in 1965, and then to Louise Moores in 1985. Both marriages ended in divorce, and between them his partner was the film director and producer Lyn all Hobbs.
White was the subject of a documentary ‘The Last Impresario’, which followed his exuberant life mingling with the A-list in London and featured interviews with famous friends and colleagues. In 2014, he received the Special Award at Britain’s Olivier Awards, honoring his lifetime achievements. By this time he already survived two strokes and was confined to a wheelchair, this didn’t stop him enjoying his night,m as seen in the final pic with Nigel Planer and Kate Moss.