Roy Kinnear

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Roy Kinnear
Born	Roy Mitchell Kinnear (1934-01-08)8 January 1934 Wigan, Lancashire, England
Died	20 September 1988(1988-09-20) (aged 54) Madrid, Spain
Cause of death	Heart Attack
Years active	1960 – 1988
Spouse	Carmel Cryan (?-1988; his death)
Children	Karina Rory Kirsty

Roy Mitchell Kinnear (8 January 1934 – 20 September 1988) was a British character actor. He was familiar to UK audiences for his appearances in many British television comedy shows, and is also remembered for his film appearances as Veruca Salt's father, Mr. Salt, in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) and as Planchet to Michael York's D'Artagnan in The Return of the Musketeers (1989). It was during the filming of the latter that Kinnear died as a result of a riding accident.

Early life

Kinnear was born in Wigan, Lancashire, England, the son of Annie Smith (née Durie) and Roy Muir Kinnear.^[1] His father was a dual international in rugby union and league - having played for Scotland and Great Britain national rugby league team international, making one Lions appearance and three for Other Nations, and scoring 81 tries in 184 games for Wigan; he collapsed and died while playing rugby union with the RAF in 1942, at age 38. Scotland Rugby League have named their Student Player of the Year Award after him.

Kinnear was educated at George Heriot's School, in Edinburgh. At the age of 17, he enrolled in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art; however, national service brought an interruption to his studies.

Career

In the 1950s Kinnear began a career in repertory theatre, when he appeared in a show at Newquay; and in 1959 he joined Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, performing in both the 1960 play and 1963 film of Sparrows Can't Sing. He continued to work on stage and radio before gaining national attention as a participant in the television show That Was The Week That Was. He later appeared in many films and UK TV shows including comedies Doctor at Large, Man About the House, George and Mildred, The Dick Emery Show (as the long suffering dad to Emery's gormless bovver boy character, Gaylord) and starred in Cowboys, a sitcom about builders. His best-known films are those he made with director and close friend Richard Lester: Help!, A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum, How I Won the War, The Bed-Sitting Room, and the Musketeer series of the 1970s and 1980s. He appeared, along with Christopher Lee in the Hammer Horror film Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970). He played the father of spoiled rich girl Veruca Salt in the film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), an adaptation of Roald Dahl's children's novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He guest starred in The Goodies' episode "Rome Antics", in which he appeared as the Roman Emperor. He narrated and provided voices for the stop-motion children's television show Bertha. He appeared in two music videos for Mike + The Mechanics ("All I Need Is a Miracle" and "Taken In") as the band's manager, the former of which saw him reunited with his Help! co-star Victor Spinetti.

He narrated Towser and Bertha, voiced Pipkin in the 1978 film Watership Down and voiced Texas Pete's henchman Bulk in SuperTed (also with Victor Spinetti who also voiced the evil Texas Pete).

Kinnear's name cropped up regularly on the stage; in his later life he appeared in productions such as The Travails of Sancho Panza - playing the title role, and in The Cherry Orchard, in 1985. In 1987 Kinnear starred in the ITV sitcom Hardwicke House, but the show caused such a storm of protest it was cancelled after just two episodes.

His final completed roles was were in A Man for All Seasons (1988) a made-for-television film directed by and starring Charlton Heston, John Gielgud and Vanessa Redgrave, and as a patient in the BBC1 hospital drama Casualty. Following his sudden death in September 1988, that episode was postponed. It finally aired in August 1989.^[2]

Personal life

Kinnear was married to actress Carmel Cryan. They had three children, including TV and theatre actor Rory and casting director Kirsty. Their eldest daughter, Karina, was born with cerebral palsy.^[3]

Death

On 19 September 1988, Kinnear fell from a horse during the making of The Return of the Musketeers in Toledo, Spain, and sustained a broken pelvis. He was taken to hospital in Madrid but died from a heart attack the next day. He was 54 years old.^[4] He is buried in East Sheen Cemetery.

After his death, Kinnear's family demanded an official investigation into the level of medical care he had received in Spain. Director Richard Lester decided to quit the film business as a direct result of Kinnear's death.^[5]

Legacy

In 1994 the Roy Kinnear Trust, which was inspired by his daughter Karina, was founded to help improve the life of young adults with physical and mental disabilities.

Filmography

Theatre (partial)

• Make Me an Offer
• Sparrers Can't Sing
• The Clandestine Marriage
• The Travails of Sancho Panza
• The Cherry Orchard

References

External links

• Roy Kinnear at the Internet Movie Database
• Roy Kinnear House
• Roy Kinnear at Find a Grave