Spotlight: Stuart McGugan (Jimmy Beattie in Buddyboy)

Blonde and burly McGugan was born into a farming family on 2nd March 1944 and spent his childhood in the village of Letham, near Dundee, on the east coast of Scotland. As a teenager he joined the Thrums Dramatic Society and the Kirriemuir Amateur Operatic Society and was involved in several amateur productions. After leaving school, Forfar Academy in Angus, McGugan had ambitions to enrol at drama school, but due to poor family finances, he instead went into a career in journalism, working on both regional, such as The Aberdeen Evening Express, and national newspapers – his last role in the industry was as a sub editor at The Daily Mail. After three years he decided to reapply to drama school as a mature student and was surprised to find this entitled him to a full grant which would finance his studies.

From 1962 to 1965 he studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Dramatic Art (now called The Royal Scottish Conservatoire) in Glasgow and on graduation he went into local repertory theatre at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury. This was followed by further rep work in Newcastle and Leeds. Early television credits during this period consisted of small roles in a couple of BBC drama series; playing Michael Dunn in the This Man Craig episode ‘Early Days’ (24th September 1966) and a credit as Boy in ‘Evidence Partial and Impartial’ (13th October 1966), an episode of The Revenue Men. December 1967 and into January 1968 saw McGugan as a cast member of the pantomime Dick Whittington at the Marlowe theatre in Canterbury.

This was quickly followed by a spell at the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in Stratford-Upon-Avon for a year under the directorship of the newly appointed Trevor Nunn. McGugan appeared in small supporting roles, known in the business as “spear-carrying”, in productions such as King Lear (April 1968) and Doctor Faustus (July 1968). When the season had finished the RSC, complete with McGugan, toured America during 1969. Eventually, at the end of the RSC tour, the young actor found himself gaining work with a San Francisco theatre company, the American Conservancy Theatre, but this was short lived as his work permit had ran out. The authorities quickly caught up with him and McGugan had no option but to return to the UK. December 1969 and into January 1970 saw McGugan employed in the pantomime Dick Whittington and His Wonderful Cat at the Newcastle Playhouse. During October 1970 he had the role of David Byrne in the James (‘Callan’) Mitchell play The Wrecker based at the Newcastle Playhouse. During December 1970 and January 1971 McGugan appeared in the pantomime Mother Goose at the Derby Playhouse. He also began to slowly get more TV work starting with the BBC detective series The View From Daniel Pike as the character Bell in the second episode entitled ‘The Manufactured Clue’ (2nd December 1971).

He had a small role as a sailor in the film Madame Sin (1972), a thriller starring Bette Davis. On television he appeared in the Thirty-Minute Theatre production ‘They Don’t All Open Men’s Boutiques’ (17th January 1972) written by Willis Hall. This was followed by the role of Fox Major in the first two episodes of the series Man of Straw – ‘Esprit De Corps’ (30th January 1972) and ‘Young Love’ (6th February 1972). He then had a small role as a policeman in ‘Phase 1’ (11th May 1973) the first episode of the BBC thriller series Scotch on the Rocks.

His big break came with his casting as Gunner Atlas Mackintosh in the sitcom It Ain’t Half Hot Mum. McGugan would appear in fifty six episodes between 1974 and 1981. McGugan later reflected “I was supposed to be the strong man and they helped me enormously by hiring midgets like Melvyn Hayes and Don Estelle. They made me look very big.” Leading up to his appearance in Beasts McGugan found himself in a very busy period during 1975 with his ongoing role as Gunner Mackintosh balanced with guest roles in several other series. He played Billy Gillis in a single episode of the period drama Anne of Avonlea (1975) and he was Auchinlech in 'The Wallace' (3rd March 1975) an episode of Churchill’s People. His next role was as Police Constable Rankin in ‘The Brief Facts’ (19th May 1975), an episode of the courtroom drama Six Days of Justice, and this was followed by the role of Alan Miller in ‘Workhorse’ (21st October 1975) an episode of BBC drama Oil Strike North. His final TV role for the year was as Hicks in The Sweeney instalment ‘Thou Shalt Not Kill’ (24th November 1975). On top of this he started possibly his most famous role, one that cemented him in the minds of a generation of children and their parents, as a presenter of Playschool. McGugan would continue to present the show for the next ten years.

At the start of 1975 McGugan could also been seen in the Leeds Playhouse production of The Tempest lead by Paul Schofield as Prospero. His role as Jimmie Beattie in the Beasts episode ‘Buddyboy’ was his next television job. Post-Beasts McGugan continued his regular role in It Ain’t Alf Hot Mum as well as making appearances alongside Big Ted and the other toys when he presented Playschool. Aside from these credits he also made appearances as Thorncliffe in the first two episodes of an adaptation of Sir Walter Scott’s adventure novel Rob Roy (13th and 20th February 1977). He was seen as a Scottish Army Sergeant in the Dad’s Army instalment ‘Number Engaged’ (30th October 1977). On the stage he was cast as John Procter in a version of The Crucible presented at Ipswich Theatre during March 1979. Up next were the first two episodes of BBC thriller series The Mourning Brooch (17th and 19th April 1979) as the character Samson and the sitcom Sykes playing Jack in the episode ‘The Six Million Dollar Sykes’ (9th November 1979).

His role as Gunner Mackintosh sustained him through the next few years before ending in 1981 though he continued with his Playschool appearances. During March 1982 he could be seen in a production of Harold Pinter’s play Betrayal based at the Thorndike Theatre in Leatherhead. July 1983 saw him appear in the play The Last Tram at the Gate theatre in Notting Hill, London. On TV he popped up as Jim Trease in the BBC drama Grey Granite (August 1983) and then went into performing in the play The Shutter Falls during the Edinburgh Festival. Later he brightened up a post-party New Year’s Day as a thief in the BBC pantomime Aladdin and the Forty Thieves (1st January 1984) and played Chief Superintendent Mackay in ‘On The Edge’ (11th September 1984) an episode of drama The Brief.

The Personal Touch (1985) was a Scottish Television single drama in which McGugan co-starred alongside future Doctor Who Peter Capaldi in the tale of a couple who meet through the personal column of a newspaper. Next was a role as a jailer in ‘De Profundis’ (28th March 1985) the third episode of the BBC biographical drama Oscar which featured Michael Gambon as the writer Oscar Wilde. May 1985 would see him appear in a production of Golden Girls at the Leeds Playhouse. He was a policeman again for his next TV role, as DS Ron Stapley, in the one off ITV drama Operation Julie (4th November 1985) before returning to comedy with a role as a telephone engineer in an episode of the George Cole sitcom Comrade Dad (10th February 1986).

His next major role was as temperamental drummer Bomba McAteer in the six part BBC comedy drama Tutti Frutti (3rd March 1987 – 7th April 1987). The role still reverberates with McGugan “I still get people shouting ‘How’s it going big yin?’ and that series hasn’t been seen for twenty years.” More police work was next with McGugan featuring as Detective Sergeant Marks in the first two episodes of the second season of the drama series Floodtide (8th and 15th January 1988), created and written by Roger Marshall. He was the character Walter Fairley in the opening episode of season four of Scottish police drama McTaggart – ‘Dead Giveaway’ (7th September 1988). Between 1989 and 1990 he appeared as Gordon Stewart in eleven episodes of the drama Wish Me Luck across seasons two and three. The series was created by the same team behind Tenko, Jill Hyem and Lavinia Warner, and followed the exploits of British women recruited as undercover agents during the Second World War.

He made his debut as the recurring character Jock Macgregor in the opening second season episode of the sitcom You Rang, M’Lord? (11th November 1990) and made the first of five appearances in the police series The Bill when he played the role of Kemble in the episode ‘Favours’ (12th February 1991). His final appearance as Jock Macgregor in You Rang, M’Lord came with the last episode of the fourth season – ‘Well, There You Are The’ (24th April 1993). He then went into the cast of the second season of the BBC Scotland drama series Strathblair during 1993. During May 1994 he was part of the cast of Peripheral Violence at the Soho Theatre, London.

He made his first appearance as Detective Superintendent Sean McCloud in the opening episode of season three of police drama The Chief which also featured his ‘Buddyboy’ colleague Martin Shaw as a series regular. McGugan would portray McCloud throughout the third and fourth seasons of the programme with his character promoted to the level of Detective Chief Superintendent in later episodes. His last appearance was in the ninth episode of season four transmitted 4th March 1995.

McGugan appeared as Stuart Browning in the award winning Granada single drama Some Kind of Life (1995) which was written by Kay Mellor and starred Jane Horrocks. The drama was nominated for the 1997 BAFTA Best Single Drama award and was awarded the Royal Television Society award for Best Sound. His second appearance in The Bill saw McGugan portray the character Frank Knox in the episode ‘Value for Money’ (24th March 1995). A rare excursion in to cinema came with an uncredited cameo role as a taxi driver in the film Trainspotting (1996). More regular TV work came with the role of Barney Meldon in all three seasons of the quirky police drama Hamish Macbeth which was headlined by Robert Carlyle. Meldon would appear in nineteen of the twenty episodes made between 1995 and 1997.

He returned to comedy with an appearance in the sitcom The Creatives playing Cameron in the episode ‘By The Way’ (19th January 2000). Kid’s science fiction comedy series Mike and Angelo featured McGugan as the character Derek Frost in two episodes during its mammoth run – ‘The Merry Widow’ (23rd February 1999) and ‘Overnight Frost’ (29th February 2000). Granada single drama Little Bird (1st October 2000) included McGugan in a small role as Eddie Hughes Snr. Another small role as a shopkeeper saw him cast in the James Nesbitt vehicle Murphy’s Law and he appeared as Hemmings in an episode of the cosy Sunday night police drama Heartbeat – ‘Closing the Book’ (13th January 2002).

One of the certainties of an actor’s career when they become middle aged or elderly seems to be that, at some point, Casualty will have a role that requires your talents. McGugan’s chance came with the episode ‘Taking It All Back to the Street’ (15th June 2002). He then appeared as Barry in two episodes of the second season of racy ITV drama Footballers Wives –‘Bitter Medicine’ (19th February 2003) and ‘Fall From Grace’ (26th February 2003) and moved on to the daytime medical soap Doctors (26th March 2003). He was next seen as a hotel receptionist in an episode of the drama Rockface which was based around the exploits of a Scottish mountain rescue team. McGugan appears in the fifth episode of season two (22nd June 2003). His final TV role for the year was in an episode of Silent Witness – ‘Answering Fire: Part 1’ (11th October 2003).

During September 2005 he was a cast member of the play Top Dogs at the Royal Exchange Studio in Manchester. The production later toured the country until November. His final role in The Bill was as Bruce Burns in two episodes transmitted 7th and 8th March 2007. During early 2007 he appeared in a Middle Ground Theatre Company production of a stage version of the 1960 film Tunes of Glory which toured Jersey, Wolverhampton and Scotland. McGugan took the role of Jock Sinclair, portrayed by Alec Guinness in the film. Further stage work included Living Quarters at Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh during October 2007.

On television he proved popular in modern comedy series; he was the supporting character Malcolm in the Martin Freeman starring series Boy Meets Girl (1st – 22nd May 2009) and was seen as Wink in an episode of ITV sitcom Benidorm’s third season (6th November 2009). More police work, this time as Detective Inspector Flinn, in the single drama Postcode (15th March 2011). He played Ken Letham in the ITV period drama The Royal when he appeared in the episode ‘Below the Surface’ (24th July 2011). Theatre work during this period included So Great a Crime at the Finborough Theatre, London during January 2013, with McGugan in the lead role as Hector MacDonald. Also in the cast was Elizabeth Counsell, who was a voice actor in the Beasts episode ‘During Barty’s Party’ and the wife of Murrain actor David Simeon.

McGugan continued to be active with a role in the film Playing Dead (2014) as Alfie and a national tour of a stage production of The Holly and The Ivy for the Middle Ground Theatre Company between 2012 and 2014. More recently was cast in the low budget surrealistic British comedy film The Fitzroy (2017) as Captain Hunt who has an unusually close relationship with his pet chicken, Henrietta.

McGugan is still active. He recently recorded an entire book for Spotify of Aesop’s Fables in Scots Verse with his son, Mitch McGugan – a classically trained violinist and heavy metal drummer, providing the musical backing. He is also writing his memoirs of being in the business. He has a lot of ground to cover, but let’s hope he can find space to discuss his role in Beasts.

Spotlight: Wolfe Morris (Hubbard in Buddyboy)

Wolfe Morris was born on 5^th January 1925 in Portsmouth, Hampshire as Wolfe Steinberg into a family of Ukrainian-Jewish heritage[1]. During his career Morris appeared in several Nigel Kneale productions aside from the Beasts episode ‘Buddyboy’. He had a small role as the Custard Pie Expert in The Year of the Sex Olympics (1968), The Crunch (1964) as Mr Jimson and both the television and film versions of The Abominable Snowman.

Short and stocky (he was only 5’ 4’’ or 1.63 m) with curly black hair Morris was one of nine children born to Morry and Becky Morris. His father had been a professional entertainer in the London’s East End before becoming a businessman specialising in fruit, vegetables and jewellery. As a young child, alongside his brothers and sisters, his father taught his children songs and routines from his music hall days and actively encouraged interest in the performing arts. It was at Portsmouth Northern Grammar School that Morris first demonstrated his acting ability. In one school play when part of the scenery caught fire he extinguished it without faltering on a single word and made the incident look like it had been rehearsed. His younger brother, Aubrey Morris, became an established and distinctive character actor whilst his sisters Sonia and Julia also entered the profession as well.

Wolfe trained on a scholarship at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) from 1941 where he won the Forbes-Robertson and Kendal prizes. On leaving RADA he immediately went into serving with the RAF during World War Two. On being demobbed Morris went into local rep theatre before making his West End debut in 1947 with a production of The White Devil, a Jacobean revenge tragedy. He joined the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, when it was under the direction of Tyrone Guthrie, winning special acclaim for his work in a production of Henry VIII. He rapidly established himself as a reliable character actor specialising in ethnic roles and characters playing a diverse range that included Indians, Arabs, Mexicans and Japanese. He was able to imbue even the smallest and slimmest role with depth and interest, a quality he would also bring to his screen roles.

In the years leading up to his screen debut Wolfe refined his craft on the stage with a plethora of appearances in prestigious productions. For the Arts Theatre, Cambridge he appeared in the play Queen Elizabeth and was then assigned the role of Luigi Bunghi in The Mask and the Face during August and September 1950. During October he could be seen in a production of Queen Elizabeth. April 1951 saw him featured in a production of Saint Joan at the Bristol Old Vic. Further stage work includes the role of Signor Romeo in the comedy play Storks Don’t Talk presented at the Devonshire Part Theatre over May and June 1951, a production of Christopher Marlowe’s Tamburlaine the Great in September and October and, as part of the Old Vic Company, performing in the comedy play The Clandestine Marriage during November and December 1951. During March 1952 he was in a production of King Lear at The Old Vic followed by Timon of Athens during May and Romeo and Juliet during September 1952 at the same venue. January 1953 saw Morris play Tubal in a revival of The Merchant of Venice at The Old Vic followed by a small role as a priest in a revival of Murder in the Cathedral during March and April 1953.

Morris made his TV debut in an episode of the drama anthology BBC Sunday Night Theatre playing a waiter in ‘The Bridge’ (27th September 1953). This was quickly followed with the more substantial role of Ella Petrovitch in his second BBC Sunday Night Theatre episode, ‘Crime and Punishment’ (29th November 1953), an adaptation of the Fyodor Dostoevsky novel. His next TV role was in the BBC drama series A Place of Execution appearing in the final four episodes (10th October – 31st October 1953) in the role of Benda. The plot involved a villain who is due to be sentenced to death for kidnapping the daughter of an MP.  His colleagues issue a threat that if their friend is hung then the girl will be hung at the same time. The death sentence is not commuted and the police have to race against time to rescue the girl. Morris played the first in a long line of untrustworthy foreigners that would make up a sizeable portion of his acting career. Theatre roles for the remainder of 1953 included roles in King Henry VIII at the Old Vic during May and, for the Arts Theatre in London, the play London Actress during December 1953.

He started 1954 appearing alongside his brother Aubrey in a production of Crime and Punishment at the Arts Theatre in London during January. His next television credit was ‘Ambrose Applejohn’s Adventure’ (7th March 1954), an episode of the BBC Sunday Night Theatre series, and based on a play by Walter Hackett. Morris portrayed Horace Pengard. His next role was in the early BBC science fiction series The Lost Planet. Morris appears in the debut episode, ‘Through Corridors of Space’ (27th March 1954), as Andrieff.

Next was a role as a professional ear piercer in an episode of the BBC drama, The Grove Family – ‘The Ears Have It’ (7th May 1954). Morris also appeared alongside Donald Pleasence in the BBC single drama The Coiners (24th June 1954), adapted from a novel by Phyllis Bentley. Just under a month later he featured in another BBC single drama, The Peach Garden (19th July 1954), playing an Asian character called Ming-Y. He continued his association with the BBC by featuring in two episodes of the drama series Six Proud Walkers. Morris played the character Blackie in ‘The Seven Stars’ (11th August 1954), and ‘The Twelve Apostles’ (18th August 1954). His theatrical work for the year included an extensive run of The Teahouse of the August Moon playing a Japanese character, Jane Arden’s Play at the New Lindsey during September and The Immoralist during November.
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Starting 1955 he returned to the character of Andrieff for the sequel Return to the Lost Planet appearing in episodes; ‘A Message from Space’ (8th January 1955) and ‘The Crystal Sand’ (22nd January 1955). With his track record for playing ethnic characters by now firmly established Morris was cast in the BBC Sunday Night Theatre episode ‘The Creature’ (30th January 1955) playing Nima Kusang. The play, written by Nigel Kneale and produced by Rudolph Cartier, starred Peter Cushing and would later become an early Hammer Film production. Another BBC Sunday Night Theatre episode came shortly afterwards with ‘Midsummer Fire’ (17th April 1955) with Morris playing another ethnic role as Pepe. His next BBC Sunday Night Theatre roles were in the instalments ‘The Legend of Pepito’ (5th June 1955, playing a Mexican, and ‘The Weeping Madonna’ (8th January 1956) as yet another ethnic character, Frederico.

Morris made his cinema debut in I’ll Met By Moonlight (Night Ambush in the US) a 1957 film by Powell and Pressburger, which also starred Dirk Bogarde. Morris played the character George. This was followed by Interpol (Pickup Alley in the US) a 1957 crime drama for which he supplied a cameo as a morgue attendant.

He was one of three actors (the others being Peter Cushing and Arnold Merle) to reprise their roles in the Hammer film The Abominable Snowman (1957) which was adapted from the BBC play ‘The Creature’. His TV credits for the year included an episode of the World War Two espionage series O.S.S. – ‘Operation Pigeon Hole’ (19th December 1957). On the big screen Morris made appearances in the Hammer film The Camp on Blood Island (1958) as an interpreter and British comedy films Further Up The Creek (1958) and I Only Arsked (1958) playing ethnic characters in all three productions. On TV Morris had a small role as a wireless operator in the BBC single drama Incident At Echo Six (9th December 1958), the first play by Troy Kennedy Martin who would go on to write the film The Italian Job (1969) and the BBC series Edge of Darkness (1985).

1959 was a busy year for Morris with TV appearances in adventure series Glencannon as Mr Loong in the episode ‘Chinaman’s Chance’, crime series Dial: 999, BBC detective series Charlesworth and the H.G. Wells’ The Invisible Man episode ‘The Decoy’ (31st October 1959) as Andreas the Assassin. He also found time to play Little Man in the five part BBC thriller Ask For Billy King (3rd November – 1st December 1959) and make appearances in three episodes of Armchair Theatre for ABC; ‘Strange Meeting’ (22nd March 1959), ‘The Scent of Fear’ (13th September 1959) and ‘The Golden Horn’ (20th December 1959). On the big screen he appeared as an informer in the Hammer film Yesterday’s Enemy (1959).

At the start of 1960s Wolfe appeared as Professor Godbole in an acclaimed staging of A Passage To India during January 1960 at the Oxford Playhouse and continued to concentrate on stage roles for the following year such as Rashomon as the Birmingham Repertory Theatre during April 1961. He did feature in one of the Merton Park Studios series of Edgar Wallace crime thriller productions, Clue of the New Pin (1961), as Yeh Ling, another of his long list of ethnic characters. His TV roles for the following year took in Knight Errant – ‘King Charles’ Head’ (16th March 1961), The Avengers – ‘The Yellow Needle’ (10th June 1961), No Hiding Place – ‘Silent Witnesses’ (28th July 1961) and Maigret – ‘The Winning Ticket’ (13th November 1961). During September 1961 Morris appeared in a production of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew at the Aldwych theatre. The Stage enjoyed his performance commenting “Morris plays Biondello with inexhaustible energy, prancing about like a monkey and rattling off his nonsense without pausing for breath[2].”

He reprised the role of Blackie Lilywhite, which he had previously played in the 1954 BBC production, in a new version of Six Proud Walkers transmitted April 1962. For the next few years Morris made his living between stage roles and television which consisted of single plays such as Captain Brassbound’s Conversion (20th July 1962) and No Star on the Way Back (29th December 1963), a single drama from Border Television, which offered a contemporary take on the story of The Three Wise Men. He also took guest roles in ongoing series The Avengers and Ghost Squad.

Morris also continued his association with the work of Nigel Kneale with an appearance as President Jimson in the writer’s nuclear thriller single play The Crunch (9th January 1964). His other single drama appearance for the year was the ITV Play of the Week episode ‘Where Are They Now’ (30th March 1964), written by the actor Alfred Burke under the alias Frank Hanna. Guest spots took in as the uniquely named Choke Hinton in the Z Cars episode ‘Whistle And Come Home’ (22nd April 1964) and Orlando, a spin off series from Crane, in the episode ‘The Black Snake’ (18th May 1965) as the villain of the week, Li Fang. Theatre highlights during 1965 included appearing at the Glasgow Citizen Theatre in John Arden’s Live like Pigs. December 1965 saw Morris undertake the title role in a new adaptation of Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus at the Close Theatre Club in Glasgow. In October 1966 Morris undertook the title role in a new version of Marlowe’s Tamburlaine the Great at The Marlowe theatre in Canterbury. The Stage praised his performance “Wolfe Morris has an exacting part which keeps him on stage for nearly all the three and half hours. He makes an impressive figure and is at his best in his stirring speeches of war.[3]”

He then made two guest appearances in the series Orlando playing two different characters, though both were of Asian heritage; Ti Wang in ‘The Black Snake’ (18th May 1965) and Aloysius Wong in ‘Orlando and A Man Called Moosh’ (8th November 1966). His second appearance in an episode of the ITV Play of the Week came in the episode ‘The Crossfire’ (9th February 1967), a comedy which also featured Roger Delgaldo, Peter Wyngarde and Ian Hendry in the cast.

One of the most fondly recalled roles of his career was perhaps influenced by his casting in the play The Creature and its subsequent film version, The Abominable Snowman, when the producers of Doctor Who cast him in a similar role as Padmasambhava in the Patrick Troughton era adventure ‘The Abominable Snowmen’ during September and November 1967. His association with the work of Nigel Kneale continued with Morris popping up in another Kneale scripted production with a small cameo as the custard pie expert in the visionary play The Year of the Sex Olympics (29th July 1968). His film work for the year included The Other People (1968), a film that has been lost and is listed on the BFI Most Wanted Missing Films list.

Also of note is his interpretation of Gollum in the 1968 BBC Radio 4 adaptation of Lord of the Rings which ran from 29th September to 17th November. The eight part series was written by the actor Michael Kilgarriff. More guest roles as ethnic characters in continuing series followed with parts in episodes of business drama The Power Game – as Mejulik in ‘Standard Practice’ (25th February 1969) – and in the ITC adventure series The Champions – as Nadkarni in ‘The Gun Runners’ (23rd April 1969). He then had a small role as a Chinese Trade Attache in the British sex comedy film The Best House in London (1969). To round off the year the single BBC drama Tower of London: The Innocent (31st July 1969) featured Morris as Doctor Puebla in a cast which also starred John Abineri, Bernard Archard, Peter Copley and a fresh faced Robert Powell. 

In 1970 Morris played Oliver Cromwell amongst a star studded cast in three episodes of the BBC period drama The Six Wives of Henry VIII. During December 1970 and January 1971 he appeared in a stage revival of Ibsen’s Peer Gynt at the University Theatre in Manchester playing several roles in the production including the Troll King. The director was Michael Elliott who had cast him previously in Kneale’s plays The Crunch and The Year of the Sex Olympics. Cinema wise Morris appeared in One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (1971) adapted from the novel by Solzhenitsyn based on his own experiences as a political prisoner in Stalin’s Russia. More remembered was his film role as the insane owner of the waxworks in the second story in the British horror anthology The House That Dripped Blood (1971). After more guest roles he made just a single onscreen appearance for 1973 as the Malta Police Commissioner in the film The Mackintosh Man.

His TV roles for 1975 included Greg Prince in The Sweeney episode ‘Stoppo Driver’ (6th March 1975), Robert Walpole in the Churchill’s People episode ‘The Fine Art of Bubble Blowing’ (12th May 1975) and as Michelangelo Lombardi in ‘Just My Bill’ (5th December 1975), an episode of the sitcom The Good Life. Prior to his appearance as Hubbard in ‘Buddyboy’ Morris undertook roles in the biblical epic The Message (1976), the Children’s Film Foundation production Seal Island (1976) and in two episodes of the series Killers – ‘The Stinie Morrison Case’ Part 1 (30th June 1976) and Part 2 (7th July 1976).

Post-Beasts work includes his first BBC Play For Today – ‘Rocky Marciano Is Dead’ (28th September 1978) as a punch-drunk boxing trainer, an episode of the ATV high finance drama The Foundation, ‘Intuition’ (12th August 1977). as Jan De Groot and as Fraser in five episodes of the David McCallum starring HTV adaptation of Robert Louis Stephenson’s Kidnapped (1978). For director Michael Elliott he appeared in a stage production of Twelfth Night as Sir Toby Jug at the Royal Exchange, Manchester during January 1978. The following month, February, Morris played the roles of Rabbi Samson and Meyer in a production of The Dybbuk for the Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre Company.

His screen work during this period also includes appearing as Doctor Krause in the Walt Disney film The London Connection (1978), a family spy drama which was later re-edited and renamed The Omega Connection (18th March 1979), and shown as part of the series Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Colour. He then featured as Ebenezer in two episodes of The Famous Five – ‘Five Goes to Demon Rocks’ Part One (18th July 1979) and Part Two (25th July 1979). Morris could also be seen opposite Sean Connery and Denholm Elliott in the film Cuba (1979) playing another ethnic role, General Fulgencio Batista. 

At the start of the 1980s the theatre work The Dybbuk was adapted into a BBC play (24th February 1980) and Morris recreated his stage role of Meyer for the TV version. More single play roles followed; BBC Play for Today – ‘Beyond the Pale’ (6th January 1981) as Mr Somper, People from the Forest (25th May 1981) as Mikhail Malyarov, the role of Sidney Moss in the BBC 2 Playhouse episode ‘A Pocketful of Dreams’ (12th March 1982).  Escape to the West (18th June 1982) was a single drama from HTV written by Dave Martin and story edited by his former writing partner, Bob Baker. The plot revolved around a TV play that is being made about a Russian dissident. Kubin, a real-life dissident who will introduce the programme, was played by Joss Ackland. Leonard Rossiter portrayed an extra in the in the play. Wolfe Morris played the producer of the play. 

.Morris made no film or TV appearances during 1983 and concentrated on theatre roles such as the touring production of the play Outlaw which began at the Haymarket Studio in Leicester. During 1984 he was back on the television as the character Leister in the Bergerac episode ‘House Guests’ (4th February 1984). Theatre provided the bulk of employment for the next few years with highlights including Breackneck at the Theatre Royal in Stratford during April 1984 and a production of Great Expectations at the Manchester Royal Exchange in November 1984. He made one television appearance in 1985 with the role of Mr Doffman in The Bill episode ‘The Sweet Smell of Failure’ (22nd January 1985). During April 1985 he appeared in a production of Lulu at the Palace Theatre in Watford.
He undertook the role of Rabbi Lionel Weiss in a six episode run of the soap opera Emmerdale during November and December 1987 and had previously been seen in Big George Is Dead (1st October 1987), a Channel Four single drama with Morris in the role of Fat Larry. Dirty Dozen: The Series was a short lived American programme based on the war film The Dirty Dozen (1967). Morris appears as Grimaldi in the ninth episode, ‘Don Danko’ (1988).

Morris had more work with the Compass Theatre Company from May 1988 as part of the cast of a touring production of The Government Inspector which opened in Bath and took in venues such as Birmingham, Richmond and Newcastle. Don Taylor, who directed the Beasts episodes ‘Buddyboy’ and ‘During Barty’s Party’, performed the directing duties. Back on television Morris was Mr Gimson in the first episode of a glossy TV production of Uncle Silas (4th January 1989) though the majority of his employment continued to be in theatre. April and May 1989 he appeared as the head of a family in the drama presentation In the Talking Dark at the Royal Exchange theatre. February and March 1990 saw Morris appear in David Rudkin’s translation of When We Dead Awaken at the Almedia theatre. The play saw Claire Bloom’s return to the London Stage after a thirteen year absence. Morris was next seen on the TV screen in the Channel Four short film The New Look (9th January 1991) as a psychiatrist. His final on screen role was Mr Prager in the HTV single drama Daisies in December (3rd December 1995). Morris portrayed an old age pensioner in a retirement home which was also the home of a colourful cast of characters played by an equally colourful collection of actors including Joss Ackland, Jean Simmons and Barbara Lott.

Wolfe Morris passed away aged 71 on 21st July 1996 in London and was laid to rest at Golders Green Crematorium on 25th July. His daughter, Shona Morris, is an accomplished stage actress.

[1] His grandparents were from Kiev where they fled from the anti-Jewish pogroms (riots) during the late 19^th Century. They arrived in London during the 1890s and moved to Portsmouth shortly afterwards.

[2] The Stage, Thursday 21^st September 1961, page 13.

[3] The Stage, Thursday 27^th October 1966, page 16

Final cover design for The Book of Beasts announced.

 The cover design for The Book of Beasts has undergone a few tweaks to add the publisher's branding and a credit for Johnny Mains who supplies the foreword to the book. 

Johnny was essential in getting this book to see print. He was their from the early drafts offering advice, encouragement and propping me back when I'd fallen. I can't thank him enough so I was really happy when he agreed to write the foreword.

The Book of Beasts trailer

My publishers, Headpress, have released a rather lovely promo video for The Book of Beasts. The video was created by Chris Lince of Hermetic Arts who specialise in producing genre material across the mediums of theatre, film and audio. One of the things I love about the video is that Chris has added tiny audio embellishments to link to Kneale's series. Can you spot the cries of a baby and a dolphin on the soundtrack?

Chris commented on making the video "As a massive Beasts fan, it was a pleasure to put together this trailer for Andrew's book. I wanted to capture the ominous dread that Kneale was so superb at, but also include more playful details in the sound design. Ending with a nod to 'Buddy Boy' was pretty much the first decision I made, and then I worked backwards from there!"

More of Chris' work including his trailers for theatre can be viewed at https://www.stagefrightfilms.co.uk/