Malpas was born as George Henry Malpas in Warrington, Cheshire on 1st November 1926. After service in the armed forces as an interpreter[1] during the war he became a teacher before studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He is best known for playing the father of Kavanagh QC in the popular series starring John Thaw. He was occasionally credited as George Malpass.
Malpas was already in his forties when he made his screen debut and he would go on to make appearances in many major drama series on British television from the 1960s onwards. He would become a familiar face in small roles and cameos found in all genres ranging from horror to sitcom. George was extremely active in theatre and played in several productions for Colwyn Bay Rep including Problem Child staged during April 1954 and murder mystery Between Ourselves during May 1955. He was a member of the theatre group Harry Hanson’s Court Players from 1956 onwards which saw him involved in such touring productions as The County Calls during the winter of 1957. The Bradford company were based at the Prince’s theatre where they debuted the production Blood in the Dust during summer 1958. Further productions included The Thirteenth Chair (February 1959).
He was attached to Huddersfield Repertory Company during the 1960s and during this period he wrote and acted in several productions including Goodnight, Mrs Puffin during February 1964, the pantomime Babes in the Wood during Christmas 1964 and in a production called The Lively Oracles, staged at the New Theatre in Huddersfield, which was written by John Allegro and Roy (Desert Island Discs) Plomley during April 1966. The first confirmed TV role for Malpas I can find is for a small role as a postman who delivers a letter from Canada in a Coronation Street episode transmitted on 28th November 1966. He would make a further five appearances in the soap opera as different characters with his final appearance in the later 1980s.
Next was an episode of the offbeat detective series Mr Rose. Mapas appears as a police sergeant in a police station in the episode 'The Honest Villain' (14th April 1967). 'A Question of Priorities' (26th January 1968) was an episode of the drama anthology City 68, directed by Michael Apted. The storyline involved plans to remove an old city centre cemetery for a new housing development which are met with resistance from the local community. Malpas was part of the cast alongside Julian Holloway and Richard Hurndall.
The children’s drama series Tom Grattan’s War provided Malpas with his first regular role in an ongoing series. Malpas played Stan Hobbs in three seasons broadcast between 1968 and 1970. On stage he could be seen in a production of the David Mercer play Where The Difference Begins presented at Hull Arts Centre during May and June 1970. He was a member of the newly formed Bradford and Halifax Theatre Company when they staged their debut production, Julius Caesar, at the Halifax Playhouse in October 1970. Productions were staged in Halifax for four days and then at Bradford Library Theatre for a further nine days. He was cast as Will Atkins, the villain in the pantomime Robinson Crusoe staged in Hastings and Weston-Super-Mare during December 1970 and January 1971.
He made a second appearance in an episode of Coronation Street (8th February 1971) as Norman Tindall, and followed this by playing Dawes in the Z Cars episode 'Little Girl Lost: Part 1' (15th March 1971), George in the first episode of a BBC dramatization of Jane Austen’s Persuasion (18th April 1971) and appearing in the long forgotten Granada produced sitcom The Last of the Baskets as a market tradesman in the episode 'End of the Peer' (10th May 1971). Theatre wise for the year he appeared alongside future Beasts actor Peter Halliday in the stage production The Superannuated Man during May and April 1971. During August 1971 he was cast member of the play A Pinch of Purple staged at the Alhambra, Bradford. Having appeared in Coronation Street at the start of the year Malpas returned as different character at the end of the year for a two episode appearance as Charlie in episodes transmitted 22nd and 27th December 1971.
He continued with small roles throughout 1972 and 1973 including being a postman again in 'The Visit' (31st January 1972), an episode of the sitcom Nearest and Dearest. Next was the 1930s Manchester set drama series Shabby Tiger adapted from the novel by Welsh author Howard Spring. Malpas featured as Mr Carless in the second episode, 'A Jealous Mistress' (18th July 1973). His next role was as Mr Plum in the Follyfoot story 'The Letter' (4th August 1973) before he appeared in the movie Malachi’s Cove (1973) playing Mr Eliot opposite his future 'The Dummy' co-star, Lillias Walker, who appeared as Mrs Gunliffe. Orson Welles Great Mysteries, an anthology series presented and introduced by Welles himself, had Malpas appear in the episode 'Ice Storm' (19th January 1974) alongside his future 'The Dummy' co-star Thorley Walters. During July 1974 Malpas was attached to a National Theatre interpretation of The Marriage of Figaro presented at the Old Vic and directed by Jonathan Miller. Prior to his appearance in Beasts Malpas took roles in a couple of sitcoms. For The Last of the Summer Wine episode 'A Quiet Drink' (2nd April 1975) he appeared as the character Harry and later popped up in the Les Dawson starring sitcom The Loner playing Jack in the episode, 'Dawson’s Complaint' (7th May 1975). On stage, as part of the Liverpool Playhouse Company, he was involved with the play The Mixed Forest presented during August 1975. Back on the TV his second Play for Today role was as Bill in '84 Charring Cross Road' (4th November 1975), based on the book by Helene Hanff. Next was his role as Vic in the Beasts episode 'The Dummy'.
Following broadcast of 'The Dummy' Malpas moved on to feature in Dickens of London, a Yorkshire Television series based on the life of author Charles Dickens. Malpas had a small supporting role as an old man in the episode 'Memories' (21st December 1976). His major role for the year of 1977 was as Swales in the BBC production of Count Dracula (22nd December 1977), starring Louis Jordan as the vampire.
Mr Dean was a character played by Malpas in 'Dog Days' (15th January 1978), the second ever episode of All Creatures Great and Small. Malpas would later reprise the character in the second season of the programme. The following month Malpas was seen as Les the Lollipop Man in the Play for Today drama 'Our Day Out' (7th February 1978). During March and April 1978 he was cast as the central character, Jack Gromer, in a new play, Thee and Me, written by Philip Martin and debuted at the author’s local theatre, The Dukes Playhouse, in Lancaster. Malpas then appeared in the ATV series Will Shakespeare which cast Tim Curry in the central role as the young bard. Malpas appeared in the episode 'The Loved Boy' (4th July 1978) as Master Squab. In the theatre Malpas appeared alongside fellow Beasts actor Bernard Horsfall in a stage production of the Tom Stoppard’s comedy Jumpers during September and October 1978. Malpas then popped up as Marvin Schumaker in the George and Mildred episode 'I Believe in Yesterday' (21st September 1978). Two days later on the rival channel BBC One Malpas returned to the role of Mr Dean for his second appearance in the cosy drama series All Creatures Great and Small with the episode 'Cats and Dogs' (23rd September 1978).
During 1979 Malpas made his final Play for Today appearance, as a school headmaster, in the episode 'Vampires' (9th January 1979). He also featured in the Upstairs Downstairs spin off series, Thomas and Sarah, as Old William in the episode 'Love into Three Won’t Go' (8th April 1979) before taking the recurring role of Hercules in the ATV production Tropic, based on the book Tropic of Ruislip by Leslie Thomas. Next was the romantic drama A Moment in Time which featured Malpas in episodes three (11th September 1979) and four (13th September 1979) as Amos. His final TV appearance for the year was in Sally Ann, a Southern Television production, which followed by lives of a group of Salvation Army members. Malpas appeared as Tobias in the first episode, 'Choice' (28th October 1979). Malpas then made a rare film appearance in the British sports drama Yesterday’s Hero (1979) which starred Ian McShane as a down on his luck football player attempting to make a comeback in the sport.
Into a new decade and Malpas was next seen on TV as Grimmel in 'Constance Kent: Part One' (25th March 1980), the first episode of the BBC drama A Question of Guilt. This was followed by his first of two appearances in the BBC police drama Juliet Bravo in the role of Joss Buckle in the episode 'Family Unit' (22nd November 1980). He also had a small role as a courtroom judge in the feature length Granada drama Life for Christine (1980). During the night he could be seen by TV audiences in his small role as a railway porter in the BBC play Days at the Beach (13th February 1981) and he could also be seen by theatre goers in a revival of Hobson’s Choice at the Hammersmith Lyric theatre. He rounded off his television credits for the year with a pair of period television dramas; Bread or Blood (5th April – 3rd May 1981), which featured Malpas in the role of Ellerby, whilst Wilfred and Eileen was a BBC period drama which featured Malpas as a policeman in episode three (25th November 1981).
1982 began with a small role credited as Man at Morecambe' in the A Kind of Loving episode 'April 1959' (25th April 1982) followed later in the year with his second Juliet Bravo appearance in the episode 'Hartley’s Midnight Cowboy' (13th November 1982). A few days later audiences might have been able to spot him as a ticket collector in the second episode (17th November 1982) of the BBC series The Barchester Chronicles.
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More small roles followed with Malpas playing a boatman in the Robert Lindsay comedy drama Give Us Break in the episode 'Business Is Business' (27th October 1983) and as a tobacconist in the Reilly Ace Of Spies episode 'The Last Journey' (9th November 1983). He was also cast as Frank Mulberry in 'The Clergyman’s Daughter' (27th November 1983), an episode of the crime drama Partners in Crime. It had been twelve years since Malpas had appeared in Coronation Street and he returned for a two episode appearance as the character Uncle Wilf in the episodes broadcast 31st October and 2nd November 1983. His final TV role of the year was in The Witches and the Grinnygog, a children’s fantasy series based on the book of the same name by Dorothy Edwards. Malpas appeared as Old Peggy in the fourth episode (5th December 1983).
Richard Bramall, who had directed the Beasts episode 'Special Offer', cast Malpas as Raggy Walker in 'They Shoot Tigers in India' (12th February 1984), an episode of the BBC zoo vet drama One By One. The Tom Selleck starring film Lassiter (1984) featured many British character actors in the cast including Harry Towb, Edward Peel and Bob Hoskins. Another film role came with Mr Love (1985), a British comedy film starring Barry Jackson as an elderly gardener, and Malpas had a cameo as an elderly gardener.
1985 would be Malpas’ busiest year for some time and it began with the role of Lol in 'Can Anybody Join In?' (13th January 1985), an episode of the drama series The Beiderbecke Affair. Next was the American TV movie Anna Karenina (26th March 1985) which starred Christopher Reeve and Jaqueline Bissett. Malpas had a small role as a railway stationmaster. The BBC documentary series The Day The Universe Changed was presented by James Burke and explored key moments of scientific discoveries throughout history. The programme used dramatized sections to help explain the concepts and events and Malpas appears as John Den in the episode 'A Matter of Fact: Printing Transforms Knowledge' (9th April 1985).
Children’s drama anthology series Dramarama often strayed into the worlds of the supernatural and fantasy (which led to a whole spin-off series titled Spooky) and an example of such an episode was 'A Young Person’s Guide To Going Backwards in the World' (29th April 1985). Malpas appears as the character Bile. Comedy drama Mapp and Lucia enlisted Malpas to play Coplen in two episodes; 'Battle Stations' (21st April 1985) and 'The Owl and the Pussycat' (12th May 1985). More small roles for the year included being a pub customer in the Terry and June episode 'Ill Met by Moonlight' (9th November 1985), a school porter in the big budget film Young Sherlock Holmes (1985) and appearing as a shepherd in the Children’s Film and Television Foundation production Exploits At West Poley (1985). The cast for this production also included Anthony Bate (who had appeared in the Beasts story 'During Barty’s Party').
Next was a role as Billy Jay in 'National Hero' (1986), an episode of the sitcom Lytton’s Diary. This was followed by two smaller roles as a caravan owner in 'Great Uncle Herbert' (5th March 1986), an episode of the BBC sitcom No Place Like Home, and as a horsebox driver in the single drama The Fools on the Hill (17th November 1986). More substantial was his role as Boggis in the children’s supernatural drama The Children of the Green Knowe (26th November – 17th December 1986). This was followed with the character of Mr Slatterthwaite in the Screen Two drama 'On the Palm' (5th April 1987). Less than a week later Malpas was struck with a personal tragedy when his wife Doris passed away on 11th April 1987. Malpas made no more film or television appearances for the rest of the year.
Malpas returned to the small screen with a third, and final, appearance in the BBC’s All Creatures Great and Small playing a different character, Mr Dakin, in the episode 'The Bull With The Bowler Hat' (31st January 1988). This was followed with The Nature of the Beast (1988), a Film Four production which was rural mystery drama filmed in and around Accrington in Lancashire. Malpas was cast as Bill Howgill. The Euston Films and Thames Television co-production of Jack the Ripper (11th and 18th October 1988) starred Michael Caine as Inspector Abberline. Amongst a plethora of familiar British character actors was Malpas seen in a tiny role as an old man. To round off the year Malpas appeared in various sketches in The Russ Abbott Christmas Show (25th December 1988). On the same night for the opposing channel Malpas made his final appearance in an episode of Coronation Street playing a tramp in the Christmas Day edition. The musical comedy film Bert Rigby, You’re A Fool (1989) starred Robert Lindsay and Robbie Coltrane and written and directed by American comedy legend Carl Reiner. Malpas had a small role as a government minister, a rare authority role for the actor.
Another production based in a rural environment was Forever Green and Malpas was cast in the third instalment (12th March 1989) as Bert. Malpas could also be briefly seen as a man on a zeppelin in the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). He also guest starred in two episodes of the Merseyside set soap opera Brookside as Maurice Walsh in the episodes 'Apple Juice' (17th May 1989) and 'Betrayed' (24th May 1989). Towards the end of the year his final TV appearance was as Cecil in 'The Howling' (15th December 1989), an episode of the Dennis Waterman starring drama series Stay Lucky. Channel Four Film production The Missing Reel (1989) also featured Malpas as an elderly stone mason.
Over the next few years Malpas would undertook a couple of small roles in popular primetime dramas including a caretaker in The Bill ('Kids Don’t Cry Anymore', 19th February 1991), a gardener in Boon ('Bad Pennies', 3rd December 1991), Old Arnie in Rumpole of the Bailey ('Rumpole and the Family Pride', 26th November 1992), Leonard in Casualty ('Family Matters', 6th February 1993) and a war veteran in Peak Practice ('Act of Remembrance', 22nd March 1994). He was still regularly engaged within theatre with credits in the 1990s including a run of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible in Sheffield during September 1993.
Over the next few years Malpas would undertook a couple of small roles in popular primetime dramas including a caretaker in The Bill ('Kids Don’t Cry Anymore', 19th February 1991), a gardener in Boon ('Bad Pennies', 3rd December 1991), Old Arnie in Rumpole of the Bailey ('Rumpole and the Family Pride', 26th November 1992), Leonard in Casualty ('Family Matters', 6th February 1993) and a war veteran in Peak Practice ('Act of Remembrance', 22nd March 1994). He was still regularly engaged within theatre with credits in the 1990s including a run of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible in Sheffield during September 1993.
His last substantial role was as Alfred Kavanagh, the father of John Thaw’s character Kavanagh QC in the drama series of the same title. He appeared in two episodes including the very first episode 'Nothing but the Truth' (3rd January 1995) and 'Job Satisfaction' (2nd April 1996). His final television appearance was in the single BBC drama The Missing Postman (29th March 1997) as an 'old man with dog'.
Malpas died 26th February 2001 in a Bradford nursing home, aged 74, where he had spent the last nine months of his life. His short obituary in the trade paper The Stage succinctly summarised his career; “Malpas was never a star but was well known in the profession as a sound and versatile character actor with a command of accents and dialects.[2]” Bradford’s local newspaper the Telegraph and Argus paid tribute with a more extensive feature which carried some words from his manager Harry Harbour “He never really had any major roles, but he was well-known in the business for the smaller parts he played.[3]”
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