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Jack May

Acting Born Apr 23, 1922 Henley on Thames, Oxfordshire, England, UK 24 credits

Biography

Jack May was a mellifluous-voiced actor best known for playing butlers and establishment figures, often representing Britain's interests in far-flung corners of the empire. With regards the former, he memorably played William E. Simms, former music hall artise turned manservant to Gerald Harper's titular swashbuckling adventurer in '60s TV cult classic Adam Adamant Lives! as well as providing the voice of Igor, the long-suffering valet in Cosgrove Hall's 1980s animation Count Duckula. His film credits included the district commissioner in 1975's The Man Who Would Be King and the prosecuting naval attorney in the remake of The Bounty (1984). For many, May was Nelson Gabriel 'the most disreputable character in Ambridge' in BBC Radio 4's long-running soap The Archers. May took the role of the shady rogue, later antique dealer and wine bar owner, in 1952 and continued to play him right up until the year of his death, 1997. This 45 year stint made May, at the time, the fourth-longest serving soap opera star in the world. He died at the age of 75, on 19 September 1997, survived by his wife, the actress Petra Davies, his daughter Henrietta, and son David.

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Known for

Film

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

as General Nicolai Hermack

The Avengers

1961
Film

Open Season 2

as Newsvendor

Count Duckula

as Igor (voice)

Full filmography

  • Doctor Who (1963) as General Nicolai Hermack
  • The Avengers (1961)
  • Scarecrow and Mrs. King (1983)
  • Jeeves and Wooster (1990) as Vicar
  • No Hiding Place (1959)
  • No Hiding Place (1959) as Major Westbrook
  • All Creatures Great and Small (1978) as Reverend Henty
  • The Wednesday Play (1964) as Lt. Krov
  • UFO (1970) as English Delegate
  • Danger Man (1960) as Third Secretary
  • Van der Valk (1972) as Minister
  • The Main Chance (1969) as Derrick Asher
  • The Main Chance (1969) as Harry Turner
  • Sunday Night Theatre (1950) as David Gottlieb
  • Sunday Night Theatre (1950) as Burton
  • The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1981) as Garkbit (Head Waiter)
  • Dr. Finlay's Casebook (1962)
  • Mark Saber (1954) as Newsvendor
  • The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes (1971) as James Ladbroke, Q.C.
  • Out of the Unknown (1965) as Evans
  • Poldark (1975) as Ralph Allen Daniell
  • Count Duckula (1988) as Igor (voice)
  • Festival (1963) as Voice of God (voice)
  • Espionage (1963) as Brent