Legendary actor Murray Melvin who worked with the likes of Michael Caine and Stanley Kubrick has died aged 90.
Melvin died at St Thomas’ Hospital on Friday and tributes have poured in for the English actor who starred in the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood.
The 90-year-old had a fall in December but had never fully recovered from the incident.
Born on August 10, 1932 in London, Melvin was known for his work with Joan Littlewood, Ken Russell and Stanley Kubrick. He made his stage debut in 1957 at the Theatre Royal in Stratford for Macbeth.
He then went on to star in films such as Alfie (1966) alongside Michael Caine, Barry Lyndon (1975) and The Phantom of the Opera (2004).
Tributes have now poured in across social media for Melvin, who won the BAFTA film award for Most Promising Newcomer and Cannes Film Festival Best Actor award for his role in A Taste of Honey (1961).
Actor Murray Melvin has died aged 90 after a career working with the likes of Stanley Kubrick and Ken Russell
Melvin appeared alongside Sir Michael Caine in Alfie (1966) as Nat, which was directed by Lewis Gilbert
Kerry Michael MBE, creative director at Theatro Technis, said on Twitter: ‘It’s with great sadness that I have to announce the death of Murray Melvin – actor, director and theatre archivist.
‘He had a fall in December, from which he never fully recovered. He died at St Thomas’ Hospital on Friday, 14th April, aged 90. He was one of my closest friends and will be missed by so many of us who had the privilege to know him.’
Actor Ricky J Norwood also paid his condolences on social media, adding: ‘This is terrible news. Murray Melvin always had time for us in the youth theatre and always championed us to succeed in the business.
‘This is a really sad loss. My love to his family and friends. RIP Murray I know you will be treading the boards up there for the big man.’
Russell T Davies wrote on Instagram that Melvin was a ‘wonderful villain’ in the Doctor Who spin-off series Torchwood that he created.
The Doctor Who showrunner added: ‘He lived through a century that saw the understanding of his identity change so profoundly, and he did so with dignity, class and wit.
‘His last email to me ended, ‘Take care, we still cannot afford to take chances.’ Oh he was wise. Night, Murray.’
John Barrowman, who played the lead as immortal captain Jack Harkness in the BBC science fiction series, wrote: ‘Murray Melvin, he always brought a cheeky warm smile to the Torchwood set and had the power to make us all laugh.
Melvin pictured with Barbara Windsor and Sir Robin Andrew Wales
The award for the Best British Dramatic Screenplay in 1961, given to Shelagh Delaney and Tony Richardson for the film ‘A Taste of Honey’, being accepted on their behalf by Rita Tushingham and Murray Melvin in 1962
‘What a glorious career and life but he will always be my ‘Bilis Manger servant of Abaddon’ RIP Murray.’
British journalist Samira Ahmed, who is a writer and broadcaster at the BBC, posted: ‘Murray Melvin: actor, director, Theatre Workshop alumnus, archivist and beautiful man, died yesterday.
‘He was 90. I was so lucky to call him my friend. I saw him the day before he died and he was always full of amazing stories from his life. I will miss him so much.
‘He had this amazing impact on everyone who met him.’
John Bleasdale, the host of Writers on Film, also discussed Melvin’s work as an actor: ‘He’s probably best known for his work in Barry Lyndon and The Devils. But his role in Tony Richardson’s Taste of Honey was genuinely ground-breaking and beautiful in providing a real human portrait of a gay man.’
On Twitter, Stratford East wrote that it was ‘deeply saddened’ by the death of the ‘passionate advocate of our theatre’.
The theatre added: ‘He was on the board for 20 years, and dedicated much of his time in the last 30 years to the development and organisation of a rich theatre archive, which he painstakingly completed in early 2020.
‘He will be greatly missed, although never forgotten.’
As well as working alongside Caine and Kubrick, Melvin was known for his work in films such as H.M.S Defiant (1962), Sparrows Can’t Sing (1963), Kaleidoscope (1966) and Smashing Time (1967).
He also starred in The Devils (1971), Ghost Story (1974), Joseph Andrews (1977), Ghost in the Noonday Sun (1985) and The Lost City of Z (2017).
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11976525/Actor-Murray-Melvin-worked-Michael-Caine-Stanley-Kubrick-died-aged-90.html
