Leo McKern

[Rellevart]

Actor Leo McKern, who played the TV barrister Rumpole of the Bailey, has died aged 82.

He had been ill for some time and died at a nursing home near Bath, Somerset, where he had lived, according to his agent.

McKern was moved to the nursing home a few weeks before his death, and had suffered from diabetes and other health problems.

His career spanned more than 50 years - from acclaimed Shakespeare stage roles to playing Clang in The Beatles' 1965 film Help!

But it was as the blustering barrister Horace Rumpole in the TV series, written by John Mortimer, that he became a star around the world.

Awww....sad. http://www.beatlelinks.net/ubb/smilies/images/icons/frown.gif

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I go back so far, I'm in front of me...

[Lynner]

Aww...That's a shame. Thanks for the info' Rell'. I'd seen him in a few things. He was a good actor.

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[Tim]

Besides Clang in Help! he was also one of the actors to play Number 2 in The Prisoner.

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Tim
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[beatlebangs1964]

What a sad loss.

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Then we will remember things we said today. Yeah.
-- Beatles, 1964

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BB1964

[EasternBird]

Thank you for posting this, Rell. I probably would have missed it otherwise.

I actually don't think I've ever seen him in anything besides "Help!" but it sounds like he had quite a successful career. He will be missed. http://www.beatlelinks.net/ubb/smilies/sad1.gif

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There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness." - Dave Barry
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[HMVNipper]

Thanks for posting this, Rell...he will be missed.

Here's a slightly larger obit from the Associated Press:

JULY 23, 12:53 ET
British TV's 'Rumpole' Dead at 82

By ROBERT BARR
Associated Press Writer
AP/ [15K]

LONDON (AP) — Leo McKern, the Australian actor who gained fame as a curmudgeonly barrister in ``Rumpole of the Bailey,'' died Tuesday at the age of 82, his agent said.

McKern, who had been ill for some time, died at a nursing home near his home in Bath in western England, said his agent, Richard Hatton.

McKern starred as Horace Rumpole in 44 episodes between 1975 and 1992, playing a crafty lawyer giving to quoting poetry, swilling ``Chateau Thames Embankment'' at Pomeroy's wine bar, and dueling at home with his wife Hilda — ``she who must be obeyed.''

The distinctive appearance of McKern's fleshy face was due in part to a glass left eye, the result of an accident when he was a 15-year-old engineer's apprentice.

``Rumpole,'' created by British lawyer John Mortimer, won a global audience, and McKern resigned himself to the inevitable typecasting.

``With Rumpole one comes to be reconciled to the fact that it isn't half a bad thing to be stuck with,'' he once said.

Mortimer praised McKern as ``a wonderful actor.''

``He not only played the character Rumpole, he added to it, brightened it and brought it fully to life,'' Mortimer said.

Born Reginald McKern in Sydney, he moved to Britain in 1946, two years after making his stage debut.

Some of his early British stage appearances came at the Old Vic Theater between 1949 and 1952, and at the Shakespeare Memorial Theater at Stratford-upon-Avon in 1952-54.

In 1967, McKern appeared in the second episode of ``The Prisoner,'' the cult television show starring Patrick McGoohan. McKern appeared as No. 2, the authoritarian figure who died at the end of each episode, to be replaced by another actor in the next.

McKern's film roles included ``The Mouse That Roared'' (1959), ``Lawrence of Arabia'' (1962), The Beatles' ``Help!'' (1965), ``A Man for all Seasons'' (1966), ``Ryan's Daughter'' (1971), and ``The French Lieutenant's Woman'' (1983).

His last film role was as a bishop in ``The Story of Father Damien'' in 1999. His reminiscences, ``Just Resting,'' were published in 1983, the same year he was awarded the Order of Australia.

He is survived by his wife, Jane Holland, and two daughters. A private family funeral was planned, Hatton said.



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[Clark Kent]

I read that in the paper today. It's sad news.

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[FiendishThingie]

Sad, indeed!

I saw Leo in many films over the years. I always enjoyed his acting very much. I'd heard he'd been sick, but didn't know it was getting that bad.

Thanks for passing the word!

Love & prayers to Leo & family!

FT http://www.beatlelinks.net/ubb/smilies/wink3.gif

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"Music always had a transcendental quality inasmuch as it reaches parts of you that you don't expect it to reach. And it can touch you in a way that you can't express. You can think that it hasn't reached you and years later you'll find it coming out." George Harrison

http://www.beatlelinks.net/ubb/smilies/jesus.gif !!! i thought he was dead years ago!!!


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The Love You Take Is Equal To The Love You Make

[SF4-EVER]

Thanks for the articles, Rell and Susan. It's a shame to hear we've lost another person who once worked with the Beatles. I hope he went happy -- and not to Kali.

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[HeyBeatle]

Oh that's so sad. He was such a fabulous actor.

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Always remember you're unique, just like everyone else is.

~If you don't mind, I'm going to bed before either of you come up with another idea to get us killed, or worse expelled!
~She needs to sort of her priorities.

i loved him in Candleshoe...his voice is unforgettable, that´s for sure.

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The Love You Take Is Equal To The Love You Make

I just thought id share this very funny Leo story..a couple of years ago, in about 1998 or 99, Leo and his wife were staying at this hotel in Australia and there was a fire, or a false alarm (i think it WAS a fire) and Leo, who was sleeping totally naked at the time got up, and had just enough time to put on a pair of underpants, and grab a gown before exiting the hotel!!! a total comedian, and one with such a good sense of humour to joke about himself in this way..fitting way to remember him i think!!

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"hope to get out of this place, by the lord SRI KRISHNA'S GRACE"

[kjrocks_1]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Tahoma, Arial, Sans-Serif">Quote:</font><HR>Originally Posted By Maharishi Mahesh Yogi:
I just thought id share this very funny Leo story..a couple of years ago, in about 1998 or 99, Leo and his wife were staying at this hotel in Australia and there was a fire, or a false alarm (i think it WAS a fire) and Leo, who was sleeping totally naked at the time got up, and had just enough time to put on a pair of underpants, and grab a gown before exiting the hotel!!! a total comedian, and one with such a good sense of humour to joke about himself in this way..fitting way to remember him i think!!

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks for the story.. that's too funny.
Rest in Peace Leo, you will be missed!


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