Murray Melvin

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Murray Melvin (2011)

Murray Melvin (born August 10, 1932 in London ) is a British character actor in theater, film and television. In 1962, he won the Palme d'Or in the Best Actor category at the Cannes International Film Festival for his role in the British drama Bitter Honey .

life and career

Murray Melvin, born in London in 1932 to Hugh Victor Melvin and Maisie Winifred Driscoll, learned his way as an actor from scratch. While still a student came Melvin said of Joan Littlewood directed Theater Workshop within the theater Royal Stratford East in London's Stratford upon. Since he had not attended drama school, he was initially an employee and served tea until he got his first roles. From the late 1950s he also appeared in front of the camera for film and television, including in the very first episode of Mit Schirm, Charme und Melone in 1961 .

Melvin was best known for his role as Rita Tushingham's gay friend in Tony Richardson's adaptation of Shelagh Delaney's drama Bitter Honey in 1961 . In 1962 he received the Palme d'Or in Cannes for this performance in the Best Actor category at the Cannes International Film Festival . He had played this role, which was as risky as it was groundbreaking at the time, when homosexuality was still illegal in Great Britain, in the stage version from 1958.

Murray Melvin, with a tall stature and distinctive facial features, found himself mostly in eccentric and controversial character roles. He made other film appearances in Lewis Gilbert's historical film Die Rebellion (1962) and his successful cinema production Der Verführer geht schön greetings (1966), and in 1966 as a slightly bizarre police assistant Aimes in Jack Smight's crook comedy The Gentleman-Zinker , alongside Warren Beatty , Susannah York , Clive Revill and Eric Porter . Melvin was also known for his regular appearances in the films of the director Ken Russell , with whom he was also privately friends until his death.

Melvin had an important supporting role as Reverend Samuel Runt in Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of the novel by William Makepeace Thackerays Barry Lyndon in 1975 . He appeared frequently in literary adaptations, adventure films, and historical materials. Melvin also starred in three of Peter Medak's film productions : A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (1970), The Krays (1990) and Gib's him, Chris! (1991). In 1998 he appeared on a Christmas special on the BBC of Jonathan Creek's The Black Canary . In 2004 he appeared as Monsieur Reyer in the film adaptation of the musical Das Phantom der Oper by director Joel Schumacher . Even at the age of well over 80, Melvin is still in front of the camera, for example for a supporting role in the movie Die versunkene Stadt Z in 2016 .

In addition to his film career, Melvin remained a prolific stage actor who played many classic roles and appeared in the original production of the musical Oh! What a Lovely War played. Melvin returned to the Theater Royal in later years as a trustee and archivist. In addition to acting, he is also known as a learned and popular film historian - for example on the BFI DVD release of the " Bill Douglas Trilogy", an autobiographical film trilogy by director Bill Douglas. As an author , Melvin has published two books: The Art of Theater Workshop (2006) and The Theater Royal, A History of the Building (2009).

Awards

Filmography (selection)

Murray Melvin in Paris (2014)

Books

  • The Art of the Theater Workshop. compiled and introduced by Murray Melvin. Theater Communications, 2006, ISBN 1-84002-691-X .

literature

  • Murray Melvin. In: Achim Klünder: Lexicon of television games. KG Saur Verlag, 1991, p. 88. (books.google.de)
  • Murray Melvin. In: Robin Griffiths: British Queer Cinema. Routledge Press, 2006, p. 79. (books.google.de)
  • Murray Melvin. In: Nadine Holdsworth: Joan Littlewood. Taylor & Francis, 2006, p. 79. (books.google.de)

Web links

Commons : Murray Melvin  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Murray Melvin. In: James Michael Welsh, John C. Tibbetts: The cinema of Tony Richardson: essays and interviews. SUNY Press, 1999, p. 102. (books.google.de)
  2. ↑ Breaking Barriers: Murray Melvin on A Taste of Honey. Retrieved August 28, 2019 .
  3. ^ Murray Melvin | Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos. Retrieved August 28, 2019 (American English).
  4. ↑ Murray Melvin. In: Geoff Mayer: Guide to British Cinema. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2003, p. 185. (books.google.de)
  5. ↑ Murray Melvin. In: Richard Crouse: Raising Hell: Ken Russell and the Unmaking of The Devils. Ecw Press, 2012. (books.google.de)
  6. ↑ Murray Melvin. In: Gabriele Mentges, Birgit Richard: Beauty of Uniformity: Body, Clothing, Media. Campus Press, 2005, p. 158. (books.google.de)
personal data
SURNAME Melvin, Murray
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British actor
DATE OF BIRTH August 10, 1932
PLACE OF BIRTH London , England