Person
Jack May
Henley on Thames, Oxfordshire, England, UK
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 r…
IMDbKnown for
Popular titles
Biography
A closer look
Read full 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.
Filmography
Movies and shows, newest first
-
1997
Without Air
Movie
-
1994
Willie's War
Movie Grandfather
-
1990
More Children's Holiday Favourites
Movie Igor (voice)
-
1990
Jeeves and Wooster
TV show Vicar
-
1989
More Children's Summer Stories
Movie Igor (voice)
-
1989
Lollipop Children's Favourites - Volume 2
Movie Igor (voice)
-
1989
Lollipop Children's Favourites - Volume 1
Movie Igor/Giant (voice)
-
1988
Count Duckula
TV show Igor (voice)
-
1988
Children's Favourites - Volume 1
Movie Sea Rat (voice)
-
1988
Hard Road
Movie Psychiatrist
-
1987
Big Muzzy
TV show Muzzy (voice)
-
1985
The Doctor and the Devils
Movie Dr Stevens
-
1985
Bulman
TV show Sir Thomas Boycott
-
1985
The Shooting Party
Movie Sir Harry Stamp
-
1984
The Bounty
Movie Prosecuting Captain
-
1983
A Swarm in May
Movie Mr. Ardent - the Headmaster
More credits
-
1983
Scarecrow and Mrs. King
TV show
-
1983
The Return of the Soldier
Movie Brigadier General
-
1982
The Agatha Christie Hour
TV show Colonel Jaggers
-
1981
Friends and Other Lovers
Movie Mr. Franklyn
-
1981
The Life and Times of David Lloyd George
Movie Lord Runciman
-
1981
The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy
Movie Garkbit (Head Waiter)
-
1981
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
TV show Garkbit (Head Waiter)
-
1980
Escape
TV show
-
1979
Whinfrey's Last Case
Movie General Chapman
-
1979
Shoestring
TV show Judge
-
1979
Henry VIII
Movie Lord Chancellor
-
1978
A Horseman Riding By
TV show Lord Gilroy
-
1978
Hawkmoor
TV show John Stedman
-
1978
All Creatures Great and Small
TV show Reverend Henty
-
1977
The Children of the New Forest
TV show Justice Booth
-
1977
Target
TV show Chief Officer
-
1976
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
Movie Dr. Schultz
-
1975
The Man Who Would Be King
Movie District Commissioner
-
1975
Poldark
TV show Ralph Allen Daniell
-
1975
Dawson's Weekly
TV show
-
1973
Soap Opera in Stockwell
Movie Detective
-
1973
Black and Blue
TV show Detective
-
1973
Big Zapper
Movie Jeremiah Horn
-
1973
Away from It All
TV show Graham
