John Grieve (actor)

John Grieve
Born(1924-06-14)14 June 1924
Maryhill, Glasgow, Scotland
Died21 January 2003(2003-01-21) (aged 78)
Glasgow, Scotland
NationalityScottish
OccupationActor

John Grieve (14 June 1924 – 21 January 2003) was a Scottish actor, best known as the engineer Macphail in the BBC adaptation of Neil Munro's Para Handy stories, Para Handy - Master Mariner (1959–60), returning to that role in the BBC Scotland version, The Vital Spark (1965–67, 1973–74).[1]

Born in Maryhill, Glasgow, Grieve attended the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, before joining the Citizens Theatre in 1951.[1][2] Grieve worked in variety alongside many familiar Scottish comedians, including Stanley Baxter and Jimmy Logan.[3] Although principally known for his comic roles, he appeared in drama films such as The Thirty-Nine Steps (1978), Eye of the Needle (1981) and the BBC docudrama Square Mile of Murder (1980).[4][5] His stage roles include the part of the King's Jester in the premier of The Burning (1971) by Stewart Conn.

He had a brief recurring role as Frank Marker's probation officer in the Thames Television series Public Eye.[6] He played Sandy Duncanson in BBC's adaptation of Neil Munro's The New Road, in a BBC drama about the Union of the Parliaments in 1707 he played John Hamilton, 2nd Lord Belhaven and Stenton who delivered a controversial speech against the Union, and appeared on BBC Scotland's Hogmanay celebrations,[7][8] one of which (Into '85) was broadcast nationally from Gleneagles and became notorious for Grieve, apparently worse the wear with alcohol, unable to recite a brief poem and collapsing into laughter, along with other shambolic incidents featured in the same programme. The BBC as a result did not broadcast Hogmanay-themed programmes thereafter.[9][10]

He appeared in two episodes (eleven years apart) in the television series All Creatures Great and Small as Dr. Harry Allinson,[11] whose practice was next door to Skeldale House.

  1. ^ a b "John Grieve Actor who put the character into comedy and who engineered a comedy classic". HeraldScotland. 25 January 2003.
  2. ^ "John Grieve | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
  3. ^ "John Grieve from The Gazetteer for Scotland". www.scottish-places.info.
  4. ^ "John Grieve | Movies and Filmography". AllMovie.
  5. ^ "Square Mile of Murder". 12 June 1980. p. 58 – via BBC Genome.
  6. ^ "BFI Screenonline: Public Eye (1965-75)". www.screenonline.org.uk.
  7. ^ "The New Road Part 5 A Balance of Accounts (1973)". BFI. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021.
  8. ^ "A New Year Party at The White Heather Club". 1 January 1963. p. 21 – via BBC Genome.
  9. ^ Five… Four… Three… Two… One! Off The Telly, Steve Williams.January 2001.
  10. ^ Joy of Six: Memorable Christmas and New Year TV events The Guardian, Scott Murray. 24 December 2008. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  11. ^ "Bulldog Breed (1978)". BFI. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020.