Jack May
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- April 23, 1922
- Place of birth
- Henley on Thames, Oxfordshire, England, UK
- Died
- September 19, 1997
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.
Movies with Jack May
- The Man Who Would Be King 1975 · ★ 7.5
- Brief Encounter 1945 · ★ 7.7
- The Bounty 1984 · ★ 6.8
- A Night to Remember 1958 · ★ 7.7
- The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy 1981 · ★ 7.3
- A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum 1966 · ★ 6.1
- The Seven-Per-Cent Solution 1976 · ★ 6.2
- This Happy Breed 1944 · ★ 7.1
- The Blue Lamp 1950 · ★ 6.6
- The Doctor and the Devils 1985 · ★ 6.3
- Two-Way Stretch 1960 · ★ 6.7
- Goodbye, Mr. Chips 1969 · ★ 6.8
- Trog 1970 · ★ 4.6
- How I Won the War 1967 · ★ 5.7
- Pool of London 1951 · ★ 6.6
- The Shooting Party 1985 · ★ 6.6
- Trouble in Store 1953 · ★ 6.1
- The Return of the Soldier 1983 · ★ 6.3
- Saraband for Dead Lovers 1948 · ★ 6.6
- Cat Girl 1957 · ★ 4.9
- The Silent Enemy 1958 · ★ 5.9
- The Men of Sherwood Forest 1954 · ★ 6.9
- Millions Like Us 1943 · ★ 5.6
- The Gentle Sex 1943 · ★ 7.0
- A Prize of Arms 1962 · ★ 6.7
- Night After Night After Night 1969 · ★ 5.6
- A Twist of Sand 1968 · ★ 4.9
- There Was a Crooked Man 1960 · ★ 6.6
- Doctor Who: The Space Pirates 1969 · ★ 5.2
- The Traitors 1962 · ★ 5.8
- Henry VIII 1979 · ★ 6.6
- Johnny Frenchman 1945 · ★ 6.8
- The Gay Dog 1954 · ★ 7.0
- The Yes Girls 1971 · ★ 2.6
- Deadlock 1943 · ★ 5.5
- Big Zapper 1973 · ★ 4.0
- The Professionals 1960 · ★ 5.5
- Whinfrey's Last Case 1979 · ★ 9.5
- Willie's War 1994 · ★ 8.5
- Hard Road 1988 · ★ 6.5