Acting
Jack May
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
Brief Encounter
1945
A Night to Remember
1958
The Bounty
1984
The Man Who Would Be King
1975
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
1969
How I Won the War
1967
Cat Girl
1957
This Happy Breed
1944
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
1966
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
1976
The Blue Lamp
1950
Two-Way Stretch
1960
Trog
1970
The Silent Enemy
1958
Henry VIII
1979
The Doctor and the Devils
1985
Pool of London
1951
The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy
1981
The Shooting Party
1985
A Twist of Sand
1968
Solo for Sparrow
1962
Saraband for Dead Lovers
1948
The Return of the Soldier
1983
Millions Like Us
1943
The Men of Sherwood Forest
1954
Children's Favourites - Volume 1
1988
Lollipop Children's Favourites - Volume 2
1989
Big Zapper
1973
The Gay Dog
1954
A Prize of Arms
1962
The Gentle Sex
1943
The Professionals
1960
Emma's Time
1970
Without Air
1997
The Traitors
1962
There Was a Crooked Man
1960
Lollipop Children's Favourites - Volume 1
1989
Trouble in Store
1953
Doctor Who: The Space Pirates
1969
Friends and Other Lovers
1981
The Life and Times of David Lloyd George
1981
The Yes Girls
1971
Johnny Frenchman
1945
Willie's War
1994
A Swarm in May
1983
The Last Invasion
1966
Whinfrey's Last Case
1979
The Breaking of Colonel Keyser
1972
More Children's Summer Stories
1989
Hard Road
1988
Night After Night After Night
1969
Stranger in the Family
1965
Soap Opera in Stockwell
1973
Behind the Headlines
1953
More Children's Holiday Favourites
1990
Deadlock
1943
TV Shows with Jack May
Doctor Who
1963
The Avengers
1961
The Wednesday Play
1964
Danger Man
1960
Scarecrow and Mrs. King
1983
Jeeves and Wooster
1990
All Creatures Great and Small
1978
UFO
1970
No Hiding Place
1959
Espionage
1963
Count Duckula
1988
Dr. Finlay's Casebook
1962
Sunday Night Theatre
1950
Van der Valk
1972
Mark Saber
1954
Poldark
1975
The Main Chance
1969
Target
1977
Out of the Unknown
1965
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes
1971
Shoestring
1979
Budgie
1971
Detective
1964
Festival
1963
Richard the Lionheart
1962
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
1981
The Agatha Christie Hour
1982
The Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel
1955
The Adventures of Sir Lancelot
1956
An Age of Kings
1960
Big Muzzy
1987
Black and Blue
1973
The Ten Commandments
1971
Adam Adamant Lives!
1966
Bulman
1985
A Horseman Riding By
1978
A for Andromeda
1961
The Spread of the Eagle
1963
Away from It All
1973
You Can't Win
1966
Brett
1971
Escape
1980
Pride and Prejudice
1958
Nicholas Nickleby
1957
Dawson's Weekly
1975
The Children of the New Forest
1977
Hawkmoor
1978