LEO MCKERN
Name: Leo McKern
Born: 16 March 1920 Sydney, Australia
Died: 23 July 2002 Bath, England
Leo McKern, AO (March 16, 1920 - July 23, 2002) was an Australian actor who
appeared in numerous British television programs, movies and in over 200 stage
roles. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1983.
McKern was born Reginald McKern in Sydney, Australia, the son of Vera (nee
Martin) and Norman Walton McKern. After an accident at age 15 he lost his
left eye. He first worked as an engineering apprentice, then as an artist,
followed by serving in the Australian Army during World War II. During the war,
he made his first stage appearance in Sydney in 1944.
Having fallen in love with actress Jane Holland, McKern moved to the United
Kingdom to be with her and they married in 1946. He soon became a regular
performer at London's Old Vic theatre and the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre (now
called the Royal Shakespeare Theatre) in Stratford-upon-Avon, despite the
difficulties posed by his glass eye and Australian accent. In 1949, he played
Forester in Love's Labours Lost at the Old Vic. His most notable Shakespearean
role was as Iago to Anthony Quayle's Othello in 1952. On the West End in London,
McKern originated the role of the Common Man for Robert Bolt's A Man for All
Seasons in 1960, but for the show's Broadway production, he was shifted to the
role of Thomas Cromwell, which he would reprise in the film version. He also
memorably played Subtle in Ben Jonson's The Alchemist in 1962.
McKern's film debut came in 1952's Murder in the Cathedral. His other notable
film appearances included the Beatles film Help! (1965), the Academy Award-winning
adaptation of A Man for All Seasons (1966), Ryan's Daughter (1970), The Omen (1976),
and The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981). He was given the Australian Film
Institute Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for Travelling North (1987). In
Monsignor Quixote (1989), he co-starred as Sancho Zancas with Alec Guinness as
Father Quixote.
McKern was one of several Number Twos in the 1960s cult classic television
series The Prisoner. Along with Colin Gordon, he was one of only two actors to
play Number Two more than once. He first played the character in "The Chimes of
Big Ben" and later reprised his role in the final two episodes of the series, "Once
Upon a Time" and "Fall Out". Filming "Once Upon a Time" was a particularly
intense experience for McKern and according to The Prisoner: The Official
Companion to the Classic TV Series by Robert Fairclough, the strain of filming
this episode caused McKern to suffer either a nervous breakdown or a heart
attack (accounts differ), forcing production to stop for a time.
In 1975, he made his first appearance as his most famous character, Horace
Rumpole, whom he played in Rumpole of the Bailey for seven series on television
until 1992. John Mortimer, the writer and creator of the show, created the part
with McKern in mind and had to persuade the actor to continue playing the
character. McKern enjoyed the role but had shown concern regarding the fame and
how much his life was becoming intertwined with Rumpole's. In the later series,
his daughter Abigail McKern joined the cast as Liz Probert.
McKern became an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1983. He told his daughter
Abigail that he suffered from stage fright, which became more difficult to cope
with as he grew older. He had also worried that his stout frame would not appeal
to audiences. His final acting appearances came in the film Molokai: The Story
of Father Damien (1999) and on stage in 2000. Suffering from diabetes and other
health problems, he was moved to a nursing home near Bath, Somerset in 2002. He
died there a few weeks later at the age of 82. McKern was survived by his wife
Jane, daughters Abigail and Harriet, and a grandchild.
In the last decade of his life, McKern also starred in a series of commercials
for Lloyds Bank, widely shown on British television.
Name: Leo McKern
Born: 16 March 1920 Sydney, Australia
Died: 23 July 2002 Bath, England
Leo McKern, AO (March 16, 1920 - July 23, 2002) was an Australian actor who
appeared in numerous British television programs, movies and in over 200 stage
roles. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1983.
McKern was born Reginald McKern in Sydney, Australia, the son of Vera (nee
Martin) and Norman Walton McKern. After an accident at age 15 he lost his
left eye. He first worked as an engineering apprentice, then as an artist,
followed by serving in the Australian Army during World War II. During the war,
he made his first stage appearance in Sydney in 1944.
Having fallen in love with actress Jane Holland, McKern moved to the United
Kingdom to be with her and they married in 1946. He soon became a regular
performer at London's Old Vic theatre and the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre (now
called the Royal Shakespeare Theatre) in Stratford-upon-Avon, despite the
difficulties posed by his glass eye and Australian accent. In 1949, he played
Forester in Love's Labours Lost at the Old Vic. His most notable Shakespearean
role was as Iago to Anthony Quayle's Othello in 1952. On the West End in London,
McKern originated the role of the Common Man for Robert Bolt's A Man for All
Seasons in 1960, but for the show's Broadway production, he was shifted to the
role of Thomas Cromwell, which he would reprise in the film version. He also
memorably played Subtle in Ben Jonson's The Alchemist in 1962.
McKern's film debut came in 1952's Murder in the Cathedral. His other notable
film appearances included the Beatles film Help! (1965), the Academy Award-winning
adaptation of A Man for All Seasons (1966), Ryan's Daughter (1970), The Omen (1976),
and The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981). He was given the Australian Film
Institute Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for Travelling North (1987). In
Monsignor Quixote (1989), he co-starred as Sancho Zancas with Alec Guinness as
Father Quixote.
McKern was one of several Number Twos in the 1960s cult classic television
series The Prisoner. Along with Colin Gordon, he was one of only two actors to
play Number Two more than once. He first played the character in "The Chimes of
Big Ben" and later reprised his role in the final two episodes of the series, "Once
Upon a Time" and "Fall Out". Filming "Once Upon a Time" was a particularly
intense experience for McKern and according to The Prisoner: The Official
Companion to the Classic TV Series by Robert Fairclough, the strain of filming
this episode caused McKern to suffer either a nervous breakdown or a heart
attack (accounts differ), forcing production to stop for a time.
In 1975, he made his first appearance as his most famous character, Horace
Rumpole, whom he played in Rumpole of the Bailey for seven series on television
until 1992. John Mortimer, the writer and creator of the show, created the part
with McKern in mind and had to persuade the actor to continue playing the
character. McKern enjoyed the role but had shown concern regarding the fame and
how much his life was becoming intertwined with Rumpole's. In the later series,
his daughter Abigail McKern joined the cast as Liz Probert.
McKern became an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1983. He told his daughter
Abigail that he suffered from stage fright, which became more difficult to cope
with as he grew older. He had also worried that his stout frame would not appeal
to audiences. His final acting appearances came in the film Molokai: The Story
of Father Damien (1999) and on stage in 2000. Suffering from diabetes and other
health problems, he was moved to a nursing home near Bath, Somerset in 2002. He
died there a few weeks later at the age of 82. McKern was survived by his wife
Jane, daughters Abigail and Harriet, and a grandchild.
In the last decade of his life, McKern also starred in a series of commercials
for Lloyds Bank, widely shown on British television.