Roy Mitchell Kinnear (8 January 1934 – 20 September 1988) was an English character actor and comedian. He was known for his acting roles in movies such as Henry Salt in the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Algernon in The Beatles' Help! (1965), Clapper in How I Won the War (1967), and Planchet in The Three Musketeers (1973). He reprised the role of Planchet in the 1974 and 1989 sequels, and died following an accident during filming of the latter.
Kinnear was born on 8 January 1934[1] in Wigan, Lancashire,[citation needed] the son of Annie (née Durie, previously Smith) and Roy Kinnear.[citation needed] He had a sister, Marjory. His parents were Scottish, originally from Edinburgh. His father was an international in both rugby union and rugby league, having played for Scotland and Great Britain. He scored 81 tries in 184 games for Wigan; he collapsed and died while playing rugby union with the RAF in 1942, at the age of 38. Scotland Rugby League have named their Student Player of the Year Award after him.
Kinnear's television debut was on the STV children's series Mr. Fixit in 1959,[1] before gaining national attention as a participant in the television show That Was the Week That Was.[1]
He narrated Towser and Bertha, voiced Pipkin in the 1978 film Watership Down and voiced Texas Pete's henchman Bulk in SuperTed (also with Victor Spinetti, who voiced the evil Texas Pete). Kinnear appeared regularly on the stage. In later life he appeared in productions such as The Travails of Sancho Panza (playing the title role), and in The Cherry Orchard, in 1985.
His final completed roles were in A Man for All Seasons (1988) a made-for-television film directed by and starring Charlton Heston, John Gielgud and Vanessa Redgrave, as a patient in the BBC One hospital drama Casualty, and a voice role as Mump in The Princess and the Goblin, which was released in 1991, three years after his sudden death in September 1988. Following his death, the Casualty episode was postponed. It finally aired in August 1989.[8] In Oct 1988 Radio 4 first broadcast The T Machine, an episode of the comedy series The Fall of the Mausoleum Club in which he played the lead character, Mr Tilly.[9]
Roy Kinnear's grave in East Sheen Cemetery, London
On 19 September 1988, Kinnear fell from a horse during the making of The Return of the Musketeers in Toledo, Spain, sustaining a broken pelvis and internal bleeding. He was taken to a clinic in Toledo, but died the next day from a heart attack, brought on by his injuries. He was 54.[12]
Kinnear was buried in East Sheen Cemetery, London. Following his death, Kinnear's family sued the production company and the film's director, claiming, from eyewitness testimonies, that the producer was cutting corners to save money and time and that the rushed speed of filming contributed to the accident. In 1991, they received a £650,000 settlement.[13]
Legacy
In May 1994, the Roy Kinnear Trust, which was inspired by his daughter, Karina (1972–2020), was founded to help improve the life of young adults with physical and mental disabilities.
The Avengers 1963 S03E25: Esprit De Corps, as Private Jessop; 1964 S04E09: The Hour That Never Was, as Benedict Napoleon Hickey (vagrant); also 1969, S06E33: Bizarre, as Bagpipes Happychap (of Happy Meadows Funeral Parlour)
