Jack May
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.
102 acting credits
Acting · 102
The Avengers
1961
Doctor Who
1963
Scarecrow and Mrs. King
1983
The Wednesday Play
1964
No Hiding Place
1959
All Creatures Great and Small
1978
Jeeves and Wooster
1990
Danger Man
1960
Dr. Finlay's Casebook
1962
Sunday Night Theatre
1950
UFO
1970
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes
1971
Van der Valk
1972
Festival
1963
Out of the Unknown
1965
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
1981
Poldark
1975
Shoestring
1979
The Main Chance
1969
Espionage
1963
Count Duckula
1988
Mark Saber
1954
Detective
1964
The Adventures of Sir Lancelot
1956
Budgie
1971
The Agatha Christie Hour
1982
Target
1977
The Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel
1955
An Age of Kings
1960
Richard the Lionheart
1962
Big Muzzy
1987
The Bounty
1984
Bulman
1985
Adam Adamant Lives!
1966
A Night to Remember
1958
Black and Blue
1973
The Man Who Would Be King
1975
Brett
1971
The Ten Commandments
1971
Brief Encounter
1945
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
1969
You Can't Win
1966
A for Andromeda
1961
A Horseman Riding By
1978
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
1976
The Spread of the Eagle
1963
Escape
1980
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
1966
This Happy Breed
1944
Pride and Prejudice
1958
Saraband for Dead Lovers
1948
The Return of the Soldier
1983
The Doctor and the Devils
1985
Dawson's Weekly
1975
The Blue Lamp
1950
Hawkmoor
1978
Nicholas Nickleby
1957
Trog
1970
The Men of Sherwood Forest
1954
Two-Way Stretch
1960
The Silent Enemy
1958
The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy
1981
How I Won the War
1967
Pool of London
1951
The Life and Times of David Lloyd George
1981
Solo for Sparrow
1962
Cat Girl
1957
Trouble in Store
1953
Night After Night After Night
1969
The Gay Dog
1954
Big Zapper
1973
The Gentle Sex
1943
The Shooting Party
1985
The Professionals
1960
A Prize of Arms
1962
The Breaking of Colonel Keyser
1972
Henry VIII
1979
Johnny Frenchman
1945
The Traitors
1962
Stranger in the Family
1965
A Twist of Sand
1968
There Was a Crooked Man
1960
Millions Like Us
1943
Soap Opera in Stockwell
1973
The Children of the New Forest
1977
The Last Invasion
1966
Emma's Time
1970
Friends and Other Lovers
1981
Doctor Who: The Space Pirates
1969
Willie's War
1994
Whinfrey's Last Case
1979
A Swarm in May
1983
Children's Favourites - Volume 1
1988
Hard Road
1988
The Yes Girls
1971
More Children's Holiday Favourites
1990
Behind the Headlines
1953
Deadlock
1943
Without Air
1997
Lollipop Children's Favourites - Volume 1
1989
More Children's Summer Stories
1989
Lollipop Children's Favourites - Volume 2
1989