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.

Known For: Acting

Born: Henley on Thames, Oxfordshire, England, UK, 1922-04-23

Died: 1997-09-19

Film

No.	Year	Title	Role	Vote Average
1	1943	The Gentle Sex	Postman (uncredited)	70
2	1943	Millions Like Us	Old Man	53
3	1943	Deadlock	Postman	50
4	1944	This Happy Breed	Mourner	71
5	1945	Johnny Frenchman	Choir Member (uncredited)	60
6	1945	Brief Encounter	Boat Rental Man (uncredited)	77
7	1948	Saraband for Dead Lovers	Reveller	59
8	1950	The Blue Lamp	Old Man in Crowd (Uncredited)	65
9	1951	Pool of London	Sailor on the Dunbar (uncredited)	64
10	1953	Behind the Headlines		0
11	1954	The Gay Dog	Pub Customer	65
12	1954	The Men of Sherwood Forest		67
13	1957	Cat Girl	Richard Johnson	46
14	1958	The Silent Enemy	Navy Doctor	56
15	1958	A Night to Remember	Steerage Passenger (uncredited)	76
16	1960	The Professionals	Edwards	0
17	1960	There Was a Crooked Man	Police Sergeant	61
18	1962	The Traitors	Burton	55
19	1962	Solo for Sparrow	Inspector Hudson	0
20	1962	A Prize of Arms	MO	66
21	1965	Stranger in the Family	Evans	0
22	1966	The Last Invasion		0
23	1966	A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum	Shopkeeper	60
24	1967	How I Won the War	Toby	55
25	1968	A Twist of Sand	Inspector Seekert	40
26	1969	Night After Night After Night	Judge Lomax	50
27	1969	Doctor Who: The Space Pirates	General Hermack	65
28	1969	Goodbye, Mr. Chips	Price (uncredited)	67
29	1970	Emma's Time	Emma's father	0
30	1970	Trog	Dr. Selbourne	44
31	1972	The Breaking of Colonel Keyser	Watts	0
32	1973	Big Zapper	Jeremiah Horn	40
33	1973	Soap Opera in Stockwell	Detective	0
34	1975	The Man Who Would Be King	District Commissioner	75
35	1976	The Seven-Per-Cent Solution	Dr. Schultz	62
36	1979	Henry VIII	Lord Chancellor	65
37	1979	Whinfrey's Last Case	General Chapman	0
38	1981	The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy	Garkbit (Head Waiter)	72
39	1981	The Life and Times of David Lloyd George	Lord Runciman	0
40	1981	Friends and Other Lovers	Mr. Franklyn	0
41	1983	The Return of the Soldier	Brigadier General	62
42	1983	A Swarm in May	Mr. Ardent - the Headmaster	60
43	1984	The Bounty	Prosecuting Captain	67
44	1985	The Shooting Party	Sir Harry Stamp	66
45	1985	The Doctor and the Devils	Dr Stevens	64
46	1988	Hard Road	Psychiatrist	40
47	1994	Willie's War	Grandfather	0

Television

No.	Year	Title	Role	Vote Average
1	1955	The Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel	Citizen (uncredited)	76
2	1956	The Adventures of Sir Lancelot	Caradoc	65
3	1957	Nicholas Nickleby		0
4	1958	Pride and Prejudice	Mr. Collins	0
5	1959	No Hiding Place		37
6	1960	An Age of Kings		47
7	1961	The Avengers		77
8	1961	A for Andromeda	Major Quadring	50
9	1962	Dr. Finlay's Casebook		60
10	1966	Softly, Softly		50
11	1966	Adam Adamant Lives!		75
12	1966	You Can't Win		0
13	1969	The Main Chance	Derrick Asher	77
14	1969	The Main Chance	Harry Turner	77
15	1970	UFO	English Delegate	76
16	1971	Budgie	Mr. Pratt	70
17	1971	Brett		50
18	1971	The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes	James Ladbroke, Q.C.	73
19	1972	Van der Valk	Minister	58
20	1973	Black and Blue		60
21	1975	Dawson's Weekly		0
22	1977	Target		65
23	1978	All Creatures Great and Small	Reverend Henty	77
24	1978	Hawkmoor	John Stedman	0
25	1978	A Horseman Riding By		50
26	1978	The BBC Television Shakespeare		52
27	1979	Shoestring		68
28	1980	Escape		0
29	1981	The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy	Garkbit (Head Waiter)	80
30	1982	The Agatha Christie Hour		67
31	1983	The Cleopatras	Criton	30
32	1983	Scarecrow and Mrs. King		64
33	1988	Count Duckula	Igor	78
34	1990	Jeeves and Wooster	Vicar	80