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
Willie's War
Jeeves and Wooster
Count Duckula
Hard Road
The Doctor and the Devils
The Shooting Party
The Bounty
A Swarm in May
Scarecrow and Mrs. King
The Return of the Soldier
The Agatha Christie Hour
The Life and Times of David Lloyd George
The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Shoestring
Henry VIII
BBC Television Shakespeare
A Horseman Riding By
All Creatures Great and Small
Target
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
The Man Who Would Be King
Dawson's Weekly
Big Zapper
Van der Valk
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes
Trog
UFO
Emma's Time
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
The Main Chance
Doctor Who: The Space Pirates
Night After Night After Night
A Twist of Sand
How I Won the War
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
You Can't Win
Adam Adamant Lives!
Softly, Softly
A Prize of Arms
Solo for Sparrow
Dr. Finlay's Casebook
The Traitors
The Avengers
There Was a Crooked Man
An Age of Kings
The Professionals
No Hiding Place
A Night to Remember
The Silent Enemy
Pride and Prejudice
Cat Girl
The Adventures of Sir Lancelot
The Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel
The Men of Sherwood Forest
Pool of London
The Blue Lamp
Brief Encounter
Johnny Frenchman
This Happy Breed
Deadlock
Millions Like Us
The Gentle Sex