John Grieve (actor)

John Grieve (14 June 1924 – 21 January 2003) was a Scottish actor, best known as the engineer Macphail in the 1960s BBC adaptation of Neil Munro's Para Handy stories, Para Handy - Master Mariner (reprised in the 1970s in The Vital Spark).[1][2]

John Grieve
Born	14 June 1924 Maryhill, Glasgow, Scotland
Died	21 January 2003 (aged 78) Glasgow, Scotland
Occupation	Actor

Born in Maryhill, Glasgow, Grieve attended the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, before joining the Citizens Theatre in 1951.[1][3] Grieve worked in variety alongside many familiar Scottish comedians, including Stanley Baxter and Jimmy Logan.[4] Although principally known for his comic roles, he appeared in drama films such as The Thirty-Nine Steps (1978), Eye of the Needle (1981) and the BBC docudrama Square Mile of Murder (1980).[5][6] His stage roles include the part of the King's Jester in the premier of The Burning (1971) by Stewart Conn.

He had a brief recurring role as Frank Marker's probation officer in the Thames Television series Public Eye.[7] He played Sandy Duncanson in BBC's adaptation of Neil Munro's The New Road, in a BBC drama about the Union of the Parliaments in 1707 he played John Hamilton, 2nd Lord Belhaven and Stenton who delivered a controversial speech against the Union, and appeared on BBC Scotland's Hogmanay celebrations.[8][9]

He appeared in two episodes (eleven years apart) in the television series All Creatures Great and Small as Dr. Harry Allinson.[10]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1959	The 39 Steps	Lowrie - Sheep Herder	Uncredited
1961	Don't Bother to Knock	Bus Conductor
1978	The Thirty Nine Steps	P.C. Forbes
1981	Eye of the Needle	Inspector Kincaid

References

1. "John Grieve Actor who put the character into comedy and who engineered a comedy classic". HeraldScotland.
2. "BBC - The Vital Spark". BBC.
3. "John Grieve | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
4. "John Grieve from The Gazetteer for Scotland". www.scottish-places.info.
5. "John Grieve | Movies and Filmography". AllMovie.
6. "Square Mile of Murder". 12 June 1980. p. 58 – via BBC Genome.
7. "BFI Screenonline: Public Eye (1965-75)". www.screenonline.org.uk.
8. "The New Road Part 5 A Balance of Accounts (1973)". BFI.
9. "A New Year Party at The White Heather Club". 1 January 1963. p. 21 – via BBC Genome.
10. "Bulldog Breed (1978)". BFI.

External links

• John Grieve at IMDb
• Obituary John Grieve, The Scotsman, 28 January 2003