Roddy McMillan

Roddy McMillan OBE (23 March 1923 – 9 July 1979) was a Scottish actor and playwright, possibly most famous for his comedy role as Para Handy for BBC Scotland's television series, The Vital Spark.[1][2] He also played the lead role in Edward Boyd's private eye series, The View from Daniel Pike.[3]

Roddy McMillan
Born	23 March 1923 Glasgow, Scotland
Died	9 July 1979 (aged 56) Glasgow, Scotland
Nationality	Scottish
Occupation	Actor

Biography

The Glasgow-born McMillan worked for a time in a glassworks. His theatre work began in the mid-1940s with the Glasgow Unity Theatre.[4] Later that decade, he began acting with the Glasgow Citizen's Company before moving on to Edinburgh's Gateway Theatre in the mid-1950s.[5]

His first play, All in Good Faith, about a Glasgow family which unexpectedly comes into possession of £15,000, was first staged in 1954.[6] He performed in his second play, The Bevellers, which premiered at the Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh and achieved success at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow during 1973 and then as a televised Play for Today for the BBC.[2][7] McMillan also played Detective Inspector "Choc" Minty in the late 1970s private eye series, Hazell, starring Nicholas Ball.[8]

McMillan was awarded the OBE in the 1978 Queen's Birthday honours.

Death

Roddy McMillan died following a heart attack, aged 56, not long after completing filming on the second series of Hazell.[9]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1950	The Gorbals Story	Hector
1950	Morning Departure	Leading Seaman Andrews
1952	You're Only Young Twice	Milligan
1953	Laxdale Hall	Willie John Watt
1954	The Maggie	Inverkerran Driver
1958	Cat & Mouse	Mr. Pomeroy
1959	The Bridal Path	Murdo
1960	The Battle of the Sexes	Macleod
1960	The Big Day	Bob
1962	A Prize of Arms	Sgt. McVie
1962	The Amorous Prawn	Pvt. McTavish
1963	The Mouse on the Moon	Benter
1969	Ring of Bright Water	Busdriver
1972	Chato's Land	Gavin Malechie
1978	Sweeney 2	Collie

References

1. "Roddy McMillan". BFI.
2. "The show may not go on as theatre fails to track down writer's daughters". www.scotsman.com.
3. "The View from Daniel Pike". 18 November 1971. p. 65 – via BBC Genome.
4. Craig, Cairns; Stevens, Randall (1 July 2010). Twentieth Century Scottish Drama. Canongate Books. ISBN 9781847674746 – via Google Books.
5. "STA Catalogue: Roddy McMillan". University of Glasgow Special Collections. Retrieved 14 June 2009.
6. Hutchison, David (1980), Roddy McMillan and the Scottish Theatre, in Cencrastus No. 2, Spring 1980, pp. 5 - 8
7. "The Bevellers (1974)". BFI.
8. "BFI Screenonline: Hazell (1978-80)". www.screenonline.org.uk.
9. "'Tough guy' TV actor dies at 56". The Guardian. 10 July 1979.

External links

• Roddy McMillan at IMDb 
• Roddy McMillan at the British Film Institute
• Roddy McMillan at Find a Grave