George Murcell
Encyclopedia
George Murcell was a British character actor. His first wife was Josephine Tweedy whom he married in 1953, and his second was the actress Elvi Hale
whom he was married to from 1960 until his death.
Making his film debut in Michael Powell
and Emeric Pressburger
's The Battle of the River Plate
(1956), he went onto carve out a career as snarling villains, in both film and television. His villains could either be dumb henchmen, as in Hell Drivers
and Campbell's Kingdom
(both 1957), or sophisticated rogues, such as Needle in The Avengers
episode You Have Just Been Murdered.
An actor with a wide range he also specialised in foreign characters, including Germans, Russians and South Americans. A number of these roles were in ITC
adventure series of the sixties and seventies, such as Danger Man
; The Baron
; The Saint
; The Champions
; Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
; The Persuaders
; and Jason King
.
His roles in films tended to be smaller, these included: Sea of Sand (1958), The Heroes of Telemark
(1965); Kaleidoscope
(1966); You Only Live Twice
(1967) (uncredited Russian diplomat); The Fixer
(1968); and The Assassination Bureau
(1968).
He also enjoyed a long stage career, which included work with such leading lights as Tyrone Guthrie
and Peter Brook
, and was active in the Royal Shakespeare Company
. In the 1970s he acquired a Victorian church in an unglamorous area of north London, which he converted into an Elizabethan-styled theatre; in 1973, he opened it as St. George's Theatre, making it his mission to bring classical plays to an audience, which wouldn't otherwise have had the chance. Throughout the seventies and eighties, he continued there as actor and director, often with his wife, actress
Elvi Hale
.
Murcell was also an accomplished musician and linguist.
He died in 1998.
Elvi Hale
Elvi Hale is an English actress from Romford, Essex. Born to Anglo-Scandinavian parents, she is perhaps best known for playing Anne of Cleves in The Six Wives of Henry VIII, broadcast in 1970. Hale was nominated for a BAFTA award for most promising film newcomer for her performance in Wendy Toye's...
whom he was married to from 1960 until his death.
Making his film debut in Michael Powell
Michael Powell (director)
Michael Latham Powell was a renowned English film director, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger...
and Emeric Pressburger
Emeric Pressburger
Emeric Pressburger was a Hungarian-British screenwriter, film director, and producer. He is best known for his series of film collaborations with Michael Powell, in a multiple-award-winning partnership known as The Archers and produced a series of classic British films, notably 49th Parallel , The...
's The Battle of the River Plate
The Battle of the River Plate (film)
The Battle of the River Plate is a 1956 British war film by director-writer team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, starring John Gregson, Anthony Quayle and Peter Finch...
(1956), he went onto carve out a career as snarling villains, in both film and television. His villains could either be dumb henchmen, as in Hell Drivers
Hell Drivers (film)
Hell Drivers is a 1957 British film directed by Cy Endfield starring Stanley Baker, Herbert Lom, Peggy Cummins, Patrick McGoohan and Sean Connery, produced by the Rank Organisation and Aqua Film Productions.-Plot:...
and Campbell's Kingdom
Campbell's Kingdom
Campbell's Kingdom is a 1957 British action film directed by Ralph Thomas, based on the 1952 novel of the same name by Hammond Innes. The film stars Dirk Bogarde and Stanley Baker, with Michael Craig, James Robertson Justice and Sid James in support...
(both 1957), or sophisticated rogues, such as Needle in The Avengers
The Avengers (TV series)
The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...
episode You Have Just Been Murdered.
An actor with a wide range he also specialised in foreign characters, including Germans, Russians and South Americans. A number of these roles were in ITC
ITC Entertainment
The Incorporated Television Company was a British television company largely involved in production and distribution. It was founded by Lew Grade.-History:...
adventure series of the sixties and seventies, such as Danger Man
Danger Man
Danger Man is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again between 1964 and 1968. The series featured Patrick McGoohan as secret agent John Drake. Ralph Smart created the program and wrote many of the scripts...
; The Baron
The Baron
The Baron is a British television series, made in 1965/66 based on the book series by John Creasey, written under the pseudonym Anthony Morton, and produced by ITC Entertainment. It was the first ITC show without marionettes to be produced entirely in colour...
; The Saint
The Saint (TV series)
The Saint was an ITC mystery spy thriller television series that aired in the UK on ITV between 1962 and 1969. It centred on the Leslie Charteris literary character, Simon Templar, a Robin Hood-like adventurer with a penchant for disguise. The character may be nicknamed The Saint because the...
; The Champions
The Champions
The Champions is a British espionage/science fiction/occult detective fiction adventure series consisting of 30 episodes broadcast on the UK network ITV during 1968–1969, produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company...
; Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
Randall and Hopkirk , first transmitted during 1969-70, is a British private detective television series starring Mike Pratt and Kenneth Cope as the private detectives Jeff Randall and Marty Hopkirk, respectively. The series was originally created by Dennis Spooner and produced by Monty Berman...
; The Persuaders
The Persuaders
The Persuaders can refer to:* The Persuaders!, a 1970s TV series starring Roger Moore and Tony Curtis* The Persuaders , a 1970s soul music band...
; and Jason King
Jason King (TV series)
Jason King was a British television series produced from 1971 to 1972. Each episode was one hour in duration , and the series had a run of one season of 26 episodes. As well as its native UK, the series was also screened in countries as far afield as Australia, Norway, Argentina and Peru...
.
His roles in films tended to be smaller, these included: Sea of Sand (1958), The Heroes of Telemark
The Heroes of Telemark
The Heroes of Telemark is a 1965 war film directed by Anthony Mann based on the true story of the Norwegian heavy water sabotage during World War II...
(1965); Kaleidoscope
Kaleidoscope (film)
Kaleidoscope is a 1966 British crime film starring Warren Beatty and Susannah York. Though not credited as such, the film is an adaptation of Ian Fleming's novel Casino Royale, albeit with the James Bond character removed.-Plot:...
(1966); You Only Live Twice
You Only Live Twice (film)
You Only Live Twice is the fifth spy film in the James Bond series, and the fifth to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film's screenplay was written by Roald Dahl, and loosely based on Ian Fleming's 1964 novel of the same name...
(1967) (uncredited Russian diplomat); The Fixer
The Fixer (film)
The Fixer is a 1968 British drama film based on the 1966 semi-biographical novel of the same name, written by Bernard Malamud.-Plot:Like the book, the film's main character Yakov Bok, a Jew living in the Russian Empire, who was unjustly imprisoned based on prejudice and the charge of having...
(1968); and The Assassination Bureau
The Assassination Bureau
The Assassination Bureau Limited is a black comedy film made in 1969 based on an unfinished novel, The Assassination Bureau, Ltd by Jack London...
(1968).
He also enjoyed a long stage career, which included work with such leading lights as Tyrone Guthrie
Tyrone Guthrie
Sir William Tyrone Guthrie was an English theatrical director instrumental in the founding of the Stratford Festival of Canada, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota and the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, at his family's home, Annaghmakerrig, in County Monaghan, Ireland.-Life and career:Guthrie...
and Peter Brook
Peter Brook
Peter Stephen Paul Brook CH, CBE is an English theatre and film director and innovator, who has been based in France since the early 1970s.-Life:...
, and was active in the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
. In the 1970s he acquired a Victorian church in an unglamorous area of north London, which he converted into an Elizabethan-styled theatre; in 1973, he opened it as St. George's Theatre, making it his mission to bring classical plays to an audience, which wouldn't otherwise have had the chance. Throughout the seventies and eighties, he continued there as actor and director, often with his wife, actress
Elvi Hale
Elvi Hale
Elvi Hale is an English actress from Romford, Essex. Born to Anglo-Scandinavian parents, she is perhaps best known for playing Anne of Cleves in The Six Wives of Henry VIII, broadcast in 1970. Hale was nominated for a BAFTA award for most promising film newcomer for her performance in Wendy Toye's...
.
Murcell was also an accomplished musician and linguist.
He died in 1998.