Roddy McMillan
Encyclopedia
Roddy McMillan was a Scottish actor and playwright, possibly most famous for his comedy role as Para Handy
for BBC Scotland
television. He also played the lead role in Edward Boyd
's private eye series, The View from Daniel Pike.
The Glasgow
-born McMillan's earliest theatre work began in the mid-1940s with the Glasgow Unity Theatre
. Later that decade, he began acting with the Glasgow Citizen's Company before moving on to Edinburgh
's Gateway Theatre in the mid-1950s.
He also performed in his own play, The Bevellers, which achieved success in performance at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow
during 1973 and then as a televised Play For Today
for BBC
. McMillan also played Detective Inspector "Choc" Minty in the late 1970s private eye series, Hazell
, starring Nicholas Ball.
Para Handy
Para Handy, the anglicized Gaelic nickname of the fictional character Peter Macfarlane, is a character created by the journalist and writer Neil Munro in a series of stories published in the Glasgow Evening News under the pen name of Hugh Foulis....
for BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland is a constituent part of the British Broadcasting Corporation, the publicly-funded broadcaster of the United Kingdom. It is, in effect, the national broadcaster for Scotland, having a considerable amount of autonomy from the BBC's London headquarters, and is run by the BBC Trust, who...
television. He also played the lead role in Edward Boyd
Edward Boyd (writer)
Edward Boyd was a Scottish writer best known for his television and radio work.Boyd was born in Stevenston in South Ayrshire. He worked with the Glasgow Unity Theatre in the 1940s.Later he moved into radio & TV...
's private eye series, The View from Daniel Pike.
The Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
-born McMillan's earliest theatre work began in the mid-1940s with the Glasgow Unity Theatre
Glasgow Unity Theatre
The Glasgow Unity Theatre was a theatre group that was formed in 1941, in Glasgow. The Unity theatre movement developed from workers' drama groups in the 1930s, seeing itself as using theatre to highlight the issues of the working class being produced by and for working class audiences...
. Later that decade, he began acting with the Glasgow Citizen's Company before moving on to Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
's Gateway Theatre in the mid-1950s.
He also performed in his own play, The Bevellers, which achieved success in performance at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
during 1973 and then as a televised Play For Today
Play for Today
Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted...
for BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. McMillan also played Detective Inspector "Choc" Minty in the late 1970s private eye series, Hazell
Hazell (TV series)
Hazell is a British television series that ran from 1978–1979, about a fictional private detective named James Hazell.-Overview:James Hazell was a cockney private detective character created by journalist and novelist Gordon Williams and footballer-turned-manager Terry Venables...
, starring Nicholas Ball.
Selected filmography
- Morning DepartureMorning DepartureMorning Departure is a 1950 British naval film directed by Roy Ward Baker, produced by Jay Lewis, and starring John Mills, Nigel Patrick, Peter Hammond, George Cole, Bernard Lee and Richard Attenborough...
(1950) - Laxdale HallLaxdale HallLaxdale Hall is a 1953 British comedy film directed by John Elridge and starring Ronald Squire, Kathleen Ryan, Raymond Huntley, Prunella Scales, Fulton Mackay, and Jean Colin....
(1953) - The MaggieThe MaggieThe Maggie is a 1954 British comedy film. Directed by Alexander Mackendrick and written by William Rose, it is a story of a clash of cultures between a hard-driving American businessman and a wily Scottish captain.It was produced by Ealing Studios, at a time when rural Scotland was seen as a...
(1954) - Cat and Mouse (1958)
- The Bridal PathThe Bridal Path (film)The Bridal Path is a 1959 British comedy film directed by Frank Launder and starring Bill Travers, George Cole and Bernadette O'Farrell. It is based on the 1952 novel of the same name by Nigel Tranter...
(1959) - The Battle of the SexesThe Battle of the Sexes (1959 film)The Battle of the Sexes is a 1959 British comedy film starring Peter Sellers and directed by Charles Crichton, based on the short story The Catbird Seat, by James Thurber. The story was adapted by Monja Danischewsky.-Cast:* Peter Sellers as Mr...
(1959) - A Prize of ArmsA Prize of ArmsA Prize of Arms is a 1962 British crime film directed by Cliff Owen and starring Stanley Baker, Helmut Schmid, Patrick Magee and Tom Bell with early appearances by several actors including Fulton Mackay, Tom Adams and Rodney Bewes...
(1962) - The Amorous PrawnThe Amorous PrawnThe Amorous Prawn is a 1962 British comedy film directed by Anthony Kimmins and starring Ian Carmichael, Joan Greenwood and Cecil Parker. General Fitzadam receives his final posting in the remote Scottish Highlands, where his wife decides to run their residence as a hotel for wealthy Americans...
(1962) - The Mouse on the MoonThe Mouse on the MoonThe Mouse on the Moon is a 1963 British comedy film, an adaptation of the novel The Mouse on the Moon by Irish author Leonard Wibberley. It was directed by Richard Lester and served as the sequel to The Mouse That Roared. In it, the people of the Duchy of Grand Fenwick, a microstate, attempt space...
(1963) - Ring of Bright WaterRing of Bright WaterRing of Bright Water is a British feature film starring Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna in a story about a Londoner and an otter living on the Scottish coast. The film was based upon a 1960 autobiographical book of the same name by Gavin Maxwell, featuring the stars of Born Free, another movie...
(1969) - Chato's LandChato's LandChato's Land is a 1972 American western film directed by Michael Winner, starring Charles Bronson and Jack Palance. It falls more closely into the revisionist Western genre, which was at its height at the time...
(1972) - Sweeney 2Sweeney 2Sweeney 2 is a 1978 film that is a sequel to the 1977 film Sweeney! which was itself a spin-off from the popular British TV show The Sweeney. Some of the action was transferred from the usual London setting to Malta. Denholm Elliot appears as a corrupt ex-officer, who asks his former subordinates...
(1978)