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.
Acting
Movie
The Man Who Would Be King
as District Commissioner
1975
Movie
Brief Encounter
as Boat Rental Man (uncredited)
1945
TV
Doctor Who
as General Nicolai Hermack
1963
Movie
The Bounty
as Prosecuting Captain
1984
Movie
A Night to Remember
as Steerage Passenger (uncredited)
1958
TV
Count Duckula
as Igor (voice)
1988
Movie
The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy
as Garkbit (Head Waiter)
1981
TV
The Avengers
1961
TV
Jeeves and Wooster
as Vicar
1990
Movie
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
as Shopkeeper
1966
Movie
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
as Dr. Schultz
1976
Movie
The Blue Lamp
as Old Man in Crowd (Uncredited)
1950
Movie
This Happy Breed
as Mourner
1944
Movie
The Doctor and the Devils
as Dr Stevens
1985
TV
UFO
as English Delegate
1970
Movie
Two-Way Stretch
as Prison Visitor (uncredited)
1960
TV
All Creatures Great and Small
as Reverend Henty
1978
Movie
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
as Price (uncredited)
1969
Movie
Trog
as Dr. Selbourne
1970
TV
Scarecrow and Mrs. King
1983
TV
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
as Garkbit (Head Waiter)
1981
Movie
How I Won the War
as Toby
1967
Movie
Pool of London
as Sailor on the Dunbar (uncredited)
1951
Movie
Die Letzte Jagd
as Sir Harry Stamp
1985