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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. Actor: The Mouse on the Moon. Roddy started out as an engineer before studying drama at Glasgow Unity Theatre for 3 years. His first important stage appearance was in 'The Gorbals Story' in London's West End after which it was back to Scotland where he spent 7 years with the Glasgow Citizens Theatre.
- January 1, 1
- Glasgow, Scotland, UK
- January 1, 1
- Glasgow, Scotland, UK
- Early Life
- Acting Career
- BBC-TV Appearances, 1958–
- Playwright
- Honours
- Personal Life
- Death
- GeneratedCaptionsTabForHeroSec
Born in Glasgow, Roddy McMillan was the son of parents from the Highlands. His mother was from Harris in the Outer Hebrides, and his farther from Ardnamurchan in Lochaber. The son of a docker, he was raised in a two-room tenement flat in the dockland district of Anderston, Glasgow: He became interested in music at an early age, influenced by his re...
At the same time, in 1945, at the age of 18, he joined the amateur Glasgow Unity Theatre, and after it developed a professional core he eventually became part of that and became a full-time actor. He was with the Unity in their famous version of The Gorbals Story, went with it to the Garrick Theatre, London, and later toured with the production. Hi...
In the late 1950s McMillan had been gaining valuable experience as a television play actor in London. His biggest break for some time came when he landed a major role in ATV's Armchair Theatre series, playing a doctor in Dan Sutherland's "Breach of Marriage", which was broadcast on ITV on Sunday 4 May 1958. McMillan presented the light entertainmen...
In around 1960 his first play All in Good Faithwas produced at Glasgow Citizens Theatre. McMillan was also a noted playwright. In 1973 he wrote The Bevellersfor the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh, a play which harked back to his own apprentice days in a glass mirror works. It transferred to the Shaw Theatre in London and was subsequently filmed by t...
In June 1979 he received an OBE in The Queen's Birthday Honours list for distinguished service to the arts in Scotland. Unfortunately he did not live long enough to attend the investiture at Buckingham Palace.
McMillan fought and overcame alcoholism, then gave support to help others through the problem. His leisure interests including folk singing.
On 9 July 1979, not long after he had completed the recording of a second series of ITV's Hazell, McMillan suffered a heart attack in his Glasgow home and died in Glasgow Royal Infirmary, aged 56. He was survived by his wife, Jean, and two daughters. That night his death was reported on the BBC's Reporting Scotlandwith a 1'12" extract of McMillan p...
Roddy McMillan (1923-1979) was a Scottish actor, producer and writer, best known for playing Para Handy, the skipper of The Vital Spark. He also appeared in films, radio, theatre and TV, and wrote plays and songs.
Roddy McMillan. Actor: The Mouse on the Moon. Roddy started out as an engineer before studying drama at Glasgow Unity Theatre for 3 years. His first important stage appearance was in 'The Gorbals Story' in London's West End after which it was back to Scotland where he spent 7 years with the Glasgow Citizens Theatre.
- March 23, 1923
- July 9, 1979
The Vital Spark is a BBC Scotland television series set in the western isles of Scotland in the 1930s, based on the Para Handy books by Neil Munro. It starred Roddy McMillan as Peter "Para Handy" MacFarlane, captain of the puffer Vital Spark.
The Vital Spark: Created by Neil Munro. With John Grieve, Alex McAvoy, Walter Carr, Roddy McMillan. Tales of a Scottish Clyde puffer and it's travels up and down the Argyll coast. .
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Apr 22, 2020 · A tribute to the late Scottish actor Roddy McMillan, who starred in The Vital Spark, The View from Daniel Pike, Hazell and more. Learn about his life, career, influences and legacy in this article from The Herald.
