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Malcolm Tierney

Malcolm Tierney
Malcolm Tierney in 1990
Born(1938-02-25)25 February 1938
Failsworth, Lancashire, England
Died18 February 2014(2014-02-18) (aged 75)
London, England
OccupationActor
Spouse
Andrea Schinko
​
(m. 1979)​
Children2

Malcolm Tierney (25 February 1938 – 19 February 2014[1][2]) was an English actor who appeared in many stage, film and television roles.[3]

Early life

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Tierney's father, Ernest, was a boilermaker and trained draughtsman, from Warrington, who worked at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. His mother, Agnes, née Kennedy, worked in the cotton mills.[4]

He attended St Mary's Roman Catholic School in Failsworth and studied design at the Manchester School of Art. While working as a textile designer and printmaker, he became involved in amateur dramatics at the Little Theatre, in Bolton, which had been set up by John Wardle, father of the drama critic Irving Wardle, whose wife, Norma, became a mentor to Tierney.[3] As a result, he began a scholarship with the Rose Bruford Training College of Speech and Drama, in Sidcup, Kent, in 1958 and landed his first acting job in 1962.[4]

Career

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His roles included the part of Captain Monk Adderley in the original Poldark series, Tommy McArdle in Brookside between 1984 and 1987, Charlie Gimbert in Lovejoy (26 Episodes 1986 and 1993), Geoffrey Ellsworth-Smythe in A Bit of a Do, Patrick Woolton in House of Cards and Chief Const. Raymond in Dalziel and Pascoe.[5] In science fiction, he appeared, uncredited, as the Imperial officer who questions the disguised Luke Skywalker and Han Solo on what they are doing with Chewbacca in Star Wars in 1977 and the Doctor Who serial The Trial of a Time Lord in 1986.[5] He also appeared in Braveheart as the English sheriff who executes the wife of William Wallace, and is then subsequently himself killed by Wallace.[6][4]

He appeared with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1974–75 and 2005.[7] In 1974 he played Claudio in Measure for Measure. In 2007 he played Dr Hugo Eckener in the docudrama Hindenburg: The Untold Story, which was about the crash of the airship Hindenburg and the investigation after it. This was aired for the 70th anniversary of the disaster.[8]

In 2008 he played Captain Smith of the RMS Titanic in the docudrama Titanic: The Unsinkable Ship.[9][10]

On radio he played Commander Brill-Oudener in the BBC Radio drama The Snow Goose by Paul Gallico, originally transmitted in May 2010.

Personal life

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Tierney once shared a flat with Tom Baker, who is best known for his portrayal of the Fourth Doctor in the BBC TV series Doctor Who.[11] In 1979, Tierney married Andrea Schinko, an Austrian artist who survives him with their two daughters: Elsa, an artist, and Anna, an actress.[4] Tierney was a lifelong socialist, having been a member of the Workers Revolutionary Party in the 1970s.[12]

Death

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Grave of Malcolm Tierney in Highgate Cemetery (wrong year of death)

Malcolm Tierney died on 19 February 2014, aged 75 of pulmonary fibrosis. Vanessa Redgrave wrote in his obituary of a "loving man" and a "brilliant actor". He is buried in Highgate Cemetery, London.[4]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes Ref.
1968 Last of the Long-haired Boys Jason Trigg
1969 All Neat in Black Stockings Photographer
1971 Family Life Tim [3]
1973 The 14 Mr Michael
1976 The Eagle Has Landed German Officer Uncredited
1977 Star Wars Lt. Shann Childsen (Imperial Prison Officer) Uncredited [4]
1978 The Medusa Touch Deacon
1980 McVicar Frank
1987 Little Dorrit Bar
1993 In the Name of the Father Home Office Official
1995 Braveheart Magistrate [4]
1997 The Saint Russian doctor [3]
1998 L.A. Without a Map Joy's Dad
2000 Shiner Fleming
2002 The Final Curtain Estate Agent
2012 Great Expectations Judge
2014 The Smoke Professor Arlo Greene (final film role)

Television

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Year Title Role Notes Ref.
1967 Love on the Dole Larry Meath [11]
1977 Poldark Monk Adderley [3]
1979 Crime and Punishment Zametov TV serial [3]
1980–1981 The Spoils of War Richard Warrington TV serial
1984-1986 Brookside Tommy McArdle [4]
1986 Doctor Who Doland The Trial of a Time Lord, 4 episodes [5]
1986–93 Lovejoy Charlie Gimbert 28 episodes [4]
1989 A Bit of a Do Geoffrey Ellsworth-Smythe / Spragg 5 episodes [4]
1990 House of Cards Patrick Woolton [3]
1998–99 Dalziel and Pascoe Chief Constable Raymond [5]
2001 Heartbeat Lawson Episode: Home to Roost
2002 Holby City Wally Sands Episode: All My Sins [13]
2008 Doctors Howard Milnes Episode: Mummy Dearest

References

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  1. ^ "The East Dulwich Forum".
  2. ^ "Malcolm Tierney's life of champagne and ladies". London Evening Standard. 21 February 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Anthony Hayward (29 April 2014). "Malcolm Tierney: Character actor who specialised in villains and". The Independent.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Michael Coveney & Vanessa Redgrave (21 February 2014). "Malcolm Tierney Obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  5. ^ a b c d "Actor Malcolm Tierney dies aged 75". BBC News. 20 February 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  6. ^ "Malcolm Tierney". BFI. Archived from the original on 25 March 2016.
  7. ^ "Malcolm Tierney".
  8. ^ "Hindenburg – Titanic of the Skies (2007)". BFI. Archived from the original on 25 March 2016.
  9. ^ Chilla Black (3 November 2008). "The Unsinkable Titanic (TV Movie 2008)". IMDb.
  10. ^ "The Unsinkable Titanic (2008)". BFI. Archived from the original on 25 March 2016.
  11. ^ a b "Malcolm Tierney obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 16 March 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  12. ^ "Malcolm Tierney obituary". The Guardian.
  13. ^ "Holby City – BBC One London". BBC. 5 February 2002. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
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