- Michael Elphick
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Michael Elphick 
Elphick as Ken in BoonBorn Michael John Elphick
19 September 1946
Chichester, West Sussex, England[citation needed]Died 7 September 2002 (aged 55)
Willesden Green, London, EnglandOccupation Actor Years active 1969–2002 Partner Julia Alexander (1963–1996) Michael John Elphick (19 September 1946 – 7 September 2002)[citation needed] was an English actor. Elphick was known in the UK for his trademark croaky voice and his work on British television, in particular his roles as the eponymous private investigator in the ITV series Boon and later Harry Slater in BBC's EastEnders.[1]
Robust and ruggedly good-looking in his prime, Elphick always looked older than he was, and with his gruff Cockney accent and splendid lip-curling sneer he often played menacing hard men.[2]
Elphick struggled with a highly publicised addiction to alcohol; at the height of his problem he admitted to consuming two litres of spirits a day,[3] which contributed towards his death from a heart attack in 2002.
Contents
Early life
Elphick grew up in Chichester, West Sussex, where his family had a butcher's shop. He was educated at Lancastrian Secondary Modern Boys School in Chichester where he took part in several school productions including Noah and A Midsummer Night's Dream. He initially considered joining the Merchant Navy and helped out in his local boatyard during school holidays.[1]
It has been reported that he stumbled upon acting by chance when, at the age of 15, he took a job as an apprentice electrician at the Chichester Festival Theatre while it was being built.[1] He gained an interest in acting whilst watching stars such as Laurence Olivier, Michael Redgrave and Sybil Thorndyke. Olivier advised Elphick to go to drama school and gave him two speeches to use at auditions. Elphick was offered a number of places but decided to train at the Central School of Speech and Drama in Swiss Cottage (aged 18), because Olivier had attended there.[4]
Career
Upon graduating from drama school Elphick was offered roles primarily as menacing heavies. He made his debut in Fraulein Doktor (an Italian-made First World War film circa 1968). He went on to play the Captain in Tony Richardson's version of Hamlet (1969); landed parts in cult movies such as The First Great Train Robbery and The Elephant Man and appeared in Lindsay Anderson's allegorical O Lucky Man! (1973). In 1983 he played the role of Pasha in the film Gorky Park, for which he received a 1985 Best Supporting Actor BAFTA Award nomination. He was also seen as Phil Daniels' father in the cult film Quadrophenia (1979) and as the poacher, Jake, in Withnail & I (1987). In 1984 he played the lead, Fisher, a British Detective recalling under hypnosis a dystopian, crumbling Europe and his hunt for a serial killer in Lars von Trier's Palme D'Or nominated debut film, The Element of Crime.
On stage, Elphick played Marcellus and the Player King in Tony Richardson's stage version of Hamlet at the Roundhouse Theatre and on Broadway and he later played Claudius to Jonathan Pryce's Hamlet at the Royal Court Theatre, directed by Richard Eyre. He was also seen in The Changing Room, directed by Lindsay Anderson, at the Royal Court Theatre. His last West End stage appearance was in 1997 was as Doolittle in Pygmalion directed by Ray Cooney at the Albery Theatre.
However it was for his television roles that Elphick became best known. He briefly appeared in Coronation Street (1974) as Douglas Wormold, son of the landlord Edward, who for many years owned most of the properties in the road. Douglas unsuccessfully tried to buy The Kabin newsagents from Len Fairclough.
He played one of the main roles in the film Black Island in 1978 for the Children's Film Foundation, played a villain in The Sweeney episode "One of Your Own" (1978) and played a policeman in The Professionals episode "Backtrack" (1979) and had a minor role in Hazell (1979), and appeared in the Dennis Potter play Blue Remembered Hills (1979). Elphick took the title role in Jack Pulman's drama Private Schulz (1981). Here he played Gerhard Schulz, a German soldier conscripted into SS Counter Espionage during the Second World War to destroy the British economy by flooding it with forged money.
He appeared as the Irish labourer Magowan during the first series of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (1983) and starred as Sidney Mundy in the ITV sitcom Pull the Other One (1984), before playing Sam Tyler in four series of Three Up, Two Down (1985–89). In 1986 Elphick landed his biggest television success, Boon (1986–92, 1995). He played Ken Boon, a retired fireman who opened a motorbike despatch business and later became a private investigator. Boon was very successful and ran for seven series, attracting audiences of 11 million at its peak. There was also a one-off episode screened in 1995, two years after it had been made. During breaks from Boon, Elphick continued to act in film with cameo roles in The Krays (1990) and Let Him Have It (1991).
In 1993 Elphick took the role of a former Fleet Street journalist running a Darlington news agency in Harry (1993, 1995). He played the alcoholic and ruthless Harry Salter, who frequently used exploitation and underhand tactics to get a story. This series however was less successful and it was soon cancelled.[5] Elphick went on to play Billy Bones in Ken Russell's televised version of Treasure Island (1995) and Barkis in David Copperfield (1999).
In 2001 he joined the cast of EastEnders, where he played Harry Slater, a romantic interest for Peggy Mitchell (Barbara Windsor). The plotline indicated that Slater had sexually abused his niece, Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace), at the age of 13 and her "sister" Zoe (Michelle Ryan) was the daughter born to her when she became pregnant by him. Elphick's heavy drinking began to affect his performances, so the character promptly left the series, and news of his death in Spain reached Walford four months later.
Personal life
Elphick met his long-term partner, school teacher Julia Alexander, in 1963 and remained with her until her death from cancer in 1996.[citation needed] The couple had a daughter, Kate.[citation needed]
For many years Elphick struggled with alcoholism. He made the first of many attempts to stop drinking in 1988,[6] after doctors warned him he could die within a year if he continued.[7] He sought help from Alcoholics Anonymous in the early 1990s, although he admitted he was still drinking in 1993.[8] In 1996 he admitted that he had begun drinking heavily again and also contemplated suicide after the death of his partner of 33 years. However he rallied and returned to the stage in "Loot".[9] The actor also confessed to having taken cocaine and once, while high on drugs, grabbing a shotgun and chasing a gang of thugs after he had been carjacked near his villa in Portugal.[10] But despite numerous drunken episodes and more than the occasional sexual indiscretion, Elphick was rarely out of work.
In 1998 Elphick was admitted to the Priory Clinic in Roehampton, in an attempt to beat his addictions.[10] Reports of his alcohol abuse persisted, however, and during his brief spell on EastEnders during 2001 it was reported that the BBC was considering dropping his character if his drinking wasn't curtailed.[3]
Death
Elphick died in 2002 from a heart attack complicated by his drink problem. He had collapsed at his home in Willesden Green, London, after complaining of pains. He was rushed to hospital where he later died.[4]
His interment was located in Chichester Crematorium.[citation needed]
Filmography
- Fräulein Doktor (1968)...as Tom
- Where's Jack? (1969)...as Hogarth
- Hamlet (1969)...as Captain
- Parkin's Patch (1970)...as Thomas
- The Best Things in Life (1970)...as Jed Lucas
- Cry of the Banshee (1970)...as Burke
- The Buttercup Chain (1970)...as The Driver
- Armchair Theatre (1971)...as Robert Delmonds
- The Misfit (1971)...as Mike Halloran
- Blind Terror (1971)...as Gypsy Tom
- Albert and Victoria (1971)...as Nigel Godfrey
- Adult Fun (1972)...as Himself
- Country Matters (1973)...as Jack
- Adam Smith (1973)...as Ben Davies
- And Now the Screaming Starts! (1973)...as Drunk
- Justice (1973)...as Peter Rodwell
- O Lucky Man! (1973)...as Bill
- Great Mysteries (1973)...as Gorenflot
- Amchair Theatre (1973)...as Chopper/Best Man
- New Scotland Yard (1973)...as Al Farmer
- Crown Court (1973)...as Simon Chase
- New Scotland Yard (1974)...as Joss Adrian
- ITV Playhouse (1974)...as Norma's Friend
- The Nearly Man (1974)...as Ron Hibbert
- The Brothers (1974)...as Patrolman
- Coronation Street (1974)...as Douglas Wormold
- Crown Court (1975–83)...as Neville Griffiths QC
- Crown Court (1975)...as Frank Hollins
- The Nearly Man (1975)...as Ron Hibbert
- Three Men in a Boat (1975)...as 2nd Porter
- Hadleigh (1976)...as Brian Ainsworth
- BBC2 Playhouse (1976)...as Frank
- Holding On (1977)...as Charlie Wheelright
- ITV Playhouse (1977)...as Oscar
- This Year Next Year (1977)...as Jack Shaw
- Last Summer (1977)...as Oscar
- ITV Sunday Night Drama (1977)...as Himself
- Saturday, Sunday, Monday (1978)...as Michel
- Hazell (1978)...as Griffiths
- Send in the Girls (1978)...as Jimmy
- ITV Playhouse (1978)...as Barrister at Partyzs
- The Odd Job (1978)...as Raymonde
- The One and Only Phyllis Dizey (1978)...as Wallace Parnell
- The Sweeney (1978)...as Jimmy Fleet
- Play for Today (1978)...as Thomas Venables
- The Ghosts of Motley Hall (1978)...as Captain Narcissus Bullock
- The Quiz Kid (1979)...as Jack
- Black Island (1979)...as Jack Daker
- The Knowledge (1979)...as Gordon Weller
- Play for Today (1979)...as Peter
- The First Great Train Robbery (1979)...as Burgess
- Quadrophenia (1979)...as Father
- The Professionals (1979)...as Sergeant Garbett
- Cribb (1980)...as Sol Herriott
- BBC2 Playhouse (1980)...as Charlie
- The Elephant Man (1980)...as Night Porter
- Shoestring (1980)...as Pete Johnson
- The Antagonists (1981)...as Vettius
- Private Schulz (1981)...as Private Schulz
- Roger Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1981)...as Stanley
- Tony (1981–88)...as Johnny Magowan
- Privates on Parade (1982)...as Sergeant Major Reg Drummond
- BBC2 Playhouse (1982)...as Eddie
- Andy Robson (1982)...as Jake Carnaby
- Smiley's People (1982)...as Detective Chief Superintendent
- Timeslip (1982)... as Osri
- Bird Fancier (1983)...as Darville
- Bloomfield (1983)...as Billy Gibbs
- Krull (1983)...as the voice of Rell
- Curse of the Pink Panther (1983)...as Valencia Police Chief
- Gorky Park (1983)...as Pasha
- Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (1983–84)...as Magowan
- The Element of Crime (1984)...as Fisher
- Memed My Hawk (1984)...as Jabbar
- Pull the Other One (1984)...as Sidney Mundy
- Arthur's Hallowed Ground (1984)...Len
- Oxbridge Blues (1984)...as Curly Bonaventura
- Much Ado About Nothing (1984)...as Dogberry
- Three Up, Two Down (1985–89)...as Sam Tyler
- Super Gran (1985)...as Roly Roofless
- Ordeal by Innocent (1985)...as Inspector Huish
- Hitler's S.S.: Portrait of Evil (1985)...as Ernst Rohm
- Lake Starter (1985)...as Jack Owen
- Jenny's War (1985)...as Schumann
- Tony (1985)...as Johnny Magowan
- The Supergrass (1985)...as Constable Collins
- Boon (1986–95)...as Ken Boon
- Pirates (1986)...as Sentry
- Valhalla (1986)...as Voice of Udgaardsloki
- Fellows and Magowan (1987–91)...as Johnny Magowan
- Withnail & I (1987)...as Jake
- Little Dorrit (1988)...as Mr Merdle
- Asterix and the Big Fight (1989)...as Voice of Crysus
- The Krays (1990)...as George in Prison (unaccredited)
- I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle (1990)...as Inspector Cleaver
- Buddy's Song (1991)...as Des King
- Let Him Have It (1991)...as Prison Officer Jack
- Stanley and the Women (1991)...as Bert Hutchinson
- The Ballad of Kid Divine: The Cockney Cowboy (1992)...as Dr. Nathaniel Bonner
- Harry (1993–95)...as Harry Salter
- Murder Most Horrid (1994)...as Bill Todd
- Treasure Island (1995)...as Billy Bones
- Dangerfield (1997)...as Brian Taylor
- The Fix (1997)...as Peter Campling
- David Copperfield (1999)...as Barkis
- Metropolis (2000)...as Brickhill
- The Bill (2001)...as George Stubbs
- Baddiel's Syndrome (2001)...as Drugs tsar
- EastEnders (2001)...as Harry Slater
- Out of Bounds (2003)...as Lionel Stubbs
References
- ^ a b c "The life of Michael Elphick". BBC News. 2002-09-10. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2247775.stm. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
- ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1406831/Michael-Elphick.html
- ^ a b "Sad Elphick told stop drinking or quit Eastenders". Sunday Mirror. 2001-04-22. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4161/is_20010422/ai_n14526566. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
- ^ a b Philip Purser (2002-09-11). "Michael Elphick". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,3604,789859,00.html. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
- ^ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-137538/Boon-star-Elphick-dead-56.html
- ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1406831/Michael-Elphick.html
- ^ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-137538/Boon-star-Elphick-dead-56.html
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2247775.stm
- ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1406831/Michael-Elphick.html
- ^ a b Anthony Hayward (2002-09-11). "Obituary: Michael Elphick". The Independent. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20020911/ai_n12640280. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
External links
Categories:- 1946 births
- 2002 deaths
- Alcohol-related deaths in England
- Alumni of the Central School of Speech and Drama
- Deaths from myocardial infarction
- English soap opera actors
- English film actors
- English television actors
- English stage actors
- People from Chichester
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