Editing Leo McKern

{{short description|Australian actor (1920–2002)}}
{{Use Australian English|date=January 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name             = Leo McKern
| honorific_suffix = [[Order of Australia|AO]]
| image            = McKernRyansDaughter.png
| caption          = McKern in ''[[Ryan's Daughter]]'' (1970)
| birth_name       = Reginald McKern
| birth_date       = {{Birth date|1920|3|16|df=y}}
| birth_place      = [[Sydney]], [[New South Wales]], Australia
| death_date       = {{Death date and age|2002|7|23|1920|3|16|df=y}}
| death_place      = [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]], [[Somerset]], England
| education        = [[Sydney Technical High School]]
| occupation       = Actor
| years_active     = 1944–1999
| height           = 5 ft 7 in
| organization     =
| known_for        = {{ubl | ''A Man for All Seasons'' ([[A Man for All Seasons (play)|play]] and [[A Man for All Seasons (1966 film)|film]]) | ''[[Travelling North (film)|Travelling North]]'' (film) }}
| television       = {{ubl | ''[[The Prisoner]]'' | ''[[Rumpole of the Bailey]]''}}
| spouse           = {{marriage|Jane Holland|1946}}
| children         = 2, including [[Abigail McKern]]
| awards           = [[AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role|Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role]] (1987)
}}

'''Reginald "Leo" McKern''' (16 March 1920&nbsp;– 23 July 2002) was an Australian actor who appeared in numerous British, Australian and American television programmes and films, and in more than 200 stage roles. His notable roles include Clang in ''[[Help! (film)|Help!]]'' (1965), [[Thomas Cromwell]] in ''[[A Man for All Seasons (1966 film)|A Man for All Seasons]]'' (1966), Tom Ryan in ''[[Ryan's Daughter]]'' (1970), Harry Bundage in ''[[Candleshoe]]'' (1977), Paddy Button in ''[[The Blue Lagoon (1980 film)|The Blue Lagoon]]'' (1980), Dr. Grogan in ''[[The French Lieutenant's Woman (film)|The French Lieutenant's Woman]]'' (1981), Father Imperius in ''[[Ladyhawke (film)|Ladyhawke]]'' (1985), and the role that made him a household name as an actor, [[Rumpole of the Bailey|Horace Rumpole]], whom he played in the British television series ''[[Rumpole of the Bailey]]''. He also portrayed Carl Bugenhagen in the [[The Omen|first]] and [[Damien - Omen II|second instalments]] of [[The Omen (franchise)|''The Omen'' series]] and [[Number Two (The Prisoner)|Number Two]] in the TV series ''[[The Prisoner (TV series)|The Prisoner]]''.

==Early life==
Reginald McKern was born 16 March 1920 in [[Sydney]], [[New South Wales]],<ref name="film"/> the son of Vera (née Martin) and Norman Walton McKern. Known as "Leo" from a young age, he attended [[Sydney Technical High School]].<ref name="film">[http://www.filmreference.com/film/63/Leo-McKern.html "Leo McKern Biography (1920–2002)"<!-- Bot generated title -->]. ''Film Reference''. Retrieved 18 November 2024.</ref> On leaving school, he initially worked in a factory, where at the age of 15, he suffered an accident which resulted in the removal of his left eye.<ref>{{citation |title=Australian letters |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8mMYAQAAIAAJ&q=%22left+eye%22 |year=1957 |journal=Sun Books |page=27 |volume=1 |access-date=18 September 2011}}</ref> He first worked as an engineering apprentice, then as an artist, followed by service as a [[sapper]] with the [[Australian Army]]'s [[Royal Australian Engineers]] during World War II.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ww2roll.gov.au/Veteran.aspx?serviceId=A&veteranId=239734 |title=Service Record: McKern, Reginald |website=World War Two Nominal Roll |language=en |access-date=18 November 2024 |archive-date=17 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160917174251/http://www.ww2roll.gov.au/Veteran.aspx?serviceId=A&veteranId=239734 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1944, in Sydney, he performed in his first stage role.<ref name="film"/>

==Career==

===Theatre===
McKern fell in love with Australian actress Jane Holland, moved to the United Kingdom to be with her, and married her in 1946. Despite the difficulties posed by his [[Ocular prosthesis|glass eye]] and Australian accent, he soon became a regular performer at London's [[Old Vic]] theatre and the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre (now the [[Royal Shakespeare Theatre]]) in [[Stratford-upon-Avon]].<ref name="film"/> 

McKern's most notable Shakespearean role was as [[Iago]] in ''[[Othello]]'', in 1952.<ref name="film"/> In 1955 he appeared in ''The Burnt Flower Bed'' by Ugo Betti directed by [[Peter Hall (director)|Peter Hall]] at the Arts Theatre Club in London.<ref name="film"/> He played Big Daddy in Peter Hall's production of ''[[Cat on a Hot Tin Roof]]'' at the Comedy Theatre in 1958,<ref name="film"/> and went on to play the German ambassador in another Peter Hall production, ''Brouhaha'' starring Peter Sellers at the Aldwych Theatre.<ref name="film"/> He originated the role of Common Man in [[Robert Bolt]]'s ''[[A Man for All Seasons (play)|A Man for All Seasons]]'' in the [[West End of London|West End]] in 1960,<ref name="film"/> but for the show's [[Broadway (Manhattan)|Broadway]] production appeared as [[Thomas Cromwell|Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex]], a role he would reprise for the [[A Man for All Seasons (1966 film)|1966 film version]].<ref name="film"/> He also portrayed Subtle in [[Ben Jonson]]'s ''[[The Alchemist (play)|The Alchemist]]'' in 1962. In 1965, he played the lead in Bolt's ''The Thwarting of Baron Bolligrew'', and Disson in [[Harold Pinter]]'s ''[[Tea Party (play)|Tea Party]]''.<ref name="film"/>

He appeared at the [[Royal Exchange, Manchester]] in ''[[Uncle Vanya]]'' in 1977 and in ''[[Crime and Punishment]]'' in 1978.<ref name="film"/>

In 1989, he played [[James Boswell]] in the one-man show, ''[[Boswell for the Defence]]'' in theatres in Melbourne, Hong Kong and London.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article122273108 |title=Sippets |date=29 June 1989 |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |access-date=15 May 2019 |page=11}}</ref>

===Film===
McKern's film debut was in ''[[Murder in the Cathedral (1951 film)|Murder in the Cathedral]]'' (1952).<ref name="tv">{{cite web| url= https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/leo-mckern/credits/3000000482/ |title= Leo McKern credits |website=tvguide.com |access-date=23 March 2025}}</ref> His more notable film appearances included the science-fiction classics ''[[X the Unknown]]'' (1956),<ref name="tv"/> ''[[The Day the Earth Caught Fire]]'' (1961),<ref name="tv"/> the World War I drama ''[[King and Country]]'' (1964), ''[[Help! (film)|Help!]]'' (1965), the [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]]-winning adaptation of ''[[A Man for All Seasons (1966 film)|A Man for All Seasons]]'' (1966),<ref name="tv"/> ''[[The Shoes of the Fisherman (movie)|The Shoes of the Fisherman]]'' (1968), ''[[Ryan's Daughter]]'' (1970),<ref name="tv"/> ''[[Massacre in Rome]]'' (1973), ''[[The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother]]'' (1975), ''[[The Omen]]'' (1976),<ref name="tv"/> ''[[The Blue Lagoon (1980 film)|The Blue Lagoon]]'' (1980), <ref name="tv"/>''[[The French Lieutenant's Woman]]'' (1981) and ''[[Ladyhawke (film)|Ladyhawke]]'' (1985).<ref name="tv"/> He was presented with the [[AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role|Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role]] for ''[[Travelling North (film)|Travelling North]]'' (1987). He co-starred as Sancho Zancas opposite [[Alec Guinness]] as Father Quixote, in ''[[Monsignor Quixote]]'' (1985).<ref name="film"/>

===Television===
Two of McKern's earliest television roles were Sir Roger DeLisle (usurper of the Locksley manor and lands) and Herbert of Doncaster (a corrupt moneylender) in the 1950s black-and-white series ''[[The Adventures of Robin Hood (TV series)|The Adventures of Robin Hood]]''.<ref name="tv"/>

During the 1960s, he was one of several [[Number Two (The Prisoner)|Number Twos]] in the TV series ''[[The Prisoner]]''.<ref name="tv"/> Along with [[Colin Gordon]], McKern was one of only two actors to play Number Two more than once. He first played the character in the episodes "[[The Chimes of Big Ben]]" and "[[Once Upon a Time (The Prisoner)|Once Upon a Time]]", and reprised the role in the final episode, "[[Fall Out (The Prisoner)|Fall Out]]".<ref name="film"/> The filming of "Once Upon a Time" was a particularly intense experience for McKern; according to one biographer, the stress caused him to suffer either a [[Mental breakdown|nervous breakdown]] or a [[Myocardial infarction|heart attack]] (accounts differ), forcing production to stop for a time.<ref>{{cite book |title=''The Prisoner'': The Official Companion to the Classic TV Series |last=Fairclough |first=Robert |publisher=I Books |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-7434-5256-4}}</ref> 

In 1976, McKern narrated and presented ''The Battle of the Somme'', a [[British Broadcasting Corporation]] documentary marking the 60th anniversary of the World War I battle.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20220124130553/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6f275c56 "'Battle of the Somme' television documentary, BBC (1976)"]. ''British Film Institute'' (2020). Retrieved 18 November 2024.]</ref> He played the Earl of Gloucester in [[Granada Television]]'s production of ''[[King Lear (1983 TV drama)|King Lear]]'' (1983). Also in 1983, he starred in episodes of the mini-series ''[[Reilly, Ace of Spies]]'' as Zaharov, director of Vickers.<ref name="tv"/>

====''Rumpole of the Bailey''====
In 1975, McKern made his first appearance in the role that would make him a household name as an actor, Horace Rumpole, whom he played in ''[[Rumpole of the Bailey]]'', originally an episode of the BBC's ''[[Play for Today]]''. A series of the same name, comprising 44 episodes, was produced for [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] between 1978 and 1992. According to Rumpole's creator, author [[John Mortimer]], McKern "not only played the character Rumpole—he added to it, brightened it and brought it fully to life."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/24/arts/leo-mckern-82-veteran-actor-who-gave-voice-to-rumpole.html |title=Leo McKern, 82, Veteran Actor Who Gave Voice to 'Rumpole' |last=Goldman |first=Ari L. |date=24 July 2002 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=15 May 2019 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Although he enjoyed the role, McKern expressed doubts about its popularity and the extent to which his life was becoming intertwined with Rumpole's. "McKern was often unhappy, decrying his television fame as an 'insatiable monster'. He stressed that his [[Peer Gynt]]<!--no italics: this is referring to the character--> was a greater performance and lamented: 'If I get an obit in any paper, they will say, "...&nbsp;of course, known to millions as Rumpole.{{"-}}{{'"}}<ref name="grumpy">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1402354/Legacy-of-grumpy-Rumpole.html |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |title=Legacy of 'grumpy Rumpole' |first=Hugh |last=Davies |date=24 July 2002 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250102184934/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1402354/Legacy-of-grumpy-Rumpole.html |archive-date=2025-01-02 }}</ref> In the later series, his daughter [[Abigail McKern]] joined the cast as Liz Probert.<ref name="grumpy"/>

===Commercial work===
Starting in 1985, McKern appeared in a series of advertisements for [[Lloyds Bank (historic)|Lloyds Bank]], playing the upholder of quality standards.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Stewart-Hunter |first1=Mary |title=Lloyds Bank: How TV Advertising Helped Increase Customer Commitment |url= https://www.warc.com/content/paywall/article/lloyds_bank_how_tv_advertising_helped_increase_customer_commitment/en-GB/4423 |website=WARC |access-date=23 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=LLOYDS BANK TV ADVERT 1986 banking in the computer age LEO MCKERN PHILIP FRANKS HD 1080P |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFXyWYnKVJU |website=YouTube | date=11 August 2016 |access-date=23 December 2021}}</ref> In 1987, investment firm [[Smith Barney]] selected McKern to succeed [[John Houseman]] as its spokesman. The move was part of a broader shift in their TV commercials, including hiring [[Dinah Sheridan]] to play McKern's wife.<ref>[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE1D91030F935A2575AC0A961948260 Smith Barney In Ad Change] – ''The New York Times'', 16 September 1987</ref> In 1989, Smith Barney again changed spokesmen, dropping McKern for American actor [[George C. Scott]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Elliot |first1=Stuart |title=Smith Barney summons the ghost of a haughty John Houseman in a revival of its 'timeless' ads |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/25/business/media-business-advertising-smith-barney-summons-ghost-haughty-john-houseman.html |access-date=23 December 2021 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=25 August 1995}}</ref>

===Radio===
McKern wrote one radio play, ''London Story'', which became the film ''[[Chain of Events]]'' (1958). He also provided the voice of [[Captain Haddock]] in the 1992 and 1993 [[BBC Radio]] adaptation of ''[[Hergé]]'s [[The Adventures of Tintin#Television and radio|The Adventures of Tintin]]''.<ref name="film"/>

==Personal life and death==
In 1983, McKern was appointed an Officer of the [[Order of Australia]] for his services to the performing arts.<ref name="arts">{{cite web| url= https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/870056|title=Reginald (Leo) McKern| website=Australian Honours search| access-date=18 November 2024}}</ref>

He frequently travelled between England and Australia, both to visit family and friends and to appear in various films and plays. As he was frightened of flying, he booked tickets to travel on cargo ships. This gave him time and peace to read scripts and contracts, with the added benefit of feeling he was on holiday.

Worried that his stout frame would not appeal to audiences, McKern suffered from [[Glossophobia|stage fright]], which became harder to control with age.<ref>{{cite news |title=Obituary: Leo McKern |website=[[BBC News]] |date=2002-07-23 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1422476.stm |access-date=2022-03-21}}</ref>

In 1997 he appeared in a party political broadcast for the [[United Kingdom Independence Party]].<ref>{{cite book
| last = Daniel
| first = Mark
| year = 2005
| title = Cranks and Gadflies: The Story of Ukip
| publisher = Timewell
| isbn = 978-1857252095
}}</ref>

McKern and his wife, fellow Australian actor Jane Holland (''[[A Son Is Born]]'', 1946), had two daughters, [[Abigail McKern|Abigail]] and Harriet.<ref name=BBCNews>{{Cite news |title=Rumpole star McKern dies |website=[[BBC News]] |date=2002-07-23 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2146615.stm |access-date=2022-03-21}}</ref>

Suffering in his final years from ill health, McKern moved into a nursing home near [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]] in [[Somerset]] in 2002, where he died a few weeks later, on 23 July, at the age of 82; his body was cremated at Haycombe Cemetery in Bath.<ref name=BBCNews/>

==Selected filmography==
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
<ref name="film"/><ref name="tv"/>
* ''[[Murder in the Cathedral (1951 film)|Murder in the Cathedral]]'' (1952) – Third Knight
* ''[[All for Mary]]'' (1955) – Gaston Nikopopoulos
* ''[[The Adventures of Robin Hood (TV series)|The Adventures of Robin Hood]]'' (1955, TV Series) – Herbert of Doncaster / Sir Roger de Lisle
* ''[[X the Unknown]]'' (1956) – Police Inspector McGill
* ''[[Time Without Pity]]'' (1957) – Robert Stanford
* ''Confess, Killer'' (1957) – Lt. Kolski (with ''[[Naomi Chance]])''
* ''[[A Tale of Two Cities (1958 film)|A Tale of Two Cities]]'' (1958) – Attorney General
* ''[[Beyond This Place (1959 film)|Web of Evidence]]'' (1959) – McEvoy
* ''[[Yesterday's Enemy]]'' (1959) – Max
* ''[[The Mouse That Roared (film)|The Mouse That Roared]]'' (1958) – Benter, Leader of the Opposition
* ''[[The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film]]'' (1959) – (uncredited)
* ''[[Scent of Mystery]]'' (1960) – Tommy Kennedy
* ''[[Jazz Boat]]'' (1960) – Inspector
* ''[[Saturday Playhouse]]'' (1960, Episode: "[[The Man Who Came to Dinner]]") – Sheridan Whiteside
* ''[[Mr. Topaze]]'' (1961) – Muche
* ''[[The Day the Earth Caught Fire]]'' (1961) – Bill Maguire
* ''The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse'' (1962) – Dr. Clitterhouse
* ''[[The Inspector]]'' (1962) – Brandt
* ''[[Doctor in Distress (film)|Doctor in Distress]]'' (1963) – Harry Heilbronn
* ''[[Hot Enough for June]]'' (1964) – Simoneva
* ''[[A Jolly Bad Fellow]]'' (1964) – Professor Kerris Bowles-Ottery
* ''[[King & Country]]'' (1964) – Captain O'Sullivan
* ''[[The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders]]'' (1965) – Squint
* ''[[Help! (film)|Help!]]'' (1965) – High Priest Clang
* ''[[Alice in Wonderland (1966 TV play)|Alice in Wonderland]]'' (1966, TV Movie – [[Jonathan Miller]]'s 1966 television adaptation) – Duchess
* ''[[A Man for All Seasons (1966 film)|A Man for All Seasons]]'' (1966, both Cromwell and Common Man in original play) – [[Thomas Cromwell]] 
* ''[[The Prisoner]]'' (1967, Episodes: "[[The Chimes of Big Ben (The Prisoner)|The Chimes of Big Ben]]", "[[Once Upon a Time (The Prisoner)|Once Upon a Time]]" and "[[Fall Out (The Prisoner)|Fall Out]]") – [[Number Two (The Prisoner)|Number Two]]
* ''[[Assignment K]]'' (1968) – Smith
* ''[[Nobody Runs Forever]]'' (1968) – Flannery (uncredited)
* ''[[Decline and Fall... of a Birdwatcher]]'' (1968) – Captain Grimes
* ''[[The Shoes of the Fisherman (movie)|The Shoes of the Fisherman]]'' (1968) – Cardinal Leone
* ''[[Ryan's Daughter]]'' (1970) – Thomas Ryan
* ''[[Massacre in Rome]]'' (1973) – General Kurt Mälzer
* ''[[The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother]]'' (1975) – [[Professor Moriarty]]
* ''[[Play for Today]]'' (1975, Episode: "Rumpole of The Bailey") – Horace Rumpole
* ''[[Space: 1999]]'' (1976, Episode: "[[The Infernal Machine (Space: 1999)|The Infernal Machine]]") – Companion / Voice of Gwent
* ''[[The Omen]]'' (1976) – Carl Bugenhagen (uncredited)
* ''[[Candleshoe]]'' (1977) – Harry Bundage
* ''[[Damien - Omen II]]'' (1978) – Carl Bugenhagen (uncredited)
* ''[[Rumpole of the Bailey]]'' (1978–1992, TV Series) – Horace Rumpole
* ''[[The Nativity (1978 film)|The Nativity]]'' (1978, TV Movie) – [[Herod the Great]]
* ''[[The Blue Lagoon (1980 film)|The Blue Lagoon]]'' (1980) – Paddy Button
* ''[[The French Lieutenant's Woman (film)|The French Lieutenant's Woman]]'' (1981) – Dr Grogan
* ''[[Reilly, Ace of Spies]]'' (1983) – [[Basil Zaharoff]]
* ''[[King Lear (1983 TV drama)|King Lear]]'' (1983) – Earl of Gloucester
* ''[[The Chain (1984 film)|The Chain]]'' (1984) – Thomas
* ''[[Murder with Mirrors]]''  (1985) – Inspector Curry
* ''[[Ladyhawke (film)|Ladyhawke]]'' (1985) – Imperius
* ''[[Monsignor Quixote (1985 TV film)|Monsignor Quixote]]'' (1987) – Sancho Zancas
* ''[[Travelling North (film)|Travelling North]]'' (1987) – Frank
* ''[[A Foreign Field]]'' (1993) – Cyril
* ''[[Dad and Dave: On Our Selection (1995 film)|Dad and Dave: On Our Selection]]'' (1995) – Dad (Joseph) Rudd
* ''[[Molokai: The Story of Father Damien]]'' (1999) – Bishop Maigret (final film role)
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name}}
* {{TCMDb name}}
* {{IBDB name}}

{{AACTA Award Best Actor in a Leading Role}}
{{National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mckern, Leo}}
[[Category:1920 births]]
[[Category:2002 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Australian male actors]]
[[Category:Australian emigrants to England]]
[[Category:Australian expatriate male actors in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Australian male film actors]]
[[Category:Australian Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Australian male radio actors]]
[[Category:Australian male stage actors]]
[[Category:Australian male television actors]]
[[Category:Australian male voice actors]]
[[Category:Best Actor AACTA Award winners]]
[[Category:Deaths from diabetes in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Male actors from Sydney]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Sydney]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of Australia]]
[[Category:People educated at Sydney Technical High School]]
[[Category:Royal Australian Engineers soldiers]]
[[Category:Royal Shakespeare Company members]]
[[Category:Spokespersons]]