William Albert Murray (born 6 October 1941) is an English actor, best known for playing Don Beech in ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...

'' from 1995 to 2004, Johnny Allen in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

soap opera ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

'' from 2005 to 2006, and Captain John Price in the video games '' Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare'', '' Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2'', and '' Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3''. Often known for portraying " hard man" characters, he has also starred in '' McVicar'' (1980), '' Essex Boys'' (2000), '' One in the Chamber'' (2012), '' We Still Steal the Old Way'' (2016), ''

Nemesis In ancient Greek religion and myth, Nemesis (; ) also called Rhamnousia (or Rhamnusia; ), was the goddess who personified retribution for the sin of hubris: arrogance before the gods. Etymology The name ''Nemesis'' is derived from the Greek ...

'' (2021) and the '' Rise of the Footsoldier'' film series (2007–2021).

Early life

Murray was born in Forest Gate,

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

and grew up in Upton Park,

East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

, one of three children of Timothy and Vera Murray; his father was a plasterer,

nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

bouncer and a

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

champion. Murray attended St. Edward's Catholic Primary and St Bonaventure's Catholic School. After leaving school at fourteen, Murray worked as a shelf-stacker at a Co-Op supermarket in

Canning Town Canning Town is a town in the London Borough of Newham, East London, England, north of the Royal Victoria Dock. Its urbanisation was largely due to the creation of the dock. The area was part of the ancient parish and County Borough of West Ham, ...

and at the local docks cleaning the dirt out of oil tankers. He also had

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

trials for

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

and boxed for the Reggie and Ronnie Kray-owned West Ham Boxing Club. Murray became good friends with the Krays to the extent that he accompanied them on holiday to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. The Kray twins paid £400 for him to go to East 15 Acting School as a teenager, because they "liked his attitude". They never asked for the money back, and Murray later appeared as a character witness for Charlie Kray who had been accused of smuggling

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

Career

Murray made his acting debut playing a minor uncredited role in the 1963 film '' The Wrong Arm of the Law'', followed by minor uncredited roles in '' What a Crazy World'' (1963) and '' Two Left Feet'' (1965). He started playing larger roles in the films ''

Poor Cow ''Poor Cow'' (also known as ''No Tears for Joy'') is a 1967 British kitchen sink drama film directed by Ken Loach and starring Carol White and Terence Stamp. It was written by Loach and Nell Dunn based on Dunn's 1967 novel of the same na ...

'' (1967), ''

Corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

'' (1968), '' Up the Junction'' (1968) and ''

Performance A performance is an act or process of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Performance has evolved glo ...

'' (1970). From the 1970s through to the early 1990s, he made appearances in a wide variety of television series such as '' Softly, Softly'', '' The Sweeney'', '' The Professionals'', '' Minder'', '' Bergerac'' and '' Casualty''. He was also among those considered for the role of Derek "Del Boy" Trotter in the BBC TV series ''

Only Fools and Horses ''Only Fools and Horses'' (titled onscreen as ''Only Fools and Horses....'') is a British television sitcom that was created and written by John Sullivan (writer), John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Ki ...

'' before it finally went to

David Jason Sir David John White (born 2 February 1940), known professionally as David Jason, is an English actor. He has played Derek "Del Boy" Trotter in the sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses'', Detective Inspector Jack Frost in the drama series '' A Touch ...

. Other notable film roles include the role of Joey in the hit 1980 film '' McVicar'' (1980). In 1995, he took on the role of DS Don Beech in the ITV police drama series ''

'' appearing as a regular cast member from early 1995 to late 2000. This was his second role in the series, as he had previously appeared in an episode as DI Jackson in 1989. In 2001, he reprised the role in a special episode entitled "Beech on the Run". This was followed by the six-part mini-series '' Beech is Back''. In 2004, he made his final appearance as Beech for a guest stint in five episodes, in which his character escaped from prison and is now back 'on the run'. In late 2004, he joined the cast of

soap opera ''

'' and played gangland figure Johnny Allen. This was Murray's second role within the series, as he previously appeared as loan shark Mr. X for four episodes in 1991. Murray's character as Johnny Allen made his first appearance on 4 January 2005, and became the show's main

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.Peggy Mitchell; her sons Phil Mitchell and Grant Mitchell; their cousin

Billy Mitchell William Lendrum Mitchell (December 29, 1879 – February 19, 1936) was a United States Army officer who had a major role in the creation of the United States Air Force. Mitchell served in France during World War I and, by the conflict's end, ...

, whom Johnny initially employed in his criminal empire; Phil and Grant's ex-lover Sharon Watts; her godmother Pauline Fowler; his daughter's best friend Stacey Slater; and even his own henchman Jake Moon. During his time on the show, Johnny killed fellow mob boss Andy Hunter on the show's 20th anniversary episode by throwing him from a motorway bridge. His character later arranged for Jake's brother Danny Moon to kill Sharon's husband

Dennis Rickman Dennis Rickman is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Nigel Harman. He made his first appearance on 14 April 2003 at the funeral of his late mother, Paula, before going on to become one of the show's centra ...

on New Year's Eve 2005. He departed from the show in March 2006 when his character was jailed after his daughter Ruby Allen forced him to confess to having Dennis murdered and killing Andy himself. He made a brief return to ''EastEnders'' in October 2006 when his character was killed off after he succumbed to a heart attack in prison, though not before trying to arrange the death of Ruby's boyfriend and Stacey's brother Sean Slater upon learning that he plans to extract her family assets. For his performance as Johnny Allen Murray won the 'Best Villain' award at the British Soap Awards in May 2006. Following his departure from ''EastEnders'', Murray appeared in several British films such as '' Rollin' with the Nines'' (2006), '' Doghouse'' (2009) and '' Dead Cert'' (2010). He also played Mickey Steele in three films from the '' Rise of the Footsoldier'' film series, those being '' Rise of the Footsoldier'' (2007), '' Rise of the Footsoldier 3: The Pat Tate Story'' (2017) and '' Rise of the Footsoldier: Origins'' (2021). He also provided the voice of Captain John Price in the video games '' Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare'' (2007), '' Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2'' (2009) and '' Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3'' (2011) and fronted the adverts for Injury Lawyers 4 U, a compensation claims company in the UK. Murray's later career has mainly consisted of film roles, including '' The Rise and Fall of a White Collar Hooligan'' (2012), '' One in the Chamber'' (2012) and '' We Still Steal the Old Way'' (2016). He headlined the crime film ''

'' (2021) and starred alongside

Lee Majors Lee Majors (born Harvey Lee Yeary; April 23, 1939) is an American actor. He portrayed the characters of Heath Barkley on the American television Western series '' The Big Valley'' (1965–1969), Colonel Steve Austin on the American television sc ...

Danny Trejo Danny Trejo (, ; born May 16, 1944) is an American actor. Known for his Danny Trejo filmography, large body of work as a character actor, films in which he has appeared in have grossed over $3.7 billion worldwide. A native of Los Angeles, Tr ...

and Ian Ogilvy in the action-thriller film '' Renegades'' (2022).

Personal life

Murray has four children. A son and daughter from his first marriage to Maureen, and two daughters from his second marriage to Elaine. Jaime Murray, one of his daughters from his second marriage is an actress who is best known for starring in the television series '' Hustle'', as well as playing Lila Tournay in season two of '' Dexter''. In 1998, Murray appeared in court after he and three other men allegedly attacked two men who they believed were supplying drugs to their daughters. Murray said that he suffered a

nervous breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

and slept rough on the set of ''

'' for months as a court order banned him from living in his home county of

after he was charged with intimidating a witness involved in the case. He also admitted that the court case had put a strain on his marriage. Murray was cleared of assault, having claimed that at the time he was "suffering from a mouth abscess and a cracked collarbone and was in no condition to hit anyone". One of the men attacked was quoted as saying that they wished the case had never gone to court, stating "I deserved everything I got". In June of that year, his daughter Lizzie almost committed suicide via overdose. She survived and Murray was assured her life wasn't in any danger. In April 2011, it was reported that Murray had been charged with assault of his wife and daughter. In July 2011, it was confirmed that the assault case against Murray had been dropped. Outside of acting, Murray is involved in property investment and owns and rents out lock-ups, flats and garages across

. He is a

football club fan, and a supporter of the Conservative Party.Celebrity X Factor – News
''People''. (28 March 2010). Retrieved 1 January 2011.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

*
Billy Murray's EastEnders Profile
* Th
compensation claims company
Billy Murray fronts {{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Billy English male soap opera actors English male film actors English male television actors English male voice actors English expatriate male actors in the United States Alumni of East 15 Acting School Actors from the London Borough of Newham 1941 births Living people People educated at St Bonaventure's Catholic School People from Upton Park, London Male actors from Essex People from Forest Gate