Hector Nicol (9 November 1920 – 2 July 1985) was a Scottish

comedian A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertainment, entertain an audience by making them laughter, laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop c ...

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

and

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

Acting career

Nicol starred in few shows during his career. His most notable role was that of a dying gangster in the

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...

play '' Just a Boys' Game'' (1979) and also in ''

A Sense of Freedom ''A Sense of Freedom'' is a 1981 Scottish crime film directed by John Mackenzie for Scottish Television. The film stars David Hayman and featured Jake D'Arcy, Sean Scanlan, Hector Nicol, Alex Norton and Fulton Mackay. It is based on the au ...

'' (1981). He also starred in ''

Take the High Road ''Take the High Road'' (renamed ''High Road'' from 1994 to 2003) was a Scottish soap opera produced by Scottish Television, which started in February 1980 as an ITV (TV network), ITV daytime programme, and was broadcast until 2003. It was set in ...

'', a Scottish

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

Singing career

Nicol wrote and sang "The Hearts Song" for Hearts, and "Glory, Glory to the Hibees" for Hibs. He also wrote and sang "The Terrors of Tannadice" for

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...

and "Dark Blue Of Dundee" for

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

. However, he actually supported St Mirren. His 1984

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, ''Bravo Juliet!'', reached number 92 for one week in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

Influence

Nicol's influence was important on Scotland's more recent crop of comedians including

Billy Connolly Sir William Connolly (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish actor, musician, television presenter, artist and retired stand-up comedian. He is sometimes known by the Scots nickname the Big Yin ("the Big One"). Known for his idiosyncratic and of ...

, Des Clarke and Elaine C. Smith. Other famous people who have stated they are fans of Hector include

Sean Connery Sir Thomas Sean Connery (25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to Portrayal of James Bond in film, portray the fictional British secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in motion pic ...

John Barrowman John Scot Barrowman MBE (born 11 March 1967) is a Scottish-American actor, author, presenter, singer and comic book writer. He is known for his roles as Captain Jack Harkness in ''Doctor Who'' (2005–2010; 2020–2021) and its spin-off ''Torc ...

and

Tommy Sheridan Thomas Sheridan (born 7 March 1964) is a Scottish politician who served as convenor of Solidarity from 2019 to 2021. He previously served as convenor of the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) from 1998 to 2004 and as co-convenor of Solidarity from ...

Personal life

Nicol married Delina (Lena) P. Sweetman in 1948 and they had three sons together, two of whom died tragically. One choked to death while eating, while another was murdered in a senseless attack. Stephen Nicol, age 19, was stabbed to death by a 15-year-old boy at a bus stop in Edinburgh on 8 June 1973. At trial, it was revealed that the perpetrator, George Riddell, was not motivated by any greed or anger, but had simply decided to stab someone.

David Brand, Lord Brand David William Robert Brand, Lord Brand (21 October 1923 – 14 April 1996) was a British lawyer and judge. He had a conservative outlook on life, and as a judge he had a reputation for both speedy decisions and severe sentences. His university ...

sentenced Riddell to indefinite detention for the murder of Stephen Nicol, who had suffered from a chronic illness. Nicol nearly left the entertainment business after his son's murder. Nicol, who suffered from

angina Angina, also known as angina pectoris, is chest pain or pressure, usually caused by insufficient blood flow to the heart muscle (myocardium). It is most commonly a symptom of coronary artery disease. Angina is typically the result of parti ...

, died at his home in Edinburgh, at the age of 64. He was survived by his wife of thirty-seven years, Lena (1922-2013) and his one surviving son.

Filmography

References

External links

* 1920 births 1985 deaths Scottish male comedians Scottish male film actors Scottish male soap opera actors Scottish male television actors Male actors from Paisley, Renfrewshire 20th-century Scottish male singers Scottish male songwriters Musicians from Paisley, Renfrewshire 20th-century Scottish male actors 20th-century Scottish musicians 20th-century British comedians British male songwriters {{Scotland-bio-stub