John Grieve (14 June 1924 – 21 January 2003) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

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. ...

, best known as the

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

Macphail 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 ...

adaptation of Neil Munro's

Para Handy Para Handy is a character created by the journalist and writer Neil Munro in a series of stories published in the ''Glasgow Evening News'' between 1905 and 1923 under the pen name of Hugh Foulis. He is the crafty Gaelic skipper of the '' Vital ...

stories, '' Para Handy - Master Mariner'' (1959–60), returning to that role in the

BBC Scotland BBC Scotland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. Its headquarters are in Glasgow, employing approximately 1,250 staff as of 2017, to produce 15,000 hours of television and radio programming per year. BBC Scotla ...

version, ''

The Vital Spark ''The Vital Spark'' is a BBC Scotland television series set in the western isles of Scotland in the 1930s, based on the Para Handy books by Neil Munro. It starred Roddy McMillan as Peter "Para Handy" MacFarlane, captain of the puffer '' Vita ...

'' (1965–67, 1973–74). Born in

Maryhill Maryhill () is an area in the north-west of Glasgow in Scotland. A former independent burgh and the heart of an eponymous local authority ward, its territory is bisected by Maryhill Road, part of the A81 road which runs for a distance of ro ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Grieve attended the

Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (), formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama () is a conservatoire of dance, drama, music, production, and film in Glasgow, Scotland. It is a member of the Federation of Drama Schools. Founde ...

, before joining the

Citizens Theatre The Citizens Theatre, in what was the Royal Princess's Theatre, is the creation of James Bridie and playwright in residence Paul Vincent Carroll is based in Glasgow, Scotland, as a principal producing theatre. The theatre includes a 500-seat ...

in 1951. Grieve worked in variety alongside many familiar Scottish comedians, including

Stanley Baxter Stanley Livingstone Baxter (born 24 May 1926) is a retired Scottish actor, comedian, impressionist and author. Baxter began his career as a child actor on BBC Scotland and later became known for his British television comedy shows '' The Stanley ...

and

Jimmy Logan James Allan Short, Officer of the Order of the British Empire, OBE, RSAMD, FRSAMD (4 April 1928 – 13 April 2001), known professionally as Jimmy Logan, was a Scotland, Scottish performer, theatrical producer, impresario and Theatre director, ...

. Although principally known for his comic roles, he appeared in drama films such as ''

The Thirty-Nine Steps ''The Thirty-Nine Steps'' is a 1915 adventure novel by the Scottish literature, Scottish author John Buchan, first published by William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh. It was Serial (literature), serialized in ''Argosy (magazine)#The All-Story, ...

'' (1978), '' Eye of the Needle'' (1981) and the

docudrama Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television show, television and feature film, film, which features Drama (film and television), dramatized Historical reenactment, re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of docu ...

Square Mile of Murder The Square Mile of Murder relates to an area of west-central Glasgow, Scotland. The term was first coined by the Scottish journalist and author Jack House, whose 1961 book of the same name was based on the fact that four of Scotland's most infamou ...

'' (1980). His stage roles include the part of the King's Jester in the premier of '' The Burning'' (1971) by

Stewart Conn Stewart Conn (born 1936) is a Scottish poet and playwright, born in Hillhead, Glasgow.''Galaxy 2'' Maryhill Writers Group (2004) His father was a minister at Kelvinside Church but the family moved to Kilmarnock, Ayrshire in 1941 when he was five. ...

. He had a brief recurring role as Frank Marker's

probation officer A probation or parole officer is an official appointed or sworn to investigate, report on, and supervise the conduct of convicted offenders on probation or those released from incarceration to community supervision such as parole. Most probat ...

in the

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...

series '' Public Eye''. He played Sandy Duncanson in BBC's adaptation of Neil Munro's ''

The New Road ''The New Road'' is a historical novel by the Scottish writer Neil Munro, which was adapted as a television serial by the BBC. Munro is now mainly remembered as the creator of the comic character Para Handy, but this is regarded as the best of ...

'', in a BBC drama about the Union of the Parliaments in 1707 he played

John Hamilton, 2nd Lord Belhaven and Stenton John Hamilton, 2nd Lord Belhaven and Stenton (5 July 1656 – 21 June 1708) was a Scottish peer, landowner and politician. Life He was the eldest son of Robert Hamilton, Lord Presmennan (d. 1696). Having married Margaret, granddaughter of John H ...

who delivered a controversial speech against the Union, and appeared on BBC Scotland's

Hogmanay Hogmanay ( , ) is the Scots language, Scots word for the last day of the old year and is synonymous with the celebration of the New Year in the Scottish manner. It is normally followed by further celebration on the morning of New Year's Day (1 ...

celebrations, one of which (''Into '85'') was broadcast nationally from Gleneagles and became notorious for Grieve, apparently worse the wear with alcohol, unable to recite a brief poem and collapsing into laughter, along with other shambolic incidents featured in the same programme. The BBC as a result did not broadcast Hogmanay-themed programmes thereafter. He appeared in two episodes (eleven years apart) in the television series '' All Creatures Great and Small'' as Dr. Harry Allinson, whose practice was next door to Skeldale House.

Theatre

Filmography

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grieve, John 1924 births 2003 deaths Male actors from Glasgow Scottish male television actors Scottish male stage actors Alumni of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland