Jonathan Linsley (born 17 January 1956) is a British actor, best known for his role as 'Crusher' Milburn in the popular TV series ''

Last of the Summer Wine ''Last of the Summer Wine'' is a British sitcom set in Yorkshire created and written by Roy Clarke and originally broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010. It premiered as an episode of ''Comedy Playhouse'' on 4 January 1973, and the first seri ...

''. Linsley started his acting career in the 1980s; besides ''Last of the Summer Wine'', he has appeared in various films and TV shows, including '' Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest'' and ''At World's End''.

Early life

Linsley's father was from

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town and civil parish in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in eastern Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2021 it had a population of 42,027. Ramsgate' ...

, Kent and his mother from

Cockfield, County Durham Cockfield is a village on the edge of Teesdale, County Durham, England. It is situated 8 miles to the south-west of Bishop Auckland, north-west of Darlington and south-west of Newcastle upon Tyne. Remains found on Cockfield Fell suggest ther ...

; they met during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

when his father was stationed with the tank regiment at

Barnard Castle Barnard Castle (, ) is a market town on the north bank of the River Tees, in County Durham, England. The town is named after and built around a medieval castle ruin. The town's Bowes Museum has an 18th-century Silver Swan automaton exhibit ...

. Linsley was born at Bradford, and raised at

Halesowen Halesowen ( ) is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically an exclave of Shropshire and, from 1844, in Worcestershire, ...

, near

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, from the age of three, when his father's work dictated relocation, then at

Tamworth, Staffordshire Tamworth (, ) is a market town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Staffordshire, England, north-east of Birmingham. The town borders North Warwickshire to the east and south, Lichfield District, Lichfield to the north, south- ...

. When his father retired from industry, he bought a shop in the town of

Skipton Skipton (also known as Skipton-in-Craven) is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the East Division of Staincliffe Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the River Aire and the Leeds ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

. Here Linsley attended

Ermysted's Grammar School Ermysted's Grammar School is an 11-18 boys' Voluntary aided school, voluntary aided grammar school in Skipton, North Yorkshire, England. It was founded by Peter Toller in the 15th century and is the List of the oldest schools in the United Kin ...

, during which time he joined the

National Youth Theatre The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain (NYT) is a youth theatre and charity in London, created with the aim of developing young people's artistic skills via theatrical productions and other creative endeavours. Founded in 1956 as the world ...

, then, despite an interest in working as an actor (encouraged by ''

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 ...

'' actor Kenneth MacDonald, who directed Linsley in a play), he was persuaded by his parents to attend university; he initially read English and American Studies at the

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of ...

, but changed courses after the first year, to Theatre Studies. He was then awarded one of two available bursaries, enabling him to undertake a one-year post-graduate course at the

Bristol Old Vic Theatre School The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School (BOVTS) is a drama school in Bristol, England. The institution provides training in acting and production for careers in film, television and theatre. BOVTS was an affiliate of the Conservatoire for Dance a ...

. After completing his studies he entered repertory theatre at

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

, before getting his first television work in advertisements. He won the role of "Crusher" Milburn in the 1985 ''Last of the Summer Wine'' stage play, which went on a short commercial tour including the

Beck Theatre The Beck Theatre is a 600-seat theatre in Hayes, in the London Borough of Hillingdon. It was built in 1977 at a cost of £2.5 million. Type The Beck is a community theatre, offering one-night concerts, drama, comedy, dance, musicals, children's ...

Hayes, Hillingdon Hayes is a town in west London. Historically situated within the county of Middlesex, it is now part of the London Borough of Hillingdon. The town's population, including its localities Hayes End, Harlington and Yeading, was recorded in the ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, and

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, bor ...

Personal life

He was born on 17 January 1956 in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Outside of acting, Linsley enjoys traveling and has worked in theatre productions across the UK. He leads a relatively low-key personal life.

Television

In 1984, Linsley played a chef in a sitcom called ''The Hello Good-bye Man'' on BBC with

Ian Lavender Arthur Ian Lavender (16 February 1946 – 2 February 2024) was an English stage, film and television actor. He is best known for his role as Private Pike in ''Dad's Army'', a BBC sitcom set during World War II, of which he was the last survivi ...

; the show lasted for only one series. Shortly after this, he took the role of large and strong, but dim-witted, "Crusher" Milburn in ''

''. He appeared in this role until 1987 when he elected to go on a diet and was written out of the series. In 1989, Linsley starred as Chunky Livesey in the second and final series of the spin-off prequel ''

First of the Summer Wine ''First of the Summer Wine'' is a British sitcom written by Roy Clarke that aired on BBC1. The pilot originally aired on 3 January 1988, and the first series of episodes followed from 4 September 1988. The show ran for two series of six episodes ...

'', to replace Anthony Keetch who starred as the character in the first series in 1988. Linsley also appeared as a character in the TV shows ''

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British television soap opera that is broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a List of fictional towns and villages, fict ...

'' (Albert Mistlethwaite), ''Casualty'' (DC Newby), ''

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 ...

'' (Dennis Weaver) and '' The Governor'' (Bert Threlfall) and as a leading guest actor in many other TV shows and made-for-TV films. He has also made over 50 TV commercials.

Theatre

His West End career includes the comedy ''Up'n'Under'', Roald Dahl's ''Matilda'', ''Its Ralph'' and ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

''. He appeared in rep in many cities around

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

, and wrote for and appeared in

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

s with various other actors.

Selected Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

New York Times listing
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Jonathan Linsley
{{DEFAULTSORT:Linsley, Jonathan 1956 births Living people Male actors from Bradford English male film actors English male television actors English male stage actors People educated at Ermysted's Grammar School Alumni of the University of Warwick Alumni of Bristol Old Vic Theatre School