Mark McManus (21 February 1935 – 6 June 1994) was a Scottish actor known for his roles in the British television series ''
Sam,'' ''
Bulman,
The Brothers,
Strangers,'' and ''
Dramarama'' and the feature film ''
2000 Weeks''. He was best known for playing the tough
Glaswegian Detective Chief Inspector Jim Taggart in the long-running
STV television series ''
Taggart
''Taggart'' is a Scottish detective fiction television programme created by Glenn Chandler, who wrote many of the episodes, and made by STV Studios for the ITV network. It originally ran as the miniseries ''Killer'' from 6 until 20 Septe ...
'' from 1983 until his death in 1994.
Career
McManus was born in
Hamilton
Hamilton may refer to:
* Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States
* ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda
** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
, Scotland, and moved to
Hillingdon
Hillingdon is an area of Uxbridge within the London Borough of Hillingdon, centred 14.2 miles (22.8 km) west of Charing Cross. It was an ancient parish in Middlesex that included the market town of Uxbridge. During the 1920s the civil pari ...
in London, England when he was three years old, until he moved again at the age of 16 to Australia, where he performed in amateur theatre groups that led him to becoming a professional actor. He appeared in the children's TV series ''
Skippy the Bush Kangaroo'' and had a guest appearance in the long-running Australian police drama ''
Homicide
Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a Volition (psychology), volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from Accident, accidenta ...
''. He also starred in
Tim Burstall's feature film ''
2000 Weeks'' (1969), which was the first full-length Australian-produced feature made in Australia since
Charles Chauvel's ''
Jedda'' in 1954.
McManus also appeared in the American-produced historical drama ''
Adam's Woman'' and co-starred with
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...
in the
Tony Richardson
Cecil Antonio Richardson (5 June 1928 – 14 November 1991) was an English theatre and film director, producer and screenwriter, whose career spanned five decades. He was identified with the "angry young men" group of British directors and play ...
film version of the
Ned Kelly
Edward Kelly (December 185411 November 1880) was an Australian bushranger, outlaw, gang leader, bank robber and convicted police-murderer. One of the last bushrangers, he is known for wearing armour of the Kelly gang, a suit of bulletproof ...
story, ''
Ned Kelly
Edward Kelly (December 185411 November 1880) was an Australian bushranger, outlaw, gang leader, bank robber and convicted police-murderer. One of the last bushrangers, he is known for wearing armour of the Kelly gang, a suit of bulletproof ...
'' (both 1970).
McManus returned to the UK in 1971, and was known to a wider audience when he played roles such as Harry Carter in ''
The Brothers'' and Sam Wilson, a coal miner in the 1973 TV series ''
Sam''. McManus appeared opposite
Peter O'Toole in the 1976 TV movie ''
Rogue Male'', and starred as a dour Scots police officer, Jack Lambie, in ''
Strangers'', a role he reprised as a guest star in the spin-off, ''
Bulman''. McManus also had roles in productions at the
National Theatre and the
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...
.
McManus was also a boxer before he moved into acting.
He is not to be confused with the boxer of the same name (born 1974) from
Basildon
Basildon ( ) is a town in Borough of Basildon, the borough of the same name, in the county of Essex, England. It had a recorded population of 115,955 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. In 1931, the town had a population of 1,159.
...
in England.
''Taggart''
McManus began playing the title character in the crime drama ''
Taggart
''Taggart'' is a Scottish detective fiction television programme created by Glenn Chandler, who wrote many of the episodes, and made by STV Studios for the ITV network. It originally ran as the miniseries ''Killer'' from 6 until 20 Septe ...
'' in September 1983, alongside
Neil Duncan,
Tom Watson and
Robert Robertson. The
pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...
attracted an estimated 7.6 million viewers. When Duncan left the show in 1987,
James MacPherson joined as new character Michael Jardine, immediately promoted to replace Duncan's character as detective sergeant. This was preceded by the arrival of a new
superintendent, Jack McVitie, in the 1985 episode "Murder in Season". A new female detective constable, Jackie Reid (portrayed by
Blythe Duff), was introduced in 1990 and, in "Secrets" (1994), Taggart promoted her to detective sergeant.
Death
McManus drank heavily and, after several years of declining health, died from an alcohol-related illness. He was hospitalised with severe
jaundice
Jaundice, also known as icterus, is a yellowish or, less frequently, greenish pigmentation of the skin and sclera due to high bilirubin levels. Jaundice in adults is typically a sign indicating the presence of underlying diseases involving ...
in May 1994, and died in
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 ...
of
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...
brought on by
liver failure, on 6 June 1994, aged 59, eight months after the death of his second wife Marion. In the last two years of his life McManus had also lost his mother, his brother and his two sisters.
The actor was the first person to be posthumously awarded the
Lord Provost of Glasgow
The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Glasgow is the convener of the Glasgow City Council. The Lord Provost serves both as the chair of the city council and as a figurehead for the entire city, and is elected by the city councillors from among i ...
's Award for Performing Arts.
McManus's final ''
Taggart
''Taggart'' is a Scottish detective fiction television programme created by Glenn Chandler, who wrote many of the episodes, and made by STV Studios for the ITV network. It originally ran as the miniseries ''Killer'' from 6 until 20 Septe ...
'' episode was "Hellfire" (Season 11 Episode 1). After his death, his character was given an on-air funeral in the final episode of the 11th season, "Black Orchid".
Family
The McManus family adopted
Brian Connolly, later of 1970s
glam rock band
the Sweet; the brothers perceived a resemblance between them, and supposed they shared a father.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
Sources
* ''No Matter What They Say - The Story of Sweet'' (HomeSweetHome Publishing, 2009).
External links
*
Taggart Fan Club
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcmanus, Mark
1935 births
1994 deaths
Scottish people of Irish descent
Deaths from pneumonia in Scotland
Male actors from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire
Scottish male television actors
20th-century Scottish male actors