Michael Grady (born 6 February 1946) is an English

character actor A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting character (arts), characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrie ...

. He is best known for his comedy roles in films and television, particularly as Ken Mills in '' Citizen Smith'' (1977–1980) and Barry Wilkinson in ''

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 ...

'' (1986–2010).

Early life

Grady was born on 6 February 1946, in

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

. He undertook classical training 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 ...

Career

Grady's theatre career was extensive, including theatre roles at the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

and London's

Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

, as well the West End, the

Royal Court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word ''court'' may also be app ...

, the Bush, and the Soho Poly, plus many tours and

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 around the country. His television roles have included '' Minder'' as Kev in the Series 1 episode, '' The Bengal Tiger'', Steve Bracket in ''Rooms'', '' Citizen Smith'', as series regular, Ken Mills, '' Look and Read'', ''Dr Ballantyne'', '' Sweet Sixteen'', 161 episodes of ''

'', playing Barry Wilkinson, husband of Glenda, ''

Colin's Sandwich ''Colin's Sandwich'' is a British sitcom that was broadcast on BBC Two, BBC2 in 1988 and 1990. It starred Mel Smith as Colin Watkins, a British Rail administrator who aspired to be a horror writer. The show was written by Paul Smith (television w ...

'', '' Up the Garden Path'', '' Not with a Bang''. His film credits include '' Carry On Loving'' (1970), '' Up the Front'' (1972), ''

Symptoms Signs and symptoms are diagnostic indications of an illness, injury, or condition. Signs are objective and externally observable; symptoms are a person's reported subjective experiences. A sign for example may be a higher or lower temperature ...

'' (1974), '' The Return of the Pink Panther'' (1975), opposite

Peter Sellers Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show''. Sellers featured on a number of hit comi ...

, '' I'm Not Feeling Myself Tonight'' (1976), '' Britannia Hospital'' (1982), '' Bert Rigby, You're a Fool'' (1989) and '' Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows'' (2011). He was also in the Wycliffe episode Slave of Duty. He also has starred in advertisements including a

Pepsi Pepsi is a Carbonated water, carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo which serves as its flagship product. In 2023, Pepsi was the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long ...

advertisement from 1976. A regular performer on radio, Grady played Rob Pengelly in '' Waggoners' Walk'', a

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

soap opera. He has been involved in award-winning productions such as ''Christianity at Glacier'' for

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

and comedies '' Up the Garden Path'', '' Dial M For Pizza'', and ''

Giles Wemmbley-Hogg Goes Off ''Giles Wemmbley-Hogg Goes Off'' is a BBC Radio 4 comedy written by Marcus Brigstocke, Jeremy Salsby and Graeme Garden, produced by Pozzitive Television. Format and history The show follows the travel adventures of title character Giles Wemmb ...

''. He continues work in the theatre and on television. In March 2023, Grady portrayed Clyde Taylor in an episode of the BBC soap opera '' Doctors''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grady, Mike 1946 births Alumni of Bristol Old Vic Theatre School English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors English male voice actors 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors Living people Male actors from Cheltenham