Tony Roper (actor)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Tony Roper (born 19 August 1941) is 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. ...
,
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 ...
,
playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...
and
writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...
.


Career

In his early life he worked as a miner in
Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...
(where there were family connections), and as a van boy in a Glasgow bakery. His first major starring role was in ''
Scotch and Wry ''Scotch and Wry'' is a Scottish television comedy sketch show produced by BBC Scotland and starring Rikki Fulton and a revolving ensemble cast which over the years included Gregor Fisher, Tony Roper, Claire Nielson, Juliet Cadzow and Jo ...
''. He wrote the comedy-drama '' The Steamie'' in 1987, for which he won a
BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...
. He achieved even greater fame in '' Naked Video'' and in the spin-off series '' Rab C. Nesbitt'', in which he played Rab's partner-in-crime, Jamesie Cotter. He also starred in the short-lived 1999 sitcom ''
All Along the Watchtower "All Along the Watchtower" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan from his eighth studio album, '' John Wesley Harding'' (1967). The song was written by Dylan and produced by Bob Johnston. The song's lyrics, which in its original v ...
''. Tony also had a small part as the postman in the longer version of the 1973 cult film, ''
The Wicker Man ''The Wicker Man'' is a 1973 British folk horror film directed by Robin Hardy (film director), Robin Hardy and starring Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt and Christopher Lee. The screenplay is by Anthony Shaffer (writer ...
''. In theatre, he played Tom Weals in Miles Tredinnick's farce '' It's Now or Never!'' at the Queen's Theatre,
Hornchurch Hornchurch is a suburban town in East London in the London Borough of Havering. It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross. It comprises a number of shopping streets and a large residential area. It historically formed a large ancient par ...
in 1994. He also starred in other stage plays such as '' Willie Rough'' by Bill Bryden, "The Red Runner" by Billy Connolly, and various other plays by Alyn Aykbourn, Shaw and Shakespeare. In the 1980s, he co-founded the charity football team Dukla Pumpherston. Other football-related work included regular appearances on the television and stage versions of the satirical series ''
Only an Excuse? ''Only an Excuse?'' is an annual Scottish comedy sketch show that was broadcast on BBC One Scotland on Hogmanay from 1993 to 2020. It starred the actor and comedian Jonathan Watson and featured impressions of some of Scottish football's great ...
'' during the 1990s alongside Jonathan Watson. Roper has also written ''Paddies'', a conceptual sequel to '' The Steamie'' set 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 ...
's "Paddies Market" ( Paddy's Market), and two novels based on
Rikki Fulton Robert Kerr "Rikki" Fulton (15 April 1924 – 27 January 2004) was a Scottish comedian and actor best remembered for writing and performing in the long-running BBC Scotland sketch show, ''Scotch and Wry''. He was also known for his appearances ...
's character Rev. I. M. Jolly. In 2004-2005 he co-wrote and starred as Rikki Fulton in '' Rikki and Me'', a play about the comedy actor Rikki Fulton, which is available on DVD, and appeared as Merv in the 2005 Scottish film, '' On a Clear Day''.


Other activities

Roper is a lifelong supporter of Celtic F.C. He presented the club's VHS/DVD ''The Treble'' in celebration of Celtic's 2000–01 treble-winning season, and ''Hoops we did it again'' in 2001–2002. In 2008, he wrote and directed the hit play '' The Celts in Seville'' which played at the Pavilion Theatre (Glasgow) in 2008 and 2014.


Personal life

Roper and his wife Isobel live 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 ...
. He was awarded an honorary degree by
Abertay University Abertay University () is a public university in the city of Dundee, Scotland. In 1872, Sir David Baxter, 1st Baronet of Kilmaron, left a bequest for the establishment of a mechanics' institute in Dundee and the Dundee Institute of Technology w ...
in 2008. In April 2013, Roper received treatment for
prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...
. He was given the all-clear. His
autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...
''I'll No Tell You Again'' was published in 2014. The foreword was written by his friend,
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 ...
.


Theatre


Filmography


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roper, Tony 1941 births Living people Scottish male stage actors Scottish male television actors Theatre in Scotland 20th-century Scottish dramatists and playwrights People educated at St Mungo's Academy People from Anderston Scottish male comedians Comedians from Glasgow Scottish people of Irish descent