Bob Grant (actor)
Encyclopedia
Robert St Clair Grant usually known as Bob Grant, was an English
actor
, best known for playing Jack Harper in On the Buses
.
He was born in Hammersmith
, west London
, the son of Albert George Grant and Florence Grant (née Burston).
, working in his spare time as a frozen food salesman and also (coincidentally, in view of his later career) as a bus driver. After doing national service
in the Royal Artillery
, he made his stage debut in 1952 as Sydney in Worm's Eye View at the Court Royal, Horsham
.
His first London
appearance was in The Good Soldier Schweik at the Duke of York's Theatre
in 1956, and he spent several years at the Theatre Royal Stratford East
before getting the lead role in the musical Blitz!
at the Adelphi Theatre
in the West End
for two years. In 1964 he appeared at the Piccadilly Theatre
in Instant Marriage, a musical farce, for which he wrote book and lyrics, with music by Laurie Holloway
.
He had by now started to make film appearances, including Sparrows Can’t Sing (1963), the screen version of a play he had earlier acted in at Stratford, and the Beatles' film Help!
(1965). He returned to the Theatre Royal, Stratford, in 1967, and starred in the satirical play Mrs Wilson’s Diary as George Brown
, the Foreign Secretary in Harold Wilson
’s Labour government – this play later transferred to the West End. When the real-life Brown resigned in 1968, Grant was so concerned that his unflattering portrayal of him as a drunk may have contributed to his resignation that he offered to stand down from the part, but reluctantly continued.
, which ran for 74 episodes between 1969 and 1973. Although the critics thought it was a vulgar brand of comedy, it was an instant success with the viewers, and led to three feature films On the Buses
(1971), Mutiny on the Buses
(1972) and Holiday on the Buses
(1973), the first of which was more successful in the UK than the Bond
film of that year. The series was the peak of his career; when Grant married for the third time in 1971 there were huge crowds outside the register office and the couple had to abandon their hired Rolls-Royce and walk to the reception. A double-decker bus had been provided for the guests, but they had to walk as well.
in the farce No Sex Please, We're British
, and continued to appear in musicals and pantomimes. In 1975 he starred in a one-off pilot "Milk-O", an attempt to reinvigorate his career by means of a similar character, a milkman who spent his time fighting off amorous housewives he was delivering to. However this did not lead to a series, and Grant never appeared on television again. In the 1980s, he suffered from manic depression and other mental problems, because of a lack of work and his vast debts. In 1987 he disappeared from his home in Leicestershire
for five days; it later emerged that he had gone to Dublin intending to kill himself. He returned only after a public appeal from his wife. In 1995 he attempted suicide again, and was treated for carbon monoxide poisoning
after being found slumped over the wheel of a car filled with exhaust fumes. His last acting role was in the West End in "Hobson's Choice" early in 1996. Grant then moved with his wife to Church End Twyning, about a mile south of Twyning, near Tewkesbury
in Gloucestershire
. He lived very reclusively and neighbours would only see him when he was trimming his hedge.
Grant was found dead in his garage inside his fume-filled car with a hose attached to the exhaust pipe in 2003. He was 71 years old.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, best known for playing Jack Harper in On the Buses
On The Buses
On the Buses was a British situation comedy created by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney which was broadcast in the UK from 1969 to 1973. The writers' previous successes with The Rag Trade and Meet the Wife were for the BBC, but the Corporation rejected On the Buses, not seeing much comedy potential...
.
He was born in Hammersmith
Hammersmith
Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, England, in the United Kingdom, approximately five miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...
, west London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, the son of Albert George Grant and Florence Grant (née Burston).
Early career
Grant trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic ArtRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
, working in his spare time as a frozen food salesman and also (coincidentally, in view of his later career) as a bus driver. After doing national service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
in the Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
, he made his stage debut in 1952 as Sydney in Worm's Eye View at the Court Royal, Horsham
Horsham
Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...
.
His first London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
appearance was in The Good Soldier Schweik at the Duke of York's Theatre
Duke of York's Theatre
The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End Theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre, until her death in 1935. It opened on 10 September 1892 as the Trafalgar Square Theatre, with Wedding...
in 1956, and he spent several years at the Theatre Royal Stratford East
Theatre Royal Stratford East
The Theatre Royal Stratford East is a theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company.-History:...
before getting the lead role in the musical Blitz!
Blitz!
Blitz! is a musical by Lionel Bart. The play, described by Steven Suskin as "massive", was set in the East End of London during the Blitz...
at the Adelphi Theatre
Adelphi Theatre
The Adelphi Theatre is a 1500-seat West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiving house for a variety of productions, including many musicals...
in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
for two years. In 1964 he appeared at the Piccadilly Theatre
Piccadilly Theatre
The Piccadilly Theatre is a West End theatre located at 16 Denman Street, behind Piccadilly Circus and adjacent to the Regent Palace Hotel, in the City of Westminster, England.-Early years:Built by Bertie Crewe and Edward A...
in Instant Marriage, a musical farce, for which he wrote book and lyrics, with music by Laurie Holloway
Laurie Holloway
Laurie Holloway is a British pianist and composer from Oldham, Lancashire. He is perhaps best known as the Musical Director for Michael Parkinson's chat show firstly on the BBC and more recently on ITV...
.
He had by now started to make film appearances, including Sparrows Can’t Sing (1963), the screen version of a play he had earlier acted in at Stratford, and the Beatles' film Help!
Help! (film)
Help! is a 1965 film directed by Richard Lester, starring The Beatles—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr—and featuring Leo McKern, Eleanor Bron, Victor Spinetti, John Bluthal, Roy Kinnear and Patrick Cargill. Help! was the second feature film made by the Beatles and is a...
(1965). He returned to the Theatre Royal, Stratford, in 1967, and starred in the satirical play Mrs Wilson’s Diary as George Brown
George Brown, Baron George-Brown
George Alfred Brown, Baron George-Brown, PC was a British Labour politician, who served as the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1960 to 1970, and served in a number of positions in the Cabinet, most notably as Foreign Secretary, in the Labour Government of the 1960s...
, the Foreign Secretary in Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
’s Labour government – this play later transferred to the West End. When the real-life Brown resigned in 1968, Grant was so concerned that his unflattering portrayal of him as a drunk may have contributed to his resignation that he offered to stand down from the part, but reluctantly continued.
On the Buses
Grant is perhaps best remembered as the randy bus conductor Jack Harper in the television comedy On the BusesOn The Buses
On the Buses was a British situation comedy created by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney which was broadcast in the UK from 1969 to 1973. The writers' previous successes with The Rag Trade and Meet the Wife were for the BBC, but the Corporation rejected On the Buses, not seeing much comedy potential...
, which ran for 74 episodes between 1969 and 1973. Although the critics thought it was a vulgar brand of comedy, it was an instant success with the viewers, and led to three feature films On the Buses
On the Buses (film)
On the Buses is a 1971 British comedy film directed by Harry Booth and starring Reg Varney and Doris Hare. The film is the first spin-off film from the TV sitcom On the Buses and was followed by two further films Mutiny on the Buses and Holiday on the Buses...
(1971), Mutiny on the Buses
Mutiny on the Buses
Mutiny on the Buses is a 1972 British comedy film directed by Harry Booth and starring Reg Varney and Doris Hare. The film is the second spin-off film from the TV sitcom On the Buses and succeeded On the Buses . It was followed by a third film Holiday on the Buses...
(1972) and Holiday on the Buses
Holiday on the Buses
Holiday on the Buses is a 1973 British comedy film directed by Bryan Izzard and starring Reg Varney and Doris Hare. The film is the third spin-off film from the ITV sitcom On the Buses and succeeded the films On the Buses and Mutiny on the Buses...
(1973), the first of which was more successful in the UK than the Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
film of that year. The series was the peak of his career; when Grant married for the third time in 1971 there were huge crowds outside the register office and the couple had to abandon their hired Rolls-Royce and walk to the reception. A double-decker bus had been provided for the guests, but they had to walk as well.
Death
When On the Buses finished, Grant found himself heavily typecast as Jack Harper and struggled to get other parts. He toured AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in the farce No Sex Please, We're British
No Sex Please, We're British
No Sex Please, We're British is a British comedic play written by Alistair Foot and Anthony Marriott, first staged in London's West End in 1971. It was unanimously panned by critics, but still ran for nearly a decade to packed audiences...
, and continued to appear in musicals and pantomimes. In 1975 he starred in a one-off pilot "Milk-O", an attempt to reinvigorate his career by means of a similar character, a milkman who spent his time fighting off amorous housewives he was delivering to. However this did not lead to a series, and Grant never appeared on television again. In the 1980s, he suffered from manic depression and other mental problems, because of a lack of work and his vast debts. In 1987 he disappeared from his home in Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
for five days; it later emerged that he had gone to Dublin intending to kill himself. He returned only after a public appeal from his wife. In 1995 he attempted suicide again, and was treated for carbon monoxide poisoning
Carbon monoxide poisoning
Carbon monoxide poisoning occurs after enough inhalation of carbon monoxide . Carbon monoxide is a toxic gas, but, being colorless, odorless, tasteless, and initially non-irritating, it is very difficult for people to detect...
after being found slumped over the wheel of a car filled with exhaust fumes. His last acting role was in the West End in "Hobson's Choice" early in 1996. Grant then moved with his wife to Church End Twyning, about a mile south of Twyning, near Tewkesbury
Tewkesbury
Tewkesbury is a town in Gloucestershire, England. It stands at the confluence of the River Severn and the River Avon, and also minor tributaries the Swilgate and Carrant Brook...
in Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
. He lived very reclusively and neighbours would only see him when he was trimming his hedge.
Grant was found dead in his garage inside his fume-filled car with a hose attached to the exhaust pipe in 2003. He was 71 years old.