Alex Munro (6 March 1911 – 20 January 1986) was a Scottish actor and comedian.
Career
Born as Alexander Neilson Horsburgh in
Shettleston
Shettleston ( sco, Shuttlestoun, gd, Baile Nighean Sheadna) is a district in the east end of Glasgow in Scotland.
Toponymy
The origin of the name 'Shettleston' is not clear and, like many place-names of possibly medieval origin, has had a mult ...
, Glasgow, he joined his brother Archie and sister June in an acrobatic act called ''The Star Trio''. They later changed their name to ''The Horsburgh Brothers and Agnes'' and became part of Florrie Forde's music hall company with Flanagan and Allen.
During World War Two, Munro toured with the
RAF
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
show, ''Contact'', and had his own BBC radio series ''The Size of It''. He headlined in a number of British variety theatres, before finally making his home in
Llandudno, Wales. He was given creative control of the
Llandudno Pier Pavilion Theatre in the 1970s. The ''Alex Munro Show'' ran at the Happy Valley in Llandudno for 30 years.
Personal life
Munro and his wife, Phyllis (née Robertshaw), were the parents of actress
Janet Munro
Janet Munro (born Janet Neilson Horsburgh; 28 September 1934 – 6 December 1972) was a British actress. She won a Golden Globe Award for her performance in the film ''Darby O'Gill and the Little People'' (1959) and received a BAFTA Film Awar ...
(1934–1972), who predeceased her father. Alex Munro had two grandchildren by his daughter. He died in
Llandudno in 1986, aged 74.
Memorial
In honour of Alex Munro's contribution to the town of Llandudno, a short stretch of road leading up to the former site of his Open Air Theatre in Happy Valley was renamed 'Alex Munro Way' in March 2014.
Filmography
* ''
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 and final spin-off film from the ITV sitcom ''On the Buses'' and succeeded the films ''On the Buses'' ...
'' (1973)
* ''Mr. Rose'' (1 episode, 1968)
* ''
Z-Cars
''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it debut ...
'' (1 episode, 1963)
External links
*
Alex Munro Show image
{{DEFAULTSORT:Munro, Alex (comedian)
1911 births
1986 deaths
Comedians from Glasgow
Scottish male radio actors
Scottish male television actors
Scottish male comedians
20th-century Scottish male actors
20th-century British comedians
People from Llandudno