James Smillie, (born 28 November 1944), also credited variously as James Smillie; Jim Smillie and Jim Smilie, is a Scottish-born Australian actor. He has worked in both Britain and Australia in film, extensively on stage, on television, with voice-over and animation work.
Smillie was born in Glasgow, Scotland and emigrated to Australia before returning to the United Kingdom to appear in stage roles in London's
West End. On television, he's best remembered for the roles of Steve Wilson in ''
Prisoner Cell Block H
''Prisoner'' (known in the UK and the US as ''Prisoner: Cell Block H'') is an Australian television soap opera, which broadcast on Network Ten (originally The 0-10 Network) from February 27 (Melbourne) February 26 (Sydney) 1979 to December 1 ...
'' and Doctor Dan Marshall in the 1980s Australian mini-series and one full series of ''
Return to Eden
''Return to Eden'' is an Australian television drama series starring Rebecca Gilling, James Reyne, Wendy Hughes and James Smillie. It began as a three-part, six-hour mini-series shown on Network Ten on September 27–29, 1983. Gilling and Sm ...
''.
Career
Television and film
Smillie has appeared in films and television shows as featured actor and host, and as leading man on stage in the UK and Australia. His television credits include ''
Return to Eden
''Return to Eden'' is an Australian television drama series starring Rebecca Gilling, James Reyne, Wendy Hughes and James Smillie. It began as a three-part, six-hour mini-series shown on Network Ten on September 27–29, 1983. Gilling and Sm ...
'', ''
Prisoner: Cell Block H'', ''
Adventure Island'', ''
Space: 1999'' the episode ''End of Eternity'', ''
Thriller'', ''
The Gentle Touch
''The Gentle Touch'' is a British police drama television series made by London Weekend Television for ITV which began on 11 April 1980 and ran until 1984. The series is notable for being the first British series to feature a female police of ...
'', ''
Skin Deep'', ''
Comedy Playhouse
''Comedy Playhouse'' is a long-running British anthology series of one-off unrelated sitcoms that aired for 120 episodes from 1961 to 1975. Many episodes later graduated to their own series, including ''Steptoe and Son'', '' Meet the Wife'', ' ...
'', ''
The Mackinnons
The Mackinnons was a BBC Scotland drama series, which started in 1977. It starred Bill Simpson as the head of the Mackinnon family, a vet in the fictional Argyll town of Inverglen (the opening shot actually showed Inveraray). It was seen as inhab ...
'', ''
Red Dwarf'' and ''
Highlander: The Series''. He has also made numerous appearances in a variety of light entertainment shows, including ''
Highway
A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-acces ...
'' with Sir
Harry Secombe
Sir Harold Donald Secombe (8 September 1921 – 11 April 2001) was a Welsh comedian, actor, singer and television presenter. Secombe was a member of the British radio comedy programme ''The Goon Show'' (1951–1960), playing many characters, m ...
, ''An Evening with Barry Humphries'', the BBC series ''Battle of the Sexes'', and ''A Tribute to Robbie Burns'' for Scottish television. ''
Crackerjack'', and hosted his own series ''I Like Music''. Smillie also has a
Royal Variety Performances to his credit. He was also the original voice of
Sky
The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space.
In the field of astronomy, ...
, voicing programmes there for over a decade.
Sky TV Advertisement, 1990. YouTube.
/ref>
International Theatre
On the London stage, he played Tony in ''West Side Story
''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents.
Inspired by William Shakespeare's play '' Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid ...
'' . The following years saw him playing leading men in a string of West End productions, notably: an Italian Lothario in Brian Clemens
Brian Horace Clemens (30 July 1931 – 10 January 2015) was an English screenwriter and television producer, possibly best known for his work on '' The Avengers'' and '' The Professionals''. Clemens claimed to be related to Mark Twain (Samuel ...
' whodunit ''Lover'' ( Ambassadors Theatre); Henry II in '' Thomas and The King'' (Her Majesty's Theatre) music written by John Williams; Dr. Thomas Barnardo in ''Barnardo'' (Royalty Theatre); Nicos in '' Zorba''; Georges in '' La Cage aux Folles'' (London Palladium
The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 a ...
); and also as Fred Graham in 'Kiss Me Kate' (RSC Savoy), George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...
's '' Candida'' as the Reverend James Mavor Morrell.
His other stage credits include Orin in Eugene O'Neill
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Nobel Prize in Literature, literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama tech ...
's ''Mourning Becomes Electra
''Mourning Becomes Electra'' is a play cycle written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill. The play premiered on Broadway at the Guild Theatre on 26 October 1931 where it ran for 150 performances before closing in March 1932, starring Lee Baker ...
'', Chance Williams in Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thr ...
' ''Sweet Bird of Youth
''Sweet Bird of Youth'' is a 1959 play by Tennessee Williams which tells the story of a gigolo and drifter, Chance Wayne, who returns to his home town as the companion of a faded movie star, Alexandra del Lago (travelling incognito as Princess ...
'', Eilif in ''Mother Courage and Her Children
''Mother Courage and Her Children'' (german: Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder, links=no) is a play written in 1939 by the German dramatist and poet Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956), with significant contributions from Margarete Steffin. Four theatrica ...
'', the lead in ''Tom Jones'', Emile de Beque in '' South Pacific'', and as Captain von Trapp in ''The Sound of Music
''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, ''The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. S ...
''. Followed by his success as Mack Sennet in the 1996 London production of ''Mack & Mabel
''Mack and Mabel'' (often stylized as Mack & Mabel) is a musical with a book by Michael Stewart and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. The plot involves the tumultuous romantic relationship between Hollywood director Mack Sennett and Mabel Nor ...
'', Smilie recorded the part of Fred/Petruchio again in the full live production of 'Kiss Me Kate' for the BBC in London with the BBC Concert Orchestra
The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British concert orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five BBC orchestras which is not a full-scale sym ...
.
1998/99 and 2000 saw Smillie touring in the UK Productions tour of '' 42nd Street'', playing the lead role of producer Julian Marsh. In 2001, he returned to Australia to play Pastor Manders in Henrik Ibsen's '' Ghosts'' for the Perth International Arts Festival. In 2003, he returned to the UK to play Charles in Stephen Sondheim's ''Putting It Together
''Putting it Together'' is a musical revue showcasing the songs of Stephen Sondheim. Drawing its title from a song in '' Sunday in the Park with George'', it was devised by Sondheim and Julia McKenzie. The revue has received several productions ...
'' at the Library Theatre
Manchester Central Library is the headquarters of the city's library and information service in Manchester, England. Facing St Peter's Square, it was designed by E. Vincent Harris and constructed between 1930 and 1934. The form of the buildin ...
in Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
. This was followed in 2004 by Daddy Warbucks in a touring production of ''Annie
Annie may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Annie (given name), a given name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name
* Annie (actress) (born 1975), Indian actress
* Annie (singer) (born 1977), Norwegian singer
The ...
'' with Su Pollard
Susan Georgina Pollard (born 7 November 1949) is an English actress and singer. Her career has spanned over 45 years; she is most famous for her role in the sitcom '' Hi-de-Hi!''. She also appeared in ''You Rang, M'Lord?'' and '' Oh, Doctor Bee ...
and Caesar in a Sadlers Wells Lost Musicals production of Harold Rome
Harold Jacob "Hecky" Rome (May 27, 1908 – October 26, 1993) was an American composer, lyricist, and writer for musical theater.
Biography
Rome was born in Hartford, Connecticut and graduated from Hartford Public High School. Originally, he c ...
, Joshua Logan and S. N. Behrman's '' Fanny''.
Further films and local theatre productions
In film, Smillie has had small roles in '' International Velvet'' and ''Jaguar Lives!
''Jaguar Lives!'' is a 1979 American action film directed by Ernest Pintoff and starring Joe Lewis, Christopher Lee, Donald Pleasence and Barbara Bach. Its plot follows a secret agent who battles an international drugs ring.
Plot
Cast
* J ...
''. In 2005, he appeared in two German-made films – ''Dark Ride
A dark ride or ghost train is an indoor amusement ride on which passengers aboard guided vehicles travel through specially lit scenes that typically contain animation, sound, music and special effects. Appearing as early as the 19th century, su ...
'' and ''Rich Girl, Poor Girl''. Smillie is also a regular radio and concert broadcaster for the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
'', presenting special occasions such as ''Sondheim on the South Bank'', ''An Evening with Cole Porter'' at the
. He is also a voice-over artist working in animation and on commercials, dubbing, audiovisuals, documentaries, and talking books.
In 2005, Smillie returned to Australia for 7 years for personal reasons to care for his ageing mother and took a break from the business. On his return to the UK he settled back in Glasgow, and has since appeared stage productions at the
. Most recently he has been more involved in film; ''
'', directed by The Shammasian Brothers and ''Boyz in The Wood'', director Ninian Doff.