Michael John Pratt (7 June 1931 – 10 July 1976) was an English actor, musician, songwriter and screenwriter, known for his work on British television in the 1960s and 1970s.

Early life and musical career

Early in his career, Mike Pratt worked in advertising, while also taking some part-time acting roles. He left his office job in the mid-1950s. With three friends (including Lionel Bart), he then drove around Europe in an old-style London taxi. Upon returning to England, he earned a living as a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

and

skiffle Skiffle is a genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, country, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a form in the United Stat ...

musician in London clubs. An accomplished guitarist and pianist, in the 1950s, he jammed with

the Vipers Skiffle Group The Vipers Skiffle Group – later known simply as The Vipers – were one of the leading British groups during the skiffle period of the mid to late 1950s, and were important in the careers of radio and television presenter Wally Whyton, coffee ...

at the 2 I's club in London with his friend Tommy Steele. Pratt can be seen jamming skiffle on a 1950s Pathé News clip with other musicians of the era including members of the Shadows. A successful songwriter, Pratt collaborated with Bart and Steele on many of Steele's early hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s. To enable Steele to start to film his life story, co-writers Steele, Bart and Pratt, wrote twelve songs in seven days. A Steele-Pratt collaboration, "A Handful of Songs", originally a hit for Tommy Steele in 1957, became the theme tune to a long-running

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was its ...

children's programme of the same name in the late 1970s. They also contributed to the writing of the song " Rock with the Caveman". Bart and Pratt received the 1957 Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically for " Little White Bull". He won a further Ivor Novello award for "Handful of Songs". In 1961, he wrote the music and lyrics for ''The Big Client'', a play which was produced at the Bristol Old Vic from 28 November 1961. Pratt also co wrote the title song to the 1961 film comedy Double Bunk

Acting career

Pratt appeared in numerous plays between 1965 and 1967. From 25 May 1966, he appeared at the Aldwych Theatre in ''Tango'', a play by Slawomir Mrozek, alongside Patience Collier,

Peter Jeffrey Peter Jeffrey (18 April 1929 – 25 December 1999) was an English character actor. Starting his performing career on stage, he would later have many roles in television and film. Early life Jeffrey was born in Bristol, the son of Florence ...

Ursula Mohan Ursula Mohan is a British actress. From 25 May 1966 she appeared in Sławomir Mrożek's play ''Tango'' at the Aldwych Theatre alongside Patience Collier, Mike Pratt, Peter Jeffrey and Dudley Sutton under director Trevor Nunn. In 2014 and 2 ...

and

Dudley Sutton Dudley Sutton (6 April 1933 – 15 September 2018) was an English actor. Active in radio, stage, film and television, he was arguably best known for his role of Tinker Dill in the BBC Television drama series '' Lovejoy''. Early life Sutton w ...

, under director

Trevor Nunn Sir Trevor Robert Nunn (born 14 January 1940) is a British theatre director. He has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed dramas ...

."Lively Choice of Plays for Aldwych." ''The Times'' (London, England) 22 April 1966: p.17. Retrieved 9 October 2014. He is best known for his role as Jeff Randall in the late 1960s ITC detective series '' Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)'' alongside Kenneth Cope and

Annette Andre Annette Andre (born 24 June 1939) is an Australian actress best known for her work on British television throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Early life and early career The daughter of an upholsterer, Annette Andre was born in Drummoyne, Australi ...

. Pratt also wrote episode two of the series, titled "

A Disturbing Case "A Disturbing Case" is the second episode of the 1969 British television series ''Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)'', distributed by ITC Entertainment and starring Mike Pratt, Kenneth Cope and Annette Andre. The episode was first broadcast on 28 Se ...

". He also appeared in TV series such as '' No Hiding Place'', '' The Saint'', '' Gideon's Way'', ''

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 deb ...

'', '' Danger Man'', ''

Out of the Unknown ''Out of the Unknown'' is a British television science fiction anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and broadcast on BBC2 in four series between 1965 and 1971. Most episodes of the first three series were a dramatisation of a science fi ...

'', '' Redcap'', '' The Baron'', ''

Man in a Suitcase ''Man in a Suitcase'' is a British television private eye thriller series produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment. It originally aired in the United Kingdom on ITV from 27 September 1967 to 17 April 1968. ABC broadcast episodes of ''Man in ...

'', '' The Champions'', '' Callan'', ''

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are ide ...

'' (episode " The Psychobombs"), '' The Expert'', '' Hadleigh'', '' Jason King'', '' Arthur of the Britons'', '' Softly, Softly: Taskforce'', ''

Crown Court The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all indictable offences, some either way offences and appeals lied to it by the magistrates' courts. It is one of three Senior Courts of England and W ...

'', '' Father Brown'', ''

Oil Strike North ''Oil Strike North'' is a BBC television drama series produced in 1975. The series was created and produced by Gerard Glaister and dealt with life on Nelson One, a North Sea oil rig owned by the fictional company Triumph Oil. Eschewing the cor ...

'' and '' The Adventures of Black Beauty'', in which he had a semi-regular role. His last television role was in the BBC drama series '' The Brothers'' as airline pilot Don Stacy. His film career included roles in '' This Is My Street'' (1964), ''

The Party's Over The Party's Over may refer to: Film and TV * ''The Party's Over'' (1934 film), starring Stuart Erwin and Ann Sothern, based on the 1933 Broadway play * ''The Party's Over'' (1965 film), directed by Guy Hamilton, starring Oliver Reed, with a ...

'' (1965),

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a ( né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, tw ...

's '' Repulsion'' (1965), ''

Robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

'' (1967), ''

A Dandy in Aspic ''A Dandy in Aspic'' is a 1968 neo-noir Technicolor and Panavision British spy film, directed by Anthony Mann, based on the 1966 novel of the same name by Derek Marlowe and starring Laurence Harvey, Tom Courtenay, and Mia Farrow. Costumes by P ...

'' (1968), '' The Fixer'' (1968), '' Goodbye Gemini'' (1970), ''

Sitting Target ''Sitting Target'', also known as ''Screaming Target'', is a 1972 British crime film directed by Douglas Hickox and mainly shot in various locations in London, including the Winstanley and York Road Estates. It stars Oliver Reed, Ian McShane a ...

'' (1972), '' Assassin'' (1973), the horror anthology '' The Vault of Horror'' (1973), and '' Swallows and Amazons'' (1974). He joined 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 produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

in 1966, appearing on stage throughout the rest of the 1960s and the early 1970s.

Death

Mike Pratt died from lung cancer in July 1976, aged 45. The following month, a show was staged at the Aldwych Theatre in London in his memory. The cast included Glenda Jackson,

Kenneth Haigh Kenneth William Michael Haigh (25 March 1931 – 4 February 2018) was an English actor. He first came to public recognition for playing the role of Jimmy Porter in the play ''Look Back in Anger'' in 1956 opposite Mary Ure in London's West End ...

and John Le Mesurier.Tibballs, Geoff (1994) ''Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)'', Boxtree Of his co-star in ''Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)'', Kenneth Cope said:

"Michael was a great loss, both to the industry and as a friend."

Personal life

His son is Guy Pratt, a session bass guitarist best known for his live performances with

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...

(since 1987) and offshoot solo projects with David Gilmour and Nick Mason.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pratt, Mike 1931 births 1976 deaths Deaths from lung cancer in England English male television actors English male screenwriters English male stage actors English songwriters Male actors from London Royal Shakespeare Company members Ivor Novello Award winners English jazz pianists English jazz guitarists English male guitarists 20th-century English male actors 20th-century English musicians 20th-century British guitarists British male jazz musicians 20th-century English screenwriters 20th-century British male musicians