Phil McCall (born Philip McColl; 26 November 1925 – 29 January 2002) was a

Glaswegian The Glasgow dialect, popularly known as the Glasgow patter or Glaswegian, varies from Scottish English at one end of a bipolar linguistic continuum to the local dialect of West Central Scots at the other. Therefore, the speech of many Glaswegia ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

who appeared in numerous films and television productions over a 40-year period.

Early life and education

McCall's father was a labourer. He attended

St Mungo's Academy St Mungo's Academy is a Roman Catholic, co-educational, comprehensive, secondary school located in Gallowgate, Glasgow. The school was founded in 1858 by the Marist Brothers religious order. The debate team at St Mungo's were the first Scotti ...

in Glasgow and trained as an actor at the

Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland ( gd, Conservatoire Rìoghail na h-Alba), formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama ( gd, Acadamaidh Rìoghail Ciùil is Dràma na h-Alba) is a conservatoire of dance, drama, music, production, and ...

. He then appeared in repertory theatre in Scotland and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Acting career

McCall had significant film roles in ''

Ring of Bright Water ''Ring of Bright Water'' is a book by Gavin Maxwell about his life in a remote house in coastal Scotland where he kept several wild otters as pets. First published in 1960, it became a best seller and is considered a literary masterpiece, event ...

'' (1969) and Lars von Trier's ''

Breaking the Waves ''Breaking the Waves'' is a 1996 psychological drama film directed and co-written by Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier and starring English stage actress Emily Watson as her feature film acting debut. Set in the Scottish Highlands in the early 197 ...

'' (1996). His television appearances included ''

Dr. Finlay's Casebook ''Dr. Finlay's Casebook'' is a television drama series that was produced and broadcast by the BBC from 1962 until 1971. Based on A. J. Cronin's 1935 novella ''Country Doctor'', the storylines centred on a general medical practice in the fictiona ...

Bottle Boys ''Bottle Boys'' is a British sitcom which ran for two series on ITV between 1 September 1984 and 24 August 1985. Starring Robin Askwith as football-mad milkman Dave Deacon, the series mined broad comedy from randy Dave's amorous adventures. Ho ...

'', '' Monarch of the Glen'', and ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...

''. In addition to his role in films and television, McCall was the centrepoint in Knorr's stock cube

advertising campaign An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC). An IMC is a platform in which a group of people can group their ideas, beliefs, and conc ...

in the 1980s, which included the famous

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

"Pea and ham soup from a chicken, now that's clever". He appeared twice in episodes of the television series ''

Minder A minder is the person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e. a person who " minds". Government-appointed persons to accompany foreign visitors are of ...

'', playing safe-breaker/sneak thief 'Scotch Harry'. He was the chairman of the Scottish committee of the actors' union

Equity Equity may refer to: Finance, accounting and ownership * Equity (finance), ownership of assets that have liabilities attached to them ** Stock, equity based on original contributions of cash or other value to a business ** Home equity, the dif ...

for 17 years.

Death

McCall was married for 44 years to Katherine McCall, a television and theatre director. Their son also entered the entertainment industry, first as a child actor, then later became involved in the behind-the scenes theatre work. His wife found him hanged at their home in Glasgow on 29 January 2002.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCall, Phil Scottish male film actors Scottish male stage actors Scottish male television actors Male actors from Glasgow 1925 births 2002 deaths People educated at St Mungo's Academy