Ralph McKenzie Riach (26 January 1936 – 20 March 2022) was a Scottish actor from

Elgin, Moray Elgin (; sco, Ailgin; gd, Eilginn, ) is a town (former cathedral city) and formerly a Royal Burgh in Moray, Scotland. It is the administrative and commercial centre for Moray. The town originated to the south of the River Lossie on the higher gr ...

Early years

Riach was born on 26 January 1937 in

Elgin, Scotland Elgin (; sco, Ailgin; gd, Eilginn, ) is a town (former cathedral city) and formerly a Royal Burgh in Moray, Scotland. It is the administrative and commercial centre for Moray. The town originated to the south of the River Lossie on the higher gr ...

. He He was educated at the

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland 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 ...

in Glasgow, and he worked in Perth on a variety of jobs before he began his acting career.

Career

Riach portrayed John McIver (better known as "TV John") in

BBC One Scotland BBC One Scotland is a Scottish free-to-air television channel owned and operated by BBC Scotland and is a Scottish variation of the UK-wide BBC One. For all of the time the channel is referred to on screen as ''BBC One Scotland'', sometimes us ...

's comedy/drama ''

Hamish Macbeth Hamish Macbeth is the lackadaisical police constable of the fictional Scottish Highland town of Lochdubh, in a series of murder mystery novels created by M. C. Beaton (Marion Chesney). Considered by many to be a useless, lazy moocher, Macbeth ...

''. His career began at the age of 50, when he appeared in ''

Lost Empires ''Lost Empires'' is a 1986 television miniseries adaptation of J. B. Priestley's 1965 novel of the same name and starred Colin Firth, John Castle and Laurence Olivier. Produced by Granada Television, it was shown as a serial, and premiered o ...

'' (1986). He appeared in television shows including ''

Chancer ''Chancer'' is a British television crime drama serial, produced by Central Television for ITV, that first broadcast on 6 March 1990. Starring Clive Owen in the title role of Stephen Crane, ''Chancer'' tells the story of a likable conman and ro ...

'', '' Mosley'', ''

Taggart ''Taggart'' is a Scottish detective fiction television programme created by Glenn Chandler, who wrote many of the episodes, and made by STV Studios for the ITV network. It originally ran as the miniseries "Killer" from 6 until 20 September 19 ...

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

Peak Practice ''Peak Practice'' is a British drama series about a GP surgery in Cardale—a small fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District—and the doctors who worked there. It ran on ITV from 10 May 1993 to 30 January 2002 and was one of their most ...

'', ''

Doctor Finlay ''Doctor Finlay'' is a British television series based on A. J. Cronin's stories about the fictional medical hero, Dr. Finlay. It was first broadcast on 5 March 1993 on ITV. It is a follow-up to ''Dr. Finlay's Casebook'', the successful BBC ...

'', and ''

Tutti Frutti Tutti frutti (from Italian ''tutti i frutti'', "all fruits"; also hyphenated tutti-frutti) is a colorful confectionery containing various chopped and usually candied fruits, or an artificial or natural flavouring simulating the combined flavour ...

''. Film appearances included ''

The House of Mirth ''The House of Mirth'' is a 1905 novel by American author Edith Wharton. It tells the story of Lily Bart, a well-born but impoverished woman belonging to New York City's high society around the end of the 19th century. Wharton creates a portrait ...

'' (2000), '' The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc'' (1999), ''

Braveheart ''Braveheart'' is a 1995 American historical drama film directed and produced by, and starring Mel Gibson. Gibson portrays Sir William Wallace, a late-13th century Scottish warrior who led the Scots in the First War of Scottish Independence ag ...

'' (1995), ''

Copying Beethoven ''Copying Beethoven'' is a 2006 American dramatic film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and directed by Agnieszka Holland which gives a fictionalized take on the triumphs and heartaches of Ludwig van Beethoven's last years. Plot It is 1824 as Bee ...

'' (2006) and ''

Cloud Atlas A cloud atlas is a pictorial key (or an atlas) to the nomenclature of clouds. Early cloud atlases were an important element in the training of meteorologists and in weather forecasting, and the author of a 1923 atlas stated that "increasing use ...

'' (2012). He also portrayed John Laurie in ''We're Doomed! The Dad's Army Story'' (2015). In 2014, he played a scene in Scottish feature film ''Time Teens: The Beginning'' directed by

Ryan Alexander Dewar Ryan may refer to: People and fictional characters *Ryan (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) *Ryan (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places Australia * Division of Ryan, an elector ...

. He appeared in the short film ''Darkness in The Afternoon'' in 1999.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * 1936 births 2022 deaths People from Elgin, Moray Scottish male film actors Scottish male radio actors Scottish male television actors {{Scotland-bio-stub