Johnny Briggs (actor)
Encyclopedia
Johnny Briggs, MBE
(born 5 September 1935) is an English
actor
. He is best known for his role as Mike Baldwin in the soap opera
Coronation Street
, in which he appeared from 1976 to 2006. He received a lifetime achievement award at the 2006 British Soap Awards
for his thirty years of contribution to the soap.
A graduate of the Italia Conti Academy
stage school, where he was a contemporary of Lorna Fendall and Anne Hart, Briggs also had roles in a number of other British shows including Crossroads, The Saint
and No Hiding Place
, as well as several Carry On films
.
In 2005, Briggs announced his intention to leave the role of Mike Baldwin. He cited the hectic filming schedule as the main reason for his departure from Coronation Street. His final scenes in the show were recorded on 13 March and broadcast on Friday 7 April 2006, when his character (who had been ill with Alzheimer's Disease
for several months) collapsed and died in the arms of Ken Barlow in the street after suffering a heart attack.
His most recent theatre appearance was at the Manchester Opera House
2007 pantomime in which he played the father of Cinderella
alongside former co-star Tina O'Brien
.
Despite suggesting he was to retire from acting after leaving Coronation Street
, Briggs has made appearances in both Miss Marple
and Holby City
in 2007, as well as the short-lived ITV soap opera Echo Beach
.
Briggs currently lives in the Pedmore
area of Stourbridge
, and also owns a home in Portishead, Somerset
and suffers from Seasonal Affective Disorder
. He is also an avid golf fan and regularly plays at Stourbridge
Golf Club. Briggs was a good friend of radio DJ
James H Reeve
, and the two men could regularly be seen out in Manchester
together.
He was appointed an MBE
in the New Year's Honours in December 2006.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 5 September 1935) is an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He is best known for his role as Mike Baldwin in the soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
, in which he appeared from 1976 to 2006. He received a lifetime achievement award at the 2006 British Soap Awards
British Soap Awards
The British Soap Awards is an annual awards ceremony to honour the best of British soap operas.The first event took place in 1999 and takes place in May each year. Although it is an ITV production, the events were held at the BBC Television Centre, in London until 2010. The 2011 awards relocated to...
for his thirty years of contribution to the soap.
A graduate of the Italia Conti Academy
Italia Conti Academy
The Italia Conti Academy is a theatre arts training school based in London. It was founded in 1911 by actress Italia Conti...
stage school, where he was a contemporary of Lorna Fendall and Anne Hart, Briggs also had roles in a number of other British shows including Crossroads, The Saint
The Saint (TV series)
The Saint was an ITC mystery spy thriller television series that aired in the UK on ITV between 1962 and 1969. It centred on the Leslie Charteris literary character, Simon Templar, a Robin Hood-like adventurer with a penchant for disguise. The character may be nicknamed The Saint because the...
and No Hiding Place
No Hiding Place
No Hiding Place is a British television series that was produced at Wembley Studios by Associated-Rediffusion for the ITV network between 16 September 1959 and 22 June 1967....
, as well as several Carry On films
Carry On films
The Carry On films are a series of low-budget British comedy films, directed by Gerald Thomas and produced by Peter Rogers. They are an energetic mix of parody, farce, slapstick and double entendres....
.
In 2005, Briggs announced his intention to leave the role of Mike Baldwin. He cited the hectic filming schedule as the main reason for his departure from Coronation Street. His final scenes in the show were recorded on 13 March and broadcast on Friday 7 April 2006, when his character (who had been ill with Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
for several months) collapsed and died in the arms of Ken Barlow in the street after suffering a heart attack.
His most recent theatre appearance was at the Manchester Opera House
Manchester Opera House
The Opera House in Quay Street, Manchester, England is a 1,920 seater commercial touring theatre which plays host to touring musicals, ballet, concerts and a Christmas pantomime. It is the sister to the Palace Theatre which is a similar venue in nearby Oxford Street at its junction with Whitworth...
2007 pantomime in which he played the father of Cinderella
Cinderella
"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
alongside former co-star Tina O'Brien
Tina O'Brien
Tina O'Brien is an English actress. She is best known for playing the role of Sarah-Louise Platt in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street.-Acting career:...
.
Despite suggesting he was to retire from acting after leaving Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
, Briggs has made appearances in both Miss Marple
Miss Marple
Jane Marple, usually referred to as Miss Marple, is a fictional character appearing in twelve of Agatha Christie's crime novels and in twenty short stories. Miss Marple is an elderly spinster who lives in the village of St. Mary Mead and acts as an amateur detective. She is one of the most famous...
and Holby City
Holby City
Holby City, stylised as Holby Ci+y, is a British medical drama television series that airs weekly on BBC One.The series was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama Casualty, and premiered on 12 January 1999...
in 2007, as well as the short-lived ITV soap opera Echo Beach
Echo Beach (soap)
Echo Beach was a short-lived British teen-drama series that aired on ITV in 2008. Set in the fictional Cornish coastal town of Polnarren, it ran for twelve weekly episodes from 10 January to 21 March 2008...
.
Briggs currently lives in the Pedmore
Pedmore
Pedmore is a residential suburb of Stourbridge in the West Midlands of England. It was originally a village in the Worcestershire countryside until extensive housebuilding during the interwar years saw it gradually merged into Stourbridge.- Amenities :...
area of Stourbridge
Stourbridge
Stourbridge is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands of England. Historically part of Worcestershire, Stourbridge was a centre of glass making, and today includes the suburbs of Amblecote, Lye, Norton, Oldswinford, Pedmore, Wollaston, Wollescote and Wordsley The...
, and also owns a home in Portishead, Somerset
Portishead, Somerset
Portishead is a coastal town on the Severn Estuary within the unitary authority of North Somerset, which falls within the ceremonial county of Somerset England. It has a population of 22,000, an increase of over 3,000 since the 2001 census, with a growth rate of 40 per cent, considerably in excess...
and suffers from Seasonal Affective Disorder
Seasonal affective disorder
Seasonal affective disorder , also known as winter depression, winter blues, summer depression, summer blues, or seasonal depression, is a mood disorder in which people who have normal mental health throughout most of the year experience depressive symptoms in the winter or summer, spring or autumn...
. He is also an avid golf fan and regularly plays at Stourbridge
Stourbridge
Stourbridge is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands of England. Historically part of Worcestershire, Stourbridge was a centre of glass making, and today includes the suburbs of Amblecote, Lye, Norton, Oldswinford, Pedmore, Wollaston, Wollescote and Wordsley The...
Golf Club. Briggs was a good friend of radio DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
James H Reeve
James H Reeve
James Hengist Reeve is a cult UK broadcaster, journalist, raconteur and radio phone-in host based in the Manchester area. James has hosted shows on Piccadilly Radio, BBC GMR , BBC Radio Five Live, The New Hallam FM, talkSPORT, TeamTalk 252 stations and, up until July 2006, presented the late night...
, and the two men could regularly be seen out in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
together.
He was appointed an MBE
MBE
MBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error...
in the New Year's Honours in December 2006.
Selected filmography
- Cosh BoyCosh BoyCosh Boy is a 1953 British film starring James Kenney, Joan Collins, Hermione Baddeley, Hermione Gingold, Betty Ann Davies and Robert Ayres. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert, and produced by Daniel M...
(1953) - Second FiddleSecond Fiddle (1957 film)Second Fiddle is a 1957 British comedy film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Adrienne Corri, Thorley Walters, Lisa Gastoni and Richard Wattis....
(1957) - Light Up the Sky!Light Up the Sky! (film)Light Up the Sky! is a 1960 British comedy film directed by Lewis Gilbert and starring Ian Carmichael, Tommy Steele, Benny Hill and Dick Emery- Plot :...
(1960) - The Bulldog BreedThe Bulldog BreedThe Bulldog Breed is a 1960 British comedy film starring Norman Wisdom and directed by Robert Asher.-Plot:Norman Puckle , a well-meaning but clumsy grocer's assistant, can't seem to do anything right. After being rejected by Marlene, the love of his life, he attempts suicide, but can't even do that...
(1960) - The Wind of ChangeThe Wind of Change (film)The Wind of Change is a 1961 British drama, directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Donald Pleasence, Johnny Briggs and Ann Lynn. Taking its title from the famous "Wind of Change" speech given by British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan in South Africa in February 1960, it is one of the earliest...
(1961) - Information ReceivedInformation ReceivedInformation Received is a 1961 British Crime film directed by Robert Lynn and starring Sabine Sesselmann, William Sylvester and Hermione Baddeley. A police detective goes undercover to infiltrate a safe-breaking outfit.-Cast:...
(1961) - H.M.S. Defiant (1962)
- Doctor in DistressDoctor in Distress (film)Doctor in Distress is a 1963 British comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Dirk Bogarde, James Robertson Justice, and Samantha Eggar. It was the fifth film in the Doctor Series...
(1963) - A Stitch in TimeA Stitch in Time (film)A Stitch in Time is a 1963 Norman Wisdom comedy film set in a children's hospital. It was directed by Robert Asher and edited by Gerry Hambling. The cast includes Edward Chapman, Jeanette Sterke, Jerry Desmonde, Jill Melford, Glyn Houston, Vera Day, Patsy Rowlands, Peter Jones, Ernest Clark,...
(1963) - The Leather BoysThe Leather BoysThe Leather Boys is a 1964 British drama film about the rocker subculture in London featuring a gay motorcyclist. This film is notable as an early example of a film that violated the Hollywood production code, yet was still shown in the United States, as well as an important film in the genre of...
(1964) - 633 Squadron633 Squadron633 Squadron is a 1964 British film which depicts the exploits of a fictional Second World War British fighter-bomber squadron. It was based on a novel of the same name by Frederick E. Smith, published in 1956, which itself drew on several real Royal Air Force missions. The film was directed by...
(1964) - The Devil-Ship PiratesThe Devil-Ship PiratesThe Devil-Ship Pirates is a 1964 pirate adventure film made in the UK by Hammer Films. It concerned pirates from a vessel from the defeated Spanish Armada terrorizing citizens on the English coast. All goes well until the villagers realize the Spaniards have been defeated and revolt...
(1964) - Carry On... Up the Khyber (1968)
- The Last EscapeThe Last EscapeThe Last Escape also known as O.S.S. is a 1970 American/German international co-production war film directed by Walter Grauman and starring Stuart Whitman, John Collin and Martin Jarvis...
(1970) - Perfect FridayPerfect FridayPerfect Friday is a British bank-heist film released in 1970, directed by Peter Hall. It stars Ursula Andress as Lady Britt Dorset, Stanley Baker as Mr Graham, David Warner as Lord Nicholas Dorset and T. P. McKenna as Smith.-Plot:...
(1970) - Bless This HouseBless This House (film)Bless This House is a 1972 British comedy film and a spin off from the television sitcom Bless This House.-Cast:The film starred many of the main stars from the TV series but some were missing and were replaced.*Sid James as Sid Abbot...
(1972) - Au Pair GirlsAu Pair GirlsAu Pair Girls is a 1972 British comedy film directed by Val Guest.The film is part of the British 1970s soft core sex comedy film. It also had cameo appearances by mainstream actors such as John Le Mesurier and Richard O'Sullivan.-Plot:...
(1972) - Go for a TakeGo for a TakeGo for a Take is a 1972 British comedy film directed by Harry Booth and featuring Dennis Price, Bob Todd, Reg Varney, Norman Rossington, Sue Lloyd, and Anouska Hempel.-Cast:* Johnny Briggs ... Assistant Director* John Clive ... Hotel Waiter...
(1972) - Man About the HouseMan About the HouseMan About the House is a British sitcom starring Richard O'Sullivan, Paula Wilcox and Sally Thomsett that was broadcast for six seasons on ITV from 1973 to 1976. It was created and written by Johnnie Mortimer and Brian Cooke. The series was considered daring at the time due to its subject matter of...
(1974) - Bedtime with RosieBedtime with RosieBedtime with Rosie is a 1975 British comedy-drama film directed by Wolf Rilla and starring Una Stubbs, Ivor Burgoyne and Diana Dors. A pregnant single woman on her way to the Netherlands stays with her Aunt, while there she begins to strike up a relationship with her aunt's lodger, a reclusive...
(1975) - Carry On BehindCarry On BehindCarry On Behind is the twenty-seventh Carry On film and was released in 1975. The film was the first not to feature Sid James since Follow That Camel seven years previously. It was also the first not to be scripted by Talbot Rothwell since Carry On Cruising 13 years previously. James was busy...
(1975) - The Office PartyThe Office PartyThe Office Party is a 1976 British comedy film directed by David Grant and starring Alan Lake, David Rayner and Chris Gannon. It depicts the misadventures of staff enjoying an office party.-Cast:* Alan Lake ... Mr. Barnes* David Rayner ... Francis...
(1976) - Carry On EnglandCarry On EnglandCarry On England is the 28th Carry On film. It was released in 1976 and featured Carry On regulars Kenneth Connor, Jack Douglas, Joan Sims and Peter Butterworth. It was second and final Carry On film for Windsor Davies, Diane Langton, and Peter Jones, while Patrick Mower, Judy Geeson and Melvyn...
(1976)