Mark McManus
Encyclopedia
Mark McManus was a Scottish actor
best known for his portrayal of Detective Chief Inspector
Jim Taggart
in the long-running ITV
television series Taggart
for eleven years until his death.
on 21 February 1935. In the 1960s McManus relocated to Australia
, where he performed in amateur theatre groups, leading him to become a professional actor. He appeared in the popular children's TV series Skippy the Bush Kangaroo
, and also starred in Tim Burstall
's unsuccessful but historically important feature film 2000 Weeks
(1969), which was the first full-length Australian-produced feature made in Australia since Charles Chauvel's Jedda
in 1954.
McManus also appeared in the American-produced historical drama Adam's Woman
(1970) and co-starred with Mick Jagger
in the unsuccessful Tony Richardson
1970 film version of the Ned Kelly
story, Ned Kelly
.
McManus returned to the UK in 1971 and came to wider attention playing roles such as Harry Carter in The Brothers, and Sam Wilson, a coal miner in the 1973 TV series Sam. He also appeared as a dour Scots police officer, Jack Lambie, in Strangers
, a role he reprised as a guest star in the spin-off, Bulman
..
McManus was also a boxer
before acting. He is not to be confused with the boxer of the same name (born 1974) from Basildon
in England.
in September 1983 alongside Neil Duncan, Tom Watson and Robert Robertson
. The pilot
attracted an estimated 7.6 million viewers.
When Duncan left the show in 1987, James MacPherson
joined the show as the new character Michael Jardine. This was followed by new Superintendent
(Jack McVitie) in the 1985 episode Murder In Season.
A new sergeant Jackie Reid was introduced in 1990 and in Rogue's Gallery (1990) Taggart promoted her.
on 6 June 1994 aged 59 in Glasgow
, only eight months after the death of his wife Marion. He became the first person to be posthumously awarded the Lord Provost of Glasgow's Award for Performing Arts..
His final Taggart episode was 'Prayer for the Dead' (1995). McManus was the first Taggart cast member to die followed by Iain Anders (Jack McVitie) who died three years later in 1997 aged 64 from a sudden heart attack.
After the death of McManus in 1994, his character was given an on-air funeral in the final episode of the series' 11th season, Black Orchid. In that same episode, the character of Michael Jardine
, portrayed by actor James MacPherson
, was promoted to Taggart's position of Detective Chief Inspector.
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
best known for his portrayal of Detective Chief Inspector
Chief inspector
Chief inspector is a rank used in police forces which follow the British model. In countries outside Britain, it is sometimes referred to as chief inspector of police .-Australia:...
Jim Taggart
Jim Taggart
Detective Chief Inspector James "Jim" Taggart was the main character in Taggart from 1983 to 1995. He was played by Mark McManus until his death in June 1994, with the last episode featuring Taggart being broadcast in January 1995.-Character:...
in the long-running ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
television series Taggart
Taggart
Taggart is a Scottish detective television programme, created by Glenn Chandler, who has written many of the episodes, and made by STV Productions for the ITV network...
for eleven years until his death.
Career
McManus was born in Bellshill, North Lanarkshire, ScotlandScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
on 21 February 1935. In the 1960s McManus relocated to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, where he performed in amateur theatre groups, leading him to become a professional actor. He appeared in the popular children's TV series Skippy the Bush Kangaroo
Skippy the Bush Kangaroo
Skippy the Bush Kangaroo is an Australian television series for children created by John McCallum, produced from 1966–1968, telling the adventures of a young boy and his intelligent pet kangaroo, in the Waratah National Park in Duffys Forest, near Sydney, New South Wales.Ninety-one 30-minute...
, and also starred in Tim Burstall
Tim Burstall
Tim Burstall was an Australian film director, writer and producer, best known for the motion picture Alvin Purple....
's unsuccessful but historically important feature film 2000 Weeks
2000 Weeks
2000 Weeks is a 1969 Australian film directed by Tim Burstall.Paul Byrnes from the NFSA comments: "2000 Weeks was one of the first features of the modern era in Australian cinema, after decades in which almost the only productions were British and American films in search of exotic locales. .....
(1969), which was the first full-length Australian-produced feature made in Australia since Charles Chauvel's Jedda
Jedda
Jedda was the last movie made by the Australian filmmaker Charles Chauvel. The film is most notable for being the first to star two Aboriginal actors in the leading roles, and also to be the first Australian film shot in colour...
in 1954.
McManus also appeared in the American-produced historical drama Adam's Woman
Adam's Woman
Adam's Woman is a 1970 Australian-American historical drama film directed by Philip Leacock and starring Beau Bridges, Jane Merrow and John Mills...
(1970) and co-starred with Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
in the unsuccessful Tony Richardson
Tony Richardson
Cecil Antonio "Tony" Richardson was an English theatre and film director and producer.-Early life:Richardson was born in Shipley, Yorkshire in 1928, the son of Elsie Evans and Clarence Albert Richardson, a chemist...
1970 film version of the Ned Kelly
Ned Kelly
Edward "Ned" Kelly was an Irish Australian bushranger. He is considered by some to be merely a cold-blooded cop killer — others, however, consider him to be a folk hero and symbol of Irish Australian resistance against the Anglo-Australian ruling class.Kelly was born in Victoria to an Irish...
story, Ned Kelly
Ned Kelly (1970 film)
Ned Kelly is a 1970 British adventure film. It was the second Australian feature film version of the story of 19th century Australian bushranger Ned Kelly....
.
McManus returned to the UK in 1971 and came to wider attention playing roles such as Harry Carter in The Brothers, and Sam Wilson, a coal miner in the 1973 TV series Sam. He also appeared as a dour Scots police officer, Jack Lambie, in Strangers
Strangers (TV series)
Strangers was a UK police drama that appeared on ITV between 1978 and 1982.After the success of the TV series The XYY Man, adapted from books by Kenneth Royce, Granada TV devised a new series to feature the regular characters of Detective Sergeant George Bulman and his assistant Detective...
, a role he reprised as a guest star in the spin-off, Bulman
Bulman
Bulman was a Granada TV series which ran from 1985-1987 and followed the fortunes of the major character from the earlier XYY Man and Strangers series....
..
McManus was also a boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
before acting. He is not to be confused with the boxer of the same name (born 1974) from Basildon
Basildon
Basildon is a town located in the Basildon District of the county of Essex, England.It lies east of Central London and south of the county town of Chelmsford...
in England.
- Sam (TV series) 1973–1975
- TaggartTaggartTaggart is a Scottish detective television programme, created by Glenn Chandler, who has written many of the episodes, and made by STV Productions for the ITV network...
(1983–1994) - BulmanBulmanBulman was a Granada TV series which ran from 1985-1987 and followed the fortunes of the major character from the earlier XYY Man and Strangers series....
1985 - 1987 - Dramarama - The Macramé Man (1988)
Taggart
McManus began playing the title character in the crime drama TaggartTaggart
Taggart is a Scottish detective television programme, created by Glenn Chandler, who has written many of the episodes, and made by STV Productions for the ITV network...
in September 1983 alongside Neil Duncan, Tom Watson and Robert Robertson
Robert Robertson (actor)
Robert Robertson was a Scottish actor and director. He was best known for playing Doctor Stephen Andrews in the television show Taggart....
. The pilot
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
attracted an estimated 7.6 million viewers.
When Duncan left the show in 1987, James MacPherson
James MacPherson (actor)
James MacPherson is a Scottish actor, best known for his role as Detective Michael Jardine in the ITV drama, Taggart.MacPherson was raised in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. He left Hamilton Grammar School at 17 and got a job as a laboratory technician at Glasgow's Institute of Neurosciences at the...
joined the show as the new character Michael Jardine. This was followed by new Superintendent
Superintendent (police)
Superintendent , often shortened to "super", is a rank in British police services and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries the full version is superintendent of police...
(Jack McVitie) in the 1985 episode Murder In Season.
A new sergeant Jackie Reid was introduced in 1990 and in Rogue's Gallery (1990) Taggart promoted her.
Death
He died of pneumoniaPneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
on 6 June 1994 aged 59 in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, only eight months after the death of his wife Marion. He became the first person to be posthumously awarded the Lord Provost of Glasgow's Award for Performing Arts..
His final Taggart episode was 'Prayer for the Dead' (1995). McManus was the first Taggart cast member to die followed by Iain Anders (Jack McVitie) who died three years later in 1997 aged 64 from a sudden heart attack.
After the death of McManus in 1994, his character was given an on-air funeral in the final episode of the series' 11th season, Black Orchid. In that same episode, the character of Michael Jardine
Michael Jardine
Detective Chief Inspector Michael "Mike" Jardine was a long-running character in the television series Taggart. He served as Detective Sergeant after Peter Livingstone left the force from 1987 to 1994 when Jim Taggart died and he took over as Detective Chief Inspector...
, portrayed by actor James MacPherson
James MacPherson (actor)
James MacPherson is a Scottish actor, best known for his role as Detective Michael Jardine in the ITV drama, Taggart.MacPherson was raised in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. He left Hamilton Grammar School at 17 and got a job as a laboratory technician at Glasgow's Institute of Neurosciences at the...
, was promoted to Taggart's position of Detective Chief Inspector.
External links
- http://www.taggart-fanclub.co.uk/