Jack May

Jack Wynne May (23 April 1922 – 19 September 1997) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades, beginning in the immediate post‑war era and concluding just a year before his death. Born in Henley‑on‑Thames, Oxfordshire, May was educated at Forest School in Walthamstow before serving in the Royal Indian Navy during World War II, an experience that delayed his entry into professional acting but enriched his world‑view. After the war he declined a place at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in favour of studying at Merton College, Oxford, where he performed with the Oxford University Dramatic Society, taking on demanding Shakespearean roles such as John of Gaunt in Richard II and Polonius in Hamlet, a foundation that would inform his later stagecraft. May’s early professional work included a five‑year tenure with the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, where his portrayal of the title character in Shakespeare’s Henry VI earned critical notice and led to a transfer of the production to the Old Vic. He later returned to the Old Vic for the 1958–59 season, appearing as Julius Caesar among other prominent parts, and continued to alternate between classic repertory and contemporary works, notably as Colonel Pickering in Pygmalion alongside Alec McCowen and Diana Rigg. On television he became a familiar face as the valet William E. Simms in the BBC adventure series Adam Adamant Lives! (1966‑1967) and later provided the iconic voice of Igor in the animated series Count Duckula. His voice work extended to radio, where he embodied the scheming Nelson Gabriel in The Archers for 45 years, making him one of the longest‑serving soap opera actors worldwide at the time of his death. In film, May appeared in varied roles ranging from the District Commissioner in The Man Who Would Be King (1975) to the prosecuting naval attorney in The Bounty (1984), demonstrating a versatility that encompassed comedic, dramatic, and genre‑specific performances. Off‑stage, May married fellow actress Petra Davies in 1957; the couple raised two children together. He passed away aged 75 in Hove, Sussex, leaving behind a legacy of distinguished stage presence, memorable radio performances, and a body of work that reflects the breadth of mid‑20th‑century British acting.