Brian Murphy (actor)
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Brian Murphy (born September 25, 1933 in Ventnor, Isle of Wight) is a British actor.
Although a prolific actor in many films and theatre productions for almost half a century, it is as the henpecked husband George Roper in the sitcom Man About The House and spin-off George and Mildred for which he is best known.
Murphy was a member of Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop, and a jobbing actor in the 1960s and early 1970s, combining his theatre work with appearances in television shows such as The Avengers, Z Cars and Dixon of Dock Green, before being cast in the role which would make him a household name.
In Man About The House, Murphy played the lazy and scheming George Roper, a sub-letting landlord of a house converted into flats who had a young man and two women renting the flat above. His wife, Mildred, was played by Yootha Joyce. Her domineering, social-climbing characteristic was a sharp contrast to George's desire for an easy and quiet life and the pairing were an instant hit. When Man About The House reached a conclusion in 1976, a spin-off was created for Murphy and Joyce, entitled George and Mildred. This ran for five series' until 1979. Murphy reprised his role in feature films of both sitcoms.
Joyce died in 1980 of hepatitis, as a result of years of chronic alcoholism - she had apparently been drinking a litre bottle of brandy every day for many years - and Murphy, who was at her bedside as her closest friend, was left devastated. He returned to the theatre but has been sporadically on television ever since, with memorable roles in Lame Ducks (as a private investigator); The Bill (as a drunken tramp dressed as an elf at Christmas); and Last of the Summer Wine (as Alvin Smedley), Brookside as well as countless others. He most recently made a regular appearance in The Catherine Tate Show.
Murphy and his wife have, over the years, fostered a number of children, many of whom returned to thank him during his appearance on This Is Your Life.
He is currently married to popular "Hi-De-Hi" actress, Linda Regan.
