John Junkin

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John Francis Junkin (January 29, 1930, Ealing, London - March 7, 2006, Aylesbury) was an English radio, television and film performer and scriptwriter.

In 1960 Junkin joined Joan Littlewood's Stratford East Theatre Workshop, and played the lead in the original production of Sparrows Can't Sing. A few years later he joined the Royal Court Theatre company and was the foil to Tony Hancock in some of his last work for British television. He played a wide diversity of roles on the small screen; however he is best remembered for his comedy roles and his appearances as a television quiz master. American movie goers will remember him best for playing "Shake", the assistant to Norman Rossington, in the Beatles movie A Hard Day's Night. In comedy roles, Junkin was rarely short of work for his outstanding ability to play the stoney-faced symbol of low level, petty-minded and unquestioning authority, whether the army sergeant, police constable or site foreman, the sort of person that actually can make all of our lives a misery.

Whilst rarely in a leading role, the BBC series, "The Smooth and the Rough" is viewed as having largely missed its target, yet featured him in a curious post-modernist concept. Not only one of the writers of this comedy series, he also played as comedy writer in it as well revealing some of the more bizarre aspects of this profession.

Junkin died from lung cancer, emphysema and asthma on March 7, 2006 in the Florence Nightingale House, Stoke Mandeville. His life and work was honored at the British Academy Television Awards in 2006.

[edit] Credits

Cinema:
- A Hard Day's Night (1964) ... as Shake
- Confessions from a Holiday Camp
- A Handful of Dust
- Chicago Joe and the Showgirl
- The Wrong Arm of the Law

Radio:
- Radio Caroline first voice of the test transmissions in March 1964
- Hello, Cheeky! with Tim Brooke-Taylor and Barry Cryer
- Just a Minute as an occasional guest