Mike Reid (entertainer)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Mike Reid as Doug 'The Head' Denovitz in Snatch |
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| Born: | January 19, 1940 (age 67) Hackney, London, England, UK |
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| Occupation: | Comedian, Actor |
Michael "Mike" Reid (born January 19, 1940) is an English "Cockney" comedian and character actor.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Personal life
Mike Reid was born in Hackney, London in 1940. During his residence in London, World War II was ongoing, and The Blitz bombings of London caused him and his family to relocate to somewhere safer.
In 1958 he married a woman called Sheila and had a daughter called Jane. They divorced in 1967 after which he married Shirley Collins in 1971 and had two sons, Michael and Mark. His son, Mark, committed suicide in 1990.
Reid is an atheist.
[edit] Career
In the early 1960s Mike Reid worked as a stand-up comedian in clubs and board cruise liners. Then he played minor roles in television series such as Doctor Who, The Saint and Department S. He also worked as a stunt driver for the films Casino Royale (1967) and The Dirty Dozen (1967).
He became one of the original stars of The Comedians, a popular TV series of the 1970s produced by Johnnie Hamp for Granada Television, which consisted entirely of short slots by mature stand-up comedians. Reid capitalised on his initial success with a one-off hit record, a novelty version of The Ugly Duckling. In the late 1970s he became the host of the ITV children's TV quiz show Runaround, fondly remembered for its incomprehensible rules and the incongruity of Reid as presenter.
In 1987 he joined the cast of the popular BBC television soap opera EastEnders as Frank Butcher for which he gained much popularity. The part of Butcher earned Reid the public persona of being pessimistic that he enjoyed acting against, for instance in television adverts for the soft drink Oasis.. His character was involved in many popular storylines and the most famous of these storylines was his character's long turbulent relationship with Pat Evans. In 1994 he took a long break from the show due to stress. After many brief re-appearances on the show between late 1995 and early 1997, he returned full time in December 1997 and remained on the show until May 2000 when he announced he would be leaving the soap for good due to exhaustion from the long filming schedules. His last episode aired in November 2000. Later that same year he appeared in the popular British gangster film Snatch.
He was persauded to return to EastEnders a number of times since. He returned for a week stint in January 2002 and then for a spin-off special episode titled Perfectly Frank in 2003. He made his final and most recent comeback to EastEnders, in early December 2005, for another week stint. He later appeared on The Paul O'Grady Show and made it clear that he had no interest in any possible future re-appearances in the programme, and then rejected another offer to return to the series.
He (predominantly) retired from showbusiness and currently lives in a villa in Spain. He recently returned to England and appeared in episodes of the long-running ITV police drama series The Bill where he played a corrupt businessman named Brian Stevens.
[edit] Selected filmography
- The Bill (2007) .... Brian Stevens
- Snatch (2000) .... Doug 'The Head' Denovitz
- The Detectives (1995) .... Ronnie Richardson
- EastEnders (1987 - 1994, 1995 - 1996, 1997 - 2000, 2002, 2005) ..... Frank Butcher
- Big Deal (1986)
- Minder (1982) .... Vernon
- Worzel Gummidge (1980) .... Fairground Owner
- Runaround (1975 - 1977) .... Presenter
- Steptoe and Son (1972) .... Compere
- The Comedians (1971) .... Presenter
- Department S (1969) (uncredited) .... Spanish mechanic
- The Champions (1969) (uncredited) .... Security guard
- Up the Junction (1968) (uncredited) .... Policeman outside court
- The Saint (1966) (uncredited) ..... Secret police officer
- Doctor Who : The War Machines episode (1966) (uncredited) .... Soldier
[edit] External links
- Mike Reid at the Internet Movie Database
