Fulton Mackay OBE
Born	William Fulton Beith Mackay (1922-08-12)12 August 1922 Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland
Died	6 June 1987(1987-06-06) (aged 64) London, England
Resting place	East Sheen Cemetery, London
Occupations	Actor, playwright
Years active	1952–1987
Spouse	Sheila Manahan (1961−1987; his death)

William Fulton Beith Mackay (12 August 1922 – 6 June 1987) was a Scottish actor andplaywright, best known for his role asprison officerMr Mackay in the 1970s televisionsitcomPorridge.

Mackay was born inPaisley,Renfrewshire, Scotland. He was brought up inClydebank by a widowed aunt after the death of his mother fromdiabetes. His father was employed by theNAAFI.^[1]

On leaving school, Mackay trained as aquantity surveyor and later volunteered for theRoyal Air Force in 1941, but was not accepted because of aperforated eardrum. He then enlisted with theBlack Watch and he served for five years during theSecond World War, which included three years spent inIndia.

After beingdemobbed, Mackay began training as an actor atRADA. His first work was with theCitizens' Theatre,Glasgow, where he performed in nine seasons between 1949 and 1958. He also worked at the Royal Lyceum Theatre,Edinburgh before gaining notice at the Arts Theatre Club, London, where in 1960, he played the part of Oscar inThe Naked Island, a play about POWs inSingapore.

In 1962, Mackay appeared at the same theatre, inRussian playwrightMaxim Gorki's playThe Lower Depths for theRoyal Shakespeare Company. He then acted with theOld Vic company and theNational Theatre, performing in such productions asPeer Gynt andThe Alchemist. Other roles for the RSC included Mr Squeers inNicholas Nickleby and the drunken gaoler inDie Fledermaus. In 1972, he played the part of Hughie in theRoyal Lyceum Theatre Company's production ofBill Bryden's play,Willie Rough.

Mackay was a director of the Scottish Actors' Company and, in 1981, a founder of theScottish Theatre Company, playing Willie Souden in the company's production ofBill Bryden's play,Civilians, set in wartimeGreenock.^[2]

Mackay was acknowledged as a strongcharacter actor in various television series. He is best remembered for his namesake role from 1973 to 1977 as the comically ferocious prison officer,Mr Mackay, in theBritish sitcomPorridge, alongsideRonnie Barker.^[3] He also appeared in thefilm version of the series. The ensemble playing of Mackay, Barker,Richard Beckinsale andBrian Wilde, and the writing byDick Clement andIan La Frenais, madePorridge one of the most successful comedy series of the 1970s.^[4] He returned to the role of Mr Mackay, now nearing retirement from HM Prison Service, in the first episode ofGoing Straight (1978), the sequel series toPorridge.

Before coming to prominence inPorridge, Mackay made several appearances inThe Avengers, one particular episode beingReturn of the Cybernauts in which he played Professor Chadwick; he also played Det. Supt., later Det. Chief Supt. Inman inSpecial Branch (1969–71).^[5] His other work includedCoronation Street andZ-Cars. He appeared as RAF psychiatrist Fowler in an episode ofSome Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em and as a doctor inDoctor at Large in 1971.

Mackay played John Everett inThe Saint (1968) "The Best Laid Schemes" and Willie, a poacher inThe Saint (1966) - Episode (S5, E6) "The Convenient Monster". He was cast as misguided scientist Doctor John Quinn in the 1970Doctor Who storyDoctor Who and the Silurians and was later seriously considered by producerBarry Letts to play theFourth Doctor whenJon Pertwee announced he was leaving the role in 1974.^[6]

Mackay played a regular officer running a training course in theDad's Army episode "We Know Our Onions" (1973), a doctor in "The Miser's Hoard" (1977), and a detective in aWodehouse Playhouse episode (1978).^[5]

Mackay often stayed true to his Scottish roots, acting in productions such asPlay for Today'sThree Tales of Orkney, in 1971, andThe Master of Ballantrae, and as former Prime MinisterBonar Law in the 1981 TV seriesThe Life and Times of David Lloyd George. He played the Captain in the British version of the Jim Henson children's series,Fraggle Rock (1984–1987). In one of his last performances, Mackay portrayed an art forger in theLovejoy episode "Death and Venice".^[5]

Despite his status, he appeared in few films. After his screen debut in the filmI'm a Stranger (1952), his most notable roles were those inGumshoe (1971),Porridge (1979),Britannia Hospital (1982),Local Hero (1983), andDefence of the Realm (1985). He also appeared in Laxdale Hall 1952.

Under the pseudonym of Aeneas MacBride, Mackay wrote plays for the BBC.^[7] HisDalhousie's Luck, a drama set at the time of thesiege of Aberdeen by theMarquess of Montrose in 1644, produced by Pharic Maclaren and withBrian Cox in the title role, was broadcast as part of the BBC2 Playhouse series on 3rd August 1980.^[8]

Mackay was married to Irish actressSheila Manahan.

In 1984, Mackay was awarded an OBE. He greatly enjoyed oil painting.^[9]

Mackay died from stomach cancer on 6 June 1987, at the age of 64.^[10][11] He was buried atEast Sheen Cemetery in southwest London.^[12] His widow, Sheila, died in 1988 and was buried with her husband.

• Fulton Mackay atIMDb

• 1922 births
• 1987 deaths
• 20th-century Scottish male actors
• Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
• Black Watch soldiers
• British Army personnel of World War II
• Deaths from stomach cancer in England
• Male actors from Paisley, Renfrewshire
• Officers of the Order of the British Empire
• Scottish dramatists and playwrights
• Scottish male film actors
• Scottish male stage actors
• Scottish male television actors

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