John Junkin

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John Junkin
Born	John Francis Junkin January 29, 1930(1930-01-29) Ealing, Middlesex, England
Died	March 6, 2006 (aged 76) Florence Nightingale House, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England
Cause of death	lung cancer, emphysema and asthma
Nationality	British
Occupation	Radio and television performer, Writer

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 Hancock's last work for British television. He played a diverse range 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, on account of 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.

One of his rare leading roles, the BBC series "The Smooth and the Rough". is viewed as having largely missed its target. It featured him in a curious post-modernist concept; not only was he one of the writers of the series, he also played a comedy writer in it, as well revealing some of the more bizarre aspects of his profession.

He has an entry in the Guinness Book of Records as the voice of "Mr Shifter", one of the chimps in the PG Tips tea advertisement, the longest-running series of commercials on television.

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

[edit] Credits

• Cinema:
  • The Wrong Arm of the Law (1963)
  • A Hard Day's Night (1964) ... as Shake
  • Confessions from a Holiday Camp (1977)
  • A Handful of Dust (1988)
  • Chicago Joe and the Showgirl (1990)
  • The Football Factory (2004)

• 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

• Television:
  • The Plane Makers, drama series set in an aircraft factory, 1962-5
  • Marty, a comedy television series with Marty Feldman, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Roland MacLeod.
  • The Blackpool Show a 1966 series with Tony Hancock.
  • The Goodies
  • Out (miniseries)
  • Inspector Morse
  • Crosswits (quiz panelist)
  • Mr Bean
  • Ask No Questions
  • Picking Up The Pieces
  • The Thing About Vince
  • Coronation Street (as a short-lived boyfriend of Elsie Tanner)
  • EastEnders (2001-2002) as Ernie Johnson

[edit] External links

• BBC
• John Junkin at the Internet Movie Database
• John Junkin at Find A Grave
• Actor's Compendium

Persondata
NAME	Junkin, John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Junkin, John Francis
SHORT DESCRIPTION	TV and Radio performer, writer
DATE OF BIRTH	1930-01-29
PLACE OF BIRTH	Ealing, Middlesex, England
DATE OF DEATH	2006-03-06
PLACE OF DEATH	Florence Nightingale House, Stoke Mandeville, Buckinghamshire, England