Neil McCarthy

Eugene Neil McCarthy (26 July 1932 – 5 February 1985) was an English actor known for his dramatic physical appearance caused by acromegaly.

Early life Born in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, the son of Sleaford dentist Eugene Charles McCarthy (1899–1954) and Beatrice Annie (née Corney, 1901–1978), McCarthy was educated at Stamford School (where his contemporaries included cricketer M. J. K. Smith and author Colin Dexter) before reading modern languages at Trinity College Dublin, and trained as a Latin and French teacher. He could also speak fluent Greek.

Career After his teacher training, McCarthy appeared in repertory theatre in Oxford, at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and in the West End. His television credits include Catweazle Play for Today ("When the Bough Breaks"), Barnaby Rudge, Man of the World, Danger Man, The Avengers, The Saint, Z-Cars, Dixon of Dock Green, Great Expectations, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), Catweazle, My Wife Next Door (A Sense of Movement), Softly, Softly: Task Force, Department S, Who Pays the Ferryman?, Return of the Saint, Doctor Who (in the serials The Mind of Evil and The Power of Kroll), Enemy at the Door, Shogun, The Professionals, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, Only When I Laugh, The Gentle Touch and Emmerdale Farm, and the television adaptation of the Lord Peter Wimsey novel, The Nine Tailors.

He died of motor neurone disease in Fordingbridge, Hampshire in 1985, aged 52.

Selected filmography

Breakout (1959) – Chandler's henchman (uncredited) The Square Ring (1959) Sands of the Desert (1960) – Hassan Barnaby Rudge (1960) – Hugh (TV mini-series) The Criminal (1960) – O'Hara Offbeat (1961) – Leo Farrell Solo for Sparrow (1962) – Dusty The Pot Carriers (1962) – Bracket We Joined the Navy (1962) – Sergeant Two Left Feet (1963) – Ted (uncredited) The Cracksman (1963) – Van Gogh Zulu (1964) – Private Thomas The Hill (1965) – Burton Cuckoo Patrol (1967) – Superman No.2 Great Expectations (1967) – Joe Gargery (TV mini-series) Seven Times Seven (1968) – Mr. Docherty Where Eagles Dare (1968) – Sgt. Jock MacPherson Department S (1968, TV series) – Quince in the episode A Ticket to Nowhere Catweazle (1970, TV series) – Sam Woodyard The Incredible Sarah (1976) – Sergeant Doctor Who: The Power of Kroll (1978-1979) – Thawn Measure for Measure (1979) – Abhorson Shōgun (1980, TV series) – Spillbergen George and Mildred (1980) – Eddie The Monster Club (1980) – Watson – B-Squad Member The Professionals (1980, TV series) – Sam Armitage Clash of the Titans (1981) – Calibos Time Bandits (1981) – 2nd Robber Nancy Astor (1982, TV series) – Reverend Neve