Tony Melody

Anthony John Melody (18 December 1922 – 26 June 2008) was an English television character actor who appeared in a number of long running comedies and soap operas,

Early life Melody was born in London, where his father was in the Royal Horse Guards, but was brought up in Yorkshire, where his parents ran the Station public house in Goole, West Riding of Yorkshire. It was as a singer that he initially made his mark, starting out at the pub his mother Myra ran with his father, where, as a small boy, he accompanied the pianist; later in life he went on to sing with the BBC Northern Dance Orchestra.

He was raised as a devout Roman Catholic and attended Sacred Heart Church in Blackpool. During the Second World War he served in the Royal Air Force.

Career Initially as a dancer, Melody spent three years touring the Mediterranean with Ralph Reader's Gang Show, performing for British troops in various countries, along with Tony Hancock and Norrie Paramor.

Melody's acting career at the BBC began in radio, appearing in the sitcom The Clitheroe Kid, another show which starred Clitheroe, in which Melody appeared from 1957 as grumpy taxi driver Horatio Higginbottom, a regular role that he continued in for sixteen years, until 1972. In the 1950s, Melody also had a regular role as compère and singer with the BBC's Northern Dance Orchestra, in the BBC radio show The Straw Hat Club. Between 1964 and 1968, he appeared regularly on ITV with Clitheroe in the sitcom Just Jimmy, and featured in two episodes of ITV's Coronation Street, playing two small different roles, as a coach driver and a taxi driver. In 1968, Melody made his third appearance on Coronation Street, this time as Harold Eaton, a decorator working at the Rovers Return pub. He also played a teacher in Colin Welland's play Roll on Four O'Clock in 1970.

By the early 1970s, Melody was getting regular television work, with a number of minor roles (mostly in comedy parts) in programmes including the BBC sitcom Steptoe and Son (as a milkman in the 1970 episode "Come Dancing", which is said to be one of the most repeated episodes of that series). In 1975, he had a starring role as George Bradshaw in the short-lived comedy series Rule Britannia!. He also played Station Sergeant Billy Machin in the comedy series The Nesbitts Are Coming, and followed that up in 1981 by appearing as Archie in the comedy series The Incredible Mr Tanner. He was always most effective in comedy roles; however, from 1981 to 1983, he appeared as the Chief, John Nettles's boss in the first six episodes of the BBC police series Bergerac. On Channel 4's opening night, Melody appeared in Walter, alongside Ian McKellen in the title role.

In the 1983 Last of the Summer Wine special "Getting Sam Home", John Comer's voice was badly affected by illness, so his lines were re-recorded by Melody. Comer died six weeks after the broadcast.

Melody's first appearance in Emmerdale Farm came in 1983, when he played Nicholas Martin. In 1985, he appeared in the drama series The Winning Streak, and in 1986 he played Dave Sharkey in the sitcom Jossy's Giants. In 1990, he appeared as the husband of Patricia Routledge in Missing Persons, which was a feature-length pilot for Hetty Wainthropp Investigates. His funeral was held at Carleton Crematorium, Blackpool, Lancashire on 3 July.

Filmography

Television

Film