TONY MELODYTony Melody, who died on 26 June, 2008, was a lugubrious British character actor with more than 100 roles on television to his name.
He was primarily known for his comedy roles, having got his break in comedian Jimmy Clitheroe's radio series The Clitheroe Kid in the 1950s. Among his well known roles were a dancing milkman in Come Dancing, an often-repeated episode of Steptoe and Son in 1970, a colleague of Reg Varney's in Down the Gate (1975), a police station master in The Nesbitts Are Coming (1980). He starred in the short-lived comedy Rule Britannia! In 1975.
His glum, hangdogexpression also appeared in numerous crime dramas, such as Z Cars (1973), Bergerac (he had a recurring role in the 1981 series) and Rumpole of the Bailey (1992). He had also racked up his fair share of soap parts, including Emmerdale Farm and Coronation Street - in which he played a number of roles over a periodof 35 years.
Mr Melody made a handful of films during his 50-year career, including Yanks (1979) with Richard Gere and Vanessa Redgrave and Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980) with Alec Guinness. His last screen outing was playing a pub landlord in a 2003 episode of Last of the Summer Wine.
He was born in London on 18 December, 1922, but raised in Yorkshire where he first entertained in his parents' pub. He was a veteran of the RAF and began his career on the music hall circuit where his bent for comedy was refined. He spent the later part of his life in Blackpool where he battled with the cancer that eventually took his life at 85. He was survived by his second wife, Maggie, a former dancer, three sons and one daughter.
"Don't be fooled by this long face," he once said, "for I am a joyful man."
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