Skip to main content
Jack May

Jack May

Actor · 1922 – 1997 · Henley on Thames, Oxfordshire, England, UK

Jack May was a mellifluous-voiced actor best known for playing butlers and establishment figures, often representing Britain's interests in far-flung corners of the empire. With regards the former, he memorably played William E. Simms, former music hall artise turned manservant to Gerald Harper's titular swashbuckling adventurer in '60s TV cult classic Adam Adamant Lives! as well as providing the voice of Igor, the long-suffering valet in Cosgrove Hall's 1980s animation Count Duckula. His film credits included the district commissioner in 1975's The Man Who Would Be King and the prosecuting naval attorney in the remake of The Bounty (1984). For many, May was Nelson Gabriel 'the most disreputable character in Ambridge' in BBC Radio 4's long-running soap The Archers. May took the role of the shady rogue, later antique dealer and wine bar owner, in 1952 and continued to play him right up until the year of his death, 1997. This 45 year stint made May, at the time, the fourth-longest serving soap opera star in the world. He died at the age of 75, on 19 September 1997, survived by his wife, the actress Petra Davies, his daughter Henrietta, and son David.

Series24

  • TV7.9

    Doctor Who

    1963 · 722 votes

  • TV7.8

    The Avengers

    1961 · 156 votes

  • TV6.7

    Scarecrow and Mrs. King

    1983 · 46 votes

  • TV5.2

    The Wednesday Play

    1964 · 5 votes

  • TV7.8
  • TV4.8

    No Hiding Place

    1959 · 4 votes

  • TV3.5

    Sunday Night Theatre

    1950 · 2 votes

  • TV6.7

    Dr. Finlay's Casebook

    1962 · 3 votes

  • TV6.8

    The Agatha Christie Hour

    1982 · 18 votes

  • TV7.3

    Danger Man

    1960 · 25 votes

  • TV7.7

    UFO

    1970 · 62 votes

  • TV8.1

    Jeeves and Wooster

    1990 · 132 votes

  • TV7.1

    Out of the Unknown

    1965 · 8 votes

  • TV8.0

    Mark Saber

    1954 · 2 votes

  • TV6.2

    Van der Valk

    1972 · 10 votes

  • TV7.5
  • TV7.0
  • TV8.3

    The Main Chance

    1969 · 4 votes

  • TV10.0

    Espionage

    1963 · 1 votes

  • TV7.9

    Count Duckula

    1988 · 263 votes

  • TV9.0

    Detective

    1964 · 1 votes

  • TV7.7

    Shoestring

    1979 · 6 votes

  • TV5.3

    An Age of Kings

    1960 · 4 votes

  • TV6.9

    Poldark

    1975 · 17 votes

Movies23

  • Movie6.8

    The Bounty

    1984 · 670 votes

  • Movie7.5

    The Man Who Would Be King

    1975 · 738 votes

  • Movie7.6

    A Night to Remember

    1958 · 302 votes

  • Movie7.7

    Brief Encounter

    1945 · 732 votes

  • Movie6.1
  • Movie6.3
  • Movie6.2
  • Movie6.6

    Saraband for Dead Lovers

    1948 · 23 votes

  • Movie6.2
  • Movie5.6

    How I Won the War

    1967 · 39 votes

  • Movie6.8

    Goodbye, Mr. Chips

    1969 · 54 votes

  • Movie6.9
  • Movie6.7

    Two-Way Stretch

    1960 · 57 votes

  • Movie7.3
  • Movie4.6

    Trog

    1970 · 44 votes

  • Movie4.9

    A Twist of Sand

    1968 · 9 votes

  • Movie6.6

    The Blue Lamp

    1950 · 64 votes

  • Movie7.1

    This Happy Breed

    1944 · 65 votes

  • Movie6.7

    A Prize of Arms

    1962 · 10 votes

  • Movie6.6
  • Movie6.6

    Pool of London

    1951 · 37 votes

  • Movie6.6

    The Shooting Party

    1985 · 27 votes

  • Movie5.9

    The Silent Enemy

    1958 · 19 votes