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"You looked forward to going to work. And because after a period you get to know all the cameramen and the lighting people, it did feel like a family. We would go out and have meals together."

Brian Trevor John Murphy, (25 September 1932), is a British actor best known for playing George Roper in Man About the House and George & Mildred.

During his time doing his national service, he met Richard Briers. After the two left the RAF, they began acting work in the theatre, where Murphy met another actress, Yootha Joyce. Murphy's early work had him cast in small roles in The Avengers (1960s), Z Cars, Callan, and Dixon of Dock Green.

In 1973, Murphy was cast as the landlord George Roper in Man About the House, with the aforementioned Yootha Joyce playing his wife, Mildred. Having worked together previously in Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop and the 1963 film Sparrows Can't Sing, the two's chemistry led to them becoming fan favourites.

Once Man About the House ended, Murphy and Joyce were given a Spin-Off, George & Mildred, which ran for five series. After a film version, plans for a sixth series were Cut Short by Joyce's death. After this, Murphy was given another series, The Incredible Mr. Tanner, where he starred alongside Roy Kinnear (who had made many appearances in both Man About the House and George & Mildred), but the show wasn't a success, nor was Murphy's next sitcom vehicle, L for Lester.

Since then, Murphy has continued to appear on British TV, most notably playing Alvin Smedley in 73 episodes of Last of the Summer Wine.

He has been married to fellow actress Linda Regan since 1995.


Works on TV Tropes he appeared in:

FilmsSeries
  • The Avengers, episode "The Springers" (1961) — Haslam
  • Z Cars, 2 episodesshow list  (1962) — Wallace Brackett
  • Callan, episode "None of Your Business" (1972) — Reeves
  • Dixon of Dock Green, episode "Ada" (1972) — Percy Sinclair
  • Man About the House, 39 episodes (1973-76) — George Roper
  • George & Mildred, 38 episodes (1976-79) — George Roper
  • T-Bag Strikes Again, episode "Charlie Chuckles" (1986) — King
  • One Foot in the Grave, episode "The Man Who Blew Away" (1994) — Mr. Foskett
  • Brookside, 5 episodes (1995) — George Manners
  • Next of Kin, episode "Expansion" (1995) — Salesman
  • Mike & Angelo, episode "An Actor's Life for Me" (1996) — Mervyn K. Mertz
  • Pond Life, 11 episodes (1996-2000) — Len Pond
  • Jonathan Creek, episode "Mother Redcap" (1996) — Ken Speed
  • Hilltop Hospital, 52 episodes (1999-2001) — Dr. Atticus
  • CASUAL+Y, 2 episodes:
    • "To Have and to Hold" (1999) — Walter Burnley
    • "Hopelessly Addicted" (2016) — Frank Haines
  • The Bill, episode "When the Snow Lay Round About" (1999) — Danny the Elf
  • Last of the Summer Wine, 73 episodes (2003-10) — Alvin Smedley
  • The Catherine Tate Show, 5 episodesshow list  (2005-06) — Neville
  • The Slammer, 1 episode (2006) — Alan
  • Hustle, episode "The Thieving Mistake" (2010) — Larry
  • Benidorm, episode "Christmas Special" (2010) — Clive
  • This is Jinsy, episode "Kelpman" (2010) — Melty Harris
  • Plebs, episode "Bananae" (2013) — Victor
  • Man Down, episode "Christmas Special" (2013) — Mr. Field-Williams
  • Holby City, 2 episodes:
    • "The Art of Losing" (2014) — Charlie Evans
    • "The Wrong Horse" (2019) — Buster Kitchener

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