ACTOR Andrew Keir, whose lengthy career included appearances in many of Scotland's best-known films and television series, died yesterday aged 71, following a short illness.
Mr Keir, who was from a Shotts mining family, appeared in classic films such as Walt Disney's Greyfriars Bobby. More recently, he played the Duke of Argyll in the blockbuster Rob Roy.
He also played the lead role in Quatermass and the Pit, and starred in The Brave Don't Cry, produced by John Grierson, and in Alexander McKendrick's The Maggie. On the small screen, he appeared in Hamish Macbeth - produced by his daughter, Deirdre - Strathblair, Kidnapped, and Ivanhoe.
His theatre roles included the Lionel Bart musical, Maggie May, and the original West End production of A Man for All Seasons, in which he played the leading role of Thomas Cromwell.
Mr Keir left school at 14 to follow his father down the pits, where he worked for six years. His first acting role, at the age of 17, was as a 65-year-old farmer in a production staged by Shotts Miners' Welfare Drama Club.
He became a professional actor through a chance encounter with his local amateur dramatic society.
As a teenage performer with the Unity Theatre Group, he was spotted by director Tyrone Guthrie and asked to join Glasgow's Citizens' Theatre Company, where he remained for nine years.
He never forgot his roots, once telling an interviewer that actors who complained about their profession would at least never face the back-breaking prospect of working as a miner. He showed another a faint blue smudge on one of his fingers, explaining that coal dust was still under his skin 50 years after leaving the pits.
He is survived by his wife Joyce and five children from a previous marriage. His family were present at St George's Hospital, London, when he died.
His daughter, Deirdre, is one of Britain's most successful television drama producers. Her credits, in addition to Hamish Macbeth, include Morse.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article