British comedian Murray Melvin, who notably starred in The Phantom of the Opera, Barry Lyndon, as well as the Torchwood series, died Friday at the age of 90, one of his relatives announced.
“It is with great sadness that I must announce the passing of Murray Melvin, actor, director and theater archivist,” director and producer Kerry Kyriacos Michael wrote on Twitter on Saturday.
Murray Melvin said he suffered a fall in December, “from which he never fully recovered.” He died Friday at St Thomas’ Hospital in London.
The comedian was a “wonderful villain” as Bilis Manger in the Dr Who spin-off series Torchwwod, producer Russell Davies hailed on Instagram.
Born on August 10, 1932 in London, Murray Melvin had notably played in the film adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera (2004) or Barry Lyndon by Stanley Kubrick in 1975, in which he played the Reverend Samuel Runt.
In 1962 he received the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival for A Taste of Honey by British director Tony Richardson.
