Fulton Mackay

William Fulton Beith Mackay (12 August 1922 – 6 June 1987) was a Scottish actor and playwright whose career spanned over three decades of stage, television and film work. Born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, and raised in Clydebank by a widowed aunt after his mother's death, he initially trained as a quantity surveyor before attempting to join the Royal Air Force, a bid rejected because of a perforated eardrum. He then enlisted in the Black Watch, serving five years during the Second World War, including three years in India, an experience that later informed his gritty screen presence. After demobilisation he trained at RADA and began a prolific theatre career, appearing with the Citizens' Theatre in Glasgow for nine seasons (1949‑1958) and later with the Royal Lyceum, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Old Vic, taking on roles such as Oscar in The Naked Island, Mr Squeers in Nicholas Nickleby and the drunken gaoler in Die Fledermaus. Mackay co‑founded the Scottish Theatre Company in 1981 and directed the Scottish Actors' Company, demonstrating a lifelong commitment to nurturing Scottish drama. On television he became a household name as the intimidating yet humorously ferocious prison officer Mr Mackay in the classic 1970s sitcom Porridge (1973‑1977), a role he reprised in the sequel Going Straight. His résumé also includes memorable appearances in The Avengers, Doctor Who (as Doctor John Quinn in “The Silurians”), Coronation Street, Z‑Cars and Fraggle Rock. Though his filmography was modest, he delivered strong performances in Gumshoe, Britannia Hospital, Local Hero and Defence of the Realm. Under the pseudonym Aeneas MacBride he wrote plays for the BBC, most notably Dalhousie's Luck (1980). Awarded an OBE in 1984, he was also an avid oil painter and a dedicated supporter of Glasgow's Child and Family Trust. He died of stomach cancer in London at age 64 and was interred at East Sheen Cemetery beside his wife Sheila Manahan.