John McEnery

John Murray McEnery (1 November 1943 – 12 April 2019) was a renowned English actor whose career spanned over five decades, leaving an indelible mark on stage and screen. Born in Walsall, West Midlands, England, he was the third son of Charles and Mary McEnery; his father’s humble pickle‑factory business later gave way to a chain of stationery shops after the family moved to Brighton. He attended Dorothy Stringer School before finding early work in a local department store, a modest beginning that contrasted sharply with his later theatrical achievements. Trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School from 1962 to 1964, McEnery quickly demonstrated his versatility, portraying Mosca in Ben Jonson’s Volpone and Gaveston in Marlowe’s Edward II, and securing his first professional stage engagement at the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool where he spent three formative seasons. In 1966 he joined the National Theatre company, a stepping‑stone to his breakthrough screen role as Mercutio in Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 film Romeo and Juliet, earning a BAFTA nomination and establishing his reputation for delivering charismatic, often lyrical performances. Throughout the 1970s he headlined films such as Bartleby (1970) opposite Paul Scofield, The Boat on the Grass (1971), and Nicholas and Alexandra (1971) as Alexander Kerensky, while his later credits included The Duellists, Black Beauty, The Krays, and Mel Gibson’s Hamlet (1990). His dedication to Shakespeare remained a constant, leading him to memorable stage roles at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and the Globe Theatre where he embodied characters ranging from Pistol in Henry V to the Fool in King Lear. In addition to acting, McEnery contributed as a playwright, penning Merry Christmas, Mr. Burbage (1998) to commemorate the Globe’s 400th anniversary, and co‑founding the Shakespeare in Shoreditch Society, where he helped preserve the historic ties between Shakespeare and the borough. Personal life saw him marry actress Stephanie Beacham in 1973, with whom he had two daughters before their 1979 divorce; he also fathered a third daughter, artist Celeste Bollack, from an earlier relationship, bringing his total children to three. His later years were marked by continued theatrical work, including a 2015 performance as Lear at the historic Rose Theatre, and the scattering of his ashes at St Leonard’s “Actors’ Church”, a fitting tribute to a life devoted to the dramatic arts.