Ronald Edmund Magill (21 April 1920 – 6 September 2007) was an England actor. He is best remembered for playing Amos Brearly in the British soap opera Emmerdale from the first episode in 1972 to 1991, and appeared again in this role in 1994 and 1995.
Early life
Magill was born in 1920 in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire.
the child of two teachers. His father died when he was aged nine, and he then grew up in an orphanage in
Birmingham, visiting his mother in Ireland during the holidays.
After leaving school he became a tyre salesman.
During the Second World War, Magill served in the Royal Corps of Signals and was a member of "Stars in Battledress".
In Egypt he helped build a theatre where the company staged plays.
Stage career
Following the war, Magill worked with the Arena Theatre Company and
Repertory. In 1961, he spent a year at the
Belgrade Theatre in
Coventry.
In 1963, he acted at the Playhouse,
Nottingham, where he was later made artistic director and remained there until 1968.
Magill directed many productions, and also wrote plays and translated others into
English language.
He starred in the West End production of
The Ruling Class and appeared at the Bristol Old Vic in
Death of a Salesman and
The Browning Version.
His first television appearances were in 1969, in the programmes
Special Branch and
Parkin's Patch, and the following year appeared in the film
Julius Caesar.
Emmerdale Farm
Ronald Magill joined the cast of
Emmerdale when the
soap opera launched on 16 October 1972. He played
Amos Brearly, a character who co-ran The Woolpack pub with
Henry Wilks, and they became a double act for the next nineteen years.
The bushy
sideburns for which he became known were the result of having come to the audition from playing an
Edwardian period in a stage play; he was told they were perfect for the part.
After his departure from
Emmerdale, as it is now titled, in January 1991, Magill had his sideburns shaved off on
Wogan. He reappeared as Amos for short-lived appearances in 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995, the latter when the character accompanied Annie Sugden to her son Joe's funeral. The two characters later married off-screen in Spain.
His final appearance was on 6 July 1995.
Later years
After landing the part of Amos, he rarely appeared on the stage.
Magill's partner of 32 years, David Soar, died in 1997.
Ten years later in 2007, Magill died aged 87.
Magill had been suffering from Bell's palsy in the years leading up to his death.
Filmography
External links
