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Who was Murray Melvin? Phantom of the Opera and Torchwood actor dies at 90

Author

Sarah Richards

Published Jan 04, 2026

Murray Melvin, entertainer known for his jobs in Ghost of the Show and Torchwood, has died.
He was 90
The veteran had studied show, emulate, and old style expressive dance

Murray Melvin, entertainer known for his parts in Apparition of the Drama and Torchwood, has died. He was 90.

Who was Murray Melvin? Murray Melvin was an English entertainer who was born on August 10, 1932.

The entertainer was perceived for his work with Joan Littlewood, Ken Russell, and Stanley Kubrick, as well as his part in Specialist Who spin-off Torchwood.

Murray was born in St. Pancras, London, on August 10, 1932, to Hugh Victor Melvin and Maisie Winifred, née Driscoll.

Murray moved on from his north London optional school at fourteen, unfit to understand parts yet as head regent, a title he guarantees he procured by continuously having clean fingernails and very much brushed hair. He started his vocation as an office kid for a travel service on Oxford Road.

Murray studied show, emulate, and old style artful dance in the nights at the neighboring City Artistic Organization.

He began working with set planner John Cover in October 1957 as an associate stage director, theater painter, and general dogsbody prior to being picked for his most memorable expert part as the Sovereign’s Courier in the Macbeth creation that was then in practice.

Murray Melvin, ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ and ‘A Taste of Honey’ Actor, Dies at 90

— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) April 16, 2023

He played out the lead spot in the notable creation of Brendan Behan’s The Prisoner following the late spring get-away in 1958. The two texts were changed all through practices by Joan Littlewood’s difficult and imaginative ways to deal with uncovering the text’s pith and making a dynamic, risky dramatic occasion.

Murray had an appearance in Russell’s Journal of No one important for the BBC, which was taken shots at the Ealing Studios on a set intended for “quiet motion pictures.” Different players from Littlewood’s Theater Studio, for example, Bryan Pringle and Brian Murphy, who later became Russell regulars, showed up close by Murray, who depicted Lupin, the defiant child.

Isadora Duncan, the Biggest Artist On the planet (1966), coordinated by Ken Russell and featuring Vivian Pickles as the nominal job, included an appearance by Murray.

Murray likewise worked widely in TV, showing up in The Vindicators’ debut episode.

In Shaw’s St. Joan, which Waris Hussein coordinated in 1966, he played the Dauphin. He played out the jobs of Bertold in Michael Hayes’ 1967 Auditorium 625 creation of Pirandello’s Henry IV, Wear Pietro in Peter Hammond’s television variation of The Little Universe of Wear Camillo, and The Recluse in Mai Zetterling’s William Tell. He likewise went about as the Hairdresser in the 1973 BBC TV film The Experiences of Wear Quixote, which was coordinated by Alvin Rakoff and featured Rex Harrison.