Search a film or person :
FacebookConnectionRegistration
Leo McKern is a Actor and Scriptwriter Australien born on 16 march 1920 at Sydney (Australie)

Leo McKern

Leo McKern
If you like this person, let us know!
Birth name Reginald McKern
Nationality Australie
Birth 16 march 1920 at Sydney (Australie)
Death 23 july 2002 (at 82 years) at Bath (United-kingdom)

Reginald "Leo" McKern, AO (16 March 1920 – 23 July 2002) was an Australian actor who appeared in numerous British and Australian television programmes and films, and in more than 200 stage roles. Notable roles he portrayed include Clang in Help! (1965), Thomas Cromwell in A Man for All Seasons (1966), Tom Ryan in Ryan's Daughter (1970), Paddy Button in The Blue Lagoon (1980), Dr. Grogan in The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981), Father Imperius in Ladyhawke (1985) and, in the role that made him a household name as an actor, Horace Rumpole, whom he played in Rumpole of the Bailey. He also portrayed Carl Bugenhagen in the first and second installments of the The Omen trilogy.

Biography

In 1983, McKern was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for his services to the performing arts.

McKern informed his daughter Abigail that he suffered from stage fright, which became harder to control with age. He also worried that his stout frame would not appeal to audiences.

In 1997 he appeared in a party political broadcast for the UK Independence Party.

Suffering from diabetes and other health problems, he moved to a nursing home near Bath in Somerset in 2002. He died a few weeks later at the age of 82. His body was cremated at Haycombe Cemetery in Bath.

McKern was survived by his wife Jane, his daughters Abigail and Harriet, and a grandchild.

Best films

The Omen (1976)
(Actor)
The Blue Lagoon (1980)
(Actor)
Ryan's Daughter (1970)
(Actor)
A Man for All Seasons (1966)
(Actor)

Usually with

Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers
(4 films)
Val Guest
Val Guest
(3 films)
Dirk Bogarde
Dirk Bogarde
(5 films)
Ralph Thomas
Ralph Thomas
(5 films)
Source : Wikidata

Filmography of Leo McKern (50 films)

Display filmography as list

Actor

Molokai: The Story of Father Damien, 2h2
Directed by Paul Cox
Genres Drama, Biography
Themes Seafaring films, Transport films
Actors David Wenham, Kate Ceberano, Derek Jacobi, Sam Neill, Jan Decleir, Kris Kristofferson
Roles Bishop Maigret
Rating67% 3.3935753.3935753.3935753.3935753.393575
En 1872, un jeune religieux belge, le père Damien, se rend volontaire pour partir assister les lépreux qu’on a parqué sur une île près de Hawaï, l’île de Molokaï, afin d’éviter la contagion. Découvrez l’histoire authentique et édifiante de l’apôtre des lépreux, saint Damien de Molokaï.
Dad and Dave: On Our Selection
Genres Comedy
Themes Seafaring films, Transport films
Actors Leo McKern, Joan Sutherland, Geoffrey Rush, Ray Barrett, Barry Otto, Noah Taylor
Roles Dad Rudd
Rating60% 3.0490653.0490653.0490653.0490653.049065
The film portrays the Rudd family of 'Aussie battlers' in late 19th century colonial Australia; Dad and Mother Rudd, and their hardworking but somewhat gormless son Dave. They take up a selection of land and attempt to farm it. The difficulties of the life are portrayed, with its ups and downs, humour and frustrations.
A Foreign Field, 1h35
Directed by Charles Sturridge
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Comedy
Actors Alec Guinness, Leo McKern, Edward Herrmann, John Randolph, Geraldine Chaplin, Lauren Bacall
Roles Cyril
Rating78% 3.918583.918583.918583.918583.91858
Cyril (McKern) and Waldo (Randolph), who are British and American, respectively, have both returned to France in search of the same woman (Moreau) with whom they each had a rendezvous in 1944 (unknown to the other). Cyril is accompanied by fellow veteran Amos (Guinness), while Waldo has his petty daughter Beverly (Chaplin) and her henpecked husband (Herrmann) in tow. Amos is childlike and carries an empty jam jar as if it is a favored toy. The two groups encounter one another, and after some conflict find common ground in old sorrows. Along the way they meet the recently widowed Lisa (Bacall), who has come in search of her brother's grave.
Travelling North, 1h36
Directed by Carl Schultz
Origin Australie
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama
Themes Seafaring films, Théâtre, Transport films, Films based on plays
Actors Leo McKern, Julia Blake, Graham Kennedy, Drew Forsythe, Diane Craig
Roles Frank
Rating68% 3.430123.430123.430123.430123.43012
An aged couple decide to move from Melbourne to north Queensland.
Ladyhawke
Ladyhawke (1985)
, 2h1
Directed by Richard Donner
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Fantastic, Comedy, Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Romance
Themes Films about animals, Wolves in film, Films about birds, Werewolves in film, Children's films, Mise en scène d'un mammifère
Actors Matthew Broderick, Rutger Hauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, John Wood, Leo McKern, Alfred Molina
Roles Father Imperius
Rating69% 3.4511953.4511953.4511953.4511953.451195
In medieval Europe, Philippe Gaston (Broderick), a thief facing execution who is known as "The Mouse", escapes from the dungeons of Aquila via the sewers. The Bishop of Aquila (Wood) sends his Captain of the Guard, Marquet (Hutchison), to hunt Philippe down. At a country tavern, Philippe unknowingly reveals himself to Marquet and his men, and is about to be killed. But the former captain, Etienne of Navarre (Hauer), intervenes and defeats Marquet and his men. He then takes Philippe away.
Murder with Mirrors, 1h40
Directed by Dick Lowry
Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Crime
Actors Helen Hayes, Bette Davis, John Mills, Leo McKern, Dorothy Tutin, Anton Rodgers
Roles Insp. Curry
Rating62% 3.1492153.1492153.1492153.1492153.149215
Miss Marple (Helen Hayes) is reunited with her old American friend Carrie Louise Serrocold (Bette Davis) from their days touring Italy as young ladies. Miss Marple is called on to investigate possible causes of Carrie Louise's deteriorating health. However, as Miss Marple keeps her friend company, her attention is soon diverted as she stumbles over a dead body. A murderer is at large in a house of suspects (Brocket Hall), and a race against time begins.
The Chain
The Chain (1984)
, 1h40
Directed by Jack Gold
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Comedy
Actors Denis Lawson, Phyllis Logan, Maurice Denham, Nigel Hawthorne, David Troughton, Anna Massey
Roles Thomas
Rating68% 3.437083.437083.437083.437083.43708
The Chain tells the story of seven households that comprise a circular property chain, and various moving company employees who are tasked with assisting each household in their move. It follows the trials and tribulations, from trivial to profound, each household and mover (who are each guilty of one of the seven deadly sins) endures during the moving process.
Terror in the Aisles, 1h24
Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Fantastic, Documentary, Anthology film, Horror
Themes Films about films, Documentary films about business, Documentary films about the film industry, Documentary films about films
Actors Donald Pleasence, Nancy Allen, Bud Abbott, Michael Ironside, Fred Asparagus, Brooke Adams
Roles Carl Bugenhagen (archive footage) (uncredited)
Rating62% 3.148153.148153.148153.148153.14815
Director Andrew J. Kuehn has excerpted brief segments of terror and suspense in a wide variety of suspenseful (including humorously so, ex. Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein, Saturday the 14th) films and strung them together with added commentary, as well as some enacted narrative, to create a compilation of fright-inducing effects. Halloween actor Donald Pleasence and Dressed to Kill star Nancy Allen provide the commentary on topics such as "sex and terror" (Dressed to Kill, Klute, Ms. 45, The Seduction, When a Stranger Calls), loathsome villains (Dracula, Frankenstein, Friday the 13 1 and/or 2, Halloween I and II, Marathon Man, Nighthawks, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Touch of Evil, Vice Squad, Wait Until Dark, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?), "natural terror" (Alligator, The Birds, Frogs, Jaws 1 and 2, Nightwing) and the occult (An American Werewolf in London, Rosemary's Baby, The Exorcist, The Omen, Carrie, The Shining). In one segment of the anthology, legendary filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock presents his concepts of how to create suspense in a clip from Alfred Hitchcock: Men Who Made The Movies.
Reilly, Ace of Spies, 50minutes
Directed by Martin Campbell
Actors Sam Neill, Leo McKern, Tom Bell, Peter Egan, Ian Charleson, Kenneth Cranham
Roles Basil Zaharoff
Rating81% 4.090334.090334.090334.090334.09033
The French Lieutenant's Woman, 2h4
Directed by Karel Reisz
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Drama, Historical, Romance
Themes Films about films
Actors Meryl Streep, Jeremy Irons, David Warner, Peter Vaughan, Hilton McRae, Liz Smith
Roles Dr. Grogan
Rating68% 3.4464753.4464753.4464753.4464753.446475
The film intercuts the stories of two affairs: one a Victorian period drama involving the gentleman palaeontologist Charles Smithson and the complex and troubled Sarah Woodruff, "The French Lieutenant's Woman"; the other between the actors "Mike" and "Anna", playing the lead roles in a modern filming of the story. In both segments, Jeremy Irons and Meryl Streep play the lead roles, but in line with John Fowles' source novel having multiple endings, the two otherwise parallel stories have different outcomes.
The Blue Lagoon, 1h44
Directed by Randal Kleiser
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Adventure, Romance
Themes L'adolescence, Films about children, Films about families, Pregnancy films, Seafaring films, Naturisme, Films about sexuality, Transport films, Le thème des vacances, La sexualité des mineurs, Disaster films, Films about seafaring accidents or incidents, Films about virginity
Actors Brooke Shields, Christopher Atkins, Leo McKern, William Daniels, Alan Hopgood, Gus Mercurio
Roles Paddy Button
Rating58% 2.903992.903992.903992.903992.90399
In the Victorian period, two young cousins, Richard and Emmeline Lestrange, and a galley cook, Paddy Button (Leo McKern), survive a shipwreck in the South Pacific and reach a lush tropical island. Paddy cares for the small children and forbids them by "law" from going to the other side of the island, as he found evidence of remains of bloody human sacrifices. He also warns them against eating a scarlet berry which is apparently deadly.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, 1h35
Directed by Bill Meléndez
Origin United-kingdom
Genres Fantasy, Adventure, Animation
Themes Films about animals, Films about religion, Films about lions, Children's films
Actors Sheila Hancock, Arthur Lowe, Leo McKern, Leslie Phillips, Beth Porter, Richard Dempsey
Roles Professor (voice)
Rating69% 3.493563.493563.493563.493563.49356
When four children Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy stumble into an old Wardrobe they find themselves in a magical land called Narnia with talking animals, fauns, hags, the Wicked White Witch and the great lion Aslan. There they meet the friendly Mr and Mrs Beaver, who help them on their quest to find Aslan the great lion. Only he can help save Lucy's friend Mr Tumnus (the faun) from the White Witch.
The House on Garibaldi Street, 1h38
Directed by Peter Collinson
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller
Themes Spy films, Films about religion, Political films, Films about Jews and Judaism
Actors Martin Balsam, Chaim Topol, Janet Suzman, Leo McKern, Charles Gray, Nick Mancuso
Roles David Ben-Gurion
Rating66% 3.338963.338963.338963.338963.33896
Israeli premier David Ben-Gurion approves a Mossad operation to be led by Isser Harel to kidnap Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi mass murderer. Harel's team travels to Argentina to track down Ricardo Klement, who they believe is Eichmann. They soon discover that the Klement family moved two months before. Primo, a local contact, goes to their former residence and gets a lead to Dieter, one of Eichmann's sons. They arrange for a bellboy to deliver a parcel to Dieter, addressed to another son, Nicholas. They trail Dieter, but he goes to the dentist instead of his house. Michael, the agent in charge, sends the bellboy back to the Klements' old address, and he learns their new one. Harel is told that Israel has been invited to send a delegation to Argentina's 150th celebration of its independence, so a special flight can be sent, on which Eichmann can be smuggled out of the country. The Mossad finally spot Eichmann, and Harel flies to Argentina to take over the operation. The Mossad rent three houses near Buenos Aires. They snatch Eichmann off the street and take him to one of the houses. Dieter Eichmann contacts other local Nazis for help in finding his father. The Israeli agents watching Eichmann are conflicted: they want to kill him, but their orders are to bring him back alive. The Israeli special plane arrives. Meanwhile, Michael interrogates Eichmann about his role in the Holocaust. Michael thinks they are on the verge of being caught by the police and should kill Eichmann while they can, but the others talk him out of it. When it is time to leave, they drug Eichmann and disguise him as an Israeli mechanic injured in an accident. A policeman in the pay of the Nazis tries to stop the takeoff, but they persuade the airport officials to let the flight proceed. The plane returns to Israel, where Eichmann is tried, found guilty of crimes against humanity, and executed.
Damien: Omen II, 1h47
Directed by Don Taylor, Mike Hodges
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Fantastic, Action, Horror, Crime
Themes Films about children, Films about religion, Demons in film
Actors William Holden, Lee Grant, Jonathan Scott-Taylor, Nicholas Pryor, Lew Ayres, Sylvia Sidney
Roles Carl Bugenhagen (uncredited)
Rating62% 3.1026053.1026053.1026053.1026053.102605
A week after the burial of Robert and Katherine Thorn, archeologist Carl Bugenhagen (Leo McKern) learns of the survival of their adopted son Damien. Confiding to his friend Michael Morgan (Ian Hendry) that Damien is the Antichrist, Bugenhagen attempts to convince him to give Damien's guardian a box containing the means to kill Damien. As Morgan is unconvinced, Bugenhagen takes him to some local ruins to see the mural of Yigael's Wall, which was said to have been drawn by one who saw the Devil and had visions of the Antichrist as he would appear from birth to death. Though Morgan believes him upon seeing an ancient depiction of the Antichrist with Damien's face, both he and Bugenhagen are buried alive as the tunnel collapses on them.