Walter Carr (actor)

{{Short description|Scottish actor (1925–1998)}}

{{Use British English|date=October 2013}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Walter Carr

| image = Walter_Carr_(actor).jpg

| caption = Painting by June Crisfield Chapman c.1996

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1925|12|26|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Larkhall, Lanarkshire, Scotland

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1998|5|30|1925|12|26|df=yes}}

| death_place = Perth, Scotland{{cite news |title=Walter Carr – obituary, Glasgow Herald |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12262769.walter-carr/ |accessdate=28 November 2019 |date=2 June 1998}}

| nationality = Scottish

| occupation = Actor & comedian

| partner = Leon Sinden
(1952–1998)

}}

Walter Carr (né Walter Anderson) (26 December 1925 – 30 May 1998) was a Scottish actor and comedian.{{cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba113815b|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200518151836/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba113815b|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 May 2020|title=Walter Carr|website=BFI}}{{cite web|url=http://www.aveleyman.com/ActorCredit.aspx?ActorID=45470|title=Walter Carr|website=aveleyman.com}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/151416/walter-carr-1925-1998-actor-and-comedian|title=Walter Carr, 1925 – 1998. Actor and comedian|website=National Galleries of Scotland}}

He played the servant, Jock Carmichael, in the Edinburgh Gateway Company's Edinburgh International Festival production of Robert McLellan's historical comedy The Flouers o Edinburgh in August 1957, and was in the cast of its production of All for Mary by Kay Bannerman and Harold Brooke in February 1958. He played one of the Vices in Tyrone Guthrie's Edinburgh Festival production of Ane Satyre of the Thrie Estaites at the Church of Scotland's Assembly Hall in August 1959,Elder, Michael (2003), What do You do During the Day?, Eldon Productions, pp. 123, 134 & 147 {{isbn|9-780954-556808}} and Sandy the scout in the 1960 Festival production of Sydney Goodsir Smith's The Wallace.McLellan, Robert, Review of The Wallace, in Thomson, David Cleghorn (ed.), Saltire Review, Vol. 6, No. 22, Autumn 1960, The Saltire Society, Edinburgh, pp. 75 - 77 In 1963, he gave a memorable comedy performance as the imagined invalid in the Gateway's production of The Hypochondriack, Victor Carin's translation into Scots of Molière's Le malade imaginaire.Milne, Lennox (1965), "Mainly About the Early Years", in The Twelve Seasons of the Gateway Company, 1953 - 1965, St. Giles Press, Edinburgh, pp. 15 - 23

Possibly his best known role was as the mate Dougie in the TV series The Vital Spark (1965–67).{{cite web|url=https://pitlochryfestivaltheatre.com/news/actor-harry-ward-to-follow-in-the-footsteps-of-walter-carr/|title=Actor Harry Ward to follow in the footsteps of Walter Carr|date=25 October 2016|website=Pitlochry Festival Theatre}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01290rs|title=Series 1, The Vital Spark|publisher=BBC}}

He played Shooey in Lex MacLean's TV series.{{cite web|url=http://www.helensburgh-heritage.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=829:top-comedian-loved-burgh-home&catid=81:the-arts&Itemid=458|title=Top comedian loved burgh home|website=helensburgh-heritage.co.uk}} Other television roles included Davy McNeil in The Dark Island (1962), James Pigg in Mr. John Jorrocks (1966), and Advocate Fife in Weir of Hermiston (1973).

He had a minor part as the school teacher in the cult film The Wicker Man (1973), and played a jeweller in the comedy The Girl in the Picture (1985).{{cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/488702/credits.html|title=BFI Screenonline: Wicker Man, The (1973) Credits|website=screenonline.org.uk}}{{cite web|url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-girl-in-the-picture-v19828/cast-crew|title=The Girl in the Picture (1985) – Cary Parker – Cast and Crew|website=AllMovie}}