BY ANDY CAMERON
Raising a glass to great comic
90s, appearing in Rab C Nesbitt and starring alongside his old pal Connolly and Liam Neeson in 1991 film The Big Man.
Working live was never far away and Johnny became one of Scotland’s best loved panto dames. He joked: “I have been Nurse Bella Donna, Nurse Penny Sillin, Nurse Ophelia Pulse and Nurse Philippa Bedpan.”
One of his biggest moments had to stay a secret for many years. In 1991, at short notice Johnny had to write a speech for former US president Ronald Reagan.
One had already been penned which Reagan was due to give after he had been officially inducted as a Keeper of the
Quaich to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Scotch whisky industry – but the Earl of Elgin decreed it was not suitable.
Johnny was called and couldn’t believe it when he only had six hours to come up with something.
While Stanley retired and, sadly, Rikki, Jack and Jimmy died, Johnny kept going, becoming the last man standing of that generation of Scottish comics when he took a part in the original cast for Scottish soap, River City. He played patriarch
Malcolm Hamilton from 2002 until he filmed, at the sprightly age of 88, his last scenes in April 2015. That’s some showbiz shift.
A bout of ill health brought the curtain down on 13 years of River City but also on his incredible career. He stepped off stage a national treasure.
He admitted at the time: “I was sad to give it up. I took a wee turn with vertigo. It was a wee bit dodgy at the time and I thought I’d better look after myself and pack it in.”
A father of four, including his two daughters Maureen and Louise, the only tinge of sadness was the death of his wife Kitty Lamont. They’d married in 1950 and had the girls and two sons, Paul and Mark, but had separated in 1982. They were on the point of reconciling when she died in 1994. His flat in Glasgow’s West End was filled with photos of her, his family and moments from his showbiz career.
Johnny, who received an MBE in 2007, was one of the giants of Scottish showbiz.
He said of his career: “It’s been a great joy and pleasure. There is something nice about making people laugh.”
Of course, for those of us who have enjoyed Johnny’s warmth and big heart, on and off stage and screen, the pleasure has been all ours.
JOHNNY Beattie was an outstanding comic performer but more than that, he was a lovely, lovely man. I did several pantomimes with Johnny when he was a dame and I was daft Wullie. It was around 1983/84 that we did the first panto and we did about five or six together, one in the Gaiety in Ayr and others in the Pavilion in Glasgow. We had such a great relationship, it got to the stage he’d sign a Christmas card as “mammy” and I’d send him one signing it as from his “son”. We had his 93rd birthday recently before Covid-19 and 12 of us went out together to a restaurant in Glasgow It was a great day and I sat next to him. He was good fun and we had a good laugh and that’s how I’ll remember him. He was a lovely man, a great comedian and did so much for charity foundations and organisations. He was terrific in River City and he was so proud of his family. He told a story about going to the Royal Shakespeare Company and both of his girls were doing something in the show. He proudly said to his wife Kitty: “You produced half the cast on this show.” Johnny had a good innings but it’s sad to see him go. He was a comedian’s comedian and a great guy with an encyclopaedic mind. I’ll be raising a glass to him and have sent a message to his daughter Maureen to offer any help we can at this time.