1962: Memories of Duncan Macrae, noted Scottish actor

RUSSELL LEADBETTER

DUNCAN Macrae, says a brief biography on the National Galleries of Scotland website, “has been called the greatest actor that Scotland has ever produced. A notable figure on the post-war Scottish stage, his angular face and lantern jaw matched a singular, eccentric personality. His wideranging acting skills guaranteed his success as a character actor in plays, variety, pantomime and film.” The words accompany a portrait of Macrae by artist William Crosbie, one of his friends in pre-war Glasgow.

The photograph shows Macrae with Alex Mcavoy in a play at the Citizens Theatre in 1962. Macrae’s Glasgow Herald obituary in March 1967 (he had died at the age of 61) began by describing him as one of the founders of the Citizens company and “for many years one of the company’s principal players”. His stage work was extensive; on television, his roles included Para Handy. His films included Whisky Galore and the 1967 Bond spoof, Casino Royale.

In his memoirs Jimmy Logan, who often worked with Macrae, said the pair of them had been primarily responsible for setting up the actors’ union Equity in Scotland. Recalling a Scottish comedy, Bachelors Are Bold, Logan said Macrae “was the instinctive choice as the main character of the undertaker. He was very tall and thin with sucked-in jaws, and would make a perfect man to measure you when the time came”.