John Junkin

Who was John Junkin?

John Francis Junkin was an English radio, television and film actor and scriptwriter.

In 1960 Junkin joined Joan Littlewood's Stratford East Theatre Workshop, and played the lead in the original production of Sparrers Can't Sing. A few years later he joined the Royal Court Theatre company and was the foil to Tony Hancock in some of Hancock's last work for British television. He played a diverse range of roles on the small screen; however he is best remembered for his comedy roles, and his appearances as a television quiz master. Worldwide filmgoers will remember him best for playing "Shake", the assistant to Norman Rossington, in the Beatles film A Hard Day's Night. In comedy roles, Junkin was rarely short of work, on account of his outstanding ability to play the stony-faced symbol of low level, petty-minded and unquestioning authority, whether the army sergeant, police constable or site foreman.

One of his rare leading roles was in the BBC series The Rough with the Smooth, in which he and Tim Brooke-Taylor played comedy writers. He also hosted his own afternoon television series in the mid-1970s. Entitled simply Junkin, it was produced by Southern Television for the ITV network.