Leo Mckern The Wogan Show BBC 1989 Terry Wogan

had to sneak out of the house in carpet slippers rather than risk the displeasure of she who must be obeyed as horace Rampal prince prince of the unwanted brief and scourge of the bailey his performances are literally unmissable he's about to be stride the London stage like the Colossus is as another barrister this time in an even more outrageous one this time as Boswell and Boswell for the defense so welcome Leo McKern well I'm delighted to have you on the show as well we've been trying to get you for about two years and I'm glad you've you've relented this boswell this is again another legal kind of figure buzz well the biographer of Johnson but another legal role well so no but that's a it's a sort of coincidence Terry people vows before you know what's the difference between Boswell and Rumple and I say about two hundred years and that's that's it folks no no the fact that he is was a lawyer was I didn't find out until quite later - in fact I remind you there is a similarity between barristers and and and actors anyway I mean there's a certain amount of of lesbian activity over the bar as well isn't there indeed and in the medical profession some of the best performance parents have been surgeons especially in the middle of operations yeah they've got a pretty small audience they only got the operating theater people but oh yes some great performances of God on there - yeah well you're a man now who's in in healthy middle-aged but you're you're taking on that yeah taking down this am part of one and a half hours when you were telling me one average about TRS with intervals just you it's not it's it's a one-man play but it's a play you to see it and you're there all that time just you that's right yes nobody to help that's a I said before it's like getting into Burton picking up the Orson rowing and finding suddenly that somebody's left the bar now he can't find it we're sinking steadily so you really like that to get to the other side before it goes under yeah it's based on on Boswell's defensive woman called Mary broad yes who who actually got away from the penal colony in Australia rolled about five thousand miles got back to England they wanted to deport her again impossible yes well they want to hang her in fact them possible takes up her case yes he he was great at helping late dogs able to star maybe he was maybe he was affected by AB Johnson did the same thing in two people in off the street fed them and clothed them a real philanthropist I think Boswell was pretty was a bit of a failure actually he wanted to be also he didn't want to be a lawyer was the last thing he wanted to be his father was a magistrate and then insisted that he become a lawyer and he fought it nearly all his life and he became a lawyer quite late on but he wanted to be a commissioned officer in the foot garbs he wanted to be as he said by the time I was 20 I had been a Methodist a Catholic and a vegetarian he wanted all about you did you always want to be like that no I slipped into that yes I joined an amateur theatre in Sydney while I was waiting I was in the army waiting to be posted in the engineers and I joined the the these delightful group of young people for the company and evening that's all and somebody got sick or they thrust something in ban said would you mind reading that and it all went on from there and then after bit I found people actually paying me to do something that I enjoyed very much doing but not here because they you you came over here 43 years ago yes I don't think that the army the path to your door the novel then I our spark depth and it was a bit a bit difficult yes they the only Australian role in English literature on stage was a pub keep in a play called fresh fields I think so so how I mean you must have gone round the agents and all I mean I tried yes my wife who who would saved up for years and years to come over and become a famous actress compressor and she was - she was a wonderful engine doing now in Australia she she did introduce me to to her agent who told them very sorry darling we can't do anything poor earlier he's got a glass eye and that's the end of it you know so well but I plugged on eventually you start off doing stage management yeah the glass eye that obviously hasn't held you back either not I have to say that really I must have missed a lot of things cuz I didn't realise you have one so really must be a very good one okay I mean you can take it out no don't do it no yeah well people are probably having their dinner okay you take it on give it a Polish back oh sure yes yes indeed I'll use teacup you know the stuff you do no one knew you I mean I know you and your sense of humor you've obviously more than once taken it out upset people well a dear poor waitress indeed not a hundred miles from here and Bert O'Reilly's restaurant used to be in Shepherds Bush mmm yeah and I did we'd had a half a bottle of Chianti between us friends at the table I put it in the spaghetti he said excuse miss anyway you've overcome the setbacks and you ever you overcome the the Australian accent as well um yeah you've done that way yeah well I have to do that if I wanted to act at all if you go back to Australia I suppose you put it on again D I suppose it may creep up on me yes yes yeah there'll be sure keen on that with the Australian expect to sound like an Aussie M years and years ago when presumably he was still struggling a little bit to make your way in television her films you turned down may gray yes which which Rupert Davis yes yeah t referent yes well in those days it was exactly things working in television things were entirely different if you accepted a character as well-known as that in television you were dead but the rest of the profession no producer is the same sorry you don't think it's the same no oh no no no good lord I mean there are international film stars now that have started off doing yeah but I mean you should have been as I say a household name 15 years before you were a household name I suppose sir but then I might be dead like Rupert yeah yeah I wasn't migrated killed it was it sure I think it might have helped I mean they've killed him professionally I think yes he actually had in written into his contract knowing the dangers he had actually written into his contract that he would be given other parts in one-off plays which indeed he did but it made no difference is that why you're quite sparing with the rumple's no we're sparing with the rom throws because they're all written by one wonderful man by John Mortimer and he's the only beginner of them I mean when you do with we have done only 30 of them in 13 years it's hard to believe is because we see so many repeats and of course they're always welcome everybody wants to see him again well they're like Fawlty Towers and they only made 13 or 12 that's right that's right so you've only made that few 30 in 13 years yes you see we've got to start all over again it's not it's not like something you can pick up and carry with Jonah's got to write them he's got to write six solid hours I'm entertainment and then we've got to get all the everybody back together again if that's possible sometimes it's not you you've said from time to time that you're not going to do it again but you always come back and is this the kind of contract negotiating position over no one is one gets a bit worried sometimes because you see I have to agree to do them before I've even seen any of the scripts yeah so you just keep your fingers and your tears in your eyes crossed helping that John is going to come up with six beauties real if then it's always done here it says it must be a lovely party play great and then of course you go back afford to Australia quite a lot you yes you know whether um it takes you'd like to go back to your roots well sort of in the old regular more the stronger that becomes when the when the cards come down to about 25 feet and stay there for nine months that's when you want to go and get a bit of sunlight well you did with the hole in the ozone layer we can probably promise you warmer summers for some time now and I understand the pipe is melting is unbelievable yes well it's good to see you and you are you in the middle of this of this as well yes we open next Wednesday well next Wednesday night at the Playhouse down Bobby you've no worries about beautisol being able to keep it going and all the rest of it you know I didn't you say I hope not now anyway I want to be with my daughter she's with dustbin yeah she's in the Merchant of Venice hold us till hafting does be properly yeah well good luck with it as if you needed it you've had a wonderful critical return here and its really nice to see is great to be here thank you

Channel: videocurios

Views: 42,414

Keywords: Leo McKern (TV Actor), Rumpole Of The Bailey (TV Program), boswell for the defence, James Boswell (Author), john mortimer, Terry Wogan (TV Personality)

Id: vN2gDNsmFLo

Length: 10min 9sec (609 seconds)

Published: Tue May 06 2014