🔗 Share this article

The actor Patrick Murray, who has passed away at 68, became well-known for his portrayal as Mickey Pearce in Only Fools and Horses, the trilby-wearing chancer who teams up briefly with his former schoolmate Rodney Trotter in the iconic British sitcom Only Fools and Horses.

Early Introduction

He first appeared in season three in a 1983 episode named Healthy Competition, during which Rodney's ambition to advance from being just a lookout for his older brother was immediately foiled when Mickey deceived him. The Trotter brothers came back together, and Mickey continued as a regular presence until the last holiday special in 2003.

Origin of the Role

The character had been mentioned on multiple occasions after the show began in 1981, including in stories where Mickey stole Rodney's girlfriend, but hadn't been portrayed originally. As the writer sought to enlarge the ensemble of characters, the show's producer remembered Murray's performance in a TV commercial, where he unsuccessfully chatted up two women, and recommended him for the part. The actor tried out on a Friday and began work just three days later.

The character was envisioned as a less savvy Del Boy, not as clever but, in the same vein as Del, frequently experiencing his business ventures fall apart. “Mickey will try anything, but he’s not very trustworthy,” Murray remarked. He's forever tricking Rodney, and Del is always threatening to clump him for it.” Mickey consistently mocks Rodney about not having a girlfriend while lying about his supposed love life and flitting between jobs.

Behind the Scenes

A plot in 1989 had to be rapidly revamped after an accident in which the actor stumbled over his dog at home and broke a glass pane, severing a tendon in his right arm and suffering major blood loss. As his arm was in a plaster cast, the writer modified the upcoming installment to explain Mickey facing violence by neighborhood thugs.

Later Career and Life

The show's conclusion was broadcast in 1991, but Murray was among the performers who returned for Christmas specials for an additional 12 years – and continued to be loved at fan conventions.

Patrick Murray entered the world in Greenwich in London, his mother Juana, a dancer, and his father Patrick, a London Transport inspector. He studied at St Thomas the Apostle college in Nunhead. Aged 15, he noticed a notice for an acting agency in the Daily Mirror and in just a week was given a part in a stage play. He soon began TV parts, starting in 1973, aged 16, in Places Where They Sing, a BBC play inspired by a novel about student unrest. This was soon followed, he starred in the children’s adventure serial The Terracotta Horse, produced in those countries.

He performed in a brief play Hanging Around (1978), about disaffected youths, and the film The Class of Miss MacMichael (1978), featuring Glenda Jackson as a passionate instructor, prior to his major role arrived.

For Scum, a story centered on the harsh youth detention system, he played Dougan, a good-natured inmate whose mathematical ability allowed him to be trusted to manage funds secretly introduced by visitors, which he collected on his tea trolley round. He successfully to reduce the “daddy’s” percentage when the character Carlin became the leader.

The drama, produced for a TV series in 1977, was prohibited by the BBC for its graphic violence, but it finally aired in 1991. Meanwhile, the filmmaker remade it as a feature film in 1979, with Murray among six from the initial cast reprising their roles.

He then had minor roles in features like Quadrophenia (1979) and Breaking Glass (1980), and appeared as a bellboy in Curse of the Pink Panther (1983).

Success on the show earned him numerous TV roles in that era in programs such as Dempsey and Makepeace, Lovejoy, The Return of Shelley and The Upper Hand. He also took two characters in The Bill.

Yet his personal life spiralled downhill after he took over a pub in Kent in 1998, drinking too much and finally seeking assistance from a support group. He relocated to Thailand, where he wed Anong in 2016. Shortly afterwards, he returned to Britain and worked as a cab driver. He briefly returned to acting in 2019 as a London criminal playing Frank Bridges in the show Conditions, still to be screened.

Health Struggles

He received a diagnosis with the lung disease COPD in 2018 and, in 2021, lung cancer and a liver tumor. Despite being cleared in 2022 post-treatment, the illness came back shortly afterwards.

Personal Life

In 1981, he wed Shelley Wilkinson; the marriage ended in divorce. He is survived by Anong, their daughter, Josie, and three sons of his first marriage, Lee, Ricky and Robert, along with siblings and male siblings.