Mark McManus

Mark McManus (21 February 1935 - 6 June 1994) is a Scottish actor best known for his portrayal of Detective Chief Inspector Jim Taggart in the long-running ITV television series Taggart for eleven years until his death.

Career
Mark McManus, the original star of Taggart, was born in Hamilton, near Glasgow, Scotland. His father was a coal miner. On leaving school, Mark also became a miner, as well as taking factory jobs. However, seeking a better future, at the age of 22, he emigrated to Australia, where he worked as a docker in Sydney, and joined a drama club as a hobby.

McManus then joined a touring theatre group, which performed shows in the Australian outback. Early work included the musical Half a Sixpence, with McManus in the lead role. Turning professional in 1964, TV acting work beckoned, and he appeared in the children's serials ''Wandjina! and Skippy, The Bush Kangaroo'' in the mid-1960s.

The big break came for McManus in the 1970 film Ned Kelly, in which rock singer Mike Jaggar starred as the legendary outlaw. Returning to London in 1971, McManus went on to a string of TV roles in dramas like The Brothers, Colditz and Sam. In addition to his TV work, McManus also established a strong reputation as a stage actor with the Royal Court and the National Theatre, earning rave reviews for his brilliant portrayal of John Proctor in Arthur Miller's play 'The Crucible'.

Becoming Taggart
The first episode of Taggart in 1983 changed his life, bringing Mark global fame. He knew that the role was for him when he saw the first script: "Coming from Glasgow, the whole thing stuck like a chord. Like him [Taggart] I'm a really a street guy at heart. It's where I'm happiest." It was this affinity with the character that contributed to the success of the show, and McManus would never compromise, for example, insisting Taggart use an authentic Glaswegian accent.

Never extravagant in his off-screen lifestyle, McManus retained a sense of perspective on his new-found career success, preferring the working men's clubs and pubs of Glasgow to the nightspots of London's West End. To McManus, acting was 'work' and not a lifestyle choice, and even though greater fame was to follow, he never failed to remember the very real hardships of his early life as a miner's son from Hamilton. He later said of his role as Taggart: "I've worked in some dreadful places in my life, so I'm really lucky to have this job. I never pass a factory without thinking about those days and how lucky I've been."