If the name Kinnear rings a bell, the son is probably why, and that makes the father easy to overlook. Roy Kinnear was born on 8 January 1934 in Wigan, Lancashire, and built a career as a British character actor and comedian before his death in 1988 (Wikipedia biography).
Born: 1934, Wigan, Lancashire · Trained at: Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London · Known as: British character actor and comedian · Disney role: Quincey in Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977) · Died: 1988, Madrid, after a fall during filming
Quick snapshot
- Born 8 January 1934 in Wigan, Lancashire (Wikipedia biography)
- Died 20 September 1988 in Madrid, aged 54 (Wikipedia biography)
- Enrolled at RADA at age 17 (Wikipedia biography)
- Settlement year for the £650,000 award: 1991 or 1994 (Wikipedia biography; Yahoo Movies UK tribute)
- Whether he was moved to a clinic before he died (Yahoo Movies UK tribute) (Yahoo Movies UK tribute)
- Richard Lester reportedly quit films after the death (Funeral Notices UK obituary notice)
- 1965: played Algernon in Help! (Wikipedia biography)
- 1977: played Quincey in Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (Wikipedia biography)
- 19 September 1988: fell from a horse while filming in Toledo, Spain (Wikipedia biography)
- Rory Kinnear wants to raise awareness of film set safety because of his father’s death (Evening Standard showbiz coverage)
Six core facts carry the record, and one biography underpins most of them, so the table flags where a second outlet disagrees.
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | , Wigan, Lancashire (Wikipedia biography) |
| Trained at | Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London, enrolled at 17 (Wikipedia biography) |
| Known as | British character actor and comedian (Wikipedia biography) |
| Disney role | Quincey in Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo, 1977 (Wikipedia biography) |
| Son | Rory Kinnear, actor, born (Wikipedia entry on Rory Kinnear) |
| Death | , Madrid, Spain, aged 54 (Wikipedia biography) |
What happened to the actor Roy Kinnear?
Kinnear fell from a horse on while filming The Return of the Musketeers in Toledo, Spain, and broke his pelvis. He died the following day, , in Madrid, aged 54 (Wikipedia biography). Yahoo Movies UK reports that he was given only 15 minutes to practise the stunt and had protested about riding without experience (Yahoo Movies UK tribute).
The medical detail is thinner than the headline suggests, and the accounts do not fully line up.
What was Roy Kinnear’s cause of death?
- IMDb’s biography attributes the death to a heart attack brought on by his injuries (IMDb biography), a point the Wikipedia biography also records.
- No primary medical or coroner record was supplied, so the exact timing of the heart attack rests on biographical sources.
Where and during which production did the fatal accident happen?
- Production: The Return of the Musketeers (Wikipedia biography)
- Location of the fall: Toledo, Spain. Location of the death: Madrid, Spain (Wikipedia biography)
- Yahoo Movies UK says he was taken to hospital and then moved to a nearby clinic, which conflicts with the Madrid account (Yahoo Movies UK tribute)
Wikipedia and IMDb place the death at Ruber International Hospital in Madrid, while Yahoo Movies UK says he was taken to Ruber Internacional Hospital and then moved to a nearby clinic (Yahoo Movies UK tribute). Any timeline that names one facility should be checked against the source it cites, because the accounts disagree.
The implication: the fall is documented well enough to state plainly, but the hospital sequence is contested, so specific facility names should be treated as open.
Who is Rory Kinnear’s father?
Roy Kinnear’s son is the actor Rory Kinnear, born in Hammersmith, London, to Roy and Carmel Cryan (Wikipedia entry on Rory Kinnear). Rory was 10 when his father died in 1988, and he has spoken about what that loss meant to him (Radio Times interview).
Rory has said his father’s death had the greatest impact on his life and that he still cries about it (iNews interview).
Who was Roy Kinnear’s wife?
- Roy married actress Carmel Cryan in 1970, and IMDb dates the wedding to (IMDb biography).
- Carmel Cryan is named as Rory’s mother in the Wikipedia entry on Rory Kinnear.
Who were Roy Kinnear’s children?
- Roy and Carmel Cryan had three children, including Rory (Wikipedia biography).
- iNews reports that a family member, Karina Kinnear, was born with severe disability and died of Covid-19 in 2020 (iNews interview).
- The sources supplied do not name the third child, so this article does not guess at one.
Rory was 10 when his father died, and his own dated interviews are the strongest evidence for the family link. Anyone repeating the relationship should quote those interviews rather than search snippets (Radio Times interview).
The implication: the family record is firmer on Rory than on the wider family, so this article names only the relatives a cited source confirms.
What movies and TV shows did Roy Kinnear appear in?
Kinnear’s screen work runs from the mid-1960s to the late 1970s. His national profile came first from television, where he was a regular on That Was the Week That Was in the early 1960s (Wikipedia biography).
- Algernon in Help! (1965) (Wikipedia biography)
- Henry Salt, Veruca Salt’s father, in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) (Wikipedia biography)
- Appearance in The Hill (1965), directed by Sidney Lumet, according to TV Insider cast profile
- Planchet in The Three Musketeers (1973) and later sequels, according to Plex performer listing
Which Disney films did Roy Kinnear appear in?
- Quincey in Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977), the one Disney credit confirmed in the research (Wikipedia biography)
- The cited sources spell the character’s name Quincey, and this article follows that spelling.
The implication: the Disney record is one dated role, so Kinnear’s filmography reads as a broad character-actor career rather than a single franchise.
Where did Roy Kinnear start out as an actor?
Kinnear was born in Wigan, Lancashire, in 1934 and was educated at George Heriot’s School in Edinburgh (Wikipedia biography). He enrolled at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at age 17, and his training was interrupted by National Service (Wikipedia biography).
Where did Roy Kinnear train as an actor?
- Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London, from age 17 (Wikipedia biography)
- Training paused for National Service (Wikipedia biography)
The implication: a Scottish schooling and a London drama school, broken by military service, led to an actor whose audience was built on television.
Is Rory Kinnear related to Roy Kinnear?
Yes. Rory Kinnear is Roy Kinnear’s son, as recorded in the Wikipedia entry on Rory Kinnear and in his interviews about his father (Wikipedia entry on Rory Kinnear).
Does Greg Kinnear have a family link to Roy Kinnear?
- No family link between Roy Kinnear and Greg Kinnear is documented in the sources reviewed.
- That absence is not a denial, so any claimed relation should be treated as unverified.
The implication: a shared surname does not establish kinship, and the only parent-child link confirmed here runs from Roy to Rory.
Timeline of key dates
- : Roy Kinnear born in Wigan, Lancashire (Wikipedia biography)
- : Marriage to Carmel Cryan, per IMDb (IMDb biography)
- : Rory Kinnear born in Hammersmith, London (Wikipedia entry on Rory Kinnear)
- : Fall from a horse while filming in Toledo, Spain (Wikipedia biography)
- : Death in Madrid, aged 54 (Wikipedia biography)
- 1991 or 1994: £650,000 family settlement, year disputed (Wikipedia biography; Yahoo Movies UK tribute)
The implication: the settlement is the one entry that cannot yet be stated as a single date, so it stays flagged rather than resolved.
Confirmed facts and open questions
Confirmed facts
- Born 8 January 1934 in Wigan (Wikipedia biography)
- Died 20 September 1988 in Madrid after a fall during filming (Wikipedia biography)
- Played Quincey in Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo, 1977 (Wikipedia biography)
- Rory Kinnear is his son (Wikipedia entry on Rory Kinnear)
What’s unclear
- Settlement year: 1991 in Wikipedia, 1994 in Yahoo Movies UK (Yahoo Movies UK tribute)
- Whether he was moved to a clinic before he died (Yahoo Movies UK tribute)
- Medical detail beyond a heart attack linked to his injuries; no primary medical record was supplied (IMDb biography)
- Richard Lester reportedly quit films after the death (Funeral Notices UK obituary notice)
- Paul McCartney’s role in a brief return to work: a search snippet names him, but no project or date is confirmed (search snippet only)
- Stage, radio and television work in Scotland: no cited source confirms the details
The implication: the confirmed list covers the core biography, while the open list covers the death’s hospital sequence, the settlement year and the McCartney story, and those gaps need primary records before they are stated as fact.
In their words
“In terms of trauma, Dad dying had the greatest impact on my life. The foundation he gave me was of purest love, entertainment, and support.”
Rory Kinnear, actor, in a BBC America blog feature
“It forms how you look at life.”
Rory Kinnear, in a Radio Times interview
“I’ll ride if I am forced to. I’ll never do it for pleasure.”
Roy Kinnear, as reported to his wife Carmel in a Yahoo Movies UK tribute
The implication: the father’s quote about the stunt and the son’s account of the loss frame the same 1988 event from opposite ends, and neither speaker is describing the medical record.
Where the record stands
The fall in Toledo and the death in Madrid are documented well enough to state plainly, but the settlement year and hospital sequence are not, and any story that repeats one date as settled is repeating an open question. Rory has said he wants to raise awareness of film set safety because of his father’s death (Evening Standard showbiz coverage), which gives the open questions a practical stake. Editors who print the settlement date without a named source repeat an open question, and the 1991 and 1994 figures stay in conflict until a primary record settles them.
Related reading: Charlie Drake: Life, Career, Songs and Cause of Death
tvinsider.com, thefamouspeople.com, tvencyclopedia.org, tvtropes.org, youtube.com
Frequently asked questions
Where was Roy Kinnear born?
He was born on 8 January 1934 in Wigan, Lancashire (Wikipedia biography).
What was Roy Kinnear best known for?
He is known as a British character actor and comedian, and his Disney credit is Quincey in Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (Wikipedia biography).
Did Paul McCartney work with Roy Kinnear?
Kinnear appeared in Help! (1965) as Algernon (Wikipedia biography). A search snippet reports that McCartney briefly coaxed him back to work, but no project or date is confirmed.
Is Roy Kinnear’s son also an actor?
Yes. Rory Kinnear was born on 17 February 1978 in Hammersmith, London (Wikipedia entry on Rory Kinnear).
Who did Roy Kinnear play in Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo?
He played Quincey in the 1977 film (Wikipedia biography).
In what year did Roy Kinnear die?
He died in 1988, on 20 September in Madrid, one day after a fall on 19 September while filming (Wikipedia biography).
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Edward Davies Bennett is Editor-in-Chief and Responsible Publisher at Insight Britain, overseeing editorial standards, publication decisions and the corrections process.