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The actor Patrick Murray, who has died at the age of 68, became well-known for his portrayal as the character Mickey Pearce, the spiv with a trilby hat who enters a short-lived partnership with his old schoolfriend Rodney Trotter in the iconic British sitcom Only Fools and Horses.

Initial Appearance

He was introduced in the show's third season in the 1983 installment called Healthy Competition, in which Rodney's goal to escape his role as a lookout for Del Boy was quickly dashed when Mickey cheated him. The brothers were reunited, and Mickey continued as a fixture until the last holiday special in 2003.

Character Background

The character was alluded to on multiple occasions since the series started in 1981, such as in plots where Mickey stole Rodney's girlfriend, but wasn't seen on screen at first. Once the show's creator decided to broaden the supporting cast, 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. Murray was auditioned on a Friday and commenced his role a few days after.

The character was envisioned as “Del Boy lite”, more naive but, similar to Del, often seeing his business ventures fail. He's willing to attempt anything, but you can't depend on him,” the actor stated. He constantly deceives Rodney, and Del regularly warns to hit him for it.” Mickey frequently teases Rodney about his romantic failures while exaggerating his own romantic “conquests” and flitting between jobs.

Behind the Scenes

A plot in 1989 had to be rapidly revamped due to a mishap in which the actor stumbled over his dog at home and smashed into a window, injuring a tendon in his right arm and losing five pints of blood. With the actor’s arm in a plaster cast, John Sullivan rewrote the next episode to include Mickey being roughed up by area criminals.

Post-Fame Journey

The show's conclusion aired in 1991, but Murray joined the actors who participated in festive specials for a dozen more years – and continued to be loved at fan conventions.

Murray was born in Greenwich in London, to Juana, a dancer, and his father Patrick, a London Transport inspector. He went to St Thomas the Apostle college in Nunhead. When he was 15, he spotted an advert for a theatrical agency in the Daily Mirror and within a week had been cast in a stage play. He soon began television roles, debuting in 1973, aged 16, in Places Where They Sing, a BBC play adapted from a novel about student unrest. This was soon followed, he starred in the kids' adventure series The Terracotta Horse, shot in Spain and Morocco.

He appeared in a short TV play Hanging Around (1978), depicting rebellious young people, and the film The Class of Miss MacMichael (1978), with Glenda Jackson as a dedicated educator, before his big break arrived.

In Scum, a production depicting the harsh youth detention system, he was cast as Dougan, a good-natured inmate whose skill with numbers meant he was trusted to manage funds secretly introduced by visitors, that he gathered on his trolley route. He was able to lower the “daddy’s” percentage when Carlin (Ray Winstone) assumed that role.

The drama, produced for a TV series in 1977, the BBC banned it for its graphic violence, but it finally aired in 1991. Meanwhile, the filmmaker adapted it into a film in 1979, with Murray as one of six from the first version playing their characters again.

He then had minor roles in the films Quadrophenia (1979) and Breaking Glass (1980), and took the role of a bellboy in Curse of the Pink Panther (1983).

Fame in Only Fools and Horses earned him a string of guest appearances in the 1980s and 90s in series such as Dempsey and Makepeace, Lovejoy, The Return of Shelley and The Upper Hand. He played two parts in The Bill.

However, his life took a downturn after he became a Kent pub manager in 1998, overindulging in alcohol and eventually finding help from AA. He went to Thailand, where he tied the knot with Anong in 2016. Shortly afterwards, he returned to Britain and became a taxi driver. He briefly returned to acting in 2019 as a cockney gangster playing Frank Bridges in the TV series Conditions, not yet broadcast.

Medical Challenges

He received a diagnosis with COPD in 2018 and, a few years after, cancer in his lungs and a liver tumor. Despite being cleared in 2022 following surgery and chemotherapy, the illness came back shortly afterwards.

Private Affairs

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