Murray Melvin

Murray Melvin (b. 1932) is a British character actor who played the chief executioner in the Creature Shop-effects TV movie Alice in Wonderland.

Melvin's early film and television career was highlighted by the 1961 film A Taste of Honey, where he played a sympathetic homosexual, and earned a Best Actor award from the Cannes Film Festival. He also became a favorite player of director Ken Russell, who he had worked with in television, with eccentric supporting turns in The Devils, The Boy Friend, and LisztoMania (as composer Hector Berlioz). Other films included The Criminal, Alfie (with Michael Caine), The Fixer, Start the Revolution Without Me (with Gene Wilder), Barry Lyndon (as Rev. Runt), and Little Dorrit. TV included appearances on The Avengers and Out of the Unknown.

Melvin's recent credits include a regular stint as a holographic first mate on the syndicated sci-fi series Star Hunter the 2004 film version of The Phantom of the Opera, and two appearances as the villainous Bilis Manger on the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood.