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Patrick Murray, who has died at the age of 68, gained fame for his performance as Mickey Pearce, the trilby-wearing chancer who enters a short-lived partnership with his old schoolfriend Rodney Trotter in the iconic British sitcom Only Fools and Horses.

First Episode

He first appeared in season three in a 1983 episode titled Healthy Competition, where Rodney's goal to move beyond being just a lookout for his older brother was quickly dashed when Mickey cheated him. The brothers joined forces again, and Mickey stayed a regular presence until the programme's final Christmas special in 2003.

Character Background

Mickey Pearce was alluded to several times following the program's launch in 1981, including in stories where he snatched Rodney's girlfriend, but did not initially appear. As the writer sought to enlarge the secondary roles, Ray Butt recalled Murray's appearance in an advertisement, in which he failed to pick up two women, and suggested him for the part. He auditioned on a Friday and started filming just three days later.

Mickey was conceived as a less savvy Del Boy, more naive but, similar to Del, usually having his money-making schemes go wrong. 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 thump him for it.” The spiv consistently mocks Rodney about his romantic failures while lying about his dating successes and hopping from job to job.

Production Stories

One 1989 storyline was hastily altered due to a mishap in which the actor stumbled over his dog at home and broke a glass pane, injuring a tendon in his right arm and losing five pints of blood. As his arm was in a plaster cast, John Sullivan adjusted the following episode to explain Mickey being roughed up by neighborhood thugs.

Later Career and Life

The show's conclusion was screened in 1991, but Murray was among the cast members who returned for Christmas specials for another 12 years – and continued to be loved at fan conventions.

Patrick Murray entered the world in south London's Greenwich, with a mother named Juana, a dancer, and Patrick Sr., a London Transport inspector. He went to St Thomas the Apostle college in Nunhead. When he was 15, he saw an advertisement for an acting agency in the Daily Mirror and within a week was given a part in a stage play. He promptly secured television roles, starting in 1973, aged 16, in Places Where They Sing, a BBC play inspired by a novel about campus protests. Shortly after, he had a leading role in the youthful adventure show The Terracotta Horse, shot in Spain and Morocco.

He performed in a television drama Hanging Around (1978), depicting rebellious young people, and the feature The Class of Miss MacMichael (1978), featuring Glenda Jackson as a dedicated educator, prior to his major role arrived.

For Scum, a production depicting the harsh youth detention system, he was cast as Dougan, a friendly detainee whose skill with numbers meant he was trusted to manage funds secretly introduced by visitors, which he collected on his trolley route. He even managed to reduce the “daddy’s” percentage when the character Carlin took over that position.

The drama, created for television in 1977, was banned by the BBC for its brutal content, yet it was later shown in 1991. In the interim, the filmmaker turned it into a movie in 1979, with Murray as one of six from the initial cast playing their characters again.

He then had small parts in the films Quadrophenia (1979) and Breaking Glass (1980), and played a bellboy in Curse of the Pink Panther (1983).

His popularity from the sitcom brought him a string of guest appearances in the 80s and 90s in programs such as Dempsey and Makepeace, Lovejoy, The Return of Shelley and The Upper Hand. He appeared in two roles in The Bill.

However, his life spiralled downhill after he became a Kent pub manager in 1998, overindulging in alcohol and later getting support from AA. He relocated to Thailand, where he tied the knot with Anong in 2016. Not long after, he came back to the UK and worked as a cab driver. He briefly returned to acting in 2019 as a cockney gangster Frank Bridges in the show Conditions, yet to air.

Health Struggles

He received a diagnosis with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in 2018 and, three years later, lung cancer and a tumour on his liver. Despite being cleared in 2022 post-treatment, it recurred soon after.

Family and Relationships

During 1981, he got married to Shelley Wilkinson; the marriage ended in divorce. His survivors include Anong, daughter Josie, Josie, and three sons from his first marriage, Lee, Ricky and Robert, plus sisters and brothers.