Remembering Actor Patrick Murray: The Actor Who Portrayed Mickey Pearce in Only Fools and Horses

Patrick Murray, who died aged 68, gained fame for his portrayal as Mickey Pearce, the spiv with a trilby hat who teams up briefly with his former schoolmate Rodney Trotter in the classic television comedy Only Fools and Horses.

Early Introduction

He first appeared in the third series in the 1983 installment called Healthy Competition, during which Rodney's desire to advance from serving as a lookout for his brother was quickly dashed when Mickey cheated him. The Trotter brothers joined forces again, and Mickey remained a recurring character until the final festive episode in 2003.

Origin of the Role

Mickey Pearce was alluded to on multiple occasions since the series started in 1981, like in episodes where he snatched Rodney's girlfriend, but hadn't been portrayed originally. Once the show's creator decided to broaden the supporting cast, the show's producer recalled Murray's role in a Pizza Hut ad, where he unsuccessfully chatted up two women, and recommended him for the part. Murray was auditioned on a Friday and started filming just three days later.

The character was envisioned as “Del Boy lite”, more naive but, in the same vein as Del, frequently experiencing his business ventures go wrong. Mickey dabbles in everything, but you can't depend on him,” the actor stated. “He’s always stitching Rodney up, and Del often threatens to clump him for it.” This character consistently mocks Rodney about his lack of girlfriends while exaggerating his supposed love life and hopping from job to job.

On-Set Incidents

A plot in 1989 was hastily altered following an incident in which the actor stumbled over his dog at home and smashed into a window, cutting a tendon in his right arm and suffering major blood loss. As his arm was in a plaster cast, the writer rewrote the next episode to incorporate Mickey being roughed up by local gangsters.

Post-Fame Journey

The sitcom’s final episode was broadcast in 1991, but he was one of the actors who returned for Christmas specials for another 12 years – and continued to be loved at fan conventions.

He was born in Greenwich in London, to Juana, a dancer, and Patrick Sr., a public transport inspector. He went to St Thomas the Apostle college in Nunhead. At 15 years old, he noticed a notice for an acting agency in the Daily Mirror and in just a week was given a part in a stage play. He promptly secured roles on TV, beginning in 1973, aged 16, in Places Where They Sing, a BBC play based on a novel about college demonstrations. This was soon followed, he starred in the kids' adventure series The Terracotta Horse, shot in Spain and Morocco.

He also had roles a short TV play Hanging Around (1978), depicting rebellious young people, and the feature The Class of Miss MacMichael (1978), starring Glenda Jackson as a passionate instructor, before his big break arrived.

For Scum, a play about the brutal borstal system, he portrayed Dougan, a kind-hearted prisoner whose head for figures allowed him to be trusted to manage funds secretly introduced by visitors, which he retrieved on his tea trolley round. He was able to lower the “daddy’s” percentage when Carlin (Ray Winstone) assumed that role.

The drama, made for Play for Today in 1977, was banned by the BBC for its graphic violence, but it finally aired in 1991. In the meantime, the director remade it as a feature film in 1979, with Murray among six from the first version returning to their parts.

Subsequently, he played 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 1980s and 90s in series such as Dempsey and Makepeace, Lovejoy, The Return of Shelley and The Upper Hand. He played two characters in The Bill.

But his life declined after he became a Kent pub manager in 1998, drinking too much 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 came back shortly to acting in 2019 as a London criminal playing Frank Bridges in the TV series Conditions, not yet broadcast.

Medical Challenges

He received a diagnosis with the lung disease COPD in 2018 and, three years later, cancer in his lungs and a growth on his liver. Although he was given the all-clear in 2022 post-treatment, it recurred shortly afterwards.

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 of his first marriage, Lee, Ricky and Robert, along with three sisters and brothers.