Well, this is all very jolly. A packed Pavilion Theatre to see one of the nation's warmly respected comic actors. And a fine evening it was, so it was.
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| The images from Gregor's life and career scrolled across the screen in both directions. |
Gregor is adopted, grew up in a working-class family in Neilston and met his wife at RSAMD.
He had a heart attack and collapsed while living in France. He came round to see that he was surrounded by French firemen and thought he was done for; that his wife had phoned the wrong emergency service.
He first met Rikki Fulton at Dundee and does an excellent impression of the man with whom he worked on numerous occasions.
He took the part of Grandpa Potts in the West End version of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang because he had a massive tax bill. He didn't enjoy the trudge of eight shows a week.
His Cowardly Lion costume in The Wizard of Oz couldn't be washed, so to mask the smell, the costume department used to spray it with Febreze.
While not exactly starstruck by Richard Burton himself, he did acknowledge how others reacted to him: the cast and crew applauded him the moment he appeared on set during the filming of 1984.
Al Pacino is a great actor, but he does live in Pacino-world.
Gregor was amazed by the power of social media when, during the filming of Whiskey Galore! Eddie Izzard sold out a show in Banff in less than twenty minutes. In Banff!
He knew that Rab C Nesbitt was class, the moment he read the script. Such funny, truthful and poetic writing. Alan Yentob fought hard to keep it on the air when others thought it was too regional.
The seventy-two-year-old Gregor would tell his twenty-year-old self to be more fearless with his career. He regrets turning down many offers, thinking "It's not for me", such as the RSC.
Spoilers: The next series of Only Child features a scene in which Ken (Gregor) is discovered in a coffin in his living room. Hopefully, not in the last episode.
Nigel West provided excellent questions to keep the evening on track, wording them differently on occasion from other nights on the tour to keep Gregor on his toes, a detail Gregor was not slow to challenge. The relationship remained warm.
At the end of the evening, Gregor received a standing ovation from his home crowd.
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Selected Preshow music:
Love Is All Around by Wet Wet Wet
Rhythm of My Heart by Runrig
Real Gone Kid by Deacon Blue
Walking On The Waves by Skipinnish
Tinseltown in the Rain by The Blue Nile
Interval music:
Why Does It Always Rain On Me by Travis
Stuck in the Middle With You by Stealers Wheel
Life With You by The Proclaimers
Roll To Me by Del Amitri
Take Her In Your Arms by Trail West
Far Side of the World by Tide Lines
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