BOB GRANT

1932-2003

Born: 14 April, 1932, in London

Died: 8 November, 2003, in Gloucestershire, aged 71.

🎭 Bob Grant Biography

👤 Quick Facts

• Full name: Robert St Clair Grant
• Born: 14 April 1932
• Birthplace: Hammersmith, West London, England 🇬🇧
• Died: 8 November 2003
• Age at death: 71
• Profession: Actor, comedian and writer 🎭
• Training: Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA)
• Years active: 1952–1998
• Most famous role: Jack Harper in On the Buses 🚌

👶 Early Life

Bob Grant was born in Hammersmith, London, to Albert George Grant and Florence Grant. He was educated at Aldenham School before training as an actor at RADA.

Before becoming famous, Grant had an unusually varied working life. He served in the Royal Artillery during his National Service and also worked at times as a frozen-food salesman and even as a bus driver—an interesting coincidence given the role that would eventually make him famous.

🎭 Theatre Career

Grant began his professional acting career in 1952, making his stage debut as Sydney in Worm's Eye View at the Court Royal in Horsham.

He subsequently worked extensively in repertory theatre around Britain. His first London appearance came in 1956, when he appeared with Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop in The Good Soldier Schweik at the Duke of York's Theatre.

During the 1960s he established himself as a successful West End performer. One of his major successes was Lionel Bart's musical Blitz!, in which he played Mr Locke for two years and more than 500 performances.

✍️ Writer and Performer

Grant wasn't only an actor. He also became a writer.

In 1964, he wrote the book and lyrics for the musical farce ** Instant Marriage **, with music by Laurie Holloway. He also worked on stage productions including Sparrers Can't Sing, Mrs Wilson's Diary, Houses By The Green and Pyjama Tops.

🚌 On the Buses — The Role That Made Him Famous

Grant's defining role arrived in 1969, when he was cast as Jack Harper, the cheeky bus conductor in the hugely popular sitcom On the Buses.

The series starred:

• 🚌 Reg Varney as Stan Butler
• 🎭 Bob Grant as Jack Harper
• 😠 Stephen Lewis as Inspector Blakey
• 👩 Doris Hare as Stan's mother
• 😠 Michael Robbins as Arthur Rudge
• 👩 Anna Karen as Olive Rudge

Jack Harper was portrayed as a cheeky, womanising bus conductor who frequently enjoyed teasing Inspector Blakey. Grant's comic timing and chemistry with Varney and Lewis became a major part of the show's appeal.

The television series ran from 1969 to 1973, and Grant appeared as Jack throughout the programme. The success also led to three cinema films:

🎬 On the Buses (1971)

🎬 Mutiny on the Buses (1972)

🎬 Holiday on the Buses (1973)

The programme became an international success, reportedly being sold to dozens of countries.

📺 Other Screen Work

Although On the Buses became his signature achievement, Grant had a substantial career outside it.

He appeared in productions including:

• 📺 Z-Cars
• 📺 Softly, Softly
• 📺 The Borderers
• 📺 Wogan
• 🎬 Sparrows Can't Sing
• 🎬 Till Death Us Do Part

He also appeared on stage and radio, demonstrating that his career extended well beyond the sitcom that made him famous.

💍 Personal Life

Grant married three times. His marriages included Jean Hyett, Christine Sally Kemp, and Kim Benwell, whom he married in 1971.

His 1971 wedding to Kim attracted enormous public attention because of his popularity following On the Buses. Reports describe hundreds of fans gathering around the wedding venue.

📉 Later Years

After the enormous popularity of On the Buses, Grant found it increasingly difficult to maintain the same level of professional success.

Despite his considerable theatrical and television experience, the work became less consistent. He experienced serious financial and personal difficulties during his later years.

His final years were marked by severe emotional distress and unsuccessful attempts to rebuild his career.

🕊️ Death

Bob Grant died on 8 November 2003, aged 71, in Twyning, Gloucestershire.

His death was ruled a suicide.

🏆 Legacy

Today, Bob Grant is remembered primarily as Jack Harper, the mischievous bus conductor from On the Buses. 🚌

The character became one of the recognisable figures of British sitcom television in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Grant's career, however, was considerably broader: he was a trained stage actor, West End performer, comedian, screen actor and writer who had already built a substantial theatrical career before On the Buses made him a household name.

⭐ Bob Grant in one sentence

Bob Grant (1932–2003) was an English actor, comedian and writer whose long stage career culminated in international fame as the cheeky bus conductor Jack Harper in the classic British sitcom On the Buses.

Bob Grants Wedding

At Bob Grants wedding in 1971 hundreds of fans turned out and roads around Caxton Hall become blocked. Beside the Rolls Royce at the wedding a Double Decker bus used in On The Buses was to be used to transport the guests to the reception. But such was the crowds that the wedding guests had to walk.

Before becoming a full-time actor, Grant worked as a frozen-food salesman and, interestingly, also worked as a bus driver—an experience that would later prove remarkably appropriate for On the Buses.

MERORIES OF WORKING WITH BOB GRANT

I've been reading David Barry's book on 'Please Sir' recently and noted that he speaks very highly of Bob Grant with whom he worked in Ray Cooney's play 'One for the Pot' in 1975.

"Not only was Bob well known as bus conductor Jack from On the Buses, he was an extremely

experienced comedy actor and farceur, and became a great hit in the theatre when he played foreign secretary George Brown in Mrs. Wilson's diary."

..."Bob Grant who was a joy to work with, a great comedy actor, his timing was brilliant and he invented loads of funny business essential for well paced farce."

..."I used to enjoy having a drink with Bob and his wife Kim. One night while sitting in a pub, I happened to ask him about his programme biography and his reference to working as a frozen food salesman. He laughed and told me it was a total disaster As he tried to sell frozen vegetables to grocers in Norfolk, they all laughed at him, waved towards the distant fields and said we got all the vegetables we need growing out there. But he eventually capitalized on this misfortune and wrote about it in a radio play which was accepted by the BBC."

Summing up, he adds. "I was much saddened to learn of Bob Grant's suicide in 2003..... I thought he was a highly underrated actor and his excellent performing talents became overlooked as he aged, leading to his deep depression." Thanks to Clive Laxton

A very sad interview when Bob Grant left his wife for a week.click here.

Bob Grant in Anyone For Denis The Palace Theatre 1980

Richmond Theatre POSTER 1983