Terry Duggan 

(15 April 1932 – 1 May 2008)

🎭 Terry Duggan – Biography

Terry Duggan (15 April 1932 – 1 May 2008) was an English comedian and character actor, best remembered by fans of British sitcoms for his appearances in On the Buses, where he played several different characters, including the recurring mechanic Nobby.

👶 Early life

• Born: 15 April 1932 📅
• Birthplace: Hoxton, London, England 🇬🇧
• Birth name: Terence A. Duggan
• Profession: Actor, comedian and performer 🎭
• Active: From the 1960s until around 2000

Duggan had been interested in performing from childhood. He also learned acrobatics, which helped him obtain work connected with film and stunt performance.

😂 Comedy career

Duggan developed a career in cabaret, variety and comedy, becoming particularly associated with comedy sketches in which he portrayed an inebriated or drunken character. His style followed a tradition of British comedy associated with performers such as Freddie Frinton and Jimmy James. 🍺😂

He was also a member of the entertainers' charity Grand Order of Water Rats, an organisation with a long history among British variety performers. 🎩🎭

🚌 Terry Duggan and On the Buses

Duggan became particularly familiar to television audiences through On the Buses, the hugely popular ITV sitcom created by Ronald Chesney and Ronald Wolfe.

Interestingly, Duggan didn't play just one character in the series. He appeared as several different people:

📺 Series 🎭 Character 📅 Episode

Series 1 Irate Passenger Olive Takes a Trip (1969)

Series 3 Shopkeeper The Cistern (1970)

Series 4 The Passenger The Anniversary (1971)

Series 5 The Taxi Driver The Inspector's Pets (1971)

Series 6 The Painter Stan's Worst Day (1972)

These appearances are documented by British Comedy Guide and TV databases.

🔧 Nobby the mechanic

Duggan's most memorable On the Buses role was Nobby, a mechanic at the bus depot. Nobby was involved with Stan Butler and Jack Harper and was another of the depot workers caught up in their schemes and mishaps. 🚌🔧

Duggan also played Nobby in the 1971 On the Buses film, giving him an opportunity to reprise the character on the big screen.

There is an interesting piece of trivia here: Nobby was also played by Norman Mitchell in the television series, with Duggan taking the role in the film.

🎬 Film career

Duggan also appeared in a number of British films, including:

• 🎥 Poor Cow (1967)
• 🎥 The Mini-Affair (1967)
• 🎥 Touch of Leather (1968)
• 🎥 The Nine Ages of Nakedness (1969)
• 🎥 Clegg (1970)
• 🎥 Performance (1970)
• 🎥 The Horror of Frankenstein (1970)
• 🚌 On the Buses (1971) – Nobby
• 🎥 Family Life (1971)
• 🎥 Schizo (1976)
• 🎥 What's Up Nurse! (1977)
• 🎥 Murder by Decree (1979)
• 🎥 Riff-Raff (1991)
• 🎥 Beautiful Thing (1996)
• 🎥 Weak at Denise (1999)

📺 Other television work

Beyond On the Buses, Duggan was a familiar face in British television.

His credits included appearances in:

• 📺 Doctor Who
• 📺 Please Sir!
• 📺 Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
• 📺 The Fenn Street Gang
• 📺 Sykes
• 📺 Dixon of Dock Green
• 📺 Yus, My Dear
• 📺 Are You Being Served?
• 📺 Only Fools and Horses
• 📺 The Bill

His Only Fools and Horses appearance came in "Ashes to Ashes" (1982), where he played a lorry driver. He also appeared in Are You Being Served? in 1977.

❤️ Marriage to Anna Karen

One of the most interesting parts of Duggan's career was his connection with fellow On the Buses performer Anna Karen.

The couple married in 1967. Karen played Olive Rudge, Stan Butler's sister, in On the Buses. Duggan subsequently appeared alongside her several times in the programme.

Their professional partnership extended beyond television, with the two also working together in pantomime and stage entertainment.

🕯️ Later years and death

Terry Duggan continued appearing in television and film into the late 1990s and around the turn of the millennium.

He died in London on 1 May 2008, aged 76, following a long illness.

⭐ Terry Duggan's legacy

Although he was rarely the headline star, Duggan was exactly the sort of versatile British character actor and comedian who helped make television comedy of the 1960s–1990s so distinctive.

For On the Buses fans, his legacy is particularly memorable because he:

🚌 Played Nobby the mechanic in the 1971 film

🔧 Appeared in several different roles in the television series

😂 Worked as a variety and cabaret comedian

🎭 Had a substantial character-acting career

❤️ Was married to Anna Karen (Olive Rudge)

🎬 Worked in both film and television for more than three decades

In short: Terry Duggan may not have been one of the main stars of On the Buses, but his repeated appearances and his role as Nobby made him a familiar and much-loved part of the show's world.

A young Terry Duggan with his Nephew Derek Lyons.

ACTOR DEREK LYONS

Derek Lyons followed in his Uncle Terry's footsteps as an Actor and Entertainer along with the help of Derek's close friend the Actor Sir Nigel Hawthorne . Both have Inspired him to become an Actor and work in the entertainment buisness for over 35 years.

He worked with his Uncle on 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' TV film. Terry played the Executioner and Derek was one of the Villagers

Many years later when Derek had regular part on 'THE BILL' as PC Craig Lovell Terry appeared in one episode.

Derek would phone him from time to time through the 1960's till 1980's at his home which he shared with his wife Anna in Ilford Essex. 

Terry was Derek's Godfather and Uncle . He saved Derek's life on the day these photos were taken when little Derek ran towards the edge of the cliff and Terry caught him in time!

 Little Derek with his Uncle Terry near the cliffs in Dover.

Derek has appeared in numerous films over the years including Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Krull. 

This coming November 2015 Derek is featured in the film documentary 'ELSTREE 1976' which hits the silver screen around the world.

This film is part of the BFI London Film Festival 2015. 

Derek and 9 other Actors including Garrick Hagon, Dave Prowse are starring in this film.