Robert Kerr "Ricky" Fulton was born on April 15, 1924. Ricky was a Scottish comedian and actor. The artist's most famous show aired on BBC Scotland was called "Scotch and Wry". Fulton and Jack Milroy conquered the hearts of viewers with their humor and acting skills.
Biography
Robert Kerr "Ricky" Fulton was the youngest of three brothers. His family was non-theatrical, living in Dennistun, Glasgow. Fulton was born when his mother was already 40 years old. After giving birth, she was diagnosed with postpartum depression. This influenced Ricky, and he was rather lonely. At that time, reading became his habit, he began to devour books insatiably. Ricky's father was a locksmith, but soon he decides to change his profession, buy a newsstand and a stationery store. The family had to leave home and move to Riddry, a neighboring area of Glasgow. It was there that he graduated from elementary school, but after secondary education he returned to his place of birth, enters Whitehill School.
In 1939, he graduates from high school and decides that the path of acting is what he needs. After attending the play, backstage at the Glasgow Pavilion Theater, Ricky decides that this is where he would like to spend his life. In 1941, when Fulton was 17, he joined the Royal Navy, then the HMS Ibis, but crashed in the Gulf of Algiers in November. Ricky spent five hours in the water, but he was rescued. In 1945, the future actor leaves the navy.
Becoming an actor. First performances
First, Fulton tries himself as an actor-director, appears in the theater and on BBC radio. In 1947 he took part in The Gowrie Conspiracy. He helped his father and brothers in the clerical business, but soon the bank took away the rest of the money from them, and Fulton decided to go headlong into an acting career.
In 1950, Ricky moved to London and was already trying his hand at the musical field as the composer of The Show Band Show. Even Frank Sinatra works with him. In 1956, at the Alhambra Theater in Glasgow, with Jimmy Logan and Kenneth McKellar, Fulton performs in pantomime. Next comes the performance "Five Past Eight" with Stanley Baxter and Faye Lenore.
In 1960, he directed the new Scottish pantomime "Jamie's Wish" with Kenneth McKellar and Faye Lenore. The premiere also took place at the Alhambra Theater in Glasgow, and the production itself has been running for three years.
During this time, Fulton manages to conquer Edinburgh and Aberdeen. In Edinburgh, he meets Jack Milroy at the Royal Theater. Later they create their most famous show - "Francie and Josie". In 1962, Ricky offers the local television series The Adventures of Francie and Josie, the channel gives the go-ahead. In 1970 and 1989, the actor was called "Light Entertainers of the Year".
In 1977, Ricky became the producer of the BBC show "Scotched Earth". Fulton does not leave the theater. In the famous TV series "Scotch and Fry", the actor plays the Reverend IM. Jolly, a depressed minister prone to awkward conversations. The series ran for 15 years. In 1982, the film "Gorky Park" was released with Fulton in the title role, where he plays a KGB officer. "Cruel Eyes" became the road to this role, according to director Michael Apted. Later he staged a play by the French playwright Molière - "Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme". Filmed for BBC Scotland, in parallel in other series and television programs. In 1992, Fulton received the Order of the British Empire and later the BAFTA Scotland Lifetime Achievement. In A Tale of Couples, Fulton stars as Dan McPhail, an engineer. In 1994, Ricky becomes an Honorary Fellow of the Arts at Abertay University, Dundee. In 1995 he became an honorary member of the University of Strathclyde, and in 2000 - the University of St Andrews. In 1996, the duet of Fulton and Milroy performed Final Farewell at the Royal Theater in Glasgow. In 2001, unfortunately, Milroy dies, at that time he was already 85 years old.
In 1999, Ricky's last appearance on television took place: New Year's Eve, the Comedy "Merry Life", the actor's monologue "The Last Call", the role of Reverend IM. Jolly. So Fulton said goodbye to television and later wrote his autobiography.
Family and personal life of Ricky Fulton
The first wife of the artist was the actress Ethel Scott, who played with him on stage in 1960. At that time, Fulton meets Audrey Matheson Craig-Brown (known as Keith Matheson), an actress who was 13 years his junior. She saw Ricky perform in Noel Coward's Hay Fever, and the performance amazed her. And only after 17 years they will meet in person, after only one day spent together, Fulton will propose to her. They got married in 1969. In 1976, Matheson became pregnant but unfortunately lost her baby.
Actor's order of life
In 1998, Fulton began showing symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. In 2001, he returns home and tells his wife that he cannot remember lines from one performance. In 2002, he was diagnosed, the actor became very dependent on his wife, and soon he moved to a nursing home on Quayside. In 2003, he breaks his hip, goes to the West Infirmary, and then to the Royal Gartnawell Hospital for examination. In 2004, at the age of 79, Ricky died peacefully. Both Ricky and wife Keith were active supporters of the Scottish SPCA, which received a financial donation following Fulton's funeral. The Scottish SPCA inspector represented the animal welfare organization. Keith Matheson is writing a book about their relationship with Fulton, Ricky and Me.
BBC's John McCormick admitted that Fulton was a television legend at the time.
