Early Life
Mark McManus was born on February 21, 1935, in Hamilton, Scotland. His family moved to Hillingdon, London, when he was three. At school he appeared in productions of Shakespearean tragedies like 'Macbeth' and 'Julius Caesar'.
In 1963 he emigrated to Australia. He worked as a docker and a timber porter, and spent time as a boxer, which left him with a broken nose that was later reshaped. He joined amateur theatre groups and a small touring company that put on condensed versions of Shakespeare.
Early Career & First Roles
McManus's professional acting career began in Australia in the 1960s. He appeared in episodes of the children's series 'Skippy the Bush Kangaroo' and the police drama 'Homicide'. He also played Will Gardiner, the lead in the Australian drama '2000 Weeks' (1969).
He went on to play Joe Byrne, right-hand man to Mick Jagger's Ned Kelly, in Tony Richardson's 'Ned Kelly' (1970).
Major Roles
McManus worked across British and Australian television, most often as men in authority. A handful of roles made his name.
Detective Chief Inspector Jim Taggart – 'Taggart' (1983-1994)
Mark McManus is remembered for Detective Chief Inspector Jim Taggart. The pilot, "Killer," aired in 1983 and pitched a Scottish police drama against the more genteel detective series of the era. McManus wore the raincoat and delivered the Glaswegian growl of "There's been a murder!" Taggart was a figure of authority with an unshakeable, if cynical, integrity.
His Taggart was no caricature of a hard-nosed cop. He played a man worn down by the cases he saw and driven by a sense of justice. There was dry, often gallows humor in the part, concern for his team, and vulnerability when a case touched on personal pain.
"Taggart" became a national institution, the longest-running continuous police drama in British television history at the time. McManus died suddenly in 1994. The show carried on and kept the character's name in the title, which says what he had built. He didn't just star in a show; he built its foundation.
Jack Lambie – 'Strangers' (1980-1982) & 'Bulman' (1985)
Before he became Taggart, McManus played Detective Chief Superintendent Jack Lambie in 'Strangers', a Granada series about an undercover mobile unit. It was a different kind of police work from the streets of Glasgow.
Lambie worked inside a more structured, bureaucratic system than Taggart did. McManus came back to the part as a guest in three episodes of 'Bulman' in 1985. 'Bulman' was not a spin-off built around Lambie.
Other Notable Work
In the BBC drama 'The Brothers' (1972-1976) he played Harry Carter, the lorry depot manager. He took the lead in the short-lived series 'Sam' (1973) as a gentle, recently widowed father raising his child alone. Both parts fed into the actor who took on 'Taggart' when it arrived.
Acting Style
McManus worked in a naturalistic style, with little theatrical flourish. His build, shaped by manual labor and boxing, lent credibility to the tough, authoritative roles he often played.
His real skill was in undercutting that toughness. He showed what was going on beneath a stern exterior with a weary glance, a flicker of compassion or a dry wit. He never played a simple "hard man." Instead he played principled, often burdened professionals who carried their strength as a shield for a sense of duty, and who were sometimes surprisingly sensitive.
Personal Life
McManus kept his personal life out of the public eye. He was married twice and had one daughter. In his later years his wife, his mother, his brother and two sisters all died within a short period. The losses took a heavy toll on him.
Alongside that grief he drank heavily, and his health declined. He died of pneumonia brought on by liver failure on June 6, 1994, in Glasgow, aged 59, at the height of his fame. After his death he was awarded the Lord Provost of Glasgow's Award for Performing Arts.
In closing...
McManus worked in Australian theatre and film before British television, and he is still known for the rain-coated figure of Jim Taggart. Taken as a whole his other roles show more range than that one part suggests.