Horror Extreme Movie Catalog

'Michael Ripper' (January 27 1913 – June 28 2000) was an English character actor born in Portsmouth. He began his film career in quota quickies in the 1930s and until the late 1950s was virtually unknown. Ripper became a mainstay in Hammer Film Productions beginning with X the Unknown in 1956. He subsequently played a variety of coachmen, peasants, tavern keepers, pirates and sidekicks in such films as The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958), The Mummy (1959), Brides of Dracula (1960), Camp on Blood Island (1965), Captain Clegg (1962), The Scarlet Blade (1963), The Mummy's Shroud (1967), and Plague of the Zombies (1966). Occasionally he was disguised almost beyond recognition, yet his high-pitched, raspy voice remained unmistakable. Some of his parts were little better than glorified bits (as in Curse of the Mummy's Tomb), but his last role for Hammer Films was a decent-sized supporting part as a landlord in Scars of Dracula in 1970. Although the Hammer horrors tend to be associated with stars such as Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, it is Ripper who holds the honour of having more Hammer film appearances than any other actor. He is also well remembered for his role as the liftman in three of the St. Trinian's comedies, and on television for his role as Thomas the chauffeur in the BBC comedy Butterflies and as Burke, one of the two criminals in the youth television series Freewheelers (1968 - 1971). Ripper was divorced from actress Catherine Finn.