Tony Jay

Within three months of relocating to South Africa at the age of 33,[8][10] Jay found himself acting in radio dramas such as the detective series Sounds of Darkness where he played a savvy but blind FBI agent (1967–1972). The experience led him to decide to take acting up professionally.[9][3][8]

Jay acted, wrote, and directed radio plays on the South African Broadcasting Corporation's first commercial radio station, Springbok Radio (1950–85). He was especially associated with the comic series Taxi! (1969–1972,1975–1978), in which he not only portrayed New York cabby Red Kowalski, but also co-wrote many scripts with Joe Stewardson. Other shows in which he was involved included Lux Radio Theatre, Playhouse 90, and Tuesday Theatre.[11] Jay adapted, cast, and directed the first 6 months of episodes for The Avengers. The series, based on Seasons 4–6 of the 1960s British television series of the same name,[12] was broadcast on Springbok from 6 December 1971 to 28 December 1973.[13] To bridge the gap between the visual orientation of the British television series and the sound-only perspective of radio, Jay created a narrator which he embued with irony and scepticism.[14]

Jay's voice work led him to do commercials for companies such as Gunston Cigarettes, Barclays Bank, and Bols Brandy.[11]

After Jay's return to England in 1973[9] he worked in various television productions.[12] For the BBC series Fall of Eagles (1974) he portrayed Tsar Alexander III of Russia, during which time he met Patrick Stewart, who played Vladimir Lenin.[7][9] Jay appeared as the merchant in Shakespeare's Timon of Athens (1981) for BBC Shakespeare, and in single episodes of popular television programmes such as The Sweeney (1975), The Professionals (1978) and the comedy Whoops Apocalypse (1982).[7]

During this period he was cast as Vladimir Maximovitch in Woody Allen's Love and Death (1975), which was shot in Hungary and France.[7] George Lucas met with Jay about playing Obi-Wan Kenobi in a planned film with the working title Galactic Warfare. Despite Jay agreeing to the role, Lucas decided to cast Alec Guinness, instead.[9]

On stage he had small roles in plays such as Anton Chekhov's The Three Sisters (1976) and Terence Rattigan's[15][16] The Deep Blue Sea (1981).[17][18] More important roles followed with an appearance as Jaggers in Great Expectations (1984) at the Old Vic,[19] and as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice.[3][7]

Jay was cast as Vincent Crummles in the Royal Shakespeare Company's ​8 ¹⁄₂-hour-long production of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (1986) at Stratford-upon-Avon.[20]

After a tour of England, Nicholas Nickleby embarked on a limited tour of the United States, starting with performances in Los Angeles in June 1986, then on to Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and New York City.[21] "Even before I left England, I told friends I'd be staying if I got the chance," he recalled in a 1986 The New York Times interview.[8]

During its run from August to October 1986 at the Broadhurst Theatre on Broadway, Jay's performance was described as "brilliantly played" by the New York Times.[22][23] Consequently, he was nominated for the 1987 Drama Desk Award as Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play.[24]

Jay's acting drew the attention of an agent who arranged for him to return from England to the United States for an audition. Jay was cast in a pilot program called Circus which was unsuccessful. On set Jay met make-up artist Kathy Rogers, who would become his second wife. He moved to the United States where he became a resident.[25]

In addition, Jay won parts in television series such as Night Court (1991), The Golden Girls (1987), Twins (1988), and Eerie, Indiana (1991). Bigger roles included Paracelsus on the 1987 CBS TV series adaptation of Beauty and the Beast; Minister Campio on Star Trek: The Next Generation (1992); and Lex Luthor's villainous aide-de-camp Nigel St. John in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1992–95).[7]

Jay's voice-over work included Monsieur D'Arque, the amoral asylum superintendent, in Disney's 1991 hit animated film version of Beauty and the Beast. From 1994 to 2001 he supplied the voice for the virus Megabyte in the computer animated television show ReBoot. According to one source,[26] Jay was preferred to Patrick Stewart, Derek Jacobi, Ian McKellen for the voice of Judge Claude Frollo in Disney's 1996 animated film adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, who had also steered his performance in the film version of Beauty and the Beast. Jay reprised Frollo's voice for Walt Disney World's nighttime light and fireworks show Fantasmic! From 1995 to 1996 Jay was the voice of the alien warlord Lord Dregg, the villain during the last two seasons of the original 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated TV series.

He is also well-known among fans of the 1996–2003 video game series Legacy of Kain for his voicing of the original Mortanius and of the Elder God, alongside several other minor characters.[27]

In various animated projects Jay took over the voice of Shere Khan, which actor George Sanders had originated for the 1967 Disney animated film The Jungle Book. In 11 episodes spanning 1990–91, Jay voiced Shere Khan for Disney's animated TV series TaleSpin,[27] The Jungle Book: Rhythm and Groove videogame (2000), and the House of Mouse (2001–02). His final appearance as Khan came in the 2003 film The Jungle Book 2. His final role was voicing Spiderus in the Miss Spider series.

Jay was a devotee of classic Broadway and made several recordings and performances of old-time Broadway lyrics, in spoken-word form. A CD of these readings, Speaking of Broadway, was released in 2005;[27] a version recorded in 1996 was entitled Poets on Broadway, as was his website. On it Jay recites lyrics written by the likes of Noël Coward, Ira Gershwin, and Oscar Hammerstein, accompanied by synthesized music which he composed.[28]

Audiobooks:

• 2005: Time’s Fool: A Mystery of Shakespeare by Leonard Tourney. Reader. Blackstone Audio.
• 2006: The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole. Reader. Blackstone Audio.

Audio plays:

• 1998: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, winner of the Independent Publishers Award. Blackstone Audio. Cast member.

Radio serials:

• 1967–1976: The Sound of Darkness. Writer, Actor (voice).
• 1968–1972: Squad Cars. Actor, Announcer (voice).
• 1969–1972: Taxi! Writer. Red Kowalski (voice).
• 1971–1972: The Avengers. Announcer (voice), writer, Director.

Media

• Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero.
• The Dark Crystal.
• London Broadcasting Company – voice-overs for the station's main jingle packages between 1974 and 1980.[32]

Food

• Golden Grahams Treats (General Mills snack bar).

Toys

• The Empire Strikes Back (Kenner Products toys).
• Disney's Hercules.
• ReBoot (Irwin Toy).
• Return of the Jedi (Kenner Products toys).

Video Games

• Dr. Mario.
• Kirby's Dream Land 2.
• Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
• X-Men 2: Clone Wars.