Michael Elphick is a Actor British born on 19 september 1946 at Chichester (United-kingdom)
Michael Elphick
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Michael John Elphick (19 September 1946 – 7 September 2002) was an English actor known in the UK for his trademark croaky voice and his work on British television, particularly his roles as the eponymous private investigator in the ITV series Boon and later Harry Slater in BBC's EastEnders. He was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Gorky Park.
In his prime, Elphick always looked older than he was, and with his gruff Cockney accent and lip-curling sneer he often played menacing hard men.
Elphick struggled with a highly publicised addiction to alcohol; at the height of his problem he admitted to consuming two litres of spirits a day, which contributed towards his death from a heart attack in 2002. Biography
Elphick met his long-term partner, school teacher Julia Alexander, in 1963 and remained with her until her death from cancer in 1996. The couple had a daughter, Kate.
For many years Elphick struggled with alcoholism. He made the first of many attempts to stop drinking in 1988, after doctors warned him he could die within a year if he continued. At about this time he owned an interest in a public house, the 'White Swan' in Henley in Arden, Warwickshire. He sought help from Alcoholics Anonymous in the early 1990s, although he admitted he was still drinking in 1993. In 1996 he admitted that he had begun drinking heavily again and also contemplated suicide after the death of his partner of 33 years. However he rallied and returned to the stage in Loot. The actor also confessed to having taken cocaine and once, while high on drugs, grabbing a shotgun and chasing a gang of thugs after he had been carjacked near his villa in Portugal. Elphick was admitted to the Priory Clinic in Roehampton, in an attempt to beat his addictions. Reports of his alcohol abuse persisted, however, and during his brief spell on EastEnders during 2001 it was reported that the BBC was considering dropping his character if his drinking was not curtailed.
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