Mike Pratt

The Composer Who Didn't Want to Be a Star

Mike Pratt didn't fit the mold of the 1960s London dandy. He had an angular face and a weary gaze that hinted at a life beyond the spotlights of television studios. Before the public came to associate him with trench coats and strange cases, he devoted much of his energy to popular music.

In 1957 he co-wrote the song The Little White Bull with Lionel Bart for the film The Tommy Steele Story. That song earned him an Ivor Novello Award and established him as a leading songwriter in British pop of the era. But music was only one facet of a creator who needed the physical connection of performance.

Pratt was a street-smart guy who understood the rhythm of words.

He wrote dozens of songs for Tommy Steele and other artists while looking for his place in theater and on television. His training didn't come from elite academies; he preferred learning directly on provincial stages. In 1966 he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company to show that his range went far beyond the catchy tunes on the radio.

The Detective and the Ghost

The big breakthrough came in 1969 with the premiere of Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased). The premise was daring for television at the time, blending crime drama with the supernatural. Pratt played Jeff Randall, a struggling private detective who had to live alongside the ghost of his murdered partner.

The series filmed 26 episodes that were sold around the world under various titles, such as El detective fantasma in Spain. Pratt brought the necessary dose of realism and grit to a plot that might otherwise have seemed ridiculous. His Jeff Randall was a man who suffered and sweated while his partner floated around in an immaculate white suit.

And the gamble paid off.

After its international success, the series did not get a second season right away. Pratt didn't sit around waiting for the producers to call, and returned to the stage. He took part in prestigious productions and accepted supporting roles in series such as The Saint and The Avengers, where he always brought a restraint that casting directors valued highly.

The Discipline of the Royal Shakespeare Company

His time with the RSC in 1970 confirmed he was a character actor. He worked in plays such as The Two Gentlemen of Verona and showed he could handle verse as easily as the dialogue of a television thriller. He had no interest in cheap fame, because he preferred the respect of his fellow professionals.

In 1975, he joined the cast of The Brothers. This BBC series about a family transport company was a ratings phenomenon in the United Kingdom. Pratt played Don Stacey, a character that allowed him to explore darker, more dramatic shades over two full seasons.

It was his last major professional battle.

While filming the episodes of 1976, his health visibly began to decline. Pratt was a heavy smoker, and the pace of work in television studios did nothing to help his recovery. Colleagues later recalled that he never complained or asked for special treatment during the long shooting days.

In July 1976, lung cancer claimed his life at age 45 in a hospital in Midhurst. He left behind an unfinished score with the industry, which never gave him the leading role in film that his talent deserved. The production of The Brothers had to rewrite its scripts to explain the disappearance of his character in the seventh season.