A beloved Emmerdale actor and comedian tragically passed away virtually penniless in a council flat, despite a remarkable career on screen. Max Wall was perhaps best known for his contributions to comedy, television and film, having appeared in everything from Waiting for Godot to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang throughout his storied career. He also featured in both Emmerdale, playing Arthur Braithwaite in 1978, and Coronation Street, as Harry Payne that same year.
Yet life was far from plain sailing for the actor. Born in 1908, he narrowly cheated death during a First World War air raid in 1916, when he and his elder brother Alex were spared from an explosion by sheltering beneath a cast-iron bed frame. Tragically, his younger brother and aunt were both killed in a blast dropped from a German Zeppelin, which obliterated the family home.
The actor later served in the Royal Air Force for three years during the Second World War before marrying dancer Marion Pola. The pair had five children together.
However, an affair tore them apart, and they divorced. Max subsequently married Miss Great Britain Jennifer Chimes, but they too parted ways after he began to struggle with mental health difficulties.
Despite continuing to act well into the 1980s, including a role in the BBC historical miniseries Little Dorrit, by 1990 his fortunes had taken a downturn. In his final years, Max resided in a rented room in South East London.
He died in May 1990 after a fall in which he fractured his skull. Max was rushed to Westminster Hospital, he died in the early hours of the following morning, aged 82.
At the time of his passing, The Herald noted that Max had gone from being "married [two] times, [owning] two mansions and [having] played golf with King Edward VIII" to dying "almost a recluse, living in a modest one-bedroom council flat in South London."
His agent, Joan Pritchard, commented at the time: "His eyesight was rather poor lately. No one actually saw what occurred, but apparently, he took a very unfortunate tumble down the stairs. His son Meredith was with him when he died."
