Speaker Meeting

My Life as an Actor

            The Club welcomed actor and author Jim Whelan to entertain their meeting with the story of his life as an actor, including many anecdotes of famous thespians he has worked with over the years.

            He was born and brought up in Salford. His parents were always struggling to make ends meet and his mother had three jobs to feed and clothe the family. However, in his early teens he joined a local youth club and there was introduced to acting; a way to escape the harsh realities of his life. 

            Initially he joined the local amateur club in Salford and then progressed to the more prestigious one at Altringham where, after 6 or 7 years he was selected for a leading part. Now, his dream was to become a professional actor but you needed an ‘Equity Card’ to do that in the 1960s and there was a catch 22 situation, in that you couldn’t obtain one unless you were earning money by performing. So Jim learned to sing and started performing in pubs and working men’s clubs – this enabled him to give up his job as a car salesman and eventually to get an Equity Card and  become an ‘Extra’ . Eventually he progressed to being a small part player and character actor and getting parts in TV series such as Coronation Street and  the Royale Family and even appearing in films. He regaled us with some stories of actors he has played alongside and said that, even in retirement he continues to give talks on cruise ships and has written an autobiography.

            The club joined in thanking him for an interesting and inspirational tale of a fulfilling life which his hard work and determination has given him.

Jim Whelan - Actor and Public Speaker