{"id":4925673,"date":"2024-03-30T06:00:42","date_gmt":"2024-03-30T06:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/thecourier\/?post_type=fp&#038;p=4925673"},"modified":"2024-03-30T10:21:13","modified_gmt":"2024-03-30T10:21:13","slug":"dundee-actor-john-dair-porridge-batman-1989","status":"publish","type":"fp","link":"https:\/\/www.thecourier.co.uk\/fp\/past-times\/4925673\/dundee-actor-john-dair-porridge-batman-1989\/","title":{"rendered":"Dundee actor found Jack Nicholson&#8217;s Joker dead funny in Tim Burton&#8217;s 1989 Batman blockbuster"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"before-the-content-hook-1\" class=\"content-hook\"><\/div><p>Dundonian actor John Dair was probably laughing on the inside when he was killed by The Joker in Tim Burton&#8217;s Batman.<\/p>\n<p>After all, if you&#8217;re going to bite the bullet, being offed by one of cinema&#8217;s finest actors in a Hollywood blockbuster is surely the best way to go.<\/p>\n<p>The 1989 tentpole flick brought the Bat back to life and there would be numerous sequels and reboots.<\/p>\n<p>Dair would not be in them, of course, Jack Nicholson ensuring his character&#8217;s life of crime &#8211; and life &#8211; came to an end.<\/p>\n<p>The Scot would surely find more work, though, bearing in mind he was also an opera singer who could drive a bulldozer.<\/p>\n<h2>His life changed after move to London<\/h2>\n<p>Dair was born one of four children to Hugh and Margaret in 1933.<\/p>\n<p>He went to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecourier.co.uk\/fp\/past-times\/3921367\/st-johns-high-school-pictures\/\">St John&#8217;s High School<\/a> and did his National Service in the Royal Marines.<\/p>\n<p>Dair got married to Georgina at St Andrew&#8217;s Cathedral in Dundee in 1957 and the couple had four children together.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"embed embed--image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 620px;\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"embed--image__container\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-4926413 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/John-Dair-and-his-wife-Gina-on-their-wedding-day-in-Dundee..jpg_36530599-3gp28e04j-e1710931222863.jpg\" alt=\"John Dair and his wife Georgina cut the cake on the couple's wedding day. \" srcset=\"https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/John-Dair-and-his-wife-Gina-on-their-wedding-day-in-Dundee..jpg_36530599-3gp28e04j-e1710931222863.jpg 1428w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/John-Dair-and-his-wife-Gina-on-their-wedding-day-in-Dundee..jpg_36530599-3gp28e04j-e1710931222863-117x180.jpg 117w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/John-Dair-and-his-wife-Gina-on-their-wedding-day-in-Dundee..jpg_36530599-3gp28e04j-e1710931222863-366x564.jpg 366w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/John-Dair-and-his-wife-Gina-on-their-wedding-day-in-Dundee..jpg_36530599-3gp28e04j-e1710931222863-768x1183.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/John-Dair-and-his-wife-Gina-on-their-wedding-day-in-Dundee..jpg_36530599-3gp28e04j-e1710931222863-997x1536.jpg 997w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/John-Dair-and-his-wife-Gina-on-their-wedding-day-in-Dundee..jpg_36530599-3gp28e04j-e1710931222863-1329x2048.jpg 1329w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/John-Dair-and-his-wife-Gina-on-their-wedding-day-in-Dundee..jpg_36530599-3gp28e04j-e1710931222863-241x372.jpg 241w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/John-Dair-and-his-wife-Gina-on-their-wedding-day-in-Dundee..jpg_36530599-3gp28e04j-e1710931222863-55x84.jpg 55w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/John-Dair-and-his-wife-Gina-on-their-wedding-day-in-Dundee..jpg_36530599-3gp28e04j-e1710931222863-31x48.jpg 31w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/John-Dair-and-his-wife-Gina-on-their-wedding-day-in-Dundee..jpg_36530599-3gp28e04j-e1710931222863-748x1152.jpg 748w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1428px) 100vw, 1428px\" \/> <\/div>\n\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text caption\">John Dair and his wife Georgina on the couple&#8217;s wedding day. Image: Supplied.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t<\/figure>\n<p>He used to live at 146 Nethergate before moving to London and finding work driving bulldozers and mobile cranes on building sites.<\/p>\n<p>He always loved singing and would sing for the family at gatherings.<\/p>\n<p>In a London club he heard a professional singer and thought he could do better himself.<\/p>\n<p>He got the OK to go up on stage and sang Goodbye by Josef Locke from the White Horse Inn operetta.<\/p>\n<p>The bulldozer driver brought the house down.<\/p>\n<p>So much so that he started to get bookings at other clubs and concerts.<\/p>\n<p>At the age of 36 he decided to become a singer on a full-time basis.<\/p>\n<p>He became known down south as &#8220;the big man with the big voice&#8221;.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"embed embed--image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 620px;\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"embed--image__container\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-4926503 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/1.Yargo-DF-p1741fic.jpg\" alt=\"Dair, pictured in a newspaper clipping, made headlines in 1971. He is pictured in a suit with the caption reading: from bulldozer to baritone\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/1.Yargo-DF-p1741fic.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/1.Yargo-DF-p1741fic-131x180.jpg 131w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/1.Yargo-DF-p1741fic-410x564.jpg 410w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/1.Yargo-DF-p1741fic-768x1057.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/1.Yargo-DF-p1741fic-1116x1536.jpg 1116w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/1.Yargo-DF-p1741fic-270x372.jpg 270w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/1.Yargo-DF-p1741fic-61x84.jpg 61w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/1.Yargo-DF-p1741fic-35x48.jpg 35w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/1.Yargo-DF-p1741fic-837x1152.jpg 837w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1440px) 100vw, 1440px\" \/> <\/div>\n\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text caption\">John Dair made headlines in 1971 after becoming a singer. Image: DC Thomson.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t<\/figure>\n<p>He almost cashed in his chips during his first engagement of 1971, after being booked for a week&#8217;s cabaret at the Caledonian Hotel in Inverness.<\/p>\n<p>Dair was driving north through Perthshire when his car went over a roadside bank, turned over, and came to rest four feet from a telegraph pole.<\/p>\n<p>He walked away unscathed but had to return to relatives in Dundee.<\/p>\n<p>His week&#8217;s cabaret in Inverness started a day late.<\/p>\n<p>Dair weighed 22 stone and performed in a specially tailored \u00a330 lavender dinner jacket.<\/p>\n<h2>He was offered a role in Porridge in 1975<\/h2>\n<p>He started to get more contracts and BBC producer Cliff Castle came backstage to see him when he was topping the bill at the Lyceum Theatre in London.<\/p>\n<p>Dair was offered a part in Ronnie Barker&#8217;s much-loved BBC sitcom <a href=\"https:\/\/www.porridge.org.uk\/john-dair\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Porridge<\/a> and played Crusher, who was bodyguard to fearsome inmate Harry Grout.<\/p>\n<p>His first episode was The Harder They Fall in 1975.<\/p>\n<p>Dair also appeared in the final episode in 1977 and reprised his role in the Porridge feature film in 1979, though his name was changed to Samson.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"embed embed--image alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 620px;\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"embed--image__container\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-4926469 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/1.DF_goodbye_mr_mckenzie_a-1606vp6mk-649x564.jpg\" alt=\"&lt;yoastmark class=\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/1.DF_goodbye_mr_mckenzie_a-1606vp6mk-649x564.jpg 649w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/1.DF_goodbye_mr_mckenzie_a-1606vp6mk-207x180.jpg 207w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/1.DF_goodbye_mr_mckenzie_a-1606vp6mk-768x668.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/1.DF_goodbye_mr_mckenzie_a-1606vp6mk-428x372.jpg 428w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/1.DF_goodbye_mr_mckenzie_a-1606vp6mk-97x84.jpg 97w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/1.DF_goodbye_mr_mckenzie_a-1606vp6mk-55x48.jpg 55w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/1.DF_goodbye_mr_mckenzie_a-1606vp6mk-1325x1152.jpg 1325w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/1.DF_goodbye_mr_mckenzie_a-1606vp6mk.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/> <\/div>\n\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text caption\">Ronnie Barker and John Dair playing it for laughs. Image: Supplied.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t<\/figure>\n<p>Dair became one of those familiar TV faces and there were bit-part roles in Sykes, The Onedin Line and Last of the Summer Wine.<\/p>\n<p>He played Big John in Yellowbeard alongside Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Peter Cook, Marty Feldman and Spike Milligan in 1983.<\/p>\n<p>The movie sank straight to Davy Jones&#8217; locker at the box-office.<\/p>\n<p>He appeared in the music video for the Frankie Goes to Hollywood debut single, Relax, as a man dressed as a Roman emperor.<\/p>\n<p>Dair was also in the famous 1985 Levi&#8217;s advert with Nick Kamen.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Nick Kamen - Levi&#039;s 501 (comm.1984)\" width=\"620\" height=\"349\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zhkqGn91VAM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Think hard and you&#8217;ll remember him sitting next to a debagged Kamen when he stripped to his boxer shorts in a launderette to wash his jeans.<\/p>\n<p>The advert caused jeans sales to rocket by 800%.<\/p>\n<p>There was no ego or posturing from Dair when he became famous and he would drive his Reliant Robin up to Dundee to visit his family.<\/p>\n<p>He appeared in critically-acclaimed TV mini-series Jack the Ripper in 1988 beside Michael Caine and Jayne Seymour.<\/p>\n<h2>From Beadle&#8217;s About to Batman<\/h2>\n<p>Dair switched from the sublime to the ridiculous when he became Mr Golightly in Beadle&#8217;s About.<\/p>\n<p>The Golightly family became famous for going into shops and doing things like\u00a0flattening beds and stretching bridal dresses to breaking point.<\/p>\n<p>The secretly filmed stunts would be played on unsuspecting members of the public before the moment of revelation when Jeremy Beadle removed his disguise.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"embed embed--image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 620px;\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"embed--image__container\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-4926463 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/shutterstock_editorial_727032cn-1r26v3iol-e1710932444696.jpg\" alt=\"Jeremy Beadle, dressed as a police officer, was the king of pranksters in the 1980s and 1990s.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/shutterstock_editorial_727032cn-1r26v3iol-e1710932444696.jpg 1394w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/shutterstock_editorial_727032cn-1r26v3iol-e1710932444696-114x180.jpg 114w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/shutterstock_editorial_727032cn-1r26v3iol-e1710932444696-358x564.jpg 358w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/shutterstock_editorial_727032cn-1r26v3iol-e1710932444696-768x1209.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/shutterstock_editorial_727032cn-1r26v3iol-e1710932444696-975x1536.jpg 975w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/shutterstock_editorial_727032cn-1r26v3iol-e1710932444696-1301x2048.jpg 1301w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/shutterstock_editorial_727032cn-1r26v3iol-e1710932444696-236x372.jpg 236w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/shutterstock_editorial_727032cn-1r26v3iol-e1710932444696-53x84.jpg 53w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/shutterstock_editorial_727032cn-1r26v3iol-e1710932444696-30x48.jpg 30w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/shutterstock_editorial_727032cn-1r26v3iol-e1710932444696-732x1152.jpg 732w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1394px) 100vw, 1394px\" \/> <\/div>\n\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text caption\">Jeremy Beadle was the king of pranksters in the 1980s and 1990s. Image: Shutterstock.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t<\/figure>\n<p>The show was watched by a quarter of the population on Sundays.<\/p>\n<p>The Golightly family were eventually dropped after becoming too well-known.<\/p>\n<p>Did the role take Dair to Gotham City for the 1989 movie?<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;They are too famous now,&#8221; said Beadle.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The actors have done well.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;John Dair got a part in the Batman movie because of the programme.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"embed embed--image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 620px;\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"embed--image__container\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-4926417 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/shutterstock_editorial_390885x-hmqz0g4a-861x564.jpg\" alt=\"John Dair in a scene from the Batman movie in 1989 alongside Jack Nicholson. \" srcset=\"https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/shutterstock_editorial_390885x-hmqz0g4a-861x564.jpg 861w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/shutterstock_editorial_390885x-hmqz0g4a-275x180.jpg 275w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/shutterstock_editorial_390885x-hmqz0g4a-768x503.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/shutterstock_editorial_390885x-hmqz0g4a-568x372.jpg 568w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/shutterstock_editorial_390885x-hmqz0g4a-128x84.jpg 128w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/shutterstock_editorial_390885x-hmqz0g4a-73x48.jpg 73w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/shutterstock_editorial_390885x-hmqz0g4a.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/> <\/div>\n\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text caption\">John Dair in a scene from the Batman movie in 1989 alongside Jack Nicholson. Image: Shutterstock.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t<\/figure>\n<p>Gotham City, home of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/culture\/batman\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Dark Knight<\/a>, was built at Pinewood Studios where filming took three months.<\/p>\n<p>Dair played crime lord Vinnie Ricorso who challenged The Joker and met his end on the steps of City Hall.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I was the chief Mafioso and died an untimely death,&#8221; said Dair.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Jack Nicholson, who plays the Joker, stabbed me with a quill pen in the throat.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2>Dundee actor&#8217;s death scene immortalised in Lego<\/h2>\n<p>But he reckoned it was a thrilling experience to be stabbed in the neck by the megastar, who proclaimed &#8220;the pen is truly mightier than the sword&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Critics hailed it one of the movie&#8217;s best moments.<\/p>\n<p>Dair&#8217;s memorable death scene was immortalised in Lego in the 1989 Batman set.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Batman 1989-Joker With The Pen\" width=\"620\" height=\"349\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IEuB3bAgdjY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>A Lego figure of The Joker in his black and white checked suit was complete with the poisoned quill pen.<\/p>\n<p>Dair performed a one-man show in 1990 with tickets priced \u00a33.50 and \u00a32.50.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Dare a Night Out with John Dair&#8221; was the chance to &#8220;meet Mr Golightly of television&#8217;s Beadle&#8217;s About, Porridge and Batman in a programme of comedy and song&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>He appeared in London&#8217;s Burning, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecourier.co.uk\/fp\/past-times\/3492034\/auchtermuchty-dr-finlays-casebook\/\">Doctor Finlay<\/a>, The Bill and &#8217;90s TV drama Our Friends in the North.<\/p>\n<p>Dair played Charlie Dawson in the epic portrait of four Newcastle friends and worked with Christopher Eccleston, Gina McKee, Mark Strong and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecourier.co.uk\/fp\/past-times\/2505893\/ewan-stewart-james-bond\/\">Daniel Craig<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"embed embed--image aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 620px;\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"embed--image__container\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-4926416 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/John-Dair-and-Ted-Danson.jpg_36530614-219pefuxt-652x564.jpg\" alt=\"John Dair with Ted Danson on the set of Loch Ness. \" srcset=\"https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/John-Dair-and-Ted-Danson.jpg_36530614-219pefuxt-652x564.jpg 652w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/John-Dair-and-Ted-Danson.jpg_36530614-219pefuxt-208x180.jpg 208w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/John-Dair-and-Ted-Danson.jpg_36530614-219pefuxt-768x665.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/John-Dair-and-Ted-Danson.jpg_36530614-219pefuxt-430x372.jpg 430w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/John-Dair-and-Ted-Danson.jpg_36530614-219pefuxt-97x84.jpg 97w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/John-Dair-and-Ted-Danson.jpg_36530614-219pefuxt-55x48.jpg 55w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/John-Dair-and-Ted-Danson.jpg_36530614-219pefuxt-1331x1152.jpg 1331w, https:\/\/wpcluster.dctdigital.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/03\/John-Dair-and-Ted-Danson.jpg_36530614-219pefuxt.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/> <\/div>\n\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text caption\">John Dair with Ted Danson on the set of Loch Ness. Image: Supplied.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t<\/figure>\n<p>His final movie credits were Loch Ness with Ted Danson in 1996 and Captain Jack in 1999 alongside Bob Hoskins.<\/p>\n<p>Dair died in 2005 at the age of 72 after a two-year battle with lung cancer.<\/p>\n<p>But the talented Dundonian lives on through his work in film and television.<\/p>\n<p>The &#8220;big man with the big voice&#8221; was a big success.<\/p>\n<div id=\"after-the-content-hook-1\" class=\"content-hook\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bulldozer driver John Dair was &#8220;the big man with the big voice&#8221; who became a star of stage and 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