[I took the liberty of lifting this from Facebook]
A short tribute from Roger Hall to Grant.
Grant provided a lifetime of so many wonderful performances. I will restrict myself to the roles he played in four of my plays. His Colin in "Middle Age Spread" was hilarious and very moving. Colin was intense, concerned, conscientious, vulnerable - Grant conveyed them all - and did it all again for the movie version. Years later, he created a superb "Dickie Hart" on his travels to South Africa as an All Black supporter. Dickie was a naive dairy farmer experiencing OE for the first time, who loved his cows, good jokes and, above all, the All Blacks. Grant portrayed the bewildered hurt when the AB's were robbed of victory in Johannesburg, his eyes brimming with tears at the injustice of it all.
And then, in "You Gotta Be Joking", Dickie adjusting to life in the city. Then, Colin once more in "Spreading Out". Pompus, slightly self-satisfied, coping with a prodigal son and (in his eyes) an irritating wife. Grant conveyed it all and then with Ray, playing Reg, joining together in the small hours when we so often contemplate both our pasts and our dwindling futures. The two of them played the scene so well it moved one to tears.
(How very disappointing that neither of them were nominated for Chapman Tripp awards for their performances).
In our home there is a permanent reminder of Grant: one of his fabulous boxes commissioned by Dianne for my 60th. It's individual, quirky, colourful; with doors that open to reveal big spaces, and a few tiny secret compartments - in short, a bit like Grant himself.
Roger Hall.
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