My friend Desmond McNamara, who has died aged 84, after suffering from a prolonged lung infection, had a long and busy career as an actor, both on stage, with the Young Vic, National Theatre and RSC companies, and on screen, in TV and film.
Desmond was born in Hackney, east London, the younger son of Winifred (nee Hopcroft) and Arthur McNamara, a clerical officer for Customs & Excise. After national service with the RAF in Germany, Desmond became a printer, before deciding to train as an actor at Rada in 1966, where he was awarded the Bancroft gold medal as the best student of the term. His classmates there included Richard Beckinsale, Nicholas Clay, David Bradley and Robert Ashby, each of whom became his friends.
