Larry Martyn made cheeky working men worth noticing through comic timing and physical confidence. Mr. Mash in Are You Being Served? is the clearest introduction; the supporting roles elsewhere give us less to judge.
Fi1m perspective
As Mr. Mash in Are You Being Served? (1972), Larry Martyn plays a maintenance man with little interest in deference. He is there to keep the department store working, and he does not treat politeness as part of the service. His timing and physical confidence make the cheekiness work. We rate him as a supporting comedian, although the habit of casting him as working men with a ready answer leaves some obvious limits on what we can judge.
Martyn entered film and television in the late 1950s, taking small dramatic and comic parts before Mr. Mash brought him a regular role. His background in circus and variety helps explain the physical side of his comedy, though Are You Being Served? needs personalities as much as slapstick. We warmed to it because Frank Thornton, John Inman and Mollie Sugden give the worn jokes enough character to keep us watching. Martyn contributes to that ensemble without being its principal attraction. A half-hour visit is still the sensible recommendation; some of the material has aged poorly.
His regular part as Brian Reid opposite Jimmy Jewel in Spring & Autumn (1972) took him away from Mr. Mash. Supporting and bit parts remained the pattern across his career, including a rifle range owner in Carry On at Your Convenience (1971) and an electrician in Carry On Behind (1975). Such casting made ready use of his cheeky, working-class manner. It also meant that audiences kept seeing him do similar jobs, with limited opportunity to discover what a larger part might have brought out.
We prefer the household drama of Upstairs, Downstairs (1971), in which Martyn plays The Electrician. Its attention to servants' lives and its patient character development earn our affection despite some stiff staging. That recommendation should not be mistaken for a verdict on Martyn's contribution: our reasons for liking it lie elsewhere. For a proper introduction to his comedy, spend half an hour with Mr. Mash, with reasonable allowances for the jokes.
Biography
Larry Martyn (22 March 1934 – 7 August 1994) was a British actor known for his roles in film and television, particularly in comedy series. Born in London, he served in the Parachute Regiment and worked as a circus performer before entering acting in the 1950s.
He appeared in numerous television programmes including Dad's Army, On the Buses, Rising Damp and The Bill. Martyn played Mr Mash, the store maintenance man, in the first three series of Are You Being Served? (1972–1975) and took over the role of Private Walker in the radio adaptation of Dad's Army after the death of James Beck. His film credits include The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961), Carry On at Your Convenience (1971) and Carry On Behind (1975). He also appeared as The Electrician in the 1972 episode of Upstairs, Downstairs.
