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Ron Tarr

Ron Tarr

Acting

Biography

Ronald Lawrence Morisco-Tarr, known as Ron Tarr and 'Big' Ron Tarr, was a British actor and supporting artiste famed for his hirsute physical stature. Born in Willesden in Middlesex, England, Tarr got his first acting role in the 1973 Carry On film Carry On Girls where he played a bearded audience member. This was followed by appearances in many television series such as Doctor Who, Blake’s 7, Space 1999, Are You Being Served?, The Gentle Touch, The Comic Strip Presents: 5 Go Mad in Dorset and Dramarama. He also notched up a number of film appearances including A View To A Kill, Eat the Rich (he also cameos in Motorhead’s music video soundtrack of the film) and Willow. However, it is his role as Big Ron in the BBC soap opera Eastenders that Tarr is best remembered. He played the friendly ducking and diving market trader Big Ron from the show’s inception in 1985 to just before his untimely death from cancer at the age of 60 in October 1997. Although he was only a supporting actor and therefore his character had very few central storylines, he was often seen interacting with the main characters in the show who could always rely on his physically intimidating presence whenever trouble was brewing. After his death, he appeared in pre-recorded episodes of the soap. To explain the absence of his character, in early 1998 Big Ron was written out of the series in a storyline concerning him winning the lottery and moving to Spain.

Known For

Strangers
7.3

Strangers is a 1978–82 ITV police procedural created and principally written by Murray Smith, based on characters created by Kenneth Royce in his novel series and subsequent 1977–78 television adaptation The XYY Man. Don Henderson and Dennis Blanch reprise their roles, respectively, of Detective Sergeant (DS) George Bulman and Detective Constable (DC) Derek Willis. A group of police officers are brought together from across the country to the north of England. There, the fact that they're not well-known gives them the advantage to infiltrate where a more familiar local detective could not. Despite being based around a comparatively small team of detectives, a regular feature in its early years is that few episodes feature the entire team, with most using just two or three regulars in any major role.

Strangers

1978Series
Shine on Harvey Moon
7.7

Shine on Harvey Moon! is a British comedy-drama series made by Central Television for ITV from 8 January 1982 to 23 August 1985 and briefly revived in 1995 by Meridian. This generally light-hearted series was created by comedy writers Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran. The series is set in the East End of London shortly after the Second World War. Upon being demobbed RAF serviceman Harvey Moon, played by Kenneth Cranham, returns home and finds his family involved in various troubles. His wife Rita, played by Maggie Steed, is not interested in resuming their relationship, and works in a seedy nightclub frequented by American servicemen. He becomes involved with the Labour Party and the union movement. The name of the series is a wordplay on the title of the popular 1908 song 'Shine On, Harvest Moon'. The first series was commissioned and recorded by ATV at their Elstree studios with the remaining series filmed at newly constructed facilities in Nottingham.

Shine on Harvey Moon

1982Series