Simon Lack

Simon Lack

Simon Lack (19 December 1913 – 8 August 1980) was a Scottish actor, working mostly in England. He was born Alexander MacAlpine, in Cleland, Lanarkshire, Scotland. Known locally as Alec, he was the youngest child and only son of his father, Alexander McAlpine (known as Sandy) and his mother Euphemia Ritchie. His sisters were Charlotte (Lottie), Mary, Euphemia (Euphie), Agnes (Nan) and Jenny. Another sister, Jessie, died in childhood. Sandy McAlpine was a stonemason, but worked down the mines when there was no masonry work available, making Simon Lack's later role in Proud Valley particularly poignant to those who knew him from his youth. Euphemia Ritchie's family were somewhat wealthier, but she was disowned on account of her choice of husband, and the family lived for many years in a one-room flat (known in Scottish working class language as a 'single end'), although it seems eventually one of her uncles relented and came to their aid. Alec's earliest ventures into acting were in local theatres. He seems to have chosen the pseudonym Simon Lack when he embarked upon the London stage.

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