Actor. He was an Austrian-born English actor who studied acting while serving in the Australian Army during World War II and debuted on the Australian stage in 1944. Even after losing his left eye in a childhood accident, he served in the military and had a successful acting career. He wore a prosthetic glass eye. He never finished Sydney Technical High School, though his interest in engineering prompted him to transfer into the role of engineering apprentice until the dawn of World War II. At age 26, he returned to England in 1946, where he appeared regularly on London's premiere stages and made his big screen debut in "Murder in the Cathedral" in 1951. A veteran of nearly 80 films, some of his memorable roles were in "X the Unknown" in 1956, "Help" in 1965, "Ryan's Daughter" in 1970, "The Omen" in 1976, "The Blue Lagoon" in 1980, and "Molokai: The Story of Father Damien" in 1999. He also appeared in numerous British and Australian television programs such as "The Adventures of Robin Hood," "The Prisoner," "Our Mutual Friend," and "Reilly: Ace of Spies." For his lead role as an aging, disorganized, and eccentric criminal law barrister in the seven-season British television series "Rumpole of the Bailey," he received the British Academy Film Awards nomination for Best Actor in 1980, 1981, and 1984. "Rumpole Of The Bailey" may have been McKern's biggest success. In 1983, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for his services to the performing arts. He was awarded the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 1987 for his role in "Travelling North." He died as a resident of a nursing home in Bath at age 82. He married actress Jane Holland, and the couple had two daughters. He was cremated at Haycombe Cemetery and Crematorium, but the location of his ashes is unknown.