Leo McKern would not appeal to audiences. In 1997 he appeared in a party political broadcast for the United Kingdom Independence Party. McKern and his wife Jane Holland had two daughters. Leo McKern Reginald McKern, AO (16 March 1920 – 23 July 2002), known professionally as Leo McKern, was an Australian actor who appeared in numerous British, Australian and American television programmes and films, and in more than 200 stage roles. Notable roles he portrayed include Clang in "Help!" (1965), Thomas Cromwell in "A Man for All Seasons" (1966), Tom Ryan in "Ryan's Daughter" (1970), Paddy Button in "The Blue Lagoon" (1980),
Leo McKern for Today". A series of the same name, comprising 44 episodes, was produced for ITV between 1978 and 1992. According to Rumpole's creator, author John Mortimer, McKern "not only played the character Rumpole—he added to it, brightened it and brought it fully to life." Although he enjoyed the role, McKern expressed doubts about its popularity and the extent to which his life was becoming intertwined with Rumpole's. "McKern was often unhappy, decrying his television fame as an "insatiable monster". He stressed that his "Peer Gynt" was a greater performance and lamented: "If I get an obit in any paper, they