Obituary: Angus Grant, hotel concierge and part-time actor

TRIBUTES have been paid to hotel concierge and part-time actor Angus Grant, who has died aged 61.

Mr Grant, who was born in Haymarket to George and Helen Grant, was a pupil at Norton Park School in Edinburgh and spent his childhood in Craigentinny.

After leaving school at the age of 14, he worked as a saw doctor in the Capital for about 20 years, taking up his first position at Edinburgh's Hughes & Hudson.

Mr Grant then decided on a career change and took a job as a chef at Gorgie City Farm's restaurant, where he worked for about eight years.

In 1992, he became concierge of the former Scandic Crown Hotel on Edinburgh's High Street, going out of his way to help tourists, whether it be arranging for a taxi or pointing them towards the nearest restaurant.

In 2003, Mr Grant took up the role of concierge at the Carlton Hotel on North Bridge, and he remained there right up to his unfortunate death earlier this month.

Mr Grant, who lived in Polwarth, was forced to stop working in August 2008 when he was diagnosed with lung cancer, to which he succumbed on 17 February.

He is survived by his wife Anne, 61, whom he married at Restalrig Kirk in 1970, son Scott, and two grandchildren, Lauren, six, and Amy, two.

Mr Grant, a popular figure on the hotel scene in Edinburgh, also leaves behind his dog Zeus, a whippet, whom he adored.

Scott, 38, said: "My dad also got into acting through getting in tow with famous actors who were staying at the Scandic Crown and Carlton hotels.

"He got his acting card and was a bit-part actor, taking part in various dramas and films, and a couple of things on the Fringe. He got to know quite a few actors, including Ken Stott.

"It was a big thing to go from being a hotel concierge to getting into dramas and plays."

Mr Grant, who appeared in Taggart and Monarch of the Glen, also took part in a DVD for the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, in which he spoke openly about the disease and how it affected his life – with Zeus by his side, as always.

Scott said: "My dad was a loveable rogue. He was a bit of a chancer and a showman. He was a performer – it was in his blood.

"He always liked films and he always thought he was a bit of an actor. He was great at doing Sean Connery impersonations!"

He added: "I will always remember him standing on the High Street in his full kilt regalia, helping guests and telling them the best places to go in Edinburgh.

"He made a lot of friends across the globe."