Melvin started his acting career, in 1957, at The Theatre Workshop, Theatre Royal Stratford East, and in more recent times has become that theatre's archivist. Melvin's early film and television career was highlighted by the 1961 film A Taste of Honey, where he played a sympathetic homosexual, and earned a Best Actor award from the Cannes Film Festival. He also became a favorite player of director Ken Russell, who he had worked with in television, with eccentric supporting turns in The Devils, The Boy Friend, and LisztoMania (as composer Hector Berlioz). Other films included Sparrows Can't Sing, The Criminal, Alfie (with Michael Caine), The Fixer, Start the Revolution Without Me (with Gene Wilder), Barry Lyndon (as Rev. Runt), and Little Dorrit. TV included appearances on The Avengers and