Dursley McLinden was educated at Douglas High School and joined London's Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. A talented actor, singer and dancer, over the following years he would appear in numerous productions in Britain and abroad, including Annie, Robert and Elizabeth, Damn Yankees, Gigi, The Threepenny Opera, Macbeth, The Crucifer of Blood, To Kill a Mocking Bird and Follies. He was also involved in West End Cares, the theatre arm of the AIDS charity Crusaid.He was still performing until ten weeks before his death from AIDS in 1995. His final production was The Phantom of the Opera.