Matinee Classics - Ralph Richardson Biography & Filmography

Ralph Richardson ACTOR

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RALPH RICHARDSON BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Ralph Richardson was born on December 19th, 1902 in Gloucestershire, England with the middle name David, born to Arthur and Lydia Richardson. As a young boy his family raised him in the Roman Catholic faith and his mother aspired for him to pursue a career as a priest. He enrolled at Xavierian College, however he was unhappy and decided to pursue other career options.

He began with finding work for an insurance company and after studying art for a brief period, he settled on a career as an actor. He studied the art of acting and was given the chance to tour with Charles Doran's company for a total of five seasons and gained experience as a stage actor in a number of productions such as, "Macbeth" and "Julius Caesar".

Gaining more experience as a stage actor, Richardson then joined the Birmingham Repertory Company and then in 1926 he debuted in London on a production called, "Oedipus at Colonus" followed by performing in the play, "Yellow Sands".

He then left London and toured around South Africa performing in various productions before again returning back to England and adding more stage credits to his resume such as, "Anthony and Cleopatra", "Twelfth Night", "A Midsummer Night's Dream", "The Taming of the Shrew" and "Othello".

In the early 1930's he remained working as a stage actor performing at Malvern, Wyndham's Theatre and in 1934, he performed in a Broadway production of, "Romeo and Juliet".

He took a break from his stage work during World War II to serve in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and when he completed his service he was chosen to run the Old Vic Company and also performed in a variety of plays with the company such as, "Arms and the Man", "Cyrano de Bergerac" and "An Inspector Calls.

Richardson soon ended his term with the Old Vic Company but continued taking on more challenging and exciting opportunities in the late 40's and early 1950's. He appeared at the Stratford-upon-Avon Festival in 1952 in, "The Tempest" and "Macbeth".

Other stage credits he added included, "A Day by the Sea", "The Sleeping Prince", "Separate Tables", "The School for Scandal", "What the Butler Saw", "Lloyd George Knew My Father" and in 1983, he had his final stage appearance in, "Inner Voices".

Alongside a highly successful stage career, Richardson pursued other avenues of the entertainment industry. He added a variety of film roles to his credits which included but were not limited to, "Things to Come" (1936), "The Citadel", "The Fallen Idol" (1948), "The Heiress" 91949), "Richard III" (1955) and "Our Man in Havana" (1959). He received his first Academy Award nomination for his performance in, "The Heiress".

Beginning in 1954 he worked as a radio actor portraying, Dr. Watson in, "The Sherlock Holmes Stories", but still remained taking on stage roles and even more film work. Other more prominent film roles included, "Doctor Zhivago" (1965), "Oh! What a Lovely War" (1969), "Time Bandits" (1981) and "Dragonslayer" (1981).

He is by far one of the most well known and greatest actors of the 20th Century. He was the first actor from his generation to be knighted and in 1982 he was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Special Award for his lifetime achievement in theatre. He received a number of other awards over his lifetime such as a BAFTA Award for best British Actor for, "The Sound Barrier" (1952) and a best Actor Award in 1963 for his role in, "Long Day's Journey into Night".

Ralph Richardson married twice throughout his lifetime, first to Muriel Hewitt in 1924 and they remained together until she passed away in 1942 from a sleeping sickness known as encephalitis lethargica. He then married for a second time to Meriel Forbes in 1944 and they had one child together and stayed married until he passed away on October 10th, 1983 in London, England after suffering from a stroke. His remains are interred at Highgate Cemetery in London, England.

Filmography