Ralph Richardson

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Ralph Richardon, 1949

Sir Ralph David Richardson (born December 19, 1902 in Cheltenham , England , † October 10, 1983 in London ) was a British theater and film actor . Along with Laurence Olivier and John Gielgud , he was one of the leading British character actors of his generation and was particularly successful with Shakespeare plays. In addition, Richardson played in a total of over 60 films.

life and career

Ralph Richardson was born the son of a painter and trained in Brighton . He hadn't even considered a career as a stage actor when he was so fascinated by a performance of Hamlet that he signed up as an amateur actor at the Brighton Theater in 1921. After he was able to gain first attention there, he first appeared on stage in London in 1925 in Oedipus at Colonus . He performed during this time with traveling drama groups moving from village to village and later with the Birmingham Repertory Theater. From 1931 he worked at the Old Vic in London. Richardson gained notoriety and prestige through his Shakespeare roles, which also took him to Broadway theaters in the United States. Among his most famous roles were Peer Gynt and Falstaff . As early as the 1930s, he led the Old Vic Theater for a number of years, succeeding John Gielgud . After the Second World War he co-directed the Old Vic Theater with Laurence Olivier . Despite great success, Olivier and Richardson fell out with the theater's board of directors, leading to their dismissal in 1947.

From 1933 Richardson was active in the film business and developed there into a sought-after character actor. During his five decades long film career, Richardson played high-profile supporting roles in numerous film classics and covered a wide range of actors. He played the authoritarian boss in the science fiction film adaptation What Will Come (1936) based on the works of HG Wells . In 1939 he appeared in the propaganda film The Lion Has Wings . He then served in the army until 1944 and was occasionally released to film. His film work after the war arose alongside his main work at the theater. He was nominated twice for an Oscar for best supporting actor: in 1950 for his portrayal of the aloof father of Olivia de Havilland in the drama The Heiress and posthumously in 1985 for the grieving Earl of Greystoke in Greystoke - The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984). He was named Best Actor at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival for his role in One Long Day, Journey into the Night by Sidney Lumet . In 1966, Richardson played British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone in Khartoum . For this he received a nomination for the British Film Academy Award for best British actor. 1951 was the only time Richardson directed Home at Seven , the film adaptation of a play in which Richardson had previously acted.

Richardson's grave in Highgate Cemetery , London

Richardson did not have a permanent German voice actor , but was spoken most often (six times) by Robert Klupp and three times by Werner Hinz .

Even at an advanced age, Richardson remained a busy actor who shuttled between supporting film roles and appearances in the West End and Broadway. He remained active until his sudden death in 1983 at the age of 80. Much like his acting style, which has been described as magical and special, Richardson was also an unconventional person in private life. Among many other things, he went for walks with his mice and, when he was over 70, still rode a motorcycle at full throttle.

Ralph Richardson married Muriel Hewitt in August 1924, the marriage lasted until her death on October 5, 1942. In his second marriage in 1944 he married the actress Meriel Forbes (1913 - April 7, 2000), with whom he had a son named Charles (1945-1998) had. Ralph Richardson was beaten to Knight Bachelor in 1947 and from then on carried the title "Sir".

Filmography (selection)

Film awards

  • 1949: National Board of Review Award for Best Actor for The Heiress and The Fallen Idol
  • 1949: New York Film Critics Circle Award nomination for Best Actor for The Heiress
  • 1950: Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for The Heiress
  • 1952: National Board of Review Award for Best Actor for The Unknown Enemy
  • 1952: New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor for The Unknown Enemy
  • 1952: British Academy Film Award for Best Actor for The Unknown Enemy
  • 1962: Cannes Film Festival named best actor for Long Day's Journey into Night
  • 1984: New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor for Greystoke - The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes
  • 1985: Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for Greystoke - The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes

Web links

Commons : Ralph Richardson  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Sir Ralph Richardson and Ralph Richardson in the German dubbing index
  2. ↑ Miller, p. 137; Stokes, John: "Typecast by his time", The Guardian, November 24, 1995, p. 22 (taken from English Wikipedia article)
personal data
SURNAME Richardson, Ralph
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Richardson, Ralph David
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British actor
DATE OF BIRTH December 19, 1902
PLACE OF BIRTH Cheltenham , England
DATE OF DEATH October 10, 1983
Place of death London