Richard Vernon (actor)

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Richard Vernon (born March 7, 1925 in Reading , Berkshire , † December 4, 1997 in London ) was a British actor .

Life

After graduating from school, Vernon attended the Central School of Speech and Drama in Reading and then volunteered in the Royal Navy during World War II . After his return he played on various stages in England. In 1949 he made his feature film debut alongside James Robertson Justice and Gordon Jackson in Stop Press Girl .

In the 47 years of his film and television career, the distinguished man with the thin mustache often played British gentlemen, officers and scientists. He has worked in films of various genres - in comedies such as Indiskret (with Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman ) and Inspector Clouseau, the "best" man at Interpol (with Peter Sellers ), in epics like Richard Attenborough's Gandhi , crime novels like Agatha Christie's Evil Under the Sun (with Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot ) as well as in the remake of Witness for the Prosecution (with Diana Rigg and Ralph Richardson in the title roles). In horror movies like Dracula fresh blood needs (with Christopher Lee ) and the grave of Ligeia by Edgar Allan Poe (with Vincent Price ), music films such as A Hard Day's Night with the Beatles and the James Bond film Goldfinger , he appeared .

In addition, Vernon had numerous guest appearances in television series such as Yes Minister and Mit Schirm, Charme und Melone . He had in his home in 1965 with the television series great success Man The in Room 17 , he in two years as a criminologist at first alongside Michael Aldridge and later next Denholm Elliott , cleared with logic crime without having to ever leave the house.

Vernon became known to a wide audience as a goofy intergalactic planet designer Slartibartfast . In 1978 he spoke for the first time as the unconventional inventor of the Norwegian fjords for the BBC radio play series written by Douglas Adams . When the BBC arranged for a first film adaptation as a miniseries in 1981 , he took on the part a second time.

Vernon was married to fellow actress Benedicta Leigh from 1955 to 1990. Their daughter Sarah Vernon also took up the profession. Richard Vernon, who suffered from Parkinson's disease in the last years of his life , died on December 4, 1997 at the age of 72 in London.

Filmography (selection)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Vernon, Richard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British actor
DATE OF BIRTH March 7, 1925
PLACE OF BIRTH Reading , Berkshire
DATE OF DEATH 4th December 1997
Place of death London