 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Alan Howard" actor – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(February 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Alan Howard | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Alan MacKenzie Howard (1937-08-05)5 August 1937 Croydon, Surrey, England |
| Died | 14 February 2015(2015-02-14) (aged 77) Hampstead, London, England |
| Burial place | Highgate Cemetery |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1961–2012 |
| Spouses | |
| Father | Arthur Howard |
| Website | www |
Alan MacKenzie HowardCBE (5 August 1937 – 14 February 2015) was an English actor. He was a member of theRoyal Shakespeare Company from 1966 to 1983 and played leading roles at theRoyal National Theatre between 1992 and 2000.
Howard was born inCroydon,Surrey, the only son of actorArthur Howard and his wife Jean Compton (Mackenzie). His uncle wasLeslie Howard, the film star,[1] while his aunt was the casting directorIrene Howard. On his mother's side he was also a great-nephew of the actressFay Compton[2] and the novelistSir Compton Mackenzie. He was educated at the independent schoolArdingly College inArdingly,West Sussex.[citation needed]
Alan Howard made his first stage appearance at theBelgrade Theatre,Coventry, in April 1958, as a footman inHalf In Earnest. He remained with the company until 1960, where his roles included Frankie Bryant inArnold Wesker'sRoots in June 1959. The production first transferred to theRoyal Court Theatre and then theDuke of York's Theatre in July 1959, where he made hisWest End debut in the role.[citation needed]
Returning to the Belgrade he played Dave Simmonds in Wesker'sI'm Talking About Jerusalem in April 1960. This was followed by Monty Blatt inChicken Soup with Barley at the Royal Court during June and July 1960, completing the Wesker Trilogy with a revival ofRoots and the transfer ofI'm Talking About Jerusalem (as 1st Removal Man).[citation needed]
At the Pembroke Theatre inCroydon he played Kenny Baird inA Loss of Roses during January 1961, and the following month a return to the Royal Court as de Piraquo inTony Richardson's production ofThomas Middleton andWilliam Rowley's Jacobean tragedyThe Changeling, then little known.[3]
In 1962 he was cast as the Duke of Ferrara inJohn Fletcher'sThe Chances and Nearchus inJohn Ford'sThe Broken Heart, both at theChichester Festival Theatre in its inaugural season. A year later in April 1963 he played Loveless inVirtue in Danger, a musical version ofVanbrugh'sThe Relapse, first at theMermaid Theatre before transferring to theStrand Theatre in June 1963. He ended the year playing Fotheringham inAnthony Powell'sAfternoon Men at the NewArts Theatre in August 1963.[citation needed]
Engaged byH.M. Tennent Productions, 1964 brought him an international tour of South America and Europe,[4] playing both Bassanio inThe Merchant of Venice and Lysander inA Midsummer Night's Dream. Staged byWendy Toye and starringRalph Richardson, the productions were first seen at theTheatre Royal, Brighton.[5]
At thePhoenix Theatre in May 1965 he was "boldly playing" Simon Challoner inJulian Mitchell's fine stage adaptation ofA Heritage and Its History;[6] ending the year at theNottingham Playhouse as Angelo inMeasure for Measure and Bolingbroke inRichard II, co-starring withJudi Dench andEdward Woodward.
Howard first joined theRoyal Shakespeare Company atStratford-upon-Avon in 1966, cast as Orsino inTwelfth Night, Burgundy inHenry V and Lussurioso inThe Revenger's Tragedy. Subsequent RSC roles, all at Stratford unless otherwise stated, included:
Howard then playedEric von Stroheim inThe Ride Across Lake Constance at theHampstead Theatre in November 1973, transferring to theMay Fair Theatre in December; and again played Cyril inThe Black and White Minstrels, revived at Hampstead in January 1974, before returning to the RSC, where his roles included:
Alan Howard then left the Royal Shakespeare Company. Subsequent performances included:
A complete listing of Howard's theatre credits, including early work at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, appears on his career website, qv.[8]
Howard played all Shakespeare's consecutive eponymous English kings; though the distinction depends on aHenry IV played (as Henry Bolingbroke) inRichard II (at Nottingham) rather than inHenry IV, Part 1.[citation needed]
Howard won his firstPlays and Players award in 1969, voted by the London theatre critics as the Most Promising Actor in the RSC repertoire. His second came in 1977, again voted for by the London critics, when he won as Best Actor for his RSC performances inWild Oats, the three parts ofHenry VI andCoriolanus. In 1981 he again received thePlays and Players critics' award for Best Actor for his roles inRichard II andGood byC.P. Taylor.[citation needed]
He twice gained theEvening Standard Award Best Actor trophy for his performances inCoriolanus (1978) andGood (1981).[citation needed]
He also won theSociety of West End Theatre award for Best Actor (1976) for his performances as Prince Hal inHenry IV, Part One and Part Two andHenry V and in 1978 as Best Actor in a Revival forCoriolanus (these are now known as theOlivier Awards).
Other awards include the 1980Variety Club Best Actor Award for the title roles inRichard II andRichard III; and theDrama magazine (British Theatre Association) Award for Best Actor (joint) 1981, forRichard II,Good andThe Forest.[citation needed]
Television performances includePhiloctetes,The Way of the World andComets Among the Stars.[episode needed]
He played a spymaster in theThames Television six-hour spy storyCover, written byPhilip Mackie, 1981; and playedJohn Osborne's father, Tom Osborne, inA Better Class of Person, Thames 1985. He also played the title role ofCoriolanus in the 1984 BBC Shakespeare production.
Howard played the lead character of Sam McCready, an intelligence agent, in the 1989–1990 television movie seriesFrederick Forsyth Presents. He was also seen in such series asNotorious Woman,The Return of Sherlock Holmes,Midsomer Murders andFoyle's War. He was Spenlow inDavid Copperfield (2000) andMaurice Wilkins inLife Story.
He made occasional film appearances, including a significant role inPeter Greenaway'sThe Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989) as Michael, "The Lover" who carries on a doomed affair with "The Wife" Georgina played byHelen Mirren.[9] He also supplied the voice ofSauron and theOne Ring inThe Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring andThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.[10]
He first married actress and theatre designer Stephanie Hinchcliff Davies in 1965 (marriage dissolved). He met his second wife, the novelist and journalistSally Beauman, when she interviewed him about his performance as Hamlet at Stratford in 1970. They became lovers not long afterwards, and married in 2004. They had one son and two grandchildren. Howard was appointed CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1998.[citation needed]
Howard died on 14 February 2015 at theRoyal Free Hospital inHampstead, London, ofpneumonia.[11] His grave is on the east side ofHighgate Cemetery, where Sally Beauman, who died a year later, is also buried.[citation needed]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Victim | Frank | |
| 1963 | The V.I.P.s | Second Reporter | Uncredited |
| 1964 | The Americanization of Emily | Port Ensign | |
| 1965 | The Heroes of Telemark | Oli | |
| 1968 | Work Is a Four-Letter Word | Reverend Mort | |
| 1984 | Oxford Blues | Simon Rutledge | |
| 1989 | The Return of the Musketeers | Oliver Cromwell | |
| 1989 | Strapless | Mr. Cooper | |
| 1989 | The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover | Michael (The Lover) | |
| 1990 | Antigone/Rites of Passion | Haemon & Polynices | Voice |
| 1992 | Dakota Road | Alan Brandon | |
| 1993 | The Secret Rapture | Tom French | |
| 2001 | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | Sauron /The One Ring | Voice |
| 2003 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Notorious Woman | Prosper Merimee | Miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 1984 | The Tragedy of Coriolanus | Caius Marcius | TV movie |
| 1985 | Screen Two | Clement Scott | Episode: "Poppyland" |
| 1986 | The Return of Sherlock Holmes | The Duke of Holdernesse | Episode: "The Priory School" |
| 1987 | A Perfect Spy | Jack Brotherhood | Miniseries |
| 1987 | Life Story | Maurice Wilkins | TV movie |
| 1989 | Agatha Christie's Poirot | Benedict Farley/Hugo Cornworthy | Episode: "The Dream" |
| 1989–1990 | Frederic Forsyth Presents: A Casualty of War | Sam McCready | 3 episodes |
| 2000 | David Copperfield | Mr. Spenlow | TV movie |
| 2001 | Midsomer Murders | Owen August | Episode: "Dark Autumn" |
| 2003 | Death in Holy Orders | Father Sebastian Morell | Miniseries |
| 2003 | Foyle's War | Stephen Beck | Episode: "War Games" |
| 2012 | Parade's End | Tietjens Senior | Miniseries, 3 episodes |
