Nicol Williamson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Thomas Nicol Williamson[1] (1936-09-14)14 September 1936 Hamilton,Lanarkshire, Scotland |
| Died | 16 December 2011(2011-12-16) (aged 75) Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1956–1997 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
Thomas Nicol Williamson[1] (14 September 1936 – 16 December 2011) was a British actor. He was once described by playwrightJohn Osborne as "the greatest actor sinceMarlon Brando". He was also described bySamuel Beckett as "touched by genius" and viewed by many critics as "theHamlet of his generation" during the late 1960s.
Thomas Nicol Williamson was born on 14 September 1936[1][2][3][4] (he would later claim 1938 inWho's Who)[1] inHamilton,Lanarkshire,[1] the son of Hugh Williamson, operator of an aluminium manufacturing plant[5][6] and former hairdresser's assistant, and Mary Brown Hill, née Storrie.[1] When he was 18 months old, his family moved toBirmingham,England. Williamson was sent back to Hamilton to live with his grandparents duringWorld War II due to Birmingham's susceptibility to bombing, but returned when the war ended, and was educated at theCentral Grammar School for Boys, Birmingham.[7] He left school at 16 to begin work in his father's factory and later attended theBirmingham School of Speech & Drama. He recalled his time there as "a disaster" and claimed "it was nothing more than afinishing school for the daughters of local businessmen".[2]
After his national service as a gunner in the Airborne Division, Williamson made his professional debut with theDundee Repertory Theatre in 1960 and the following year appeared with the Arts Theatre inCambridge. In 1962 he made his London debut asFlute inTony Richardson's production ofA Midsummer Night's Dream at theRoyal Court Theatre. His first major success came in 1964 withJohn Osborne'sInadmissible Evidence, for which he was nominated for aTony Award when it transferred toBroadway the following year. In spring 1981, he and original directorAnthony Page revived the play for a six-week engagement at theRoundabout Theatre (23rd Street) in New York, fifteen years after the original Broadway run.[8]
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Also in 1964, he appeared as Vladimir inSamuel Beckett'sWaiting for Godot at the Royal Court. He starred in the film version in 1968[citation needed]. Williamson'sHamlet forTony Richardson atthe Roundhouse caused a sensation; it was later transferred to New York and made into a film, with a cast includingAnthony Hopkins andMarianne Faithfull. Faithfull later stated in her autobiographyFaithfull that she and Williamson had an affair while filmingHamlet.
His most celebrated film role was asMerlin the magician in theKing Arthur epicExcalibur in 1981. DirectorJohn Boorman cast him oppositeHelen Mirren asMorgana over the protests of both actors; the two had previously appeared together on stage inMacbeth, with disastrous results, and they disliked each other intensely. It was Boorman's hope that the very real animosity that they had towards each other would generate more tension between them on screen.[9] Williamson gained recognition from a much wider fanbase for his performance as Merlin. A review ofExcalibur inThe Times in 1981 states: "The actors are led by Williamson's witty, perceptive Merlin, missed every time he's off the screen." According to Mirren, she and Williamson, free from the problems withMacbeth, "wound up becoming very good friends" duringExcalibur.[10]
Some of his other notable cinematic performances include as a troubled Irish soldier in the 1968Jack Gold filmThe Bofors Gun; in 1975 as an intelligence officer inapartheidSouth Africa inThe Wilby Conspiracy (starringSidney Poitier andMichael Caine); asSherlock Holmes in the 1976Herbert Ross filmThe Seven-Per-Cent Solution; and asLittle John in the 1976Richard Lester filmRobin and Marian. Additionally, he portrayed anMI6 bureaucrat inThe Human Factor (1979) (adapted from a novel byGraham Greene); an alcoholic attorney inI'm Dancing as Fast as I Can (1982); a colonel in the Cincinnati Gestapo in theNeil Simon comedyThe Cheap Detective;Lord Louis Mountbatten inLord Mountbatten - The Last Viceroy (1985); the dual roles of Dr. Worley/The Nome King inReturn to Oz (1985); Father Morning inThe Exorcist III (1990); Badger in the 1996 movie adaptation ofKenneth Grahame'sWind in the Willows; and asCogliostro in the1997 movie adaptation ofTodd McFarlane's comic bookSpawn.
In 1994, Williamson wrote a play for solo actor on the life of actorJohn Barrymore.Jack, a Night on the Town with John Barrymore was produced at theCriterion Theatre in London.[11]
Williamson made a major contribution to the documentaryJohn Osborne and the Gift of Friendship,[12] recalling episodes from his long professional relationship with Osborne. Recorded excerpts of his award-winning stage performance inInadmissible Evidence also feature in the video.
Williamson was known for throwing onset tantrums and onstage antics. During thePhiladelphia tryout ofInadmissible Evidence, a play in which he delivered a performance that would win him a Tony Award nomination in 1965,[13] he punched the equally mercurial producerDavid Merrick.[14] In 1968, he apologised to the audience for his performance one night while playingHamlet and then walked off the stage, announcing he was retiring.[14] In the early 1970s, Williamson leftThe Dick Cavett Show prior to a scheduled appearance, leaving the host and guestNora Ephron to fill the remaining time.[15] In 1976, he slapped actor Jim Litten during the curtain call for the Broadway musicalRex.[16][17] In 1991, he hit co-starEvan Handler on the backside with a sword during a Broadway performance ofI Hate Hamlet.[13]
Following a late-nightchat show appearance in which he showcased his singing talents, Williamson released an album of songs in 1971 on theCBS label (S 64045). The album contained songs such as "Didn't We", "It's Impossible" and "Help Me Make It Through the Night".
In 1974, Williamson recorded an abridged reading ofThe Hobbit forArgo Records, authorisation for the abridgement having been provided byJ.R.R. Tolkien's publisher. The recording was produced byHarley Usill.[18] According to his official website, Williamson re-edited the original script himself, removing many occurrences of "he said", "she said", and so on, as he felt that an over-reliance on descriptive narrative would not give the desired effect; he performed each character in a distinctive voice.
In 1978, Williamson portrayed a murderous behaviour expert in theColumbo episode "How to Dial a Murder". His character was one of the few suspects who attempted to kill Columbo.
In 1971, Williamson married actressJill Townsend, who had played his daughter in the Broadway production ofInadmissible Evidence. They had a son, Luke (born 1973), but divorced in 1977.[4][19]
Despite concerns over his health in the 1970s, Williamson admitted drinking heavily and claimed to smoke 80 cigarettes a day.[2] In an episode ofTheDavid Frost Show in the 1960s, during a discussion about death, which also involved poetJohn Betjeman, Williamson revealed that he was very much afraid of dying, saying that "I think of death constantly, throughout the day" and that "I don't think there is anything after this, except complete oblivion."
Williamson died on 16 December 2011 in Amsterdam, aged 75, two years after being diagnosed withesophageal cancer.[4] In accord with Williamson's wishes, the news of his death was released a month later, as he did not want a fuss made over his death.[19]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | ITV Play of the Week | Count Pierre Besukhov | Episode: "War and Peace" |
| Z-Cars | Jack Clark | Episode: "By the Book" | |
| Teletale | Dr. Murke | Episode: "Dr. Murke's Collection of Silences" | |
| 1965 | Six | Unknown role | Episode: "The Day of Ragnarok" |
| The Wednesday Play | Robin Fletcher | Episode: "Horror of Darkness" | |
| 1968 | Of Mice and Men | Lennie | TV film (Video) |
| 1971 | Thirty-Minute Theatre | Jim Fitch | Episode: "Terrible Jim Fitch" |
| 1972 | The Gangster Show: The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui | Arturo Ui | TV film Nominated —British Academy Television Award for Best Actor |
| 1974 | Late Night Drama | President Nixon | Episode: "I Know What I Meant" |
| 1978 | Columbo | Dr. Eric Mason | Episode: "How to Dial a Murder" |
| The Word | Maertin de Vroome | TV mini-series | |
| 1983 | Macbeth | Macbeth | BBC Television Shakespeare; videotaped TV drama |
| 1984 | Sakharov | Malyarov | TV film |
| 1985 | Christopher Columbus | King Ferdinand | TV mini-series |
| 1986 | Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy | Lord Louis Mountbatten | TV serial |
| 1990 | Chillers | Stephen McCullough | Episode: "A Curious Suicide" |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Francis Flute | English Stage Company,Royal Court Theatre, London |
| Nil Carborundum | S A C Albert Meakin | Royal Shakespeare Company, New Arts Theatre, London | |
| The Lower Depths | Satin | ||
| Women Beware Women | Leantio | ||
| 1962-3 | Kelly's Eye | Performer | Royal Court Theatre |
| 1964-6 | Inadmissible Evidence | Bill Maitland | English Stage Company, Royal Court Theatre, London, Wyndham’s Theatre, London, Belasco Theatre, New York and Shubert Theatre, New York. |
| 1965 | A Cuckoo in the Nest | Peter Wykeham | Royal Court Theatre |
| 1965 | Homage to T. S. Eliot | Performer | Original London Production |
| 1968 | Plaza Suite | Jesse Kiplinger, Roy Hubley, Sam Nash | Broadway |
| 1969 | Hamlet | Hamlet | Free Theatre, The Roundhouse Theatre, London |
| 1973 | Coriolanus | Coriolanus | Royal Shakespeare Company, Aldwych Theatre, London |
| Uncle Vanya | Ivan Petrovich Voinitsky | Broadway | |
| Midwinter Spring | Devised by/Performer | Royal Shakespeare Company, Aldwych Theatre, London | |
| 1974-5 | Twelfth Night | Malvolio | Royal Shakespeare Company,Stratford-upon-Avon |
| Macbeth | Macbeth | ||
| 1974 | Uncle Vanya | Director / Vanya | |
| 1975 | The Actors Are Come Hither…Buzz, Buzz | Performer | Royal Shakespeare Company, Aldwych Theatre, London |
| 1976 | Rex | Henry VIII, King of England | Original Broadway Production |
| 1982 | Macbeth | Macbeth | Broadway Revival |
| 1984 | The Real Thing | Henry | Broadway |
| 1991 | I Hate Hamlet | John Barrymore | Broadway |
| 1994-6 | Jack: A Night on the Town with John Barrymore | John Barrymore | Criterion Theatre, London, Broadway |
| 2001 | King Lear | King Lear | Clwyd Theatr Cymru |
Nicol Williamson was nominated for threeBAFTA Awards, aSaturn Award, twoTony Awards,[20] and won the Silver Shell for the Best Actor from theSan Sebastián International Film Festival in 1969 for his performance inLaughter in the Dark.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | The Bofors Gun | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Nominated |
| 1970 | Inadmissible Evidence | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Nominated |
| 1973 | The Gangster Show: The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui | Television Award for Best Actor | Nominated |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Hamlet | Outstanding Performance | Won |
| 1974 | Uncle Vanya | Outstanding Performance | Won |
| 1976 | Rex | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Nominated |
| Year | Work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Inadmissible Evidence | Actor of the Year in a Revival | Nominated |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Excalibur | Best Supporting Actor | Nominated |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Inadmissible Evidence | Best Actor in a Play | Nominated |
| 1974 | Uncle Vanya | Best Actor in a Play | Nominated |
