Alec McCowen | |
|---|---|
 Alec McCowen performing inThe Green Tie on the Little Yellow Dog | |
| Born | Alexander Duncan McCowen (1925-05-26)26 May 1925 Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England |
| Died | 6 February 2017(2017-02-06) (aged 91) London, England |
| Other names | Alex McCowen |
| Education | Skinners' School |
| Alma mater | Royal Academy of Dramatic Art |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1942–2002 |
| Partner(s) | Geoffrey Burridge (– 1987; his death) |
Alexander Duncan McCowen,CBE (26 May 1925[1] – 6 February 2017) was an English actor. He was known for his work in numerous film and stage productions.
McCowen was born inTunbridge Wells, Kent, the son of Mary (née Walkden), a dancer, and Duncan McCowen, a shopkeeper.[2] He attendedThe Skinners' School in Tunbridge Wells – he was known as "Squeaker" McCowen by his friends – and theRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art.
McCowen first appeared on stage at theMacclesfieldrepertory theatre in August 1942 as Micky inPaddy the Next Best Thing. He appeared in repertory inYork andBirmingham 1943–45, and toured India andBurma in a production ofKenneth Horne's West End comedyLove in a Mist during 1945 with the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA). He continued in repertory 1946–49, during which time he played a season atSt John's,Newfoundland, Canada.
McCowen made his London debut on 20 April 1950, at theArts Theatre as Maxim inAnton Chekhov'sIvanov, and made his first appearances on the New York City stage at theZiegfeld Theatre on 19 December 1951, as an Egyptian Guard inCaesar and Cleopatra, and on 20 December 1951, as the Messenger inAntony and Cleopatra. Following a series of roles at the Arts and with the Repertory Players, he had rising success as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec inMoulin Rouge at the then New Theatre,Bromley, and appeared as Barnaby Tucker inThe Matchmaker at theTheatre Royal Haymarket, both 1954.
After appearances as Dr Bird inThe Caine Mutiny Court Martial at theLondon Hippodrome in 1956, and Michael Claverton-Ferry inT. S. Eliot'sThe Elder Statesman, first at theEdinburgh Festival in 1958, then at theCambridge Theatre, he joined theOld Vic Company for its 1959–60 season, among several parts taking the title role inRichard II, then stayed on for the 1960–61 season to play Mercutio inRomeo and Juliet, Oberon inA Midsummer Night's Dream and Malvolio inTwelfth Night.
McCowen joined theRoyal Shakespeare Company in September 1962, appearing atStratford-upon-Avon playing Antipholus of Syracuse inThe Comedy of Errors and the Fool toPaul Scofield'sKing Lear, subsequently appearing in both plays at theAldwych Theatre in December 1962 – performing these roles again for aBritish Council tour of theSoviet Union, Europe and the United States from February to June 1964. With the RSC he also played "the gruelling role"[3] of Father Riccardo Fontana inRolf Hochhuth's controversial playThe Representative at the Aldwych in December 1963.
McCowen enjoyed a career breakthrough at theMermaid Theatre in April 1968 as Fr. William Rolfe inHadrian the Seventh, winning his firstEvening Standard Award as Best Actor for the London production and aTony nomination after the transfer toBroadway.
At theRoyal Court in August 1970, McCowen was cast to play the title role inChristopher Hampton's sophisticated comedy,The Philanthropist. If a philanthropist is literally someone who likes people, McCowen's Philip was a philologist with a compulsive urge not to hurt people's feelings – the inverse ofMolière'sThe Misanthrope. Following enthusiastic reviews the production played to packed houses and transferred to the Mayfair Theatre where it ran for a further three years, making it the Royal Court's most successful straight play. McCowen and his co-starJane Asher went with it to Broadway in March 1971 where he won the 1971Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Performance.
McCowen's next big successes were inNational Theatre Company productions at theOld Vic. In February 1973 he co-starred withDiana Rigg in Molière'sThe Misanthrope for which he won his secondEvening Standard award; followed in July 1973 by the role ofpsychiatrist Martin Dysart ("played on a knife edge of professional skill and personal disgust by McCowen", according toIrving Wardle reviewing forThe Times) in the world premiere ofPeter Shaffer'sEquus. McCowen took part in the first professional UK staging of Weill'sStreet Scene, at thePalace Theatre, London on 26 April 1987 (as Harry Easter), a charity performance in aid ofLondon Lighthouse conducted byJohn Owen Edwards.[4]
McCowen devised and directed his own solo performance of the complete text of theSt. Mark's Gospel, for which he received international acclaim and anotherTony nomination. It opened first at theRiverside Studios in January 1978 before beginning a long West End season at theMermaid Theatre then at theComedy Theatre. Taking the production to New York, he appeared at theMarymount Manhattan and Playhouse theatres.
Christopher Hampton's stage adaptation ofGeorge Steiner's novelThe Portage to San Cristobal of A.H. at the Mermaid in 1982 gave McCowen a great final speech, an attempted vindication of racial extermination delivered byAdolf Hitler, which forGuardian criticMichael Billington was "one of the greatest pieces of acting I have ever seen: a shuffling, grizzled, hunched, baggy figure, yet suggesting the monomaniac power of theNuremberg Rallies, inhabiting the frail vessel of this old man's body." It was a performance that also won him his thirdEvening Standard Best Actor award, a record equalled only byLaurence Olivier andPaul Scofield.
Two years later, again at the Mermaid, McCowen gave a portrayal of the British poetRudyard Kipling in a one-man play by Brian Clark, performed in a setting that exactly matched Kipling's own study atBateman's (his Jacobean rustic haven inSussex) "and turning", as Michael Billington wrote, "an essentially private man into a performer." McCowen appeared in the play on Broadway and on television forChannel 4.
While preparing to co-star as Vladimir toJohn Alderton's Estragon inMichael Rudman's acclaimed production ofWaiting for Godot at theNational Theatre in November 1987, McCowen also spent a busy autumn stagingMartin Crimp's trilogy of short playsDefinitely the Bahamas at theOrange Tree Theatre inRichmond upon Thames, having previously enjoyed Crimp's style of writing in a BBC radio version ofThree Attempted Acts. AsCharles Spencer wrote inThe Daily Telegraph: "As a director McCowen captures both the subtlety and the richness of these three original and beautifully written plays."
At theHampstead Theatre in December 1972 he directed a revival ofTerence Rattigan's wartime London comedyWhile the Sun Shines.
McCowen made his film debut inThe Cruel Sea released in 1953. His other film credits include roles inTown on Trial (1957),A Night to Remember (1958),The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962),The Witches (1966),Alfred Hitchcock'sFrenzy (1972),Travels with My Aunt (1972, for which he received aGolden Globe nomination),Never Say Never Again (1983) in which he played the opinionated secret service quartermaster, "Q", named Algynon,Personal Services (1987) andHenry V (1989).
McCowen's television roles included the BBC'sfour-part adaptation ofJ. B. Priestley'sAngel Pavement (1958), and his one-man stage performance ofThe Gospel According to Saint Mark, transferred to television byThames for Easter 1979.[5]
McCowen appeared alongsideMaureen Lipman andArthur Askey performing comic monologues inThe Green Tie on the Little Yellow Dog, which was recorded 1982, and broadcast byChannel 4 in 1983.[6]
McCowen appeared in the BBC Television Shakespeare series as Malvolio inTwelfth Night and as Chorus inHenry V. In 1984 and 1985 McCowen starred in the ten episodes of the short-lived television seriesMr Palfrey of Westminster as a "spy catcher" working for British intelligence under the direction of a female boss (played byCaroline Blakiston).
McCowen's one-man performance asRudyard Kipling was broadcast on television in 1984.[citation needed] His later appearances included playingAlbert Speer andRudolf Hess in the BBC docudramasThe World Walk in 1984 and 1985, and as astronomerSir Frank Dyson inLongitude in 2000.[7] He was the subject ofThis Is Your Life in 1989, when he was surprised byMichael Aspel at theStrand Theatre in London.[citation needed] He was annoyed when no mention was made of his long-term male partner, fellow actorGeoffrey Burridge and threatened to stop the show from being broadcast. The dispute was resolved by the host, Michael Aspel, adding a voiceover over the final credits acknowledging the relationship.
McCowen was the narrator in a recording ofGerhard's cantata (after Camus)The Plague, with theWashington National Symphony Orchestra conducted byAntal Doráti in 1973, and also took the part of the Narrator in Stravinsky'sOedipus Rex, withPeter Pears,Kerstin Meyer and theLondon Philharmonic Orchestra conducted byGeorg Solti; the music for this was recorded in March 1976, his spoken part later and the first issue was in February 1978.[8]
McCowen published his first volume of autobiography,Young Gemini in 1979, followed a year later byDouble Bill (Elm Tree Books).
McCowen's partner, the actorGeoffrey Burridge, died from AIDS complications in 1987.[9][10][11]
McCowen died, aged 91, on 6 February 2017, and was cremated atGolders Green Crematorium.[12]
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He was appointed Officer of theOrder of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1972New Year Honours[13] and promoted to Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the1986 New Year Honours.[14]
On 2 May 2017, McCowen was accorded a memorial service atSt. Paul's Church in Covent Garden (known as "the actors' church"), conducted by the Reverend Simon Grigg. McCowen's nephew, Reverend Nigel Mumford, read an affectionate remembrance from McCowen's sister Jean Mumford's memoirs titled "Childhood memories of Pantos". The tribute was read byDame Penelope Wilton, followed by a tribute from the playwrightChristopher Hampton.Rebecca Trehearn sang "Bill" fromShow Boat, which was followed by a tribute from the theatre criticMichael Billington and a tribute by the actorMalcolm Sinclair. After final prayers a plaque to McCowen was dedicated by Grigg to the left of the altar.[citation needed]
Mr Alec McCowen, actor, is 86
