Ian Richardson | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Richardson circa 1976 | |
| Born | Ian William Richardson (1934-04-07)7 April 1934 Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Died | 9 February 2007(2007-02-09) (aged 72) London, England |
| Education | Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1954–2007 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2, includingMiles Richardson |
Ian William Richardson (7 April 1934 – 9 February 2007) was a Scottish actor. He was best known for his portrayal ofConservative politicianFrancis Urquhart in theBBC'sHouse of Cards (1990–1995) television trilogy, as well as the pivotal spyBill Haydon inTinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979). His other notable screen work included a portrayal ofSherlock Holmes in two films (The Sign of Four andThe Hound of the Baskervilles), as well as significant roles inBrazil,M. Butterfly, andDark City.
Richardson was also a leading stage actor, well known for hisShakespearean works as well as his portrayal ofJean-Paul Marat in the Broadway production ofMarat/Sade.
Richardson was born inEdinburgh, the only son and eldest of three children of John Richardson (1909–1990), a manager at theMcVitie & Price factory (where he and his wife met, and, according to his son, where John invented theJaffa cake), and Margaret ("Peggy") Pollock (1910–1988), née Drummond.[1] He was educated in the city, atBalgreen Primary School,Tynecastle High School andGeorge Heriot's School.[1][2] He first appeared on stage at the age of 14, in an amateur production ofCharles Dickens'A Tale of Two Cities. The director encouraged his talent but warned that he would need to lose hisScottish accent to progress as an actor. His mother arranged elocution lessons, and he became astage manager with the semi-professional Edinburgh People's Theatre.
AfterNational Service in theArmy (part of which he spent as an announcer and drama director with theBritish Forces Broadcasting Service) he obtained a place at theCollege of Dramatic Arts in Glasgow. After a period at theOld Rep (also known as the Birmingham Repertory Theatre), he appeared with theRoyal Shakespeare Company (RSC), of which he was a founding member, from 1960 to 1975.[3]
Although he later gained his highest profile in film and television work such asHouse of Cards (1990), Richardson was primarily a classical stage actor.[4] His first engagement after training was withBirmingham Repertory Theatre,[5] where his performance ofHamlet led to an offer of a place with theRoyal Shakespeare Company. He was a versatile member of the company for more than 15 years, playing villainy, comedy and tragedy to equal effect. He was The Herald inPeter Brook's production ofMarat/Sade in London in 1964; in the New York City transfer he took the lead role ofJean-Paul Marat (and so became the first actor to appear nude on the Broadway stage),[1] a performance he repeated for the 1967 filmMarat/Sade.
In 1972, he appeared in the musicalTrelawney, with which theBristol Old Vic reopened after its refurbishment. It proved a great success, transferring to London, first to theSadler's Wells Theatre and later to the Prince of Wales Theatre. Richardson played the hero, Tom Wrench, a small-part player who wants to write about "real people". He had a song, "Walking On", lamenting his lack of scope in the company, in which he explains that as a "walking gentleman" he will be forever "walking on", whilst Rose Trelawney will go on to be a star.[6]
While at the RSC, Richardson played leading roles in many productions for directorJohn Barton.[3] These included the title role inCoriolanus (1967),Cassius inJulius Caesar (1968), Angelo inMeasure for Measure (1970) and Iachimo inCymbeline. Work for other directors at Stratford included the title role inPericles (1969), directed byTerry Hands; thetitle role inRichard III (1975), directed byBarry Kyle; and Berowne inDavid Jones' production ofLove's Labour's Lost (1973). Richardson cited the role of Berowne as one of his all-time favorite parts. Richardson'sRichard II (alternating the parts ofthe king andBolingbroke withRichard Pasco) in 1974, and repeated in New York and London in the following year, was hugely celebrated.[1]
A significant Shakespearean cameo role was a brief performance asHamlet in the gravedigger scene as part of episode six, "Protest and Communication", ofKenneth Clark'sCivilisation television series in 1969. This was performed atKirby Hall in Northamptonshire withPatrick Stewart asHoratio andRonald Lacey as the gravedigger.[7]
On leaving the RSC, he played Professor Henry Higgins in the 20th anniversary Broadway revival ofMy Fair Lady (1976)[8] and received theDrama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical and a nomination for theTony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He also appeared on Broadway as onstage narrator in the original production ofEdward Albee's playLolita (1981), an adaptation ofVladimir Nabokov's book that was not critically well received.[9]
In 1995, he playedThe Miser at Chichester, and in 1997 he playedThe Magistrate, also at Chichester, which transferred to the Savoy Theatre.[5]
In 2002, Richardson joinedDerek Jacobi,Donald Sinden andDiana Rigg in an international tour ofThe Hollow Crown,[3] and this was repeated the following year with Dame Janet Suzman in the female roles. A Canadian tour substitutedAlan Howard for Jacobi andVanessa Redgrave for Suzman. He also appeared inThe Creeper by Pauline Macaulay at the Playhouse Theatre in London, and on tour.[citation needed] His last stage appearance was in 2006 as Sir Epicure Mammon inThe Alchemist at theNational Theatre in London.[5]
In 1963, he played Le Beau inMichael Elliott's television production ofAs You Like It, playing alongsideVanessa Redgrave.[citation needed] In 1964, he played Antipholus of Ephesus inThe Comedy of Errors as part of theFestival television series.[5] In 1966, he played Jean-Paul Marat in the Royal Shakespeare Company production of Peter Weiss'Marat/Sade, directed by Peter Brook. In 1967, he played The Constable inA Man Takes a Drink as part of a television series entitledThe Revenue Men. He played Bertram in John Barton's television version ofAll's Well That Ends Well in 1968, as well as playingOberon in thePeter Hall film ofA Midsummer Night's Dream. He took part in the television production ofJohn Mortimer'sA Voyage Round My Father inPlays of Today in 1969 as well as appeared in the television adaptation ofThe Canterbury Tales (1969).
He played one musical role on film, the Priest inMan of La Mancha, the 1972 screen version of the Broadway musical. Also in 1972, he played Anthony Beavis in the television seriesEyeless in Gaza.
He also appeared in BBC radio plays, notably in 'The House on the Strand' by Daphne du Maurier, in 1973.
In 1974, he playedKing Richard II/Bolingbroke inRichard II, part of theCamera Three television series. In 1978, he playedRobespierre in the BBC'sPlay of the Month production ofDanton's Death. In 1979, he played Field Marshal SirBernard Montgomery in the TV miniseriesIke.
His first major role was his appearance asBill Haydon ("Tailor") in the BBC adaptation ofTinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979).[10][5] He again played the part of Field Marshal Montgomery inChurchill and the Generals in 1979, a BBC television videotaped play concerning the relationship betweenWinston Churchill and generals of the Allied forces between 1940 and 1945.
In the 1980s, he became well known as Major Neuheim in the award-winningPrivate Schulz[5] and asSir Godber Evans in Channel 4's adaptation ofPorterhouse Blue. Richardson also performed the role ofSherlock Holmes for two of six planned television movies,The Sign of Four andThe Hound of the Baskervilles, in 1983, which were both critically acclaimed. He appeared inBrazil (1985) and playedJawaharlal Nehru in the television serial,Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy (1986). He portrayedAnthony Blunt, the Soviet spy and Surveyor of The King's Pictures in the BBC filmBlunt: the Fourth Man (1986) oppositeAnthony Hopkins asGuy Burgess. In 1988, he played Edward Spencer, the eccentric and oblivious English landowner in 1920s Ireland inTroubles, fromJ. G. Farrell's award-winning novel. In 1987, he played a variation on this role, when he portrayed the Bishop of Motopo in the non-musical television filmMonsignor Quixote, based onGraham Greene's modernised take onDon Quixote. He played Sir Nigel Irvine inJohn Mackenzie's adaptation ofFrederick Forsyth's novelThe Fourth Protocol (1987).
Richardson also appeared in commercials forGrey PouponDijon mustard in the United States in his role as Prime MinisterFrancis Urquhart, oppositePaul Eddington as Prime MinisterJim Hacker.[11][12]
Richardson's most acclaimed television role was as Machiavellian politicianFrancis Urquhart in theBBC adaptation of Michael Dobbs'sHouse of Cards trilogy.[3] He won theBAFTA Best Television Actor Award for his portrayal in the first series,House of Cards (1990),[13] and was nominated for both of the sequelsTo Play the King (1993)[14] andThe Final Cut (1995).[15]
In 1989, he also starred in a TV production ofThe Winslow Boy withEmma Thompson andGordon Jackson.[4][16] He received another BAFTA nomination for his role asFalkland Islands governor SirRex Hunt in the filmAn Ungentlemanly Act (1992),[17][4] and played corrupt politician Michael Spearpoint, British Director of theEuropean Economic Community, in the satirical seriesThe Gravy Train andThe Gravy Train Goes East.[18][19][better source needed] He narrated the BBCdocudramaA Royal Scandal (1996).
Other roles in this period includePolonius inRosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (1990),[20] Sir Mason Harwood inYear of the Comet (1992),[21] the French ambassador inM. Butterfly (1993),Martin Landau's butler inB*A*P*S (1997), a malevolent alien inDark City (1998), The Kralahome inThe King and I (1999),Cruella de Vil's Barrister, Mr. Torte QC, in the live-action film102 Dalmatians (2000), and a corrupt aristocrat inFrom Hell (2001).
In 1999, Richardson became known to a young audience as the main character Stephen Tyler in both series of the family dramaThe Magician's House (1999–2000).[5] Following this he played Lord Groan in the majorBBC productionGormenghast (2000),[5] and later that year he starred in the BBC productionMurder Rooms: The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes (2000–2001) (screened inPBS'sMystery! series in the US), playingArthur Conan Doyle's mentor, Dr.Joseph Bell, a role he welcomed as an opportunity to play a character from his nativeEdinburgh.[4] He once more returned to fantasy in the recurring role of the villainous Canon Black in the short-lived BBC cult seriesStrange (2003).
In 2005, he took on the role of the Lord Chancellor in the television dramaBleak House.[4] He also played the Judge in the family-based film,The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby (2005). Additionally, in that year, he appeared in ITV's main Christmas dramaThe Booze Cruise 2, playing Marcus Foster, a slimy upper class businessman forced to spend time with "the lower classes". He returned to this role for a sequel the following Easter.
In June 2006, he was made an honorary Doctor of theUniversity of Stirling. The honour was conferred on him by the university's Chancellor, fellow actor DameDiana Rigg.
In December 2006, Richardson starred inSky One's two-part adaptation of theTerry Pratchett novelHogfather (1997). He voiced the main character of the novel,Death, who steps in to take over the role of the Father Christmas-like Hogfather. The DVD of that miniseries, released shortly after his death, opens with a dedication to his memory.[22]
His final film appearance was as Judge Langlois inBecoming Jane (2007), released shortly after his death.
During the last 15 years of his life he appeared five times on television acting opposite his sonMiles Richardson, though this was usually with one or the other in a minor role.
Richardson died in his sleep of a heart attack on the morning of 9 February 2007, aged 72.[23] He was surrounded by his wife, Maroussia Frank, an actress, and two sons, one of whom,Miles, is an actor. Richardson's body was cremated. His ashes were placed in the foundation of the auditorium of theRoyal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford during renovations in 2008.[24]
Helen Mirren dedicated her 2006 Best ActressBAFTA award for her portrayal ofQueen Elizabeth II in the filmThe Queen to Richardson. In her acceptance speech she said that without his support early in her career, she might not have been so successful,[25] before breaking down and leaving the stage. Other tributes and reminiscences by Richardson's colleagues are offered in a memoir by Sharon Mail,We Could Possibly Comment: Ian Richardson Remembered (2009).[11]
Richardson was appointed Commander of theOrder of the British Empire (CBE) in the1989 New Year Honours.[26]
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | My Fair Lady | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Won |
| Tony Award | Best Actor in a Musical | Nominated | ||
| 1991 | House of Cards | BAFTA TV Award | Best Actor | Won |
| 1993 | An Ungentlemanly Act | Nominated | ||
| 1994 | To Play the King | Nominated | ||
| 1996 | The Final Cut | Nominated |
| Original BBC adaptation |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netflix adaptation House of Cards (2013–2018) |
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