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Peter Finch | |
|---|---|
 Finch in 1955 | |
| Born | Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch (1916-09-28)28 September 1916 London, England |
| Died | 14 January 1977(1977-01-14) (aged 60) |
| Resting place | Hollywood Forever Cemetery |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1934–1977 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 4; includingCharles Finch |
| Awards | See below |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  Australia |
| Branch | Australian Army |
| Years of service | 1941–1945 |
| Rank |  Sergeant |
| Unit | 2/1st Field Regiment (Australia) |
| Battles / wars | |
Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch (28 September 1916 – 14 January 1977) was an English and Australian actor of theatre, film and radio.[1][2]
Born inLondon, he emigrated to Australia at the age of ten and was raised inSydney, where he worked invaudeville and radio before becoming a star ofAustralian films.[3] Joining theOld Vic Company afterWorld War II, he achieved widespread critical success in Britain for both stage and screen performances. One of British cinema's most celebrated leading men of the time,[4] Finch won fiveBAFTA Awards for Best Actor, and theAcademy Award in the same category for his portrayal of crazed televisionanchormanHoward Beale in the 1976 filmNetwork. He died only two months before the49th Academy Awards, making him thefirst person to win a posthumous Oscar in an acting category.
According to theBritish Film Institute, "it is arguable that no other actor ever chalked up such a rewarding CV inBritish films, and he accumulated the awards to bolster this view".[5] His reputation as an outstanding film actor has grown even more in retrospect.
Finch was born as Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch[6] in London to Alicia Gladys Fisher. At the time, Alicia was married toGeorge Finch.[2][7][8]
George Finch was born to British parents inNew South Wales, Australia, but was educated in Paris and Zürich. He was a research chemist when he moved to Britain in 1912 and later served during the First World War with the Royal ArmyOrdnance Depot and theRoyal Field Artillery.[9] In 1915, atPortsmouth,Hampshire, George married Alicia Fisher, the daughter of aKent barrister.[7] However, Peter only learned in his mid-40s that Wentworth Edward Dallas "Jock" Campbell, anIndian Army officer, not George Finch, was his biological father. George Finch divorced his wife in 1920 on the grounds of her adultery with Campbell.[2] Alicia Finch married Jock Campbell in 1922.[7]
George gained custody of Peter, who was taken from his biological mother and raised by his adoptive paternal grandmother, Laura Finch (formerly Black), inVaucresson, France. In 1925 Laura took Peter with her toAdyar, a theosophical community nearMadras, India, for a number of months, and the young boy lived for a time in aBuddhist monastery.[10] Perhaps as a result of his childhood contact with Buddhism, Finch always claimed to be a Buddhist. He is reported to have said: "I think a man dying on a cross is a ghastly symbol for a religion. And I think a man sitting under abo tree and becoming enlightened is a beautiful one."[11]
In 1926 he was sent to Australia to live with his great-uncle Edward Herbert Finch atGreenwich Point in Sydney. For three years he attended the local school, thenNorth Sydney Intermediate High School, until 1929.[3]RAF pilot and authorPaul Brickhill was a school friend.
After abandoning school at 15, Finch went into various jobs, including as acopy boy for the SydneySun.[12][13]
However, he was more interested in acting, and in late 1933 appeared in a play,Caprice, with the New Sydney Repertory Company.[14][15]
In 1934–35 he appeared in a number of productions forDoris Fitton at the Savoy Theatre, some with a youngSumner Locke Elliott. He also worked as a sideshowspruiker at theSydney Royal Easter Show, invaudeville withJoe Cody and as a foil to American comedian Bert le Blanc.[16] At age 19 Finch toured Australia withGeorge Sorlie's travelling troupe.
He did radio acting withHugh Denison's BSA Players (for Broadcasting Service Association, later to becomeMacquarie Players). He came to the attention ofAustralian Broadcasting Commission radio drama producer Lawrence H. Cecil, who was to serve as his coach and mentor throughout 1939 and 1940. He was "Chris" in theChildren's Session and the firstMuddle-Headed Wombat.
He later starred withNeva Carr Glyn in an enormously popular series byMax Afford as husband-and-wife detectivesJeffery and Elizabeth Blackburn as well as other ABC radio plays.[17]
Finch's first screen performance was in the short filmThe Magic Shoes (1935), an adaptation of theCinderella fairy tale, where Finch played Prince Charming.
He made his feature film debut inKen G. Hall'sDad and Dave Come to Town (1938), playing a small comic role.[18] His performance was well received and Hall subsequently cast Finch in a larger role inMr. Chedworth Steps Out (1939), supportingCecil Kellaway.[19]
Finch appeared in a war propaganda film,The Power and the Glory (1941), playing afifth columnist.[20]
Finch enlisted in theAustralian Army on 2 June 1941.[21] He served in the Middle East and was an anti-aircraft gunner during theBombing of Darwin.
During his war service Finch was given leave to act in radio, theatre and film. He appeared in a number of propaganda shorts, includingAnother Threshold (1942),These Stars Are Mine (1943),While There is Still Time (1943) andSouth West Pacific (1943), the latter for Ken G. Hall. He also appeared in two of the few Australian feature films made during the war,The Rats of Tobruk (1944) and the less distinguishedRed Sky at Morning (1944).[22]
Finch produced and performed Army Concert Party work, and in 1945 toured bases and hospitals with twoTerence Rattigan plays he directed,French Without Tears andWhile the Sun Shines. He narrated the widely seen documentariesWhose War Is It? (1943),Jungle Patrol (1944) andSons of the Anzacs (1945).[23]
Finch was discharged from the army on 31 October 1945 at the rank ofsergeant.[21]
After the war, Finch continued to work extensively in radio and established himself as Australia's leading actor in that medium, winning Macquarie Awards for best actor in 1946 and 1947.[17] He helped create the radio seriesThe Sundowner a vehicle forChips Rafferty.[24]
He also worked as acompere, producer and writer.
In 1946, Finch co-founded theMercury Theatre Company, which put on a number of productions in Sydney over the next few years (initially in the diminutiveSt James' Hall), as well as running a theatre school.[25][26]
Finch continued to appear in the (rare) Australian feature films made around this time includingA Son Is Born (1946) andEureka Stockade (1949). He was a leading contender to play SirCharles Kingsford Smith inSmithy (1946) but lost out toRon Randell. According toFilmink Finch was recognised "as the best radio actor in the country, although there was a lot of reservations about whether the skinny, cheekbone-y occasional Buddhist was handsome enough to be a leading man."[27]
Finch was also involved in some documentaries, narratingIndonesia Calling (1946) and helping makePrimitive Peoples about the people ofArnhem Land.
Laurence Olivier andVivien Leigh toured Australia in 1948 with theOld Vic Company. They attended the Mercury production ofThe Imaginary Invalid on the factory floor of O'Brien's Glass Factory starring Finch. Olivier was impressed with Finch's acting and encouraged him to move to London, his birthplace, which he did that year.
When Finch arrived in Britain, success came relatively early. Harry Watt arranged for a screen test at Ealing Studios, which led to Finch being cast as a murderous actor in the movieTrain of Events (1949) under the direction ofBasil Dearden.[28][29]
While making the film, Olivier cast Finch as a Pole in a stage play atThe Old Vic,James Bridie'sDaphne Laureola (1949) supportingEdith Evans. This was a significant critical and commercial success and established Finch in London immediately. Olivier signed Finch to a five-year contract.[30] WhenTrain of Events was released, criticC. A. Lejeune praised Finch's work in the LondonObserver, commenting that he "adds good cheekbones to a quick intelligence and is likely to become a cult, I fear."[31]The Scotsman said Finch "should be regarded as one of the most hopeful recruits to the British screen."[32]
Finch had a small role as an Australianprisoner of war in the World War two dramaThe Wooden Horse (1950), directed by Jack Lee; this film would be the third-most-popular film at the British box office in 1950.
Finch's performance as a Pole inDaphne Laureola led to his casting as a Polish soldier inThe Miniver Story (1950), the British-filmed sequel to the wartime morale boosting filmMrs. Miniver; unlike its predecessor, it was poorly received critically, but it did give Finch an experience of working for a movie financed by a major Hollywood studio.[33][34]
During this time, Finch continued to appear on stage in various productions while under contract to Olivier. He directed a stage production ofThe White Falcon in January 1950.[35] In February 1950 he toured in a production ofThe Damascus Blade byBridget Boland under the direction of Olivier, co starring with John Mills.[36]
Finch returned to the London stage inCaptain Carvallo byDenis Cannan, once more directed by Olivier.[37]
Finch's closeness to the Olivier family led to an affair with Olivier's wife,Vivien Leigh, which began in 1948, and continued on and off for several years, ultimately ending because of Leigh's deteriorating mental condition.[38]
In March 1951 Finch replacedDirk Bogarde for six weeks in a production ofPoint of Departure byJean Anouilh.[39] Later that year he played Iago oppositeOrson Welles in a production ofOthello, directed by Welles.[40]
Despite his stage experience, according to the Sunday Times Finch, like his mentor Olivier, hadstage fright,[38] and as the 1950s progressed he worked increasingly in film.
Finch's film career received a considerable boost when cast as theSheriff of Nottingham inThe Story of Robin Hood (1952) for Walt Disney, opposite Richard Todd.
In 1952 Finch performed atSt James's Theatre, King Street, London, in Sir Laurence Olivier's and Gilbert Miller'sThe Happy Time a comedy by Samuel Taylor. He played the part of Papa.[41] He also didRomeo and Juliet at the Old Vic, playing Mercutio, to strong reviews.[42]
He then made two films forAlexander Korda. InThe Story of Gilbert and Sullivan (1953) Finch playedRichard D'Oyly Carte opposite Robert Morley and Maurice Evans in the lead; the resulting movie was a box office disappointment. InThe Heart of the Matter (1953), from theGraham Greene novel, Finch played a priest opposite Trevor Howard; his performance was a critical success.
Finch returned to the stage at the Old Vic with an appearance inAn Italian Straw Hat byEugène Labiche and Marc Michel adapted by Thomas Walton. He then received an offer from Paramount to star inElephant Walk (1954), shot in Ceylon and Los Angeles. The part was intended forLaurence Olivier who turned it down, butVivien Leigh agreed to play the female lead; Dana Andrews was the other star. The circumstances of production were turbulent; Leigh had a nervous breakdown during production, leading to her being replaced byElizabeth Taylor. The experience helped sour Finch on a Hollywood career and he would only work occasionally there for the rest of his career.
Back in England, Finch was cast as the villainFlambeau inFather Brown (1954), receiving superb reviews oppositeAlec Guinness in the title role. He narrated a documentaryThe Queen in Australia and had his first real star part in the Group 3/British Lion comedy,Make Me an Offer (1954), playing an antiques dealer. He was then a villain in the medieval swashbucklerThe Dark Avenger (1955), opposite another Australian,Errol Flynn, for Allied Artists.
He was much in demand. C.G. Scrimgeour of Associated TV wanted Finch to play a patrol officer in a film based on Colin Simpson's articles about Shangri-La Valley in New Guinea. The Rank organisation wanted him to star in a film directed by Hugh Stewart calledThe Flying Doctor.[43]
In November 1954 Finch's contract with Olivier (five years extended to six) had expired and he signed a seven-year contract with theRank Organisation worth £87,500 to make one film a year for them. "We are going to build Peter into a major British star", saidEarl St. John, Rank's head of production, at the time.[44]
Finch's first roles for Rank under the new arrangement gave him star parts but were, on the whole, undistinguished:Passage Home (1955), a drama with Anthony Steel and fellow AustralianDiane Cilento;Josephine and Men (1955), a comedy from the Boulting Brothers withGlynis Johns andDonald Sinden; andSimon and Laura (1955), a comedy withKay Kendall based on a hit play. None of these films performed particularly well at the box office.
Finch was then cast as an Australian soldier inA Town Like Alice (1956), oppositeVirginia McKenna under the direction of Jack Lee from the novel byNeville Shute. The World War II drama, mostly set in Malaya and almost entirely shot at Pinewood Studios, became the third-most-popular film at the British box office in 1956 and won Finch a BAFTA for Best Actor.
Finch followed it with another war movie,The Battle of the River Plate (1956), playing CaptainHans Langsdorff for the team of Powell and Pressburger. This was also hugely popular at home, and British exhibitors voted Finch the seventh-most-popular British star at the box office for 1956.[45] In October 1956, John Davis, managing director of Rank, announced him as one of the actors under contract that Davis thought would become an international star.[46]
Finch returned to Australia to makeThe Shiralee (1957), made for Ealing Studios and MGM from the novel byD'Arcy Niland, under the direction of Leslie Norman. It was one of Finch's favourite parts; the resulting movie was critically acclaimed and the tenth-most-popular movie at the British box office that year.
Finch followed it with another Australian story filmed on location, thebushranger taleRobbery Under Arms (1957), which did less well, despite having the same producer and director asA Town Like Alice.Filmink argued Finch's "character could be removed from the final movie, and it wouldn’t have affected anything... a character with no romance, no moral core, no purpose in the story, no point."[47] However, exhibitors still voted Finch the third-most-popular British star of 1957, and the fifth most popular overall, regardless of nationality.[48]
Finch's next two films for Rank were not particularly successful:Windom's Way (1957), where he played a doctor caught up in theMalayan Emergency (the film was shot in Corsica and London); andOperation Amsterdam (1959), a war-time diamond thriller.[49] Finch returned to the stage for the London production ofTwo for the Seesaw byWilliam Gibson, under the direction ofArthur Penn.
Finch's career received a boost whenFred Zinnemann cast him oppositeAudrey Hepburn inThe Nun's Story (1959). This was an enormous financial and critical success and established Finch's reputation internationally. In August 1959 he said this andThe Shiralee were the only two films he had done that he liked.[50]
For Disney he playedAlan Breck in a version ofKidnapped (1960) then went to Hollywood to makeThe Sins of Rachel Cade (shot in 1959, released in 1961), an attempt to repeat the success ofThe Nun's Story, withAngie Dickinson.
He was much in demand and still owed Rank three films under his contract. They wanted him to appear opposite Dirk Bogarde inThe Singer Not the Song. Instead Finch decided to co-write and direct an award-winning short film,The Day (1960). He announced plans to direct a feature –Dig, about Australian exploration – but it did not eventuate.
Then, for a fee of £25,000[citation needed] he playedOscar Wilde inThe Trials of Oscar Wilde (1960), winning another BAFTA; the film, however, was not popular.[51] He played a Labour politician in Rank'sNo Love for Johnnie (1961), and won his third BAFTA for Best Actor – although likeOscar Wilde, the film lost money. Finch's career was generally more successful away from Rank.[52]
Finch was originally chosen to playJulius Caesar inCleopatra (1963) opposite Elizabeth Taylor, and filmed some scenes in London, under the direction of Robert Mamoulian. When the film was postponed Finch withdrew; new directorJoseph Mankiewicz wanted to still use him, but the actor was unable to make his schedule work, and the role was recast withRex Harrison.
Finch made two unsuccessful Hollywood films with director Robert Stevens atMGM:I Thank a Fool (1962) andIn the Cool of the Day (1963). While filming the latter he was reported in theLos Angeles Times as saying that the star system was dead and the future lay in independent films. He also said he would direct a second filmThe Hero.[53]
Finch restored his critical reputation with two highly acclaimed British films:The Pumpkin Eater (1964) andGirl with Green Eyes (1964). He had an uncredited cameo inFirst Men in the Moon (1964), then had a good role in a tough adventure film forRobert Aldrich,The Flight of the Phoenix (1965).
Finch's next three films saw him support high-profile female stars:Sophia Loren inJudith (1966),Melina Mercouri in10:30 P.M. Summer (1966) andJulie Christie inFar from the Madding Crowd (1967). He was reunited with Aldrich forThe Legend of Lylah Clare (1968).The Red Tent (1970) was an expensive international adventure film, with Finch asUmberto Nobile.
Finch's career received another boost whenIan Bannen dropped out of the lead inSunday Bloody Sunday (1971). Finch replaced him and his performance was rewarded with another BAFTA for Best Actor and an Oscar nomination.
The momentum of this was lost somewhat bySomething to Hide (1972) and the disastrous musical remake ofLost Horizon (1973). He playedLord Nelson inBequest to the Nation (1973) and an opportunistic financier inEngland Made Me (1973).The Abdication (1974) was an unsuccessful historical drama.
Finch was asked to audition for the part of news presenterHoward Beale inNetwork (1976), written byPaddy Chayefsky and directed bySidney Lumet.[2] The movie, with Finch as its star, was his biggest commercial and critical hit in years. His line "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" has become iconic.
He then playedYitzhak Rabin inRaid on Entebbe (1977).
Finch was also an occasional poet. He was encouraged byKenneth Slessor, who published Finch's poem "Tell them" inAustralian Poetry 1945, of which he was the editor. Slessor also arranged for a volume of Finch's early poems to be published. Finch's biographerTrader Faulkner reported that Finch told him that "no film award ... ever gave him the sense of fulfillment comparable to seeing a poem he'd written in print".[54]
Finch was married three times. In 1943, he marriedRomanian-born French ballerinaTamara Tchinarova; they worked together on a number of films. They had a daughter, Anita, born in 1950. They divorced in 1959, after she discovered his affair with actressVivien Leigh in California.[55][56][57]
Finch then married South African-born actressYolande Turner (née Yolande Eileen Turnbull); they had two children together, Samantha andCharles Peter. During their marriage, Finch had an affair with the singerShirley Bassey. Bassey had a daughter, also named Samantha, born in 1963; Bassey's husband at the time, the openly gay film producer Kenneth Hume, believed that Finch was Samantha's biological father.[58][59] Finch and Turner divorced in 1965.[2]
On 9 November 1973 in Rome, Finch married Mavis "Eletha" Barrett, who was known as Eletha Finch.[2][60] They had a daughter together, Diana.[57]
Shortly afterRaid on Entebbe finished shooting, Finch undertook a promotional tour forNetwork. On 13 January 1977 he appeared onThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.George Carlin was also on the show that night; he joked about death. The day after, Finch had aheart attack in the lobby ofthe Beverly Hills Hotel and died at the age of 60.[61] He is interred in theHollywood Forever Cemetery.[2]
Finch was nominated for an Oscar forNetwork and went on to posthumously win the award, which was accepted by his widow, Eletha Finch. AlthoughJames Dean (twice) andSpencer Tracy had previously been posthumously nominated for a Best Actor Oscar, Finch was the first actor to win the award posthumously, as well as the first Australian actor to win a Best Actor award. He was the only posthumous winner of an Oscar in an acting category until fellow AustralianHeath Ledger won theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2009; there were many earlierposthumous Oscar winners in non-acting categories.[62][63] Finch also won five Best Actor awards from theBritish Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), including one forNetwork.
Shortly before he died, Finch told a journalist:
We all say we're going to quit occasionally. I'd like to have been more adventurous in my career. But it's a fascinating and not ignoble profession. No one lives more lives than the actor. Movie making is likegeometry and I hated maths. But this kind of jigsaw I relish. When I played Lord Nelson I worked thepoop deck in his uniform. I got extraordinary shivers. Sometimes I felt like I was staring at my own coffin. I touched that character. There lies the madness. You can't fake it.[64]
In 1954, the Australian journalist and authorGeorge Johnston wrote a well-researched series of biographical articles on Finch, his life, and his work, which appeared in the SydneySun-Herald on four consecutive Sundays, which were certainly the first detailed account of Finch's life to be published. Finch later provided the inspiration for the character Archie Calverton in Johnston's novel,Clean Straw for Nothing.[65]
In 1980, American authorElaine Dundy published a biography of Finch titledFinch, Bloody Finch: A Biography of Peter Finch. That year, his second wife, Yolande Finch, also published a posthumous account of their life together,Finchy: My Life with Peter Finch. Another biography had previously been published by his friend and colleagueTrader Faulkner, in 1979.
According to an entry in Brian McFarlane'sThe Encyclopedia of British Film, republished on theBritish Film Institute'sScreenonline website, Finch "did not emerge unscathed from a life of well-publicised hell-raising, and several biographies chronicle the affairs and the booze, but a serious appraisal of a great actor remains to be written."[66]
A profile of Finch at Screenonline asserts that "it is arguable that no other actor ever chalked up such a rewardingCV in British films."[5]
| Institution | Year | Category | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | 1971 | Best Actor | Sunday Bloody Sunday | Nominated |
| 1976 | Network | Won (Posthumously) | ||
| BAFTA Awards | 1956 | Best British Actor | A Town Like Alice | Won |
| 1957 | Windom's Way | Nominated | ||
| 1959 | The Nun's Story | Nominated | ||
| 1960 | The Trials of Oscar Wilde | Won | ||
| 1961 | No Love for Johnnie | Won | ||
| 1971 | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Sunday Bloody Sunday | Won | |
| 1977 | Network | Won (Posthumously) | ||
| Berlin International Film Festival | 1961 | Best Actor[67] | No Love for Johnnie | Won |
| Golden Globe Awards | 1971 | Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama | Sunday Bloody Sunday | Nominated |
| 1976 | Network | Won (Posthumously) | ||
| Moscow International Film Festival | 1961 | Best Actor[68] | The Trials of Oscar Wilde | Won |
| National Board of Review | 1967 | Best Actor | Far from the Madding Crowd | Won |
| National Society of Film Critics | 1971 | Best Actor | Sunday Bloody Sunday | Won |
| New York Film Critics Circle | 1971 | Best Actor | Nominated | |
| Primetime Emmy Awards | 1977 | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Special Program – Drama or Comedy | Raid on Entebbe | Nominated (Posthumously) |
