Sir Ralph David Richardson is a renowned British actor in theater, film, television, radio, director and producer. He was one of the greatest theatrical performers of the 20th century, starring in London's West End in the mid-1930s. In 1947 he was awarded the knighthood. He acted in films from 1933 to 1984.
The artist's creative biography includes dozens of theatrical roles played on the stage of London and then Broadway theaters. Since 1933, he has starred in almost a hundred films, won many awards and nominations.
He became the first actor of his generation to be knighted in 1947 and became Sir Ralph Richardson. In 1948, Laurence Olivier received this title, and in 1953 - John Gielgud.
Biography facts
The future actor was born in England in the winter of 1902. He was the youngest child of Arthur Richardson and Lydia Russell. Ralph's future parents met in Paris, where they studied painting.
The family broke up in 1907. Arthur and Lydia left for different cities, but they never got an official divorce. Two sons - Christopher and Ambrose - stayed with their father, while Ralph went with his mother to Shoreham-by-Sea on the south coast of England.
At first, they lived in a makeshift house converted from old railway carriages. Mother dreamed that Ralph would become a priest, and he even served as an altar servant for some time.
When the boy was 15 years old, he was sent to study at Xaverian College, where future priests were trained. Ralph didn't like studying. As a result, he never received an education and ran away from college.
In 1919, the young man got a job as a messenger for an insurance company. He was paid good money, but the work itself did not appeal to him. He often made mistakes, incorrectly executed papers and delivered documents to the wrong address, which caused constant irritation among the authorities.
A few months after joining the company, Richardson's grandmother died, leaving the boy a small inheritance of £ 500. This money completely changed his life. He retired from the service and entered the art school in the painting department. Ralph soon realized that he lacked talent, and his drawings did not attract attention at all. A year later, he dropped out of school and for a long time could not decide what to do next. Once, having visited the play "Hamlet", he was so impressed by the performance of Frank Benson that he decided to become an actor.
Ralph met an actor-manager and began to pay him a little money so that he would teach him acting skills and take him into his service in the theater.
Creative way
Since 1920, Ralph has played many roles on the theater stage. He made his debut at St. Nicholas Hall in Les Miserables, where he appeared on stage as a gendarme.
Richardson has worked in many theaters in England and America. He played in classical and modern plays and became one of the most famous British theater actors of the last century.
His creative career lasted for over 60 years. The last time he appeared on stage was in 1983, shortly before his death. He played Don Alberto in Inner Voices at the Royal National Theater.
From 1929 to 1982, Ralph was active in radio. He took part in the production of radio plays, among which were: "Twelfth Night", "Romeo and Juliet", "Julius Caesar", "Macbeth", "The Tempest", "Much Ado About Nothing", "Faust", "A Midsummer Night's Dream "," Richard II "," Moby Dick ".
His film debut took place in Richardson's 1933 horror film Ghoul. The artist's cinematic career lasted more than half a century. He played about a hundred roles in television and film projects, including: "The Man Who Could Work Miracles", "The Citadel", "Four Feathers", "Anna Karenina", "Defeated Idol", "Heiress", "Sound Barrier", "Richard III", "300 Spartans", "The Long Day Leaves into the Night", "The Straw Woman", "Doctor Zhivago", "What a Wonderful War", "Tales from the Crypt", "Lady Carolina Lam", " Oh, lucky one "The Man in the Iron Mask", "Winner of the Dragon", "Witness for the Prosecution".
Pictures "Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes" and "Say Hello to Broad Street" were released in 1984 after the death of Richardson. For the role of Earl Greystoke, the actor was posthumously nominated for an Oscar.
The actor passed away at the age of 80. He suffered several strokes and passed away in the fall of 1983.
Awards, prizes, nominations
Richardson received his first cinematic award in 1949. It was the National Board of Review Award for Best Actor in Damaged Idol. Ralph was awarded second place for this work by the New York Film Critics Circle.
In the same year, he again won the National Board of Review award for his work in the film "The Heiress" and was nominated for an Oscar in the category "Best Supporting Actor."
Having starred in the film "The Sound Barrier", Richardson won several awards at once: the British Film Academy, the National Board of Review and the New York Film Critics Circle.
In 1957 he was nominated for the Tony Theater Award for his performance in The Waltz of the Bullfighters. He received 2 more nominations for this award in 1971 and 1977.
In 1962 at the Cannes Film Festival was shown the picture "Long Day Leaves into Night", which brought Ralph the award in the category "Best Actor".
The actor was nominated for the British Film Academy Award in 1965 3 times for his roles in the films: Doctor Zhivago, Jihat, Another Box.
In 1981, the artist won the Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Arts.
In 1984, he was posthumously nominated for an Academy Award and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Earl Greystoke in Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, the Lord of the Apes. He was also awarded the New York Film Critics Circle for this work.
Personal life
Ralph has been married twice. The first chosen one in 1925 was Muriel Hewitt. She died on October 5, 1942.
The second wife in January 1944 was the actress Mariel Forbes-Robinson, with whom Ralph lived for the rest of his life.
In 1945, a son, Charles, was born into the family. He also chose a creative profession, worked in television for a long time. Charles passed away in 1998 at the age of 53.
Mariel outlived her husband by almost 17 years. She passed away on April 7, 2000.
