Historical Figures Codexery

Ralph Richardson

English actor who dominated the British stage and screen in the mid-20th century.

He left art school in 1920 and decided to become an actor after seeing Sir Frank Benson as Hamlet.[1][2] In August 1921, at the Marina Theatre in Lowestoft, Richardson's first professional stage appearance was as Lorenzo in The Merchant of Venice.[3]

Quick Facts

Born
19 December 1902
Died
10 October 1983
Field
Actor
Nationality
English

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

He worked as an office boy for an insurance company before enrolling at the Brighton School of Art.[4][5] He paid manager Frank R. Growcott ten shillings a week to teach him acting and made his stage debut in December 1920.[6] He married actress Muriel Hewitt in 1924 while touring with Nigel Playfair's production.[7] Richardson made his London debut in July 1926 at the Scala Theatre.[8]

During the Second World War he served as a sub-lieutenant pilot in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve.[9] He was knighted in the 1947 New Year Honours.[10]

What the cited sources add

John Miller's biography notes that the cause of the parents' separation was a row over wallpaper, and that any underlying causes are unknown.[11] The Times reported in 1972 that Richardson's mother wanted him to become a priest.[12]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Ralph Richardson" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: O'Connor, p. 29 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Ralph Richardson" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: O'Connor, p. 31 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Ralph Richardson" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Miller, pp. 20–21; List of roles in Tanitch, pp. 122–125; and Miller, pp. 357–366; List of roles in Tanitch, pp. 122–125; and Miller, pp. 357–366 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Ralph Richardson" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: O'Connor, p. 26; O'Connor, p. 26; Miller, p. 15; Hobson, p. 15 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Ralph Richardson" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Miller, p. 15 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Ralph Richardson" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Obituary, The Times, 11 October 1983, p. 14; Hobson, p. 15; List of roles in Tanitch, pp. 122–125; and Miller, pp. 357–366 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Ralph Richardson" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: List of roles in Tanitch, pp. 122–125; and Miller, pp. 357–366; Miller, p. 25 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Ralph Richardson" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Greek Play Society", The Times, 13 July 1926, p. 12; "Princes Theatre: Devonshire Cream", The Manchester Guardian, 24 August 1926, p. 11 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Ralph Richardson" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Clough, p. 114; and Gielgud (2000), p. 136; Miller, pp. 77–78; Miller, pp. 77–78 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Ralph Richardson" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: O'Connor, p. 141 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Wikipedia, "Ralph Richardson" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Miller, pp. 7–8; O'Connor, pp. 20–21; Miller, pp. 7–8; Morley, Sheridan, "Richardson, Sir Ralph David (1902–1983)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, January 201 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  12. Wikipedia, "Ralph Richardson" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Morley, Sheridan, "Richardson, Sir Ralph David (1902–1983)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, January 201; Hayman, Ronald. "Ralph Richardson: open to the appeal of rituals", The Times, 1 July 1972, p. 9 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Ralph Richardson (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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