Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough, 29 August 1923,passed away yesterday 24 August 2014, was an English actor, film director, film producer, and entrepreneur. He was the President of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. As a film director and producer, he won two Academy Awards for Gandhi in 1983. He also won four BAFTA Awards and four Golden Globe Awards. As an actor, he is perhaps best known for his roles in Brighton Rock, The Great Escape, 10 Rillington Place, Miracle on 34th Street, and Jurassic Park. He was the older brother of Sir David Attenborough, a naturalist and broadcaster, and John Attenborough, an executive at Alfa Romeo. Attenboroughs acting career started on stage and he appeared in shows at Leicesters Little Theatre, Dover Street, prior to his going to RADA, where he remained Patron until his death. Attenboroughs film career began in 1942 in an uncredited role as a deserting sailor in the Noël Coward/David Lean production In Which We Serve (his name and character were accidentally omitted from the original release-print credits), a role which would help to type-cast him for many years as spivs or cowards in films like London Belongs to Me (1948), Morning Departure (1950) and his breakthrough role as Pinkie Brown in John Boultings film adaptation of Graham Greenes novel Brighton Rock (1947), a part that he had previously played to great acclaim at the Garrick Theatre in 1942. In 1949, exhibitors voted him the sixth most popular British actor at the box office. Early in his stage career, Attenborough starred in the West End production of Agatha Christies The Mousetrap, which went on to become the worlds longest running stage production. Both he and his wife were among the original cast members of the production, which opened in 1952 at the Ambassadors Theatre and as of 2014 is still running at the St Martins Theatre. In 1963, he appeared in the ensemble cast of The Great Escape as RAF Squadron Leader Roger Bartlett (Big X), the head of the escape committee, based on the real-life exploits of Roger Bushell. It was his first appearance in a major Hollywood film blockbuster and his most successful film thus far. During the 1960s, he expanded his range of character roles in films such as Séance on a Wet Afternoon (1964) and Guns at Batasi (1964), for which he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of the Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM). In 1965 he played Lew Moran opposite James Stewart in The Flight of the Phoenix and in 1967 and 1968, he won back-to-back Golden Globe Awards in the category of Best Supporting Actor, the first time for The Sand Pebbles, again co-starring Steve McQueen, and the second time for Doctor Dolittle starring Rex Harrison. His portrayal of the serial killer John Christie in 10 Rillington Place (1971) garnered excellent reviews. In 1977, he played the ruthless General Outram, again to great acclaim, in the Indian director Satyajit Rays period piece The Chess Players. He took no acting roles following his appearance in Otto Premingers version of The Human Factor (1979) until his appearance as the eccentric developer John Hammond in Steven Spielbergs Jurassic Park (1993) and the films sequel, The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997). He will be rembered with love and respect.
Posted on: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 05:56:49 +0000
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