Ralph Richardson

Born: 19 December 1902
Where: Gloucestershire, England
Died: 10 October 1983

One of the most respected British actors of the 20th century and one of our most celebrated eccentrics:

"Acting is merely the art of keeping a large group of people from coughing"

Born in Shakespeare country, Richardson's father taught art at Cheltenham Ladies' College and as a teenager, Ralph enrolled at Brighton School to follow in his father's footsteps and study art.

However after receiving an inheritance of £500, he abandoned art school to pursue his dream of becoming an actor.

After joining a roving troupe of thespians, the St. Nicholas Players, he learned Shakespeare and debuted as Lorenzo in The Merchant of Venice.

By 1926, he had graduated to the Birmingham Repertory Theatre and, four years later, appeared on the grand stage of London's Old Vic.

It was another four years before he made his first film, The Ghoul.

Richardson went on to appear in over 70 other films, many of them classics.

Because of his versatile acting style, major studios often recruited him for demanding supporting roles in lavish productions, such as Laurence Olivier's Richard III, Otto Preminger's Exodus, David Lean's Dr. Zhivago, and Basil Dearden's Khartoum.

While making these films, Richardson, ever the luvvie continued to perform on the stage.

He also undertook a variety of movie and TV roles that demonstrated his astounding adaptability.

He played God in Time Bandits, the Chief Rabbit in Watership Down, the crypt keeper in Tales From the Crypt and the caterpillar in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Sir Ralph Richardson died in 1983 of a stroke in Marylebone, London.