# Michael Hordern on stage, screen and radio

This short description is INTENTIONALLY "none" &#x2D; please see WP:SDNONE before you consider changing it!
Michael Hordern (3 October 1911–2 May 1995) was an English actor whose career spanned seven decades. He made more than 160 film appearances, usually in supporting character roles, and appeared in over 100 theatrical productions, most of them Shakespeare.

## Stage credits

Hordern appeared as an amateur for several seasons at the St Pancras People's Theatre, while working at the Educational Supply Association, before he turned professional in 1937.
Hordern's stage credits :
| Production | Date | Theatre | Role | Notes |
| Othello | March 1937 | People's Palace, Mile End | Lodovico | |
| Arms and the Man | 1937 | Tour of Scandinavia and the Baltic capitals | Sergius | With Westminster Productions |
| Outward Bound | 1937 | Tour of Scandinavia and the Baltic capitals | Henry | With Westminster Productions |
| Various | 1937–1939 | Little Theatre, Bristol | Various | In repertory theatre |
| Without the Prince | April 1940 | Whitehall Theatre | PC James Hawkins | |
| A Doll's House | January 1946 | Intimate Theatre | Torvald Helmer | |
| Dear Murderer | July 1946 | Aldwych Theatre | Richard Fenton | |
| The Fairy-Queen | December 1946 | Covent Garden Theatre | Bottom | |
| Noose | June 1947 | Saville Theatre | Captain Hoyle | |
| Toad of Toad Hall | December 1948 | Memorial Theatre, Stratford-on-Avon | Mr. Toad | |
| A Woman in Love | April 1949 | Embassy Theatre | Pascal | |
| Stratton | October 1949 | Touring | Rev John Courtenay | |
| Toad of Toad Hall | December 1949 | Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-on-Avon | Mr. Toad | |
| Ivanov | April 1950 | Arts Theatre | Nikolai Ivanov | |
| Macbeth | June 1950 | Arts Theatre | Macduff | |
| Party Manners | October 1950 | Prince's Theatre | Christopher | |
| Saint's Day | September 1951 | Arts Theatre | Paul Southman | |
| Coriolanus | 1952 season | Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-on-Avon | Menenius | With the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Company |
| As You Like It | 1952 season | Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-on-Avon | Jaques | With the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Company |
| Volpone | 1952 season | Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-on-Avon | Sir Politic Would-Be | With the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Company |
| Hamlet | 1953 | Edinburgh Festival | Polonius | |
| Hamlet | 1953–1954 | The Old Vic | Polonius | with the Old Vic Company |
| All's Well That Ends Well | 1953–1954 | The Old Vic | Parolles | with the Old Vic Company |
| Twelfth Night | 1953–1954 | The Old Vic | Malvolio | with the Old Vic Company |
| The Tempest | 1953–1954 | The Old Vic | Prospero | with the Old Vic Company |
| Nina | July 1955 | Haymarket Theatre | Georges de Fourville | |
| The Doctor's Dilemma | October 1955 | Saville Theatre | Sir Ralph Bloomfield Bonington | |
| What Shall We Tell Caroline? | April 1958 | Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith | Tony Peters | On a double bill with The Dock Brief; transferred to the Garrick Theatre in May 1958 |
| The Dock Brief | April 1958 | Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith | Morgenhall | On a double bill with What Shall We Tell Caroline?; transferred to the Garrick Theatre in May 1958 |
| Julius Caesar | Oct 1958 | The Old Vic | Cassius | with the Old Vic Company |
| Ghosts | Oct 1958 | The Old Vic | Pastor Manders | with the Old Vic Company |
| Macbeth | Oct 1958 | The Old Vic | Macbeth | with the Old Vic Company |
| The Magistrate | Oct 1958 | The Old Vic | Mr Posket | with the Old Vic Company |
| Moonbirds | October 1959 | Cort Theatre, New York | Alexander Chabert | |
| Oedipus Rex | April 1960 | Sadler's Wells Theatre | Narrator | |
| Playing With Fire | June 1962 | Aldwych Theatre | Father | with the Royal Shakespeare Company |
| The Collection | June 1962 | Aldwych Theatre | Harry | with the Royal Shakespeare Company |
| Troilus and Cressida | October 1962 | Aldwych Theatre | Ulysses | with the Royal Shakespeare Company |
| The Physicists | January 1963 | Aldwych Theatre | Herbert Georg Beutler | with the Royal Shakespeare Company |
| Saint's Day | May 1965 | Royal Theatre | Paul Southman | |
| Relatively Speaking | March 1967 | Duke of York's Theatre | Philip | |
| Enter a Free Man | March 1968 | St Martin's Theatre | George Riley | |
| A Delicate Balance | January 1969 | Aldwych Theatre | Tobias | with the Royal Shakespeare Company |
| King Lear | October 1969 | Nottingham Playhouse, Nottingham | King Lear | Production visited The Old Vic, February 1970 |
| Flint | May 1970 | Criterion Theatre | | |
| Jumpers | 1972 | The Old Vic | George Moore | with the National Theatre company |
| Richard II | 1972 | The Old Vic | John of Gaunt | with the National Theatre company |
| The Cherry Orchard | May 1973 | The Old Vic | Leonid Gayev | with the National Theatre company |
| Stripwell | October 1975 | Royal Court Theatre | Graham Stripwell | |
| Once upon a Time | 1976 | Bristol Old Vic | Fedya | |
| The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold | 1977 | Round House Theatre, Manchester | Gilbert Pinfold | then Round House Theatre, London, 1979 |
| The Tempest | 1978 | Royal Shakespeare Theatre | Prospero | with the Royal Shakespeare Company |
| Love's Labour's Lost | 1978 | Royal Shakespeare Theatre | Don Adriano de Armado | with the Royal Shakespeare Company |
| The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold | 1979 | Round House Theatre | Gilbert Pinfold | |
| The Rivals | 1983 | National Theatre | Sir Anthony Absolute | |
| You Never Can Tell | 1987 | Haymarket Theatre | William the waiter | |
| Bookends | 1990 | Apollo Theatre | | |
| Trelawny of the 'Wells' | 1992 | Comedy Theatre | | |

## Filmography

Filmography of Hordern :
| Film | Year | Role | Notes |
| A Girl Must Live | 1939 | Cast member | |
| Band Waggon | 1940 | Minor Role | Uncredited |
| The Girl in the News | 1940 | Assistant Prosecuting Counsel | Uncredited |
| The Years Between | 1946 | MP in the House of Commons | Uncredited |
| A Girl in a Million | 1946 | Divorce counsel | |
| School for Secrets | 1946 | Lieutenant-Commander Lowther | |
| Mine Own Executioner | 1947 | Co-counsel at Felix's Hearing | Uncredited |
| Night Beat | 1947 | Cast member | Uncredited |
| Good-Time Girl | 1948 | Seddon, detective | |
| The Small Voice | 1948 | Dr. Mennell | |
| Third Time Lucky | 1949 | Second doctor | Uncredited |
| Portrait from Life | 1949 | Johnson | |
| Passport to Pimlico | 1949 | Bashford | |
| Train of Events | 1949 | First plain clothes man | (segment "The Actor") |
| The Astonished Heart | 1950 | Ernest | |
| Trio | 1950 | Vicar | (in segment The Verger) |
| Highly Dangerous | 1950 | Rawlings, director of laboratory | |
| Flesh and Blood | 1951 | Webster | |
| Scrooge | 1951 | Jacob Marley | |
| Tom Brown's Schooldays | 1951 | Wilkes | |
| The Magic Box | 1951 | Official receiver | |
| The Card | 1952 | Bank manager | Uncredited |
| The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men | 1952 | Scathelock | |
| The Hour of 13 | 1952 | Sir Herbert Frensham | |
| Street Corner | 1953 | Detective Inspector Heron | |
| Grand National Night | 1953 | Inspector Ayling | |
| Personal Affair | 1953 | Headmaster Griffith | |
| The Heart of the Matter | 1953 | Commissioner of Police | |
| You Know What Sailors Are | 1954 | Captain Hamilton | |
| Forbidden Cargo | 1954 | Director | |
| The Beachcomber | 1954 | Headman | |
| Svengali | 1954 | Billy's Uncle | Uncredited |
| The Night My Number Came Up | 1955 | Commander Lindsay | |
| The Dark Avenger | 1955 | King Edward III | |
| The Constant Husband | 1955 | Judge | |
| Storm Over the Nile | 1955 | General Faversham | |
| The Man Who Never Was | 1956 | General Coburn | |
| Alexander the Great | 1956 | Demosthenes | |
| Pacific Destiny | 1956 | Gregory, resident commissioner | |
| The Baby and the Battleship | 1956 | Captain Hugh | |
| The Spanish Gardener | 1956 | Harrington Brande | |
| No Time for Tears | 1957 | Surgeon | |
| Windom's Way | 1957 | Patterson | |
| The Dock Brief | 1957 | Barrister Wilfred Morganhall | BBC - TV film |
| I Accuse! | 1958 | Prosecutor | |
| The Spaniard's Curse | 1958 | Mr Justice Manton | |
| Girls at Sea | 1958 | Admiral Hewitt | |
| I Was Monty's Double | 1958 | Rusty | |
| Sink the Bismarck! | 1960 | Admiral Sir John Tovey | |
| Moment of Danger | 1960 | Inspector Farrell | |
| Man in the Moon | 1960 | Dr Davidson | |
| El Cid | 1961 | Don Diego | |
| The Scales of Justice | 1962 | Opening Credits Narrator | uncredited |
| The V.I.P.s | 1963 | Airport director | |
| Cleopatra | 1963 | Cicero | |
| Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow | 1963 | Sir Thomas Banks | |
| The Yellow Rolls-Royce | 1964 | Harmsworth | |
| Genghis Khan | 1965 | Geen | |
| The Spy Who Came in from the Cold | 1965 | Ashe | |
| Cast a Giant Shadow | 1966 | British Ambassador | |
| Khartoum | 1966 | Lord Granville | |
| A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum | 1966 | Senex | |
| The Taming of the Shrew | 1967 | Baptista | |
| The Jokers | 1967 | Sir Matthew | |
| How I Won the War | 1967 | General Grapple | |
| I'll Never Forget What's'isname | 1967 | Headmaster | |
| Prudence and the Pill | 1968 | Dr Morley | Uncredited |
| Where Eagles Dare | 1968 | Vice-Admiral Rolland | |
| The Bed Sitting Room | 1969 | Captain Bules Martin | |
| Anne of the Thousand Days | 1969 | Thomas Boleyn | |
| Futtocks End | 1970 | Butler | |
| Some Will, Some Won't | 1970 | James Deniston Russell | |
| Up Pompeii | 1971 | Ludicrus Sextus | |
| A Christmas Carol | 1971 | Jacob Marley | |
| The Possession of Joel Delaney | 1972 | Justin Lorenz | |
| The Pied Piper | 1972 | Melius | |
| Demons of the Mind | 1972 | Priest | |
| Alice's Adventures in Wonderland | 1972 | Mock Turtle | |
| Theatre of Blood | 1973 | George William Maxwell | |
| The Mackintosh Man | 1973 | Brown | |
| England Made Me | 1973 | F. Minty | |
| The Three Musketeers | 1973 | Treville | Voice, Uncredited |
| Girl Stroke Boy | 1973 | George Mason | |
| Juggernaut | 1974 | Baker | Uncredited |
| Royal Flash | 1975 | Headmaster | |
| Mister Quilp | 1975 | Grandfather | |
| Barry Lyndon | 1975 | Narrator | Voice |
| Lucky Lady | 1975 | Captain Rockwell | |
| The Slipper and the Rose | 1976 | King | |
| Joseph Andrews | 1977 | Parson Adams | |
| The Medusa Touch | 1978 | Fortune teller | |
| Watership Down | 1978 | Narrator/Frith | Voice |
| The Talking Parcel | 1978 | Oswald, the Sea Serpent | Voice |
| The Wildcats of St Trinian's | 1980 | Sir Charles Hackforth | |
| Ivanhoe | 1982 | Cedric | |
| The Missionary | 1982 | Slatterthwaite | |
| Gandhi | 1982 | Sir George Hodge | |
| Oliver Twist | 1982 | Mr. Brownlow | |
| Yellowbeard | 1983 | Dr Gilpin | |
| The Wind in the Willows | 1983 | Badger | Voice |
| The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood | 1984 | Rupert | |
| Young Sherlock Holmes | 1985 | Older John Watson | Voice |
| Comrades | 1986 | Mr Pitt | |
| Lady Jane | 1986 | Dr Feckenham | |
| Labyrinth | 1986 | Wiseman | Voice |
| Suspicion | 1987 | Lord McLaidlaw | |
| The Trouble with Spies | 1987 | Jason Locke | |
| The Secret Garden | 1987 | Ben Weatherstaff | |
| Diamond Skulls | 1989 | Lord Crewne | |
| The Fool | 1990 | Mr Tatham | |
| Beauty and the Beast | 1992 | Monsieur De Bois | Voice |
| Freddie as F.R.O.7 | 1992 | King | Voice |

## Television

Filmography of Hordern :
| Programme | Year | Role | Notes |
| Whistle and I'll Come to You (Omnibus) | 1968 | Professor Parkin | |
| Six Dates with Barker | 1971 | Arch Funster | Show 6 - 2774: All the World's a Stooge |
| Edward the Seventh | 1975 | William Ewart Gladstone | Prime Minister during the later reign of Queen Victoria. |
| Tales of the Unexpected | 1979 | Cyril Bixby | 1 episode |
| Shōgun | 1980 | Friar Domingo | 5 episodes |
| Gauguin the Savage | 1980 | Durand-Huel | |
| Rod and Line | 1982 | monologues on fishing and philosophy | Produced by Granada |
| Sir Michael's House Party | 1993 | Himself | Temporary host of Noel's House Party for one episode. |

## Radio broadcasts

Radio broadcasts of Michael Hordern :
| Broadcast | Date | Role | Notes |
| The Sunday Play: "Abraham Lincoln" | 14 June 1947 | Abraham Lincoln | tbc |
| Third Programme: "The Dock Brief" | 16 May 1957 | Wilfred Morganhall | |
| Radio drama series: Jeeves & Wooster | 1973–1981 | Jeeves | 8 series and 1 short story |
| The Lord of the Rings (1981 radio series) | March-August 1981 | Gandalf | |
| Saturday Night Theatre: "Leave It to Psmith" | 3 October 1981 | Lord Emsworth | |
| Globe Theater: "The Miser" | 28 September 1986 | Harpagon | |
| Cadfael: "Monk's Hood" | 1991 | Narrator | |
| Cadfael: "The Virgin in the Ice" | 1992 | Narrator | |
| Drama on 3: "Hamlet, Prince of Denmark" | 26 April 1992 | Player King | |
| The Monday Play: "The Importance of Being Earnest" | 13 February 1995 | Lane | |