# Ralph Richardson on stage and screen

Sir Ralph Richardson (1902–1983) was an English actor who appeared on radio, film, television and stage. Described by The Guardian as "indisputably our most poetic actor", and by the director David Ayliff as "a natural actor ... [who] couldn't stop being a perfect actor", Richardson's career lasted over 50 years. He was—in the words of his biographer, Sheridan Morley—one "of the three great actor knights of the mid-twentieth century", alongside Laurence Olivier and John Gielgud.
After seeing a production of Hamlet starring Sir Frank Benson, Richardson decided to become an actor and made his stage debut, playing a gendarme in The Bishop's Candlesticks in December 1920. After touring and appearing in rep, he made his London debut in July 1926 as the stranger in Oedipus at Colonus. In 1930 he joined the Old Vic where he first met Gielgud, staying with the company until the following year. After service during the Second World War with the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, he returned to acting, preferring the works of the more modern authors Luigi Pirandello, Joe Orton, Harold Pinter, George Bernard Shaw and J. B. Priestley to the classic plays of Shakespeare. A radio career ran in parallel to that on the stage, and Richardson was first broadcast in The City in 1929.
Richardson's film career began in 1931 as an uncredited extra in Dreyfus; he did not take film seriously as a medium, but undertook the work for money. His career in film was described by the film historian Brian McFarlane, writing for the British Film Institute, as "prolific and random"; McFarlane considered that in Richardson's performances, "he would remind one that he had few peers and no superiors in his particular line". Richardson won many awards for his performances on stage and screen before his death, including a BAFTA award for The Sound Barrier; an Evening Standard Award for Home, which he shared with John Gielgud; and a special Laurence Olivier Award. His final film, Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes—for which he received further critical plaudits and award nominations—was released after his death.

## Stage roles

Richardson's stage credits :
| Production | Date | Role | Theatre (London, unless otherwise noted) |
| The Bishop's Candlesticks | 1920 | Gendarme | St Nicholas Hall, Brighton |
| The Farmer's Romance | 1921 | Cuthbert | St Nicholas Hall, Brighton |
| Macbeth | 1921 | Macduff and Banquo | St Nicholas Hall, Brighton |
| The Moon Children | 1921 | Father | St Nicholas Hall, Brighton |
| The Taming of the Shrew | 1921 | Tranio | St Nicholas Hall, Brighton |
| Twelfth Night | 1921 | Malvolio | St Nicholas Hall, Brighton |
| Oliver Twist | 1921 | Mr Bumble and Bill Sikes | St Nicholas Hall, Brighton |
| The Merchant of Venice | 1921 | Lorenzo | Marina Theatre, Lowestoft and touring |
| Hamlet | 1921 | Bernardo and Guildenstern | touring |
| The Taming of the Shrew | 1921 | Pedant | touring |
| Julius Caesar | 1921 | Soothsayer and Strato | touring |
| As You Like It | 1921 | Oliver | touring |
| Henry V | 1921 | Scroop and Gower | touring |
| Macbeth | 1921 | Angus and Macduff | touring |
| The Tempest | 1921 | Francisco | touring |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | 1921 | Lysander | touring |
| Twelfth Night | 1921 | Curio and Valentine | touring |
| Macbeth | 1922 | Banquo | touring |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | 1922 | Lysander | touring |
| Hamlet | 1922 | Horatio | touring |
| Julius Caesar | 1922 | Decius Brutus and Octavius | touring |
| Twelfth Night | 1922 | Fabian | touring |
| The Taming of the Shrew | 1922 | Vincentio | touring |
| The Taming of the Shrew | 1922 | Lucentio | touring |
| Othello | 1923 | Cassio | touring |
| The Merchant of Venice | 1923 | Antonio and Gratiano | touring |
| Julius Caesar | 1923 | Antony | touring |
| The Rivals | 1923 | Sir Lucius O'Trigger | Abbey Theatre, Dublin |
| The Romantic Age | 1923 | Bobby | Abbey Theatre, Dublin |
| Outward Bound | 1924 | Henry | touring |
| The Way of the World | 1924 | Fainall | touring |
| The Farmer's Wife | 1925 | Richard Coaker | touring |
| The Christmas Party | 1926 | Dick Whittington | Birmingham Repertory Theatre |
| The Cassilis Engagement | 1926 | Geoffrey Cassilis | Birmingham Repertory Theatre |
| The Round Table | 1926 | Christopher Pegram | Birmingham Repertory Theatre |
| The Importance of Being Earnest | 1926 | Lane | Birmingham Repertory Theatre |
| He Who Gets Slapped | 1926 | Gentleman | Birmingham Repertory Theatre |
| Devonshire Cream | 1926 | Robert Blanchard | Birmingham Repertory Theatre |
| Hobson's Choice | 1926 | Albert Prossor | Birmingham Repertory Theatre |
| The Land of Promise | 1926 | Frank Taylor | Birmingham Repertory Theatre |
| The Barber and the Cow | 1926 | Dr Bevan | Birmingham Repertory Theatre |
| Dear Brutus | 1926 | Dearth | Birmingham Repertory Theatre |
| Oedipus at Colonus | 1926 | The Stranger | Scala |
| Yellow Sands | 1926 | Arthur Varwell | Haymarket |
| Back to Methuselah | 1928 | Zazim and Pygmalion | Court |
| Harold | 1928 | Gurth | Court |
| The Taming of the Shrew | 1928 | Tranio | Court |
| Prejudice | 1928 | Hezekiah Brent | Arts |
| Aren't Women Wonderful? | 1928 | Ben Hawley | Court |
| The Runaways | 1928 | James Jago | Garrick |
| The New Sin | 1928 | David | Little Theatre, Epsom |
| Monsieur Beaucaire | 1928 | Duke of Winterset | touring in South Africa |
| The School for Scandal | 1929 | Joseph Surface | touring in South Africa |
| David Garrick | 1929 | Squire Chivy | touring in South Africa |
| Silver Wings | 1930 | Gilbert Nash | Dominion and touring |
| Othello | 1930 | Roderigo | Savoy |
| Henry IV, Part 1 | 1930 | Prince Hal | The Old Vic |
| The Jealous Wife | 1930 | Sir Harry Beagle | The Old Vic |
| The Tempest | 1930 | Caliban | The Old Vic |
| Richard II | 1930 | Bolingbroke | The Old Vic |
| Antony and Cleopatra | 1930 | Enobarbus | The Old Vic |
| Twelfth Night | 1931 | Sir Toby Belch | Sadler's Wells |
| Arms and the Man | 1931 | Bluntschli | The Old Vic and Sadler's Wells |
| Much Ado About Nothing | 1931 | Don Pedro | The Old Vic and Sadler's Wells |
| King Lear | 1931 | Kent | The Old Vic and Sadler's Wells |
| A Woman Killed with Kindness | 1931 | Nicholas | Festival Theatre, Malvern |
| She Would If She Could | 1931 | Courtall | Festival Theatre, Malvern |
| The Switchback | 1931 | Viscount Pascal | Festival Theatre, Malvern |
| King John | 1931 | Faulconbridge | The Old Vic |
| The Taming of the Shrew | 1931 | Petruchio | The Old Vic |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | 1931 | Bottom | The Old Vic |
| Henry V | 1931 | Henry V | The Old Vic |
| The Knight of the Burning Pestle | 1931 | Ralph | The Old Vic |
| Julius Caesar | 1931 | Brutus | The Old Vic |
| Abraham Lincoln | 1931 | General Grant | The Old Vic |
| Othello | 1931 | Iago | The Old Vic |
| Hamlet | 1931 | The Ghost and First Gravedigger | The Old Vic |
| Ralph Roister Doister | 1932 | Matthew Merrygreek | Festival Theatre, Malvern |
| The Alchemist | 1932 | Face | Festival Theatre, Malvern |
| Oroonoko | 1932 | Oroonoko | Festival Theatre, Malvern |
| Too True to Be Good | 1932 | Sergeant Fielding | Festival Theatre, Malvern |
| Too True to Be Good | 1932 | Sergeant Fielding | New |
| For Services Rendered | 1932 | Collie Stratton | Globe |
| Head-on Crash | 1933 | Dirk Barclay | Queen's Theatre |
| Wild Decembers | 1933 | Arthur Bell Nicholls | Apollo |
| Sheppey | 1933 | Sheppey | Wyndham's |
| Peter Pan | 1933 | Mr Darling and Captain Hook | Palladium |
| Marriage is No Joke | 1934 | John MacGregor | Globe |
| Eden End | 1934 | Charles Appleby | Duchess |
| Cornelius | 1935 | Cornelius | Duchess |
| Romeo and Juliet | 1935 | Mercutio and Chorus | Martin Beck Theatre, New York, and on US tour |
| Promise | 1936 | Emile Delbar | Shaftesbury |
| Bees on the Boat Deck | 1936 | Sam Gridley | Lyric |
| The Amazing Dr Clitterhouse | 1936 | Dr Clitterhouse | Haymarket |
| The Silent Knight | 1937 | Peter Agardi | St James's |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | 1937 | Bottom | The Old Vic |
| Othello | 1938 | Othello | The Old Vic |
| Johnson Over Jordan | 1939 | Robert Johnson | New |
| Peer Gynt | 1944 | Peer | New and touring in Germany and France |
| Arms and the Man | 1944 | Bluntschli | New and touring in Germany and France |
| Richard III | 1944 | Richmond | New and touring in Germany and France |
| Uncle Vanya | 1944 | Uncle Vanya | New |
| Henry IV, Part 1 | 1945 | Sir John Falstaff | New and Century, New York |
| Henry IV, Part 2 | 1945 | Sir John Falstaff | New and Century, New York |
| Oedipus Rex | 1945 | Tiresias | New and Century, New York |
| The Critic | 1945 | Lord Burleigh | New and Century, New York |
| An Inspector Calls | 1946-47 | Inspector Goole | New |
| Cyrano de Bergerac | 1946-47 | Cyrano | New |
| The Alchemist | 1946-47 | Face | New |
| Richard II | 1946-47 | John of Gaunt | New |
| Royal Circle | 1948 | Marcus | Wyndham's |
| The Heiress | 1949 | Dr Sloper | Haymarket |
| Home at Seven | 1950 | David Preston | Wyndham's |
| Three Sisters | 1951 | Vershinin | Aldwych |
| The Tempest | 1952 | Prospero | Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-on-Avon |
| Macbeth | 1952 | Macbeth | Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-on-Avon |
| Volpone | 1952 | Volpone | Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-on-Avon |
| The White Carnation | 1953 | John Greenwood | Globe |
| A Day by the Sea | 1953 | Dr Farley | Haymarket |
| Separate Tables | 1955 | Mr Martin and Major Pollock | Australasian tour |
| The Sleeping Prince | 1955 | Grand Duke | Australasian tour |
| Timon of Athens | 1956 | Timon | The Old Vic |
| The Waltz of the Toreadors | 1957 | General St Pé | Coronet, New York |
| Flowering Cherry | 1957 | Cherry | Haymarket and UK tour |
| The Complaisant Lover | 1959 | Victor Rhodes | Globe |
| The Last Joke | 1960 | Edward Portal | Phoenix |
| The School for Scandal | 1962–63 | Sir Peter Teazle | Haymarket, Majestic, New York and US tour |
| Six Characters in Search of an Author | 1963 | Father | May Fair |
| The Merchant of Venice | 1964 | Shylock | Theatre Royal, Brighton, and tour to South America and Europe |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | 1964 | Bottom | Theatre Royal, Brighton, and tour to South America and Europe |
| Carving a Statue | 1964 | Father | Haymarket |
| You Never Can Tell | 1966 | Waiter | Haymarket |
| The Rivals | 1966 | Sir Anthony Absolute | Haymarket |
| The Merchant of Venice | 1967 | Shylock | Haymarket |
| What the Butler Saw | 1969 | Dr Rance | Queen's Theatre |
| Home | 1970 | Jack | Royal Court, Apollo and Morosco, New York |
| West of Suez | 1971 | Wyatt Gilman | Royal Court and Cambridge |
| Lloyd George Knew My Father | 1972 | General Boothroyd | Savoy and tour of Australia and North America |
| John Gabriel Borkman | 1975 | Borkman | The Old Vic |
| No Man's Land | 1975 | Hirst | The Old Vic, and Longacre, New York |
| The Kingfisher | 1977 | Cecil | Lyric |
| The Cherry Orchard | 1978 | Firs | National |
| Alice's Boys | 1978 | Colonel White | Savoy |
| The Double Dealer | 1978 | Lord Touchwood | National |
| The Fruits of Enlightenment | 1979 | The Master | National |
| The Wild Duck | 1979 | Old Ekdal | National |
| Early Days | 1980 | Kitchen | National and North American tour |
| The Understanding | 1982 | Leonard | Strand |
| Inner Voices | 1983 | Don Alberto | National |

## Radio plays

Richardson's radio plays :
| Play | Year |
| The City | 1929 |
| Scenes from Julius Caesar | 1929 |
| Twelfth Night | 1929 |
| Captain Brassbound's Conversion | 1929 |
| Scenes from King Lear | 1930 |
| Romeo and Juliet | 1932 |
| Macbeth | 1933 |
| The Tempest | 1933 |
| Julius Caesar | 1933 |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | 1934 |
| Through the Looking-Glass | 1935 |
| In Memoriam | 1936 |
| The Tempest | 1936 |
| Candida | 1937 |
| Johnson Over Jordan | 1940 |
| Job | 1941 |
| The Shoemaker's Holiday | 1942 |
| Doctor Faustus | 1942 |
| Don Quixote | 1943 |
| Peer Gynt | 1944 |
| Cyrano de Bergerac | 1945 |
| Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2 | 1945 |
| Victory Programme | 1945 |
| Moby-Dick | 1946 |
| The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám | 1947 |
| Brand | 1949 |
| Home at Seven | 1951 |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | 1953 |
| The White Carnation | 1953 |
| Play | 1958 |
| Richard II | 1960 |
| Hamlet | 1961 |
| Arms and the Man | 1961 |
| The Ballad of Reading Gaol | 1963 |
| The Merchant of Venice | 1963 |
| A Christmas Carol | 1964 |
| Cyrano de Bergerac | 1966 |
| Heartbreak House | 1968 |
| When We Dead Awaken | 1969 |
| Much Ado About Nothing | 1969 |
| John Gabriel Borkman | 1974 |
| The Phoenix and the Turtle | 1976 |
| The Passionate Pilgrim | 1976 |
| Programme on William Blake | 1977 |
| Readings from Andrew Marvell | 1978 |
| Notes on a Cellar Book | 1980 |
| Little Tich – Giant of the Halls | 1982 |

## Film roles

Richardson's filmography :
| Film | Year | Role |
| Dreyfus | 1931 | Uncredited extra |
| The Ghoul | 1933 | Nigel Hartley |
| Friday the Thirteenth | 1933 | Horace Dawes |
| The Return of Bulldog Drummond | 1934 | Hugh Drummond |
| Java Head | 1934 | William Ammidon |
| Thunder in the Air | 1934 | Family member |
| The King of Paris | 1934 | Paul Lebrun |
| Bulldog Jack | 1935 | Morelle |
| Things to Come | 1936 | The Boss |
| The Man Who Could Work Miracles | 1936 | Colonel Winstanley |
| Thunder in the City | 1937 | Henry Manningdale |
| The Divorce of Lady X | 1938 | Lord Mere |
| South Riding | 1938 | Robert Carne |
| The Citadel | 1938 | Dr Denny |
| The Lion Has Wings | 1939 | Wing Commander |
| Q Planes | 1939 | Major Hammond |
| The Four Feathers | 1939 | Captain Durrance |
| On the Night of the Fire | 1939 | Will Kobling |
| The Silver Fleet | 1943 | Jaap van Leyden |
| The Volunteer | 1944 | himself |
| School for Secrets | 1946 | Professor Heatherville |
| Anna Karenina | 1948 | Karenin |
| The Fallen Idol | 1948 | Baines |
| The Heiress | 1949 | Dr Austin Sloper |
| Outcast of the Islands | 1951 | Captain Lingard |
| Home at Seven | 1952 | David Preston |
| The Sound Barrier | 1952 | John Richfield |
| The Holly and the Ivy | 1952 | The Rev Martin Gregory |
| Richard III | 1955 | Buckingham |
| The Passionate Stranger | 1956 | Professor Wynter and Sir Clement Hathaway |
| Smiley | 1956 | Lambeth |
| Our Man in Havana | 1959 | C |
| Oscar Wilde | 1960 | Sir Edward Carson |
| Exodus | 1960 | General Sutherland |
| Long Day's Journey into Night | 1962 | James Tyrone |
| The 300 Spartans | 1962 | Themistocles |
| Woman of Straw | 1964 | Charles Richmond |
| Chimes at Midnight | 1965 | Narrator |
| Doctor Zhivago | 1965 | Alexander Gromeko |
| The Wrong Box | 1966 | Joseph Finsbury |
| Khartoum | 1966 | W. E. Gladstone |
| Midas Run | 1969 | Henshaw |
| Oh! What a Lovely War | 1969 | Sir Edward Grey |
| Battle of Britain | 1969 | Sir David Kelly |
| The Bed Sitting Room | 1969 | Lord Fortnum |
| The Looking Glass War | 1969 | Leclerc |
| David Copperfield | 1969 | Wikins Micawber |
| Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? | 1971 | Mr Benton |
| Eagle in a Cage | 1972 | Sir Hudson Lowe |
| Lady Caroline Lamb | 1972 | George IV |
| Tales from the Crypt | 1972 | The Crypt Keeper |
| Alice's Adventures in Wonderland | 1972 | Caterpillar |
| A Doll's House | 1973 | Dr Rank |
| O Lucky Man! | 1973 | Monty and Sir James Burgess |
| Rollerball | 1975 | Head Librarian |
| The Man in the Iron Mask | 1977 | Colbert |
| Jesus of Nazareth | 1977 | Simeon |
| Watership Down | 1978 | Chief rabbit (voice only) |
| Dragonslayer | 1981 | Ulrich |
| Time Bandits | 1981 | The Supreme Being |
| Invitation to the Wedding | 1983 | Uncle Willie |
| Give My Regards to Broad Street | 1984 | Jim |
| Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes | 1984 | Earl of Greystoke |

## Television

Richardson's television appearances :
| Programme | Date | Channel | Role |
| Bees on the Boatdeck | 1939 | | Sam Gridley |
| Everyman | 1947 | | Voice of God |
| Fireside Theater: A Christmas Carol | December 1951 | NBC (USA) | Ebenezer Scrooge |
| Alexander Korda, Kt. | 4 March 1956 | BBC Television | On-screen Participant |
| Salute to Show Business | 20 September 1957 | | On-screen Participant |
| The Stars Rise in the West | 14 January 1958 | | On-screen Participant |
| British Art and Artists: A Sculptor's Landscape | 29 June 1958 | BBC Television | On-screen Participant |
| Here and Now: City of London Festival | 27 June 1962 | ITV | On-screen Participant |
| Here and Now: Lord Mayor | 5 July 1962 | ITV | On-screen Participant |
| The Largest Theatre in the World: Heart to Heart | 6 December 1962 | BBC Television | Sir Stanley Johnson |
| Hedda Gabler | 28 December 1962 | BBC Television | Judge Brack |
| Voices of Man | 1963 | | |
| The Great War | 30 May – 22 November 1964 | BBC Television | Douglas Haig |
| Thursday Theatre: Johnson Over Jordan | 4 February 1965 | BBC Television | Robert Johnson |
| The World of Wodehouse | 24 February – 13 March 1967 | BBC Television | Clarence, 9th Earl of Emsworth |
| Twelfth Night | 1968 | ITV | Sir Toby Belch |
| The Golden Years of Alexander Korda | 27 December 1968 | BBC Television | On-screen Participant |
| A Time To Remember: "Edwardian Summer" | 30 April 1969 | | Narrator |
| A Time To Remember: "The Peace Makers" | 2 July 1969 | | Narrator |
| The Battle for the Battle of Britain | 13 September 1969 | ITV | on-screen participant |
| Hassan | 1970 | | Hassan |
| She Stoops to Conquer | 1970 | | |
| Weekend Play: Twelfth Night | 12 July 1970 | ITV | Sir Toby Belch |
| Carol Channing's Mad English Tea Party | 1971 | | |
| Play for Today: "Home" | 6 January 1972 | BBC Television | Jack |
| Frankenstein: The True Story | 30 November 1973 | NBC (USA) | Lacey |
| The Wednesday Special: Comets Among the Stars | 25 February 1976 | ITV | Professor Macleod |
| Your National Theatre | 21 August 1976 | ITV | On-screen Participant |
| This Is Your Life | 15 February 1978 | ITV | Guest |
| No Man's Land | 3 October 1978 | ITV | Hirst |
| Tonight in Town | 23 March 1979 | BBC Television | On-screen Participant |
| Pot Black | 6 April 1979 | BBC Television | Awards presenter |
| Parkinson | 16 April 1979 | BBC Television | On-screen Participant |
| Charlie Muffin | 11 December 1979 | ITV | Sir Archibald Willoughby |
| Chaos Supersedes ENSA | 27 August 1980 | ITV | Cast Member |
| Frank and Polly Muir's Big Dipper | 14 December 1981 | ITV | On-screen Participant |
| The Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show | 23 December 1981 | ITV | Cast Member |
| Early Days | 1 August 1982 | ITV | Cast Member |
| The South Bank Show: "Laurence Olivier – A Life" | 17 October 1982 | ITV | Cast Member |
| Witness for the Prosecution | 4 December 1982 | CBS | Sir Wilfred Robarts |
| Wagner | 3 October – 11 December 1983 | | Pfordten |

## Awards and honours

Awards and honours presented to Richardson :
| Film or production | Year | Award | Category | Result |
| The Fallen Idol | 1949 | National Board of Review | Best Actor | Won |
| The Fallen Idol | 1949 | New York Film Critics Circle | Best Actor | Runner-up |
| The Heiress | 1949 | National Board of Review | Best Actor | Won |
| The Heiress | 1949 | New York Film Critics Circle | Best Actor | Runner-up |
| The Heiress | 1949 | Academy Award | Best Supporting Actor | Nominated |
| The Sound Barrier | 1952 | British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Won |
| The Sound Barrier | 1952 | National Board of Review | Best Actor | Won |
| The Sound Barrier | 1952 | New York Film Critics Circle | Best Actor | Won |
| The Waltz of the Toreadors | 1957 | Tony Award | Best Actor in a Play | Nominated |
| Long Day's Journey into Night | 1962 | Cannes Film Festival | Best Actor | Won |
| Doctor Zhivago | 1965 | British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Nominated |
| Khartoum | 1965 | British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Nominated |
| The Wrong Box | 1965 | British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Nominated |
| Home | 1971 | Evening Standard Award | Outstanding Performance | Won |
| Home | 1971 | Tony Award | Best Actor in a Play | Nominated |
| Lady Caroline Lamb | 1972 | British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award | Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Nominated |
| No Man's Land | 1977 | Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Actor in a Play | Won |
| No Man's Land | 1977 | Tony Award | Best Actor in a Play | Nominated |
| — | 1981 | Laurence Olivier Award | Special Award | Won |
| No Man's Land | 1982 | Grammy Award | Best Spoken Word, Documentary or Drama Recording | Nominated |
| Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes | 1984 | National Society of Film Critics | Best Supporting Actor (posthumous) | Runner-up |
| Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes | 1984 | New York Film Critics Circle | Best Supporting Actor (posthumous) | Won |
| Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes | 1984 | Academy Award | Best Supporting Actor (posthumous) | Nominated |
| Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes | 1984 | British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award | Best Actor in a Supporting Role (posthumous) | Nominated |