Ian Richardson

**Ian William Richardson**, CBE (7 April 1934 – 9 February 2007) was a Scottish actor of film, stage and television. He portrayed the Master in Doctor Who between 1991-1995 and 2001-2003.

He portrayed the Machiavellian Tory politician Francis Urquhart in the BBC's *House of Cards* (1990–1995) television trilogy. Richardson was also a leading Shakespearean stage actor.

Richardson's other notable work included a portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in two films (*The Sign of Four* and *The Hound of the Baskervilles*), significant roles in *Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy*, *Brazil*, and *M. Butterfly*, and as the lead in the Broadway production of *Marat/Sade*.

## Prior to Doctor Who

Richardson was born in Edinburgh, the son of Margaret (née Drummond) and John Richardson. He was educated in the city, at Balgreen Primary School, Tynecastle High School and George Heriot's School.[1][2] He first appeared on stage at the age of 14, in an amateur production of *A Tale of Two Cities*. The director encouraged his talent but warned that he would need to lose his Scottish accent to progress as an actor. His mother arranged elocution lessons, and he became a stage manager with the semi-professional Edinburgh People's Theatre.

After National Service in the Army (part of which he spent as an announcer and drama director with the British Forces Broadcasting Service) he obtained a place at the College of Dramatic Arts in Glasgow. After a period at the Old Rep (also known as the Birmingham Repertory Theatre), he appeared with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), of which he was a founding member, from 1960 to 1975.

Although he later gained his highest profile in film and television work such as *House of Cards* (1990), Richardson was primarily a classical stage actor.[5] His first engagement after training was with Birmingham Repertory Theatre, where his performance of *Hamlet*led to an offer of a place with the RSC. He was a versatile member of the company for more than 15 years, playing villainy, comedy and tragedy to equal effect.  He was The Herald in Peter Brook's production of *Marat/Sade* in London in 1964; in the New York City transfer he took the lead role of Jean-Paul Marat (and so became the first actor to appear nude on the Broadway stage),[1] a performance he repeated for the 1967 film *Marat/Sade*.

In 1972, he appeared in the musical *Trelawney*, with which the Bristol Old Vic reopened after its refurbishment. It proved a great success, transferring to London, first to the Sadler's Wells Theatre and later to the Savoy Theatre. Richardson played the hero, Tom Wrench, a small-part player who wants to write about "real people". He had a song, "Walking On", lamenting his lack of scope in the company, in which he explains that as a "walking gentleman" he will be forever "walking on", whilst Rose Trelawney will go on to be a star.

While at the RSC, Richardson played leading roles in many productions for director John Barton. These included the title role in *Coriolanus* (1967), Cassius in *Julius Caesar* (1968), Angelo in *Measure for Measure* (1970) and Iachimo in *Cymbeline*. Work for other directors at Stratford included the title role in *Pericles* (1969), directed by Terry Hands; the title role in *Richard III* (1975), directed by Barry Kyle; and Berowne in David Jones' production of *Love's Labour's Lost* (1973). Richardson cited the role of Berowne as one of his all-time favorite parts. Richardson's *Richard II* (alternating the parts of the king and Bolingbroke with Richard Pasco) in 1974, and repeated in New York and London in the following year, was hugely celebrated.

A significant Shakespearean cameo role was a brief performance as Hamlet in the gravedigger scene as part of episode six, "Protest and Communication", of Kenneth Clark's *Civilisation* television series in 1969. This was performed at Kirby Hall in Northamptonshire with Patrick Stewart as Horatio and Ronald Lacey as the gravedigger.

On leaving the RSC, he played Professor Henry Higgins in the 20th anniversary Broadway revival of *My Fair Lady* (1976) and received the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical and a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He also appeared on Broadway as onstage narrator in the original production of Edward Albee's play *Lolita* (1981), an adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov's book that was not critically well received.

In 1963, he played Le Beau in Michael Elliott's television production of *As You Like It*, playing alongside Vanessa Redgrave. In 1964, he played Antipholus of Ephesus in *The Comedy of Errors* as part of the *Festival* television series. In 1966, he played Jean-Paul Marat in the Royal Shakespeare Company production of Peter Weiss' *Marat/Sade*, directed by Peter Brook. In 1967, he played The Constable in *A Man Takes a Drink* as part of a television series entitled *The Revenue Men*. He played Bertram in John Barton's television version of *All's Well That Ends Well* in 1968, as well as playing Oberon in the Peter Hall film of *A Midsummer Night's Dream*. He took part in the television production of John Mortimer's *A Voyage Round My Father* in *Plays of Today* in 1969 as well as appeared in the television adaptation of *The Canterbury Tales* (1969).

He played one musical role on film, the Priest in *Man of La Mancha*, the 1972 screen version of the Broadway musical. Also in 1972, he played Anthony Beavis in the television series *Eyeless in Gaza*. In 1974, he played King Richard II/Bolingbroke in *Richard II*, part of the *Camera Three* television series. In 1978, he played Robespierre in the BBC's *Play of the Month* production of *Danton's Death*. In 1979, he played Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery in the TV miniseries *Ike*.

His first major role was his appearance as Bill Haydon ("Tailor") in the BBC adaptation of *Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy* (1979). He again played the part of Field Marshal Montgomery in *Churchill and the Generals* in 1979, a BBC television videotaped play concerning the relationship between Winston Churchill and generals of the Allied forces between 1940 and 1945.

In the 1980s, he became well known as Major Neuheim in the award-winning *Private Schulz* and as Sir Godber Evans in Channel 4's adaptation of *Porterhouse Blue*. Richardson also performed the role of Sherlock Holmes for two of six planned television movies, *The Sign of Four* and *The Hound of the Baskervilles*, in 1983, which were both critically acclaimed. He appeared in *Brazil* (1985) and played Jawaharlal Nehru in the television serial, *Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy* (1986). He portrayed Anthony Blunt, the Soviet spy and Surveyor of The King's Pictures in the BBC film *Blunt: the Fourth Man* (1986) opposite Anthony Hopkins as Guy Burgess. In 1988, he played Edward Spencer, the eccentric and oblivious English landowner in 1920s Ireland in *Troubles*, from J. G. Farrell's award-winning novel. In 1987, he played a variation on this role, when he portrayed the Bishop of Motopo in the non-musical television film *Monsignor Quixote*, based on Graham Greene's modernized take on *Don Quixote*. He played Sir Nigel Irvine in John Mackenzie's adaptation of Frederick Forsyth's novel *The Fourth Protocol* (1987).

Richardson also appeared in commercials for Grey Poupon Dijon mustard in the United States.[9][10]

Richardson's most acclaimed television role was as Machiavellian politician Francis Urquhart in the BBC adaptation of Michael Dobbs's *House of Cards* trilogy. He won the BAFTA Best Television Actor Award for his portrayal in the first series, *House of Cards* (1990), and was nominated for both of the sequels *To Play the King* (1993) and *The Final Cut* (1995).

In 1990, he also starred in a TV production of *The Winslow Boy* with Emma Thompson and Gordon Jackson.

## Work on Doctor Who

In 1990 Richardson was cast as a new incarnation of The Master in Doctor Who, first appearing in the Season 28 story T.A.R.D.I.S.. He then went on to play the role in several more stories.

## After Doctor Who

Other roles Richardson went on to do include Polonius in *Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead* (1990), wine dealer Sir Mason Harwood in *Year of the Comet* (1992), the French ambassador in *M. Butterfly* (1993), Martin Landau's butler in  *B\*A\*P\*S* (1997), a malevolent alien in *Dark City* (1998), The Kralahome in *The King and I* (1999), Cruella de Vil's Barrister, Mr. Torte QC, in the live-action film *102 Dalmatians* (2000), and a corrupt aristocrat in *From Hell* (2001).

In 1999, Richardson became known to a young audience as the main character Stephen Tyler in both series of the family drama *The Magician's House* (1999–2000). Following this he played Lord Groan in the major BBC production *Gormenghast* (2000), and later that year he starred in the BBC production *Murder Rooms: The Dark Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes* (2000–2001) (screened in PBS's *Mystery!* series in the US), playing Arthur Conan Doyle's mentor, Dr. Joseph Bell, a role he welcomed as an opportunity to play a character from his native Edinburgh.[4] He once more returned to fantasy in the recurring role of the villainous Canon Black in the short-lived BBC cult series *Strange* (2003).

In 2005, he took on the role of a curiously detached Chancellor in the television drama *Bleak House*. He also played the Judge in the family-based film, *The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby* (2005). Additionally in that year, he appeared in ITV's main Christmas drama *The Booze Cruise 2*, playing Marcus Foster, a slimy upper class businessman forced to spend time with "the lower classes". He returned to this role for a sequel the following Easter.

In December 2006, Richardson starred in Sky One's two-part adaptation of the Terry Pratchett novel *Hogfather* (1997). He voiced the main character of the novel, Death, who steps in to take over the role of the Father Christmas-like Hogfather. The DVD of that miniseries, released shortly after his death, opens with a dedication to his memory.

His final film appearance was as Judge Langlois in *Becoming Jane* (2007), released shortly after his death.

During the last 15 years of his life he appeared five times on television acting opposite his son Miles Richardson, though this was usually with one or the other in a minor role.

## Personal Life

In June 2006, he was made an honorary Doctor of the University of Stirling. The honour was conferred on him by the University's Chancellor, fellow actor Dame Diana Rigg.

Richardson died in his sleep of a heart attack on the morning of 9 February 2007, aged 72. He was survived by his wife, Maroussia Frank, an actress, and two sons, one of whom, Miles, is an actor. Richardson's body was cremated. His ashes were placed in the foundation of the auditorium of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford during renovations in 2008.

## Selected Credits

### Doctor Who

#### as The Master

* *T.A.R.D.I.S.*
* *Ascend From Darkness*
* *The Student vs. The Teacher*
* *Gallifrey Forever*

### Gallifrey

as The Master

* *Our Past Is Our Past*
* *A Masterful Political Plan*
* *Our Last Night*
* *Wedding Day*
* *The Dissolution of The Panopticon*
* *The Patrex and The Human*
* *Preparations and Donors*
* *The Debates*
* *Decision Day*
* *The Winners and Losers of What We Know*
* *A Year and A Year*
* *A Presidential Pawn*
* *The Light Within The Darkness*
* *The Invasion of Kilos*
* *The Master Plan*
* *The Battle For Gallifrey*