Richard Attenborough

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Richard Attenborough
Richard Attenborough, 1983
Born	August 29, 1923 Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, UK

Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough, CBE (born August 29, 1923) is a prolific English film and stage actor, and Academy Award-winning director and producer.

Contents 1 Acting career 2 Producer and director 3 Current projects 4 Honours 5 Family 6 Selected filmography 6.1 As an actor 6.2 As director 7 External links

[edit] Acting career

Born in Cambridge, he was educated at Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys in Leicester and at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). Early in his stage career, Attenborough starred in the London West End production of Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap, which went on to become one of the world's longest running stage productions. Both he and his wife were among the original cast members of the production, which opened in 1952 and as of 2006 is still running.

His film career began in 1942 as a deserting sailor in In Which We Serve, 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 a psychopathic young gangster in the film of Graham Greene's novel Brighton Rock (1947). He worked prolifically in British films for the next thirty years, and in the 1950s appeared in several successful comedies for John and Roy Boulting, including Private's Progress (1956) and I'm All Right Jack (1959).

In the 1960s he expanded his range of character roles in films such as Seance 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. In 1963 he appeared in the ensemble cast of The Great Escape, as Squadron Leader Roger Bartlett ("Big X"), the head of the escape committee. As of September 2006, he is one of only three surviving major stars of the film, the others being James Garner and David McCallum.

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 starring Steve McQueen, and the second time for Doctor Dolittle starring Rex Harrison. He would win another Golden Globe for Best Director, for Gandhi, in 1983. He has never been nominated for an Academy Award in an acting category.

He took no acting roles following his appearance in Otto Preminger's version of The Human Factor in 1979, until his appearance as the eccentric developer John Hammond in Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park in 1993. The following year he starred in the remake of Miracle on 34th Street as Kris Kringle. Since then he has made occasional appearances in supporting roles including the 1998 historical drama Elizabeth as Sir William Cecil.

[edit] Producer and director

In the late 1950s Attenborough formed a production company, Beaver Films, with Bryan Forbes and began to build a profile as a producer on projects including The League of Gentlemen (1959), The Angry Silence (1960) and Whistle Down the Wind (1961), also appearing in the first two of these as an actor.

His feature film directorial debut was the all-star screen version of the hit musical Oh! What a Lovely War (1969), and his acting appearances became more sporadic - the most notable being his portrayal of serial killer John Christie in 10 Rillington Place (1971). He later directed two epic period films: Young Winston (1972), based on the early life of Winston Churchill, and A Bridge Too Far (1977), an all-star account of Operation Market Garden in World War II. He won the 1982 Academy Award for Directing for his historical epic, Gandhi, a project he had been attempting to get made for many years. As the film's producer, he also won the Academy Award for Best Picture. His most recent films as director and producer include Chaplin (1992) starring Robert Downey, Jr. as Charlie Chaplin and Shadowlands (1993), based on the relationship between C.S. Lewis and Joy Gresham. Both films starred Anthony Hopkins, who also appeared in three other films for Attenborough: Young Winston, A Bridge Too Far and the thriller Magic (1978).

Attenborough also directed the screen version of the musical A Chorus Line (1985); and the apartheid drama Cry Freedom based on the experiences of Donald Woods. He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Director for both films. His most recent film as director was another biographical film, Grey Owl (1999), starring Pierce Brosnan.

[edit] Current projects

Attenborough has been in Belfast, Northern Ireland filming his latest film, Closing the Ring, set in Belfast in the Second World War.

He is President of RADA, Chairman of Capital Radio, President of BAFTA, President of the Gandhi Foundation, and President of the British National Film and Television School.

He was elected to the post of Chancellor of the University of Sussex on 20 March 1998, replacing the Duke of Richmond and Gordon. He is also Life Vice-President of Chelsea Football Club and a Patron for the United World Colleges movement.

He is also actively involved in the project to develop a film industry in Wales, commonly referred to as "Valleywood".

Attenborough is rumored to be reprising his role as John Hammond in the film Jurassic Park IV which is set for release in summer 2008.

[edit] Honours

In 1967, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). He was knighted in 1976 and in 1993 he was made a life peer as Baron Attenborough, of Richmond upon Thames in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.

On 13 July 2006, Attenborough, along with his brother David, were awarded the titles of Distinguished Honorary Fellows of the University of Leicester "in recognition of a record of continuing distinguished service to the University." [1] & [2].

[edit] Family

He has been married to British actress Sheila Sim since 1945. They had three children. In December 2004, his elder daughter, Jane Holland, as well as her daughter, Lucy, and her mother-in-law, also named Jane, were killed in the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. [3] A memorial service was held on 8 March 2005, and Attenborough read a lesson at the national memorial service on 11 May 2005. His grandson Samuel Holland and granddaughter Alice Holland also read in the service.

Attenborough's father, Frederick Attenborough, was principal of University College, Leicester, now the city's university. This has resulted in a long association with the university, with Lord Attenborough a patron. The university's Richard Attenborough Centre for Disability and the Arts, which opened in 1997, is named in his honour.

His son, Michael, is also a director.

He has two younger brothers, the famous naturalist Sir David Attenborough; and John Attenborough, who has made a career in the motor trade.

[edit] Selected filmography

[edit] As an actor

• In Which We Serve (1942)
• Brighton Rock (1947)
• London Belongs to Me (1948)
• Morning Departure (1950)
• The Magic Box (1951)
• Hell Is Sold Out (1951)
• Father’s Doing Fine (1952)
• Eight O’Clock Walk (1952)
• Gift Horse (1952)
• The Ship That Died of Shame (1955)
• Private's Progress (1956)
• The Baby and the Battleship (1956)
• The Scamp (1957)
• Brothers in Law (1957)
• Dunkirk (1958)
• The Man Upstairs (1958)
• Sea of Sand (1958)
• The League of Gentlemen (1959)
• I’m All Right Jack (1959)
• Danger Within (1959)
• Jet Storm (1959)
• SOS Pacific (1959)
• The Angry Silence (1960)
• The Great Escape (1963)
• Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964)
• Guns at Batasi (1964)
• The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)
• The Sand Pebbles (1966)
• Doctor Dolittle (1967)
• Loot (1970)
• The Last Grenade (1970)
• A Severed Head (1970)
• 10 Rillington Place (1971)
• Cup Glory (1972) (as narrator)
• And then There were None (1974)
• Rosebud (1975)
• Brannigan (1975)
• Conduct Unbecoming (1975)
• Shatranj Ke Khilari (1977)
• A Bridge Too Far (1977)
• The Human Factor (1979)
• Jurassic Park (1993)
• Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
• The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
• Elizabeth (1998)
• Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (1999)
• The Railway Children (2000)
• Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story (2001)
• Puckoon (2002)
• Snow Prince (2006)
• Jurassic Park IV (2008) (rumored)

[edit] As director

• Oh! What A Lovely War (1969)
• Young Winston (1972)
• A Bridge Too Far (1977)
• Magic (1978)
• Gandhi (1982) (also producer)
• A Chorus Line (1985)
• Cry Freedom (1987) (also producer)
• Chaplin (1992) (also producer)
• Shadowlands (1993) (also producer)
• In Love and War (1996)
• Grey Owl (1999)
• Closing the Ring (2007) (post-production)

Preceded by: Warren Beatty for Reds

Academy Award for Best Director 1982 for Gandhi

Succeeded by: James L. Brooks for Terms of Endearment

[edit] External links

• Richard Attenborough at the Internet Movie Database
• Richard Attenborough at the Notable Names Database
• University of Sussex media release about Lord Attenborough's election as Chancellor, dated Friday, March 20, 1998
• Lord Richard Attenborough at the BFI's Screenonline
• Richard Attenborough Stills & Posters Gallery from the British Film Institute
• Richard Attenborough Centre for Disability and the Arts

Films directed by Richard Attenborough
Oh! What a Lovely War • Young Winston • A Bridge Too Far • Magic • Gandhi • A Chorus Line • Cry Freedom • Chaplin • Shadowlands • In Love and War • Grey Owl • Closing the Ring