Gielgud, John (Sir)

1904

2000

John Gielgud, one of the very greatest actors of the twentieth century, was born in London on 14 April 1904, the son of Frank Gielgud and Kate Terry Lewis. Dame Ellen Terry was his maternal grand aunt and the famed Lithuanian actor Aniela Aszpergerows was his paternal great-grandmother. His elder brother Val Henry Gielgud (1900-1981), an actor and author, became a director of drama for the BBC and then the distinguished and influential Head of BBC Television Drama. After attending Westminster School and receiving some training at Lady Benson’s Acting School and RADA, John Gielgud made his professional stage debut at the Old Vic in 1921 as a Herald in “Henry V”. From that modest beginning, Gielgud rose to an unequalled position as the foremost interpreter of Shakespeare and assumed his place in the pantheon of English actors of his generation, along with Olivier, Richardson, Guinness, Scofield and Mills. All in that remarkable group received knighthoods (except for Scofield, who, it is said, declined to accept it). Gielgud first acted Romeo at the Regent Theatre in 1924. His triumph as Hamlet (S0046, B0137) came at the Old Vic in 1930, a quintessential portrayal considered by many to have been the greatest of the century and which he performed over his long career some 500 times. That season at the Old Vic he also appeared as Richard II (S0047, B0138), a role ‘he was born to play.’ He was without equal as Prospero. Other Shakespearean roles in which he excelled were Antony, Macbeth, Angelo, Cassius, Leontes and King Lear. In 1932 at the New Theatre he directed and played the title role in Daviot’s “Richard of Bordeaux” (B0025), a performance that established him as a star in the West End. Among the dozens of non-Shakespearean classical roles he played were Valentine in “Love for Love” (G0261), Worthing in “The Importance of Being Earnest”, Jason in “The Medea”, Mirabel in “The Way of the World” and Jaffeir in “Venice Preserv’d”. Though for most of his career Gielgud abjured contemporary drama, with which he was ill at ease, nevertheless later he was brilliant in such plays as “Forty Years On” (Apollo 1968), “Home” (Royal Court 1970) and “Veterans” (Royal Court 1972). He also successfully directed a number of productions with great intelligence and appeared in a number of television performances. Gielgud’s film career included some 43 films, beginning in 1924 with the silent “Who is the Man?” Other films include “Hamlet”, “Saint Joan”, “Becket”, “Oh! What a Lovely War”, “Caligula”, “The Shooting Party”, “Chariots of Fire” and “Murder on the Orient Express”. His only Oscar, however, came in 1981 for Best Supporting Actor, in the role of Hobson, the sharp-witted butler in “Arthur”. His awards were many, including a special Olivier Award in 1985 for his services to the theatre. Oxford, London, St Andrews and Brandeis bestowed honorary doctorate degrees. He was knighted in 1953. Sir John was a life member of the Garrick Club, which he joined in 1970. He died on 21 May 2000, at the age of 96, at his country estate, Wotton Underwood, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. Gielgud’s silken and superbly modulated voice has been preserved on numerous sound recordings. His writings include his early autobiography, “Early Stages” (1938), “Stage Directions” (1963), “An Actor in his Time” (with John Miller and John Powell, 1980) and “Backward Glances” (1990). Biographies include “Ages of Gielgud” (edited by Ronald Harwood 1984); “John Gielgud: a Celebration”, by G. D. Brandreth (1984); and “Gielgud, a Theatrical Life” by Jonathan Croll (2001).