Bilbo Baggins
Encyclopedia
Bilbo Baggins is the protagonist and titular character
of The Hobbit
and a supporting character in The Lord of the Rings
, two of the most well-known of J. R. R. Tolkien
's fantasy writings
.
In Tolkien's narrative conceit, in which all the writings of Middle-earth
are translations from the fictitious volume of The Red Book of Westmarch
, Bilbo is the author of The Hobbit and translator of various "works from the elvish", as mentioned in the end of The Return Of The King
.
relates how Bilbo Baggins, in comfortable middle age at 50 years old, is hired in spite of himself as a "burglar" by the wizard Gandalf
and 13 dwarves
led by their king Thorin Oakenshield
on a quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain
and its treasure from the dragon
Smaug
. The adventure takes Bilbo and the companions through the wilderness, to the elf
haven of Rivendell
, across the Misty Mountains
and the black forest of Mirkwood
, to Lake-town
in the middle of Long Lake, and eventually to the Mountain itself. Here, after the dragon is killed and the Mountain reclaimed, the Battle of Five Armies takes place.
In his journey, Bilbo encounters other fantastic creatures, including trolls
, elves, giant spiders, a man who can change shape into a bear
, goblins
, eagles
, wolves
and a slimy, murderous creature named Gollum
. Underground, near Gollum's lair, Bilbo accidentally finds a magic ring of invisibility
, which he uses to escape from Gollum.
While Bilbo initially comes across as a timid, easily-flustered bumbler, he grows wiser and more confident as the story progresses. In many gruesome situations, he is the one who saves the day. He rescues the dwarves from giant spiders with the magic ring and a short Elven-sword he acquired. He uses the ring to sneak around in hostile environments, as well as his wits to smuggle the dwarves out of the elves' prisons. He is able to hold his will in conversation with the wily Smaug. When tensions arise over ownership of the recovered treasure, he tries unsuccessfully to bring the opposing sides to compromise, using a stolen heirloom jewel as a leverage. This strains his relationship with Thorin, but the two are reconciled at Thorin's deathbed. At the end of the tale, Bilbo has become very wealthy due to his share of the dwarves' treasure; he also finds that he has traded respectability for experience and wisdom.
, the first volume of The Lord of the Rings, begins with Bilbo's "eleventy-first" (111th) birthday (on 22 September), 60 years after the beginning of The Hobbit. The main protagonist of the novel is Frodo Baggins
, Bilbo's kinsman.
In , Bilbo, a lifelong bachelor, adopted Frodo, the orphaned son of his first cousin Primula Brandybuck and his second cousin Drogo Baggins, and made him his heir. Though Frodo was actually "his first and second cousin once removed either way", the two regarded each other as uncle and nephew.
All this time Bilbo had kept his magic ring, with no idea of its significance, using it mostly to hide from his obnoxious cousins, the Sackville-Bagginses, when they came to visit. Gandalf's investigations revealed it to be the One Ring
forged by the Dark Lord Sauron
. The Ring had prolonged Bilbo's life beyond the normal hobbit span, and at 111 he still looked 50. While the Ring did not initially corrupt him as it had its previous owners, it was beginning to affect him; over the years, it had begun to prey on his mind when out of his sight, and he lost sleep and felt "stretched out and thin", as he said to Gandalf.
On the night of his 111th birthday party, Bilbo announces his intent to turn his home and estate over to Frodo, puts on the Ring and vanishes from sight. As Bilbo prepares finally to leave the house, he reacts with panic and suspicion when Gandalf tries to persuade him to leave the Ring with Frodo. Bilbo refuses to give up the Ring, referring to it as his "precious" – just as Gollum had in The Hobbit. Gandalf loses his temper with his old friend, talking some sense into him. Bilbo admits he would like to be rid of the Ring, and he leaves it behind, becoming the first person to do so voluntarily. He leaves the Shire
that night, and is never seen in Hobbiton again.
His earlier adventure, his eccentric habits as a hobbit, and his sudden disappearance lead to the enduring figure of "Mad Baggins" in hobbit folklore, who disappears with a flash and a bang and returns with gold and jewels.
Freed of the Ring's power over his senses, Bilbo traveled to Rivendell
, where for the next 17 years he lived a pleasant life of retirement: eating, sleeping, writing poetry, and working on his memoirs, There and Back Again, known to us as The Hobbit
. He became a scholar of Elven lore, leaving behind the Translations from the Elvish, which forms the basis of what is known to us as The Silmarillion
.
When Frodo and the other Hobbits stopped in Rivendell on their quest to destroy the Ring, Bilbo was still alive but now visibly aged, the years having caught up with him after he surrendered the Ring. Upon seeing the Ring again, he suddenly tried to take it from Frodo; he returned to his senses when a terrified Frodo backed away, and he broke down in tears, apologizing for bringing the burden of the Ring onto Frodo.
When the quest to destroy the Ring was fulfilled in The Return of the King
, Bilbo accompanied Gandalf, Elrond
, Galadriel
, and Frodo to the Grey Havens, there to take ship for Tol Eressëa
across the sea, on 29 September, T.A. 3021. He had already celebrated his 131st birthday by this time, surpassing the Old Took by one year and becoming the oldest living Hobbit ever in Middle-earth.
", illustrated by Pauline Baynes
, describes Bilbo's contemplation of his forthcoming voyage to the Undying Lands. The illustrations evoke his last ride in the company of Elrond from Rivendell to the Grey Havens, as described in The Lord of the Rings.
Radio serialization of The Hobbit
, Bilbo was played by Paul Daneman
.
Nicol Williamson
portrayed Bilbo with a light West Country
accent in the 1974 performance released on Argo Records
.
In the 1977 Rankin/Bass
animated version of The Hobbit, Bilbo was voiced by Orson Bean
. Bean also voiced both the aged Bilbo and Frodo in the same company's 1980 adaptation of The Return of the King
.
In Ralph Bakshi
's 1978 animated version
of The Lord of the Rings, Bilbo was voiced by Norman Bird. Billy Barty
was the model for Bilbo, as well as Frodo and Sam
, in the live-action recordings Bakshi used for rotoscoping
.
In the BBC's 1981 radio serialization
of The Lord of the Rings, Bilbo is played by John Le Mesurier
.
In Peter Jackson
's films The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
(2003) Bilbo is played by Ian Holm
, who had played Frodo in the BBC radio series 20 years earlier. For the upcoming film The Hobbit, also directed by Jackson, Bilbo will be portrayed by Martin Freeman
; Holm will also appear as an older version of the character.
Title role
The title role in the performing arts is the performance part that gives the title to the piece, as in Aida, Giselle, Michael Collins or Othello. The actor, singer or dancer who performs that part is also said to have the title role....
of The Hobbit
The Hobbit
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, better known by its abbreviated title The Hobbit, is a fantasy novel and children's book by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published on 21 September 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald...
and a supporting character in The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
, two of the most well-known of J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's fantasy writings
Tolkien's legendarium
The phrase Tolkien's legendarium is used in the literary discipline of Tolkien studiesto refer to the part of J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy fiction being concerned with his Elven legends; that is, historic events that have become legendary from the perspective of the characters of The Lord of the...
.
In Tolkien's narrative conceit, in which all the writings of Middle-earth
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
are translations from the fictitious volume of The Red Book of Westmarch
Red Book of Westmarch
The Red Book of Westmarch is a fictional manuscript written by hobbits, a conceit of author J. R. R...
, Bilbo is the author of The Hobbit and translator of various "works from the elvish", as mentioned in the end of The Return Of The King
The Return of the King
The Return of the King is the third and final volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, following The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers.-Title:...
.
The Hobbit
The HobbitThe Hobbit
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, better known by its abbreviated title The Hobbit, is a fantasy novel and children's book by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published on 21 September 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald...
relates how Bilbo Baggins, in comfortable middle age at 50 years old, is hired in spite of himself as a "burglar" by the wizard Gandalf
Gandalf
Gandalf is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In these stories, Gandalf appears as a wizard, member and later the head of the order known as the Istari, as well as leader of the Fellowship of the Ring and the army of the West...
and 13 dwarves
Dwarf (Middle-earth)
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Dwarves are a race inhabiting the world of Arda, a fictional prehistoric Earth which includes the continent Middle-earth....
led by their king Thorin Oakenshield
Thorin Oakenshield
Thorin Oakenshield, son of Thráin, son of Thrór, King Under the Mountain is a major character in The Hobbit and is mentioned in passing in The Lord of the Rings...
on a quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain
Lonely Mountain
In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, the Lonely Mountain is a mountain in the northeast of Rhovanion. It is also the source of the Celduin river.- Origins of the Kingdom Under the Mountain :...
and its treasure from the dragon
Dragon (Middle-earth)
J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium features dragons closely based on those of European legend.Besides dragon , Tolkien variously used the terms drake and worm .-History:The dragons were created by Morgoth...
Smaug
Smaug
Smaug is a fictional character in the novel The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. He is a dragon, and the main antagonist within the story.-The Hobbit:...
. The adventure takes Bilbo and the companions through the wilderness, to the elf
Elf (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Elves are one of the races that inhabit a fictional Earth, often called Middle-earth, and set in the remote past. They appear in The Hobbit and in The Lord of the Rings, but their complex history is described more fully in The Silmarillion...
haven of Rivendell
Rivendell
Rivendell is an Elven outpost in Middle-earth, a fictional realm created by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was established and ruled by Elrond in the Second Age of Middle-earth...
, across the Misty Mountains
Misty Mountains
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy world of Middle-earth, the Misty Mountains is a mountain range, running for 795 miles from north to south, between Eriador and the valley of the Great River, Anduin, and...
and the black forest of Mirkwood
Mirkwood
Mirkwood is a name used for two distinct fictional forests in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. In the First Age, the highlands of Dorthonion north of Beleriand were known as Mirkwood after falling under Morgoth's control. During the Third Age, the large forest in Rhovanion, east of the Anduin in ...
, to Lake-town
Esgaroth
Esgaroth, or Lake-town is a fictitious community of Men upon the Long Lake, in The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. The town is constructed entirely of wood and stands upon wooden pillars sunk into the bed of the Long Lake, south of the Lonely Mountain and east of Mirkwood...
in the middle of Long Lake, and eventually to the Mountain itself. Here, after the dragon is killed and the Mountain reclaimed, the Battle of Five Armies takes place.
In his journey, Bilbo encounters other fantastic creatures, including trolls
Troll (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Trolls are large humanoids of great strength and poor intellect.While in Norse mythology, the Troll was a magical creature with special skills, in Tolkien's writings they are portrayed as evil, stupid, with crude habits, although still intelligent enough to...
, elves, giant spiders, a man who can change shape into a bear
Beorn
Beorn is a fictional character created by J. R. R. Tolkien. He appears in The Hobbit as a shape-shifter , a man who could assume the appearance of a great black bear.-Literature:...
, goblins
Orc (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings, Orcs or Orks are a race of creatures who are used as soldiers and henchmen by both the greater and lesser villains of The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings — Morgoth, Sauron and Saruman...
, eagles
Eagle (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, the eagles were immense flying birds that were sapient and could speak. Often emphatically referred to as the Great Eagles, they appear, usually and intentionally serving as agents of deus ex machina , in various parts of his legendarium,...
, wolves
Warg
In Norse mythology, a vargr is a wolf and in particular refers to the wolf Fenrir and his sons Sköll and Hati. Based on this, J. R. R. Tolkien in his fiction used the Old English form warg In Norse mythology, a vargr (often anglicised as warg or varg) is a wolf and in particular refers to the...
and a slimy, murderous creature named Gollum
Gollum
Gollum is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He was introduced in the author's fantasy novel The Hobbit, and became an important supporting character in its sequel, The Lord of the Rings....
. Underground, near Gollum's lair, Bilbo accidentally finds a magic ring of invisibility
One Ring
The One Ring is a fictional artifact that appears as the central plot element in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy novels. It is described in an earlier story, The Hobbit , as a magic ring of invisibility. The sequel The Lord of the Rings describes its powers as being more encompassing than...
, which he uses to escape from Gollum.
While Bilbo initially comes across as a timid, easily-flustered bumbler, he grows wiser and more confident as the story progresses. In many gruesome situations, he is the one who saves the day. He rescues the dwarves from giant spiders with the magic ring and a short Elven-sword he acquired. He uses the ring to sneak around in hostile environments, as well as his wits to smuggle the dwarves out of the elves' prisons. He is able to hold his will in conversation with the wily Smaug. When tensions arise over ownership of the recovered treasure, he tries unsuccessfully to bring the opposing sides to compromise, using a stolen heirloom jewel as a leverage. This strains his relationship with Thorin, but the two are reconciled at Thorin's deathbed. At the end of the tale, Bilbo has become very wealthy due to his share of the dwarves' treasure; he also finds that he has traded respectability for experience and wisdom.
The Lord of the Rings
The Fellowship of the RingThe Fellowship of the Ring
The Fellowship of the Ring is the first of three volumes of the epic novel The Lord of the Rings by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It takes place in the fictional universe Middle-earth. It was originally published on July 29, 1954 in the United Kingdom...
, the first volume of The Lord of the Rings, begins with Bilbo's "eleventy-first" (111th) birthday (on 22 September), 60 years after the beginning of The Hobbit. The main protagonist of the novel is Frodo Baggins
Frodo Baggins
Frodo Baggins is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium.He is the main protagonist of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. He was a hobbit of the Shire who inherited Sauron's Ring from Bilbo Baggins and undertook the quest to destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom...
, Bilbo's kinsman.
In , Bilbo, a lifelong bachelor, adopted Frodo, the orphaned son of his first cousin Primula Brandybuck and his second cousin Drogo Baggins, and made him his heir. Though Frodo was actually "his first and second cousin once removed either way", the two regarded each other as uncle and nephew.
All this time Bilbo had kept his magic ring, with no idea of its significance, using it mostly to hide from his obnoxious cousins, the Sackville-Bagginses, when they came to visit. Gandalf's investigations revealed it to be the One Ring
One Ring
The One Ring is a fictional artifact that appears as the central plot element in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy novels. It is described in an earlier story, The Hobbit , as a magic ring of invisibility. The sequel The Lord of the Rings describes its powers as being more encompassing than...
forged by the Dark Lord Sauron
Sauron
Sauron is the primary antagonist and titular character of the epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.In the same work, he is revealed to be the same character as "the Necromancer" from Tolkien's earlier novel The Hobbit...
. The Ring had prolonged Bilbo's life beyond the normal hobbit span, and at 111 he still looked 50. While the Ring did not initially corrupt him as it had its previous owners, it was beginning to affect him; over the years, it had begun to prey on his mind when out of his sight, and he lost sleep and felt "stretched out and thin", as he said to Gandalf.
On the night of his 111th birthday party, Bilbo announces his intent to turn his home and estate over to Frodo, puts on the Ring and vanishes from sight. As Bilbo prepares finally to leave the house, he reacts with panic and suspicion when Gandalf tries to persuade him to leave the Ring with Frodo. Bilbo refuses to give up the Ring, referring to it as his "precious" – just as Gollum had in The Hobbit. Gandalf loses his temper with his old friend, talking some sense into him. Bilbo admits he would like to be rid of the Ring, and he leaves it behind, becoming the first person to do so voluntarily. He leaves the Shire
Shire (Middle-earth)
The Shire is a region of J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth, described in The Lord of the Rings and other works. The Shire refers to an area settled exclusively by Hobbits and largely removed from the goings-on in the rest of Middle-earth. It is located in the northwest of the continent, in...
that night, and is never seen in Hobbiton again.
His earlier adventure, his eccentric habits as a hobbit, and his sudden disappearance lead to the enduring figure of "Mad Baggins" in hobbit folklore, who disappears with a flash and a bang and returns with gold and jewels.
Freed of the Ring's power over his senses, Bilbo traveled to Rivendell
Rivendell
Rivendell is an Elven outpost in Middle-earth, a fictional realm created by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was established and ruled by Elrond in the Second Age of Middle-earth...
, where for the next 17 years he lived a pleasant life of retirement: eating, sleeping, writing poetry, and working on his memoirs, There and Back Again, known to us as The Hobbit
The Hobbit
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, better known by its abbreviated title The Hobbit, is a fantasy novel and children's book by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published on 21 September 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald...
. He became a scholar of Elven lore, leaving behind the Translations from the Elvish, which forms the basis of what is known to us as The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion is a collection of J. R. R. Tolkien's mythopoeic works, edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, with assistance from Guy Gavriel Kay, who later became a noted fantasy writer. The Silmarillion, along with J. R. R...
.
When Frodo and the other Hobbits stopped in Rivendell on their quest to destroy the Ring, Bilbo was still alive but now visibly aged, the years having caught up with him after he surrendered the Ring. Upon seeing the Ring again, he suddenly tried to take it from Frodo; he returned to his senses when a terrified Frodo backed away, and he broke down in tears, apologizing for bringing the burden of the Ring onto Frodo.
When the quest to destroy the Ring was fulfilled in The Return of the King
The Return of the King
The Return of the King is the third and final volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, following The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers.-Title:...
, Bilbo accompanied Gandalf, Elrond
Elrond
Elrond Half-elven is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is introduced in The Hobbit, and plays a supporting role in The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion.-Character overview:...
, Galadriel
Galadriel
Galadriel is a character created by J.R.R. Tolkien, appearing in his Middle-earth legendarium. She appears in The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales....
, and Frodo to the Grey Havens, there to take ship for Tol Eressëa
Tol Eressëa
In early versions of J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium , Tol Eressëa was an island visited by the Anglo-Saxon traveller Ælfwine which provided a framework for the tales that later became The Silmarillion. The name is the Elvish for "Lonely Island"...
across the sea, on 29 September, T.A. 3021. He had already celebrated his 131st birthday by this time, surpassing the Old Took by one year and becoming the oldest living Hobbit ever in Middle-earth.
The Appendices
According to the Appendices of The Return of the King, Bilbo was born to Bungo Baggins and Belladonna Took on 22 September, T.A. 2890, or S.R. 1290. The Bagginses of Bag End were one of the oldest, wealthiest, and most respectable hobbit families in Hobbiton until the year 2941 (SR 1341), when Bilbo inexplicably disappeared on his adventure and was thought dead.Poems/Songs written by Bilbo
- "A Walking SongA Walking Song"A Walking Song" is a poem in the form of a song from J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings, originally published in three volumes. It appears in the third chapter of the novel, entitled "Three is Company"; usually as part of the first volume, The Fellowship of the Ring...
" - "All that is gold does not glitterAll that is Gold Does Not GlitterAll that is gold does not glitter is a poem written by J. R. R. Tolkien for his fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. It alludes to an integral part of the plot. The poem reads:...
" - "The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too LateThe Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too LateThe Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late is the imagined original ditty that is recorded in 'our time' as the simplified nursery rhyme "Hey Diddle Diddle". The supposed original was invented by J. R. R. Tolkien...
" - "The Road Goes Ever OnThe Road Goes Ever On (song)"The Road Goes Ever On" is a title that encompasses several walking songs that J. R. R. Tolkien wrote for his Middle-earth legendarium. Within the stories, the original song was composed by Bilbo Baggins and recorded in The Hobbit...
"
Bilbo's Last Song
Tolkien's posthumously published poem "Bilbo's Last SongBilbo's Last Song
"Bilbo's Last Song" is a poem by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was given by Tolkien as a gift to his secretary Joy Hill in 1966. After Tolkien's death in 1973 Hill showed the poem to Donald Swann, who liked the poem so much that he set it to music and included it in the second edition of The Road Goes Ever...
", illustrated by Pauline Baynes
Pauline Baynes
Pauline Diana Baynes was an English book illustrator, whose work encompassed more than 100 books, notably those by C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien. She was born in Hove, Sussex....
, describes Bilbo's contemplation of his forthcoming voyage to the Undying Lands. The illustrations evoke his last ride in the company of Elrond from Rivendell to the Grey Havens, as described in The Lord of the Rings.
Portrayals in adaptations
In the 1968 BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Radio serialization of The Hobbit
The Hobbit (1968 radio series)
The Hobbit is a 1968 BBC Radio adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 children's fantasy novel of the same name.The series was adapted by Michael Kilgarriff and produced by John Powell in eight half-hour mono episodes for BBC Radio 4.-Story:...
, Bilbo was played by Paul Daneman
Paul Daneman
Paul Daneman was an English film, television, theatre and voice actor.Paul Frederick Daneman was born in Islington, London. He attended the Haberdashers' Aske's School and Sir William Borlase's Grammar School in Marlow and studied stage design at Reading University where he joined the dramatic...
.
Nicol Williamson
Nicol Williamson
Nicol Williamson is a Scottish-born English actor who was described by English playwright John Osborne as "the greatest actor since Marlon Brando".-Early life:...
portrayed Bilbo with a light West Country
West Country
The West Country is an informal term for the area of south western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. It is often defined to encompass the historic counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset and the City of Bristol, while the counties of...
accent in the 1974 performance released on Argo Records
Argo Records (UK)
Argo Records was a record label founded in 1951 by Harley Usill , and musicologist Cyril Clarke with £500 capital, initially as a company specialising in "British music played by British artists" , but it quickly became a company primarily specialising in spoken-word recordings and other esoteric ...
.
In the 1977 Rankin/Bass
Rankin/Bass
Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc. , also known as Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment, was an American production company, known for its seasonal television specials, particularly its work in stop-motion animation. The pre-1974 library is currently owned by Classic Media,while the post-1974 library is...
animated version of The Hobbit, Bilbo was voiced by Orson Bean
Orson Bean
Orson Bean is an American film, television, and Broadway actor. He appeared frequently on televised game shows in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, including being a long-time panelist on the television game show To Tell the Truth....
. Bean also voiced both the aged Bilbo and Frodo in the same company's 1980 adaptation of The Return of the King
The Return of the King (1980 film)
The Return of the King, also known as The Return of the King: A Story of the Hobbits, is a 1980 animated television special created by Rankin/Bass and Topcraft. The film is an adaptation of the third volume in The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R...
.
In Ralph Bakshi
Ralph Bakshi
Ralph Bakshi is an Israeli-American director of animated and live-action films. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent and adult-oriented productions. Between 1972 and 1992, he directed nine theatrically released feature films, five of which he wrote...
's 1978 animated version
The Lord of the Rings (1978 film)
J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings is a 1978 American fantasy film directed by Ralph Bakshi. It contains both animation and live action footage which is rotoscoped to give it a more consistent look throughout the length of the movie. It is an adaptation of the first half of the high fantasy...
of The Lord of the Rings, Bilbo was voiced by Norman Bird. Billy Barty
Billy Barty
Billy Barty was an American film actor.-Biography:Barty, an Italian American, was born William John Bertanzetti in Millsboro, Pennsylvania...
was the model for Bilbo, as well as Frodo and Sam
Samwise Gamgee
Samwise Gamgee, later known as Samwise Gardner and commonly as Sam, is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. Samwise is one of the chief characters in Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings, in which he fills an archetypical role as the sidekick of the protagonist, Frodo...
, in the live-action recordings Bakshi used for rotoscoping
Rotoscope
Rotoscoping is an animation technique in which animators trace over live-action film movement, frame by frame, for use in animated films. Originally, recorded live-action film images were projected onto a frosted glass panel and re-drawn by an animator...
.
In the BBC's 1981 radio serialization
The Lord of the Rings (1981 radio series)
In 1981 the UK radio station BBC Radio 4 broadcast a dramatisation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings in 26 half-hour stereo instalments...
of The Lord of the Rings, Bilbo is played by John Le Mesurier
John Le Mesurier
John Le Mesurier was a BAFTA Award-winning English actor. He is most famous for his role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the popular 1970s BBC comedy Dad's Army.-Career:...
.
In Peter Jackson
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson, KNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter, known for his The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , adapted from the novel by J. R. R...
's films The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 epic fantasy-drama film directed by Peter Jackson that is based on the second and third volumes of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings...
(2003) Bilbo is played by Ian Holm
Ian Holm
Sir Ian Holm, CBE is an English actor known for his stage work and for many film roles. He received the 1967 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor for his performance as Lenny in The Homecoming and the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance in the title role of King Lear...
, who had played Frodo in the BBC radio series 20 years earlier. For the upcoming film The Hobbit, also directed by Jackson, Bilbo will be portrayed by Martin Freeman
Martin Freeman
Martin John C. Freeman is an English actor. He is known for his roles as John in Love Actually, Tim Canterbury in the BBC's Golden Globe-winning comedy The Office, Arthur Dent in the film adaptation of Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Dr. John Watson in Sherlock and Mr. Madden...
; Holm will also appear as an older version of the character.
Family tree
External links
- For an alternate, fuller, version of Bilbo's family tree see Rodovid Engine.
- A brief character study of Bilbo Baggins