John Stride
Encyclopedia
John Stride is an English
actor best known for his television
work during the 1970s. Stride was born in London
, the son of Margaret (née
Prescott) and Alfred Teneriffe Stride. He attended Alleyn's School
, Dulwich
and trained at RADA
, where he met his first wife, Virginia Stride
(née Thomas).
He made his first, uncredited, screen appearance in the British film, Sink the Bismarck!
(1960). In the 1960s, he appeared at the Old Vic as Romeo in the long running Zeffirelli
production of "Romeo and Juliet" with Judi Dench and also as Prince Hal in "Henry IV part 1" with Joss Ackland as Falstaff.
He also played the role of Joe, the barman, in the 1963 film Bitter Harvest based on the novel 20,000 Streets Under the Sky
by the author and playwright Patrick Hamilton
. In the film he befriends a young Welsh girl called Jennie Jones. The film also starred Janet Munro
in the lead part of Jennie Jones. The film also starred a number of character actors who went on the make numerous film and television roles, namely, Alan Badel
, William Lucas
, Norman Bird
, Allan Cuthbertson
, Anne Cunningham and Francis Matthews
. Joe's landlady was played by Thora Hird
who received no opening or closing credit in the film.
At the end of the 1960s he played Rosencrantz opposite Edward Petherbridge's Guildenstern at the Old Vic, in Tom Stoppard's play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. From 1969 to 1975, he played the television role with which he became most closely associated, that of solicitor David Main in the ITV series, The Main Chance
.
In 1971, he played the role of Ross in Roman Polanski
's film
of Shakespeare's Macbeth
. In 1978, he appeared in another successful ITV drama series, Wilde Alliance
, co-starring with Julia Foster
. He was cast as King Henry VIII
in the BBC
's production of the Shakespeare play, of the same name
. He played one of the leads in the BBC's adaptation of Kingsley Amis
's Booker Prize-winning novel, The Old Devils
in 1992.
For a while, it was thought that John Stride had died because Stuart Baird
on The Omen
DVD commentary and Martin Shaw
during an interview on The One Show
had said so. However, he is still around but hasn’t been in good health in recent years.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actor best known for his television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
work during the 1970s. Stride was born in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, the son of Margaret (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Prescott) and Alfred Teneriffe Stride. He attended Alleyn's School
Alleyn's School
Alleyn's School is an independent, fee-paying co-educational day school situated in Dulwich, south London, England. It is a registered charity and was originally part of the historic Alleyn's College of God's Gift charitable foundation, which also included James Allen's Girls' School , Dulwich...
, Dulwich
Dulwich
Dulwich is an area of South London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth...
and trained at RADA
Rada
Rada is the term for "council" or "assembly"borrowed by Polish from the Low Franconian "Rad" and later passed into the Czech, Ukrainian, and Belarusian languages....
, where he met his first wife, Virginia Stride
Virginia Stride
Virginia Stride is a British actress of stage and screen who first came to public attention on television in the 1960s...
(née Thomas).
He made his first, uncredited, screen appearance in the British film, Sink the Bismarck!
Sink the Bismarck!
Sink the Bismarck! is a 1960 black-and-white British war film based on the book, the "Last Nine Days of the Bismarck" by C. S. Forester. It stars Kenneth More and Dana Wynter and was directed by Lewis Gilbert. To date, it is the only movie made that deals directly with the operations, chase, and...
(1960). In the 1960s, he appeared at the Old Vic as Romeo in the long running Zeffirelli
Franco Zeffirelli
Franco Zeffirelli KBE is an Italian director and producer of films and television. He is also a director and designer of operas and a former senator for the Italian center-right Forza Italia party....
production of "Romeo and Juliet" with Judi Dench and also as Prince Hal in "Henry IV part 1" with Joss Ackland as Falstaff.
He also played the role of Joe, the barman, in the 1963 film Bitter Harvest based on the novel 20,000 Streets Under the Sky
20,000 Streets Under the Sky
Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky is a trilogy of semi-autobiographical novels by Patrick Hamilton.The three books are The Midnight Bell , The Siege of Pleasure and The Plains of Cement...
by the author and playwright Patrick Hamilton
Patrick Hamilton
Patrick Hamilton is the name of:*Patrick Hamilton of Kincavil , Scottish nobleman*Patrick Hamilton , Scottish Protestant reformer and son of the above*Patrick Hamilton , Church of Scotland minister and poet...
. In the film he befriends a young Welsh girl called Jennie Jones. The film also starred Janet Munro
Janet Munro
-Career:Munro starred in three Disney motion picture releases, Darby O'Gill and the Little People , Third Man on the Mountain and Swiss Family Robinson , as well as The Horsemasters , which aired on Disney's weekly television series...
in the lead part of Jennie Jones. The film also starred a number of character actors who went on the make numerous film and television roles, namely, Alan Badel
Alan Badel
Alan Fernand Badel was a distinguished English stage actor who also appeared frequently in the cinema, radio and television and was noted for his richly textured voice which was once described as "the sound of tears".-Early life:...
, William Lucas
William Lucas (British actor)
William Lucas is a British film and television actor. His first acting role was in the film Portrait of Alison , and later appeared in many Hammer Film Productions such as Shadow of the Cat. He is probably best known for his role in The Adventures of Black Beauty as Dr...
, Norman Bird
Norman Bird
Norman Bird was a British character actor. Often sporting a moustache and an air of worried resignation, he seemed to specialise in downtrodden roles...
, Allan Cuthbertson
Allan Cuthbertson
Allan Cuthbertson was a naturalised Anglo-Australian actor.-Early life:Born Allan Darling Cuthbertson in Perth, Western Australia, son of Ernest and Isobel Ferguson Cuthbertson, he performed on stage and radio from an early age.During World War II, he served as a Flight Lieutenant with the RAAF...
, Anne Cunningham and Francis Matthews
Francis Matthews
Francis Matthews may refer to:*Francis Matthews , British actor*Francis P. Matthews, 49th United States Secretary of the Navy and the 8th Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus...
. Joe's landlady was played by Thora Hird
Thora Hird
Dame Thora Hird DBE was an English actress.-Early life and career:Hird was born in the Lancashire seaside town of Morecambe. She first appeared on stage at the age of two months in a play her father was managing...
who received no opening or closing credit in the film.
At the end of the 1960s he played Rosencrantz opposite Edward Petherbridge's Guildenstern at the Old Vic, in Tom Stoppard's play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. From 1969 to 1975, he played the television role with which he became most closely associated, that of solicitor David Main in the ITV series, The Main Chance
The Main Chance
The Main Chance was a British television series which first aired on ITV from 1969-1975. A drama, it depicts the sudden transformation in the life of solicitor David Main who relocates from London to Leeds.-Episodes:...
.
In 1971, he played the role of Ross in Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...
's film
Macbeth (1971 film)
Macbeth is a 1971 British-American drama film directed by Roman Polanski, based on William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Macbeth, about the Highland lord who becomes King of Scotland through treachery and murder. It features Jon Finch as Macbeth and Francesca Annis as Lady Macbeth...
of Shakespeare's Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
. In 1978, he appeared in another successful ITV drama series, Wilde Alliance
Wilde Alliance
Wilde Alliance is a British television series produced by Yorkshire Television for the ITV network in 1978. The programme was a light-hearted mystery series created by Ian Mackintosh about a husband-and-wife pair of amateur detectives, Rupert and Amy Wilde ....
, co-starring with Julia Foster
Julia Foster
Julia Foster is a British actress.Foster's credits include the films The Bargee with Harry H. Corbett, Alfie with Michael Caine, Half a Sixpence with Tommy Steele, and Percy with Hywel Bennett...
. He was cast as King Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
in the BBC
BBC
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...
's production of the Shakespeare play, of the same name
Henry VIII (play)
The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight is a history play by William Shakespeare and John Fletcher, based on the life of Henry VIII of England. An alternative title, All is True, is recorded in contemporary documents, the title Henry VIII not appearing until the play's publication...
. He played one of the leads in the BBC's adaptation of Kingsley Amis
Kingsley Amis
Sir Kingsley William Amis, CBE was an English novelist, poet, critic, and teacher. He wrote more than 20 novels, six volumes of poetry, a memoir, various short stories, radio and television scripts, along with works of social and literary criticism...
's Booker Prize-winning novel, The Old Devils
The Old Devils
The Old Devils is a novel by Kingsley Amis, first published in 1986. The novel won the Booker Prize. It was adapted for television by Andrew Davies for the BBC in 1992, starring John Stride, Bernard Hepton, James Grout and Ray Smith...
in 1992.
For a while, it was thought that John Stride had died because Stuart Baird
Stuart Baird
Stuart Baird is an English film editor, producer, and director who is mainly associated with action films. He has edited over twenty major motion pictures.-Life and career:...
on The Omen
The Omen
An original score for the film, including the movie's theme song Ave Satani, was composed by Jerry Goldsmith, for which he received the only Oscar of his long career. The score features a strong choral segment, with a foreboding Latin chant...
DVD commentary and Martin Shaw
Martin Shaw
Martin Shaw is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in shows such as The Professionals, The Chief, Judge John Deed and Inspector George Gently.-Theatrical background:...
during an interview on The One Show
The One Show
The One Show is a topical magazine-style daily television programme broadcast live on BBC One and BBC One HD, hosted by Alex Jones and Matt Baker. Chris Evans joins Jones to present the programme on Friday...
had said so. However, he is still around but hasn’t been in good health in recent years.
Filmography
- Sink the Bismarck!Sink the Bismarck!Sink the Bismarck! is a 1960 black-and-white British war film based on the book, the "Last Nine Days of the Bismarck" by C. S. Forester. It stars Kenneth More and Dana Wynter and was directed by Lewis Gilbert. To date, it is the only movie made that deals directly with the operations, chase, and...
(1960) - Bitter Harvest (1963)
- MacbethMacbeth (1971 film)Macbeth is a 1971 British-American drama film directed by Roman Polanski, based on William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Macbeth, about the Highland lord who becomes King of Scotland through treachery and murder. It features Jon Finch as Macbeth and Francesca Annis as Lady Macbeth...
(1971) - Something to HideSomething to HideSomething to Hide , is a 1972 British thriller film, written and directed by Alastair Reid, based on a 1963 novel by Nicholas Monsarrat. The film stars Peter Finch, Shelley Winters, Colin Blakely, Linda Hayden and Graham Crowden...
(1972) - John Keats: His Life and Death (1973)
- JuggernautJuggernaut (film)Juggernaut is a 1974 British thriller film. It was produced by David V. Picker Productions and released in 1974 by United Artists. The film was directed by Richard Lester, who took over after directors Bryan Forbes and Don Medford each left the project in pre-production.On taking over the film,...
(1974) - BranniganBrannigan (film)Brannigan is a British action film set principally in London, directed by Douglas Hickox, and starring John Wayne and Richard Attenborough...
(1975) - The OmenThe OmenAn original score for the film, including the movie's theme song Ave Satani, was composed by Jerry Goldsmith, for which he received the only Oscar of his long career. The score features a strong choral segment, with a foreboding Latin chant...
(1976) - A Bridge Too Far (1977)
- Oh Heavenly DogOh Heavenly DogOh! Heavenly Dog is a 1980 comedy film written by Rod Browning. The film stars Benjean, billed here as Benji , Chevy Chase, Jane Seymour, and Omar Sharif...
(1980) - Thirteen at DinnerThirteen at Dinner (film)Thirteen at Dinner is a 1985 American-British television film featuring the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. Adapted from the Agatha Christie novel Lord Edgware Dies by Rod Browning it was directed by Lou Antonio and starred Peter Ustinov, Faye Dunaway, Jonathan Cecil, Diane Keen and Bill Nighy...
(1985) - Hanna's WarHanna's WarHanna's War is a 1988 film co-written and directed by Menahem Golan. The film is based on The Diaries Of Hanna Senesh and the biographical novel A Great Wind Cometh by Yoel Palgi. It is a biopic detailing the true story of Hannah Szenes.-Plot:...
(1988)