Richard Attenborough
Encyclopedia
Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough , CBE
(born 29 August 1923) is a British
actor, director, producer and entrepreneur. As director and producer he won two Academy Awards for the 1982 film Gandhi
. He has also won four BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes.
As an actor, he is perhaps best known for his roles in Brighton Rock, The Great Escape
, 10 Rillington Place
, Séance on a Wet Afternoon
, Jurassic Park
and its 1997 sequel
.
He is the elder brother of prominent naturalist
and wildlife filmmaker Sir David Attenborough
.
, Cambridgeshire, England, the eldest of three sons of Mary Attenborough (née Clegg) a founding member of the Marriage Guidance Council, and Frederick Levi Attenborough
, a scholar and academic administrator who was a don at Emmanuel College, Cambridge
, and wrote a standard text on Anglo-Saxon
law. Attenborough was educated at Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys
in Leicester
and at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
(RADA). During the Second World War Attenborough served in the Royal Air Force
.
Dover Street, prior to him going to RADA, where he is still Patron. Attenborough's 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 spiv
s 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).
Attenborough 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). Early in his stage career, Attenborough starred in the London West End production of Agatha Christie
's The Mousetrap
, which went on to become the world's longest-running stage production. Both he and his wife were among the original cast members of the production, which opened in 1952 and as of 2011 is still running.
In the 1960s, he expanded his range of character roles in films such as Séance 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
(RSM). 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. It was his first appearance in a major Hollywood film blockbuster and his most successful film up to that time.
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 won another Golden Globe, for Best Director, for Gandhi
in 1983. Six years prior to Gandhi he played the ruthless General Outram
, in Indian director Satyajit Ray
's period piece The Chess Players. 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 and the popular film's 1997 sequel, The Lost World: Jurassic Park
. 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 as Sir William Cecil
in the 1998 historical drama Elizabeth
. He was also cast as Jacob in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat".
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 Best Director 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
. The star of the latter was 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 life and death of prominent anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko
and the experiences of Donald Woods
. Attenborough was nominated for a Golden Globe Award
for Best Director for both films.
Attenborough also heads a committee awarding the eponymous Attenborough Prize, a £2000 annual arts prize celebrating creativity by emerging artists. The Attenborough Prize is awarded to the best contemporary visual artist among a shortlist of six artists presented to Lord Attenborough. The most recent (2009) Prize was awarded to Neill Raitt.
Attenborough spent time in Belfast
, Northern Ireland
, working on his film, Closing the Ring
, set in Belfast during the Second World War. The movie was released in October, 2007.
Attenborough is also the patron of the UWC movement (United World Colleges
) whereby he continually contributes greatly to the colleges that are part of the organisation. He has frequented the United World College of Southern Africa (UWCSA) Waterford Kamhlaba
. His wife and he founded the Richard and Sheila Attenborough Visual Arts Centre. He also founded the Jane Holland Creative Centre for Learning at Waterford Kamhlaba in Swaziland
in memory of his daughter who died in the tsunami on 26 December 2004
. He passionately believes in education, primarily education that does not judge upon colour, race, creed or religion. His attachment to Waterford is his passion for non-racial education, which were the grounds on which Waterford Kamhlaba was founded. Waterford was one of his inspirations for directing the Cry Freedom motion picture based on the life of Steve Biko
.
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 stood down as Chancellor of the University following Graduation in July 2008. There now hangs a 42 inch by 46 inch portrait of him in the University's library.
A lifelong supporter of Chelsea Football Club
, Attenborough served as a director of the club from 1969–1982 and between 1993 and 2008 held the honorary position of Life Vice President. On the 30 November 2008 he was honoured with the title of Life President at the club's stadium, Stamford Bridge.
He is also the head of the consortium "Dragon International", which are currently constructing a film and television studio complex
in Llanilid, Wales, often referred to as "Valleywood."
(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
.
In 1983, Attenborough was awarded the Martin Luther King, Jr. Nonviolence Peace Prize by the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change.
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".
On 20 November 2008, Attenborough was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Drama from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) in Glasgow.
Attenborough is also listed as an Honorary Fellow of Bangor University
for his continued efforts to film making.
, now the city's university. This has resulted in a long association with the university, with Lord Attenborough a patron. The university's Embrace Arts at the RA centrehttp://www.embracearts.co.uk/, which opened in 1997, is named in his honour. He has two younger brothers, the world famous naturalist Sir David Attenborough
; and John Attenborough, who has made a career in the motor trade
.
Attenborough has been married to English actress Sheila Sim
since 1945. Since 1951 he has lived in a house on Richmond Green
. On 26 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 tsunami
caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
. 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. A commemorative plaque has been placed in the floor of St Mary Magdalen's Parish church in Richmond.
Attenborough has two other children, Michael John
and Charlotte, an actress. Michael John Attenborough is Creative Director of the Almeida Theatre
, London, and is also a director; he is married to actress Karen Lewis and has two sons. Attenborough has five grandsons and a surviving granddaughter.
Attenborough has collected Picasso ceramics since the 1950s. More than 100 items went on display at the New Walk Museum
and Art Gallery in Leicester in 2007; the exhibition is dedicated to his family members lost in the tsunami.
In 2008 he published, in association with his long standing associate, Diana Hawkins, an informal autobiography, Entirely Up to You, Darling.
In August 2008 Attenborough was hospitalised with heart problems, and was fitted with a pacemaker
. In December 2008 he suffered a fall at his home and was admitted to St. George's Hospital in Tooting
, South West London. He went into a coma, but came out of it within a few days.
In May 2011, David Attenborough
revealed that his brother was now in a wheelchair
but is still capable of holding a conversation and talking about old times. But added, “He (Richard) probably won’t be making any more films.”
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 29 August 1923) is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actor, director, producer and entrepreneur. As director and producer he won two Academy Awards for the 1982 film Gandhi
Gandhi (film)
Gandhi is a 1982 biographical film based on the life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who led the nonviolent resistance movement against British colonial rule in India during the first half of the 20th century. The film was directed by Richard Attenborough and stars Ben Kingsley as Gandhi. They both...
. He has also won four BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes.
As an actor, he is perhaps best known for his roles in Brighton Rock, The Great Escape
The Great Escape (film)
The Great Escape is a 1963 American film about an escape by Allied prisoners of war from a German POW camp during World War II, starring Steve McQueen, James Garner, and Richard Attenborough...
, 10 Rillington Place
10 Rillington Place (film)
10 Rillington Place is a 1971 British crime drama film starring Richard Attenborough, John Hurt and Judy Geeson adapted by Clive Exton from the book Ten Rillington Place by Ludovic Kennedy.-Plot:...
, Séance on a Wet Afternoon
Seance on a Wet Afternoon
Séance on a Wet Afternoon is a 1964 British film directed by Bryan Forbes, based on the novel by Mark McShane in which an unstable medium convinces her husband to kidnap a child so she can help the police solve the crime and collect the ransom...
, Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park (film)
Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. It stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Martin Ferrero, and Bob Peck...
and its 1997 sequel
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
The Lost World: Jurassic Park is a 1997 science fiction thriller film, directed by Steven Spielberg. The film was produced by Bonnie Curtis, Kathleen Kennedy, Gerald R. Molen and Colin Wilson...
.
He is the elder brother of prominent naturalist
Naturalist
Naturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...
and wildlife filmmaker Sir David Attenborough
David Attenborough
Sir David Frederick Attenborough OM, CH, CVO, CBE, FRS, FZS, FSA is a British broadcaster and naturalist. His career as the face and voice of natural history programmes has endured for more than 50 years...
.
Early life
Attenborough was born in CambridgeCambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, Cambridgeshire, England, the eldest of three sons of Mary Attenborough (née Clegg) a founding member of the Marriage Guidance Council, and Frederick Levi Attenborough
Frederick Attenborough
Frederick Levi Attenborough was a British academic.-Early life:He was the son of Frederick and Mary Attenborough of Stapleford in Nottinghamshire. He was educated at schools in Long Eaton. He became a teacher at the Long Eaton Higher Elementary School in 1913. This school was founded by Samuel...
, a scholar and academic administrator who was a don at Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...
, and wrote a standard text on Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
law. Attenborough was educated at Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys
Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College
Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College, or "Q.E" is a sixth form college in Leicester, England.-Admissions:There are 1,865 full-time 16-18 year-old students and 140 teaching staff. More than 40 subjects are offered at A Level. Somewhat against the national trend Mathematics and Sciences account...
in Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
and at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
(RADA). During the Second World War Attenborough served in the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
.
Acting career
Attenborough's acting career also was on stage and he appeared in shows at Leicester's Little TheatreLittle Theatre (Leicester)
The Little Theatre is a small theatre in Leicester, England with a main auditorium of 349 seats, along with an additional studio space for performances and workshops. The Theatre also houses an interval bar, rehearsal spaces and library for members, and operates a costume hire facility...
Dover Street, prior to him going to RADA, where he is still Patron. Attenborough's film career began in 1942 as a deserting sailor in In Which We Serve
In Which We Serve
In Which We Serve is a 1942 British patriotic war film directed by David Lean and Noël Coward. It was made during the Second World War with the assistance of the Ministry of Information ....
, a role which would help to type-cast him for many years as spiv
Spiv
In the United Kingdom, a spiv is a particular type of petty criminal, who deals in stolen or black market goods of questionable authenticity, especially a slickly-dressed man offering goods at bargain prices...
s or cowards in films like London Belongs to Me
London Belongs to Me
London Belongs to Me is a 1948 British film directed by Sidney Gilliat and starring Richard Attenborough and Alastair Sim. It was based on the novel of the same name by Norman Collins...
(1948), Morning Departure
Morning Departure
Morning Departure is a 1950 British naval film directed by Roy Ward Baker, produced by Jay Lewis, and starring John Mills, Nigel Patrick, Peter Hammond, George Cole, Bernard Lee and Richard Attenborough...
(1950), and his breakthrough role as a psychopathic young gangster in the film of Graham Greene
Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene, OM, CH was an English author, playwright and literary critic. His works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world...
's novel Brighton Rock (1947).
Attenborough worked prolifically in British films for the next thirty years, and in the 1950s appeared in several successful comedies for John and Roy Boulting
John and Roy Boulting
John Edward Boulting and Roy Alfred Clarence Boulting , known collectively as the Boulting brothers, were English filmmakers and identical twins who became known for their popular series of satirical comedies in the 1950s and 1960s.-Biography:The twin brothers were born in Bray, Berkshire, England...
, including Private's Progress
Private's Progress
Private's Progress is a 1956 British comedy film based on the novel by Alan Hackney. It was directed and produced by John and Roy Boulting, from a script by John Boulting and Frank Harvey.-Plot:...
(1956) and I'm All Right Jack
I'm All Right Jack
I'm All Right Jack is a 1959 British comedy film directed and produced by John and Roy Boulting from a script by Frank Harvey, John Boulting and Alan Hackney, based on the novel Private Life by Hackney...
(1959). Early in his stage career, Attenborough starred in the London West End production of Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
's The Mousetrap
The Mousetrap
The Mousetrap is a murder mystery play by Agatha Christie. The Mousetrap opened in the West End of London in 1952, and has been running continuously since then. It has the longest initial run of any play in history, with over 24,500 performances so far. It is the longest running show of the modern...
, which went on to become the world's longest-running stage production. Both he and his wife were among the original cast members of the production, which opened in 1952 and as of 2011 is still running.
In the 1960s, he expanded his range of character roles in films such as Séance on a Wet Afternoon
Seance on a Wet Afternoon
Séance on a Wet Afternoon is a 1964 British film directed by Bryan Forbes, based on the novel by Mark McShane in which an unstable medium convinces her husband to kidnap a child so she can help the police solve the crime and collect the ransom...
(1964) and Guns at Batasi
Guns at Batasi
Guns at Batasi is a 1964 drama film starring Richard Attenborough, Jack Hawkins, Flora Robson, John Leyton and Mia Farrow. It is set in an overseas colonial military outpost during the last days of the British Empire in East Africa....
(1964), for which he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of the Regimental Sergeant Major
Regimental Sergeant Major
Regimental Sergeant Major is an appointment held by warrant officers class 1 in the British Army, the British Royal Marines and in the armies of many Commonwealth nations, including Australia and New Zealand; and by chief warrant officers in the Canadian Forces...
(RSM). In 1963 he appeared in the ensemble cast of The Great Escape
The Great Escape (film)
The Great Escape is a 1963 American film about an escape by Allied prisoners of war from a German POW camp during World War II, starring Steve McQueen, James Garner, and Richard Attenborough...
as Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these...
Roger Bartlett ("Big X"), the head of the escape committee. It was his first appearance in a major Hollywood film blockbuster and his most successful film up to that time.
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
The Sand Pebbles (film)
The Sand Pebbles is a 1966 American period war film directed by Robert Wise. It tells the story of an independent, rebellious U.S. Navy Machinist's Mate aboard the fictional gunboat USS San Pablo in 1920s China....
starring Steve McQueen and the second time for Doctor Dolittle
Doctor Dolittle (film)
Doctor Dolittle is a 1967 American musical film directed by Richard Fleischer and starring Rex Harrison, Samantha Eggar, Anthony Newley and Richard Attenborough. It's adapted by Leslie Bricusse from the novel series by Hugh Lofting, primarily The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle, The Story of Doctor...
starring Rex Harrison
Rex Harrison
Sir Reginald Carey “Rex” Harrison was an English actor of stage and screen. Harrison won an Academy Award and two Tony Awards.-Youth and stage career:...
. He won another Golden Globe, for Best Director, for Gandhi
Gandhi (film)
Gandhi is a 1982 biographical film based on the life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who led the nonviolent resistance movement against British colonial rule in India during the first half of the 20th century. The film was directed by Richard Attenborough and stars Ben Kingsley as Gandhi. They both...
in 1983. Six years prior to Gandhi he played the ruthless General Outram
Sir James Outram, 1st Baronet
Lieutenant General Sir James Outram, 1st Baronet GCB KSI was an English general who fought in the Indian Rebellion of 1857, and is considered a British hero.-Early life:...
, in Indian director Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...
's period piece The Chess Players. He has never been nominated for an Academy Award in an acting category.
He took no acting roles following his appearance in Otto Preminger
Otto Preminger
Otto Ludwig Preminger was an Austro–Hungarian-American theatre and film director.After moving from the theatre to Hollywood, he directed over 35 feature films in a five-decade career. He rose to prominence for stylish film noir mysteries such as Laura and Fallen Angel...
's version of The Human Factor
The Human Factor
The Human Factor is an espionage novel by Graham Greene, first published in 1978 and adapted into a 1979 film, directed by Otto Preminger using a screenplay by Tom Stoppard.-Plot summary:...
in 1979 until his appearance as the eccentric developer John Hammond in Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
's Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park (film)
Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. It stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Martin Ferrero, and Bob Peck...
in 1993 and the popular film's 1997 sequel, The Lost World: Jurassic Park
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
The Lost World: Jurassic Park is a 1997 science fiction thriller film, directed by Steven Spielberg. The film was produced by Bonnie Curtis, Kathleen Kennedy, Gerald R. Molen and Colin Wilson...
. The following year, he starred in the remake of Miracle on 34th Street
Miracle on 34th Street (1994 film)
Miracle on 34th Street is a 1994 American fantasy film directed by Les Mayfield. It is the fourth remake of the original 1947 film. Like the original, this film was released by 20th Century Fox...
as Kris Kringle
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
. Since then he has made occasional appearances in supporting roles, including as Sir William Cecil
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley , KG was an English statesman, the chief advisor of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State and Lord High Treasurer from 1572...
in the 1998 historical drama Elizabeth
Elizabeth (film)
Elizabeth is a 1998 biographical film written by Michael Hirst, directed by Shekhar Kapur, and starring Cate Blanchett in the title role of Queen Elizabeth I of England, alongside Geoffrey Rush, Christopher Eccleston, Joseph Fiennes, Sir John Gielgud, Fanny Ardant and Richard Attenborough...
. He was also cast as Jacob in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat".
Producer and director
Bryan Forbes
Bryan Forbes, CBE is an English film director, actor and writer.-Career:Bryan Forbes was born John Theobald Clarke on 22 July 1926 in Queen Mary's Hospital, Stratford, West Ham, Essex , and grew up at 43 Cranmer Road, Forest Gate, West Ham, Essex .Forbes trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of...
and began to build a profile as a producer on projects including The League of Gentlemen
The League of Gentlemen (film)
The League of Gentlemen is a 1960 British crime film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Jack Hawkins, Nigel Patrick and Richard Attenborough. It was based on the 1958 novel by John Boland and adapted by Bryan Forbes, who also starred in the film...
(1959), The Angry Silence
The Angry Silence
The Angry Silence is a 1960 British drama film directed by Guy Green and starring Richard Attenborough. Screenwriter Bryan Forbes won a BAFTA Award and an Oscar nomination for his contribution...
(1960) and Whistle Down the Wind
Whistle Down the Wind (film)
Whistle Down the Wind is a 1961 British film, directed by Bryan Forbes, screenplay by Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall, from the novel by Mary Hayley Bell.-Plot:...
(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
Oh! What a Lovely War
Oh! What a Lovely War is a musical film based on the stage musical Oh, What a Lovely War! originated by Charles Chilton as a radio play, The Long Long Trail in December 1961, and transferred to stage by Gerry Raffles in partnership with Joan Littlewood and her Theatre Workshop created in 1963,...
(1969), and his acting appearances became more sporadic—the most notable being his portrayal of serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
John Christie
John Reginald Halliday Christie
John Reginald Halliday Christie , born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, was a notorious English serial killer active in the 1940s and '50s. He murdered at least eight females – including his wife Ethel – by strangling them in his flat at 10 Rillington Place, Notting Hill, London...
in 10 Rillington Place (1971). He later directed two epic period films: Young Winston
Young Winston
Young Winston is a 1972 British film based on the early years of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.The film was based on the book My Early Life: A Roving Commission by Winston Churchill. The first part of the film covers Churchill's unhappy schooldays, up to the death of his father...
(1972), based on the early life of Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, and A Bridge Too Far (1977), an all-star account of Operation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden was an unsuccessful Allied military operation, fought in the Netherlands and Germany in the Second World War. It was the largest airborne operation up to that time....
in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He won the 1982 Academy Award for Best Director for his historical epic, Gandhi
Gandhi (film)
Gandhi is a 1982 biographical film based on the life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who led the nonviolent resistance movement against British colonial rule in India during the first half of the 20th century. The film was directed by Richard Attenborough and stars Ben Kingsley as Gandhi. They both...
, 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
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
. His most recent films as director and producer include Chaplin (1992) starring Robert Downey, Jr. as Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
and Shadowlands
Shadowlands (film)
Shadowlands is a 1993 British biographical film directed by Richard Attenborough. The screenplay by William Nicholson is based on his 1985 television production and 1989 stage adaptation of the same name. The original television film began life as a script entitled I Call it Joy written for Thames...
(1993), based on the relationship between C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
and Joy Gresham
Joy Gresham
Joy Davidman was an American poet and writer, and a radical communist and atheist until her conversion to Christianity in the late 1940s. Her first husband was the writer William Lindsay Gresham. They had two children together: David and Douglas. Her second marriage was to C. S...
. The star of the latter was Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
, 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
A Chorus Line (film)
A Chorus Line is a 1985 musical film directed by Richard Attenborough, starring Michael Douglas. The screenplay by Arnold Schulman is based on the Tony Award-winning book of the 1975 stage production of the same name by James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nicholas Dante...
of the musical A Chorus Line
A Chorus Line
A Chorus Line is a 1975 musical about Broadway dancers auditioning for spots on a chorus line. The book was authored by James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nicholas Dante, lyrics were written by Edward Kleban, and music was composed by Marvin Hamlisch....
(1985), and the apartheid drama Cry Freedom
Cry Freedom
Cry Freedom is a 1987 British drama film directed by Richard Attenborough, set in the late 1970s, during the apartheid era of South Africa. It was written from a screenplay by John Briley based on a pair of books by journalist Donald Woods...
, based on the life and death of prominent anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko
Steve Biko
Stephen Biko was a noted anti-apartheid activist in South Africa in the 1960s and 1970s. A student leader, he later founded the Black Consciousness Movement which would empower and mobilize much of the urban black population. Since his death in police custody, he has been called a martyr of the...
and the experiences of Donald Woods
Donald Woods
Donald James Woods, CBE was a white South African journalist and anti-apartheid activist.As editor of the Daily Dispatch from 1965 to 1977, he befriended Steve Biko, leader of the anti-apartheid Black Consciousness Movement, and was banned by the government soon after Biko's death, which had been...
. Attenborough was nominated for a Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
for Best Director for both films.
Corporate appointments
- Chairman of the Board of Governors of the British Film InstituteBritish Film InstituteThe British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
(1982–92) - Chairman of Capital RadioCapital RadioCapital London is a London based radio station which launched on 16 October 1973 and is owned by Global Radio. On 3 January 2011 it formed part of the nine station Capital radio network.- Pre-launch :...
- Director of Chelsea Football ClubChelsea F.C.Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
(1969–82) - Life Vice-President of Chelsea Football ClubChelsea F.C.Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
(1993–2008) - Life President of Chelsea Football ClubChelsea F.C.Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
(2008 – present) - Deputy Chairman of Channel Four Television (1982–87)
- Chairman of Channel Four (1987–92)
- Chairman of Goldcrest FilmsGoldcrest FilmsGoldcrest Films is a British film production company founded by Jake Eberts in January 1977. It enjoyed great success in the 1980s with films such as Local Hero , The Killing Fields and Hope and Glory mostly produced by David Puttnam on modest budgets. The company also benefited from the new...
- President of RADARadaRada 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....
- President of BAFTABritish Academy of Film and Television ArtsThe British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
(2001–10) - President of the Mahatma Gandhi FoundationMahatma Gandhi FoundationMahatma Gandhi Foundation is located in Mumbai, Republic of India and is headed by Tushar Gandhi, the great-grandson of ‘Bapu’ Mahatma Gandhi...
- President of the British National Film and Television SchoolNational Film and Television SchoolThe National Film and Television School was established in 1971 and is based at Beaconsfield Studios in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, and it is located close to Pinewood Studios.-History:...
- Vice Patron of the Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund
Attenborough also heads a committee awarding the eponymous Attenborough Prize, a £2000 annual arts prize celebrating creativity by emerging artists. The Attenborough Prize is awarded to the best contemporary visual artist among a shortlist of six artists presented to Lord Attenborough. The most recent (2009) Prize was awarded to Neill Raitt.
Current projects
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, working on his film, Closing the Ring
Closing the Ring
Closing the Ring is a film directed by Richard Attenborough and starring Shirley MacLaine, Christopher Plummer, Mischa Barton, Stephen Amell, Neve Campbell, Pete Postlethwaite, and Brenda Fricker....
, set in Belfast during the Second World War. The movie was released in October, 2007.
Attenborough is also the patron of the UWC movement (United World Colleges
United World Colleges
UWC is an education movement comprising thirteen international schools and colleges, national committees in over 130 countries and a series of short educational programmes. The UWC movement aims to make education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future...
) whereby he continually contributes greatly to the colleges that are part of the organisation. He has frequented the United World College of Southern Africa (UWCSA) Waterford Kamhlaba
Waterford Kamhlaba
Waterford Kamhlaba United World College of Southern Africa is one of thirteen international UWC schools and colleges and is located in Mbabane, Swaziland...
. His wife and he founded the Richard and Sheila Attenborough Visual Arts Centre. He also founded the Jane Holland Creative Centre for Learning at Waterford Kamhlaba in Swaziland
Swaziland
Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...
in memory of his daughter who died in the tsunami on 26 December 2004
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
. He passionately believes in education, primarily education that does not judge upon colour, race, creed or religion. His attachment to Waterford is his passion for non-racial education, which were the grounds on which Waterford Kamhlaba was founded. Waterford was one of his inspirations for directing the Cry Freedom motion picture based on the life of Steve Biko
Steve Biko
Stephen Biko was a noted anti-apartheid activist in South Africa in the 1960s and 1970s. A student leader, he later founded the Black Consciousness Movement which would empower and mobilize much of the urban black population. Since his death in police custody, he has been called a martyr of the...
.
He was elected to the post of Chancellor
Chancellor
Chancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...
of the University of Sussex
University of Sussex
The University of Sussex is an English public research university situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, within the city of Brighton and Hove. The University received its Royal Charter in August 1961....
on 20 March 1998, replacing The Duke of Richmond and Gordon
Charles Gordon-Lennox, 10th Duke of Richmond
Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox, 10th Duke of Richmond, 10th Duke of Lennox and 5th Duke of Gordon is a British Peer. He was styled Lord Settrington until 1935 and Earl of March and Kinrara between 1935 and 1989, and is currently styled His Grace The Duke of Richmond, Lennox and Gordon.The son of...
. He stood down as Chancellor of the University following Graduation in July 2008. There now hangs a 42 inch by 46 inch portrait of him in the University's library.
A lifelong supporter of Chelsea Football Club
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
, Attenborough served as a director of the club from 1969–1982 and between 1993 and 2008 held the honorary position of Life Vice President. On the 30 November 2008 he was honoured with the title of Life President at the club's stadium, Stamford Bridge.
He is also the head of the consortium "Dragon International", which are currently constructing a film and television studio complex
Dragon International Film Studios
The Dragon International Film Studios, also known as Valleywood, is a complex of film and television studios currently being constructed at Llanilid in Wales, United Kingdom about 14 miles from the Welsh capital, Cardiff...
in Llanilid, Wales, often referred to as "Valleywood."
Honours
In 1967, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British EmpireOrder of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(CBE). He was knighted
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
in 1976 and in 1993 he was made a life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
as Baron Attenborough, of Richmond upon Thames in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is a London borough in South West London, UK, which forms part of Outer London. It is unique because it is the only London borough situated both north and south of the River Thames.-Settlement:...
.
In 1983, Attenborough was awarded the Martin Luther King, Jr. Nonviolence Peace Prize by the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change.
On 13 July 2006, Attenborough, along with his brother David
David Attenborough
Sir David Frederick Attenborough OM, CH, CVO, CBE, FRS, FZS, FSA is a British broadcaster and naturalist. His career as the face and voice of natural history programmes has endured for more than 50 years...
, were awarded the titles of Distinguished Honorary Fellows
Honorary title (academic)
Honorary titles in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties...
of the University of Leicester
University of Leicester
The University of Leicester is a research-led university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is a mile south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park and Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College....
"in recognition of a record of continuing distinguished service to the University".
On 20 November 2008, Attenborough was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Drama from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) in Glasgow.
Attenborough is also listed as an Honorary Fellow of Bangor University
Bangor University
Bangor University is a university based in the city of Bangor in the county of Gwynedd in North Wales-United Kingdom.It was officially known for most of its history as the University College of North Wales...
for his continued efforts to film making.
Personal life
Attenborough's father was the principal of University College, LeicesterUniversity of Leicester
The University of Leicester is a research-led university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is a mile south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park and Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College....
, now the city's university. This has resulted in a long association with the university, with Lord Attenborough a patron. The university's Embrace Arts at the RA centrehttp://www.embracearts.co.uk/, which opened in 1997, is named in his honour. He has two younger brothers, the world famous naturalist Sir David Attenborough
David Attenborough
Sir David Frederick Attenborough OM, CH, CVO, CBE, FRS, FZS, FSA is a British broadcaster and naturalist. His career as the face and voice of natural history programmes has endured for more than 50 years...
; and John Attenborough, who has made a career in the motor trade
Car dealership
A car dealership or vehicle local distribution is a business that sells new or used cars at the retail level, based on a dealership contract with an automaker or its sales subsidiary. It employs automobile salespeople to do the selling...
.
Attenborough has been married to English actress Sheila Sim
Sheila Sim
Sheila Beryl Grant Attenborough, Lady Attenborough , known professionally by her maiden name Sheila Sim, is an English film and theatre actress and the wife of actor and director Richard Attenborough.- Career :...
since 1945. Since 1951 he has lived in a house on Richmond Green
Richmond Green
Richmond Green is a recreation area located near the centre of Richmond, which is a town of about twenty thousand inhabitants situated in south west London. The green is essentially square in shape and its open grassland, framed with broadleaf trees, extends to roughly twelve acres...
. On 26 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 tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
. 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. A commemorative plaque has been placed in the floor of St Mary Magdalen's Parish church in Richmond.
Attenborough has two other children, Michael John
Michael Attenborough
The Hon. Michael John Attenborough is a successful English theatre director. His parents are the actors Richard Attenborough, Baron Attenborough and Sheila Sim, Lady Attenborough...
and Charlotte, an actress. Michael John Attenborough is Creative Director of the Almeida Theatre
Almeida Theatre
The Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325 seat studio theatre with an international reputation which takes its name from the street in which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a diverse range of drama and holds an annual summer festival of...
, London, and is also a director; he is married to actress Karen Lewis and has two sons. Attenborough has five grandsons and a surviving granddaughter.
Attenborough has collected Picasso ceramics since the 1950s. More than 100 items went on display at the New Walk Museum
New Walk Museum
The New Walk Museum and Art Gallery is a museum on New Walk in Leicester, England, not far from the city centre. Two dinosaur skeletons are permanently installed in the museum — a cetiosaur found in Rutland , and a plesiosaur from Barrow upon Soar.Other permanent exhibits include an Egyptian area,...
and Art Gallery in Leicester in 2007; the exhibition is dedicated to his family members lost in the tsunami.
In 2008 he published, in association with his long standing associate, Diana Hawkins, an informal autobiography, Entirely Up to You, Darling.
In August 2008 Attenborough was hospitalised with heart problems, and was fitted with a pacemaker
Pacemaker
An artificial pacemaker is a medical device that uses electrical impulses to regulate the beating of the heart.Pacemaker may also refer to:-Medicine:...
. In December 2008 he suffered a fall at his home and was admitted to St. George's Hospital in Tooting
Tooting
Tooting is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated south south-west of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
, South West London. He went into a coma, but came out of it within a few days.
In May 2011, David Attenborough
David Attenborough
Sir David Frederick Attenborough OM, CH, CVO, CBE, FRS, FZS, FSA is a British broadcaster and naturalist. His career as the face and voice of natural history programmes has endured for more than 50 years...
revealed that his brother was now in a wheelchair
Wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...
but is still capable of holding a conversation and talking about old times. But added, “He (Richard) probably won’t be making any more films.”
Filmography
| Year | |Title | |Credited as | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Producer | Director | Actor | Role | ||
| 1942 | In Which We Serve In Which We Serve In Which We Serve is a 1942 British patriotic war film directed by David Lean and Noël Coward. It was made during the Second World War with the assistance of the Ministry of Information .... |
Young Stoker | |||
| 1943 | Schweik's New Adventures Schweik's New Adventures Schweik's New Adventures is a 1943 British comedy film directed by Carl Lamac and starring Lloyd Pearson, Maggie Rennie, Richard Attenborough and Julien Mitchell. It is also known by the alternative title It Started at Midnight... |
Railway worker | |||
| 1944 | The Hundred Pound Window The Hundred Pound Window The Hundred Pound Window is a 1944 British crime film directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring Anne Crawford, David Farrar, Frederick Leister and Richard Attenborough. An accountant has to take a second job working at a racetrack where he soon becomes mixed up with a shady crowd.-Cast:* Anne... |
Tommy Draper | |||
| 1946 | Journey Together | David Wilton | |||
| A Matter of Life and Death | An English pilot | ||||
| School for Secrets School for Secrets School for Secrets is a 1946 British film written and directed by Peter Ustinov and starring David Tomlinson, Ralph Richardson, Raymond Huntley, Richard Attenborough, John Laurie and Michael Hordern... |
Jack Arnold | ||||
| 1947 | Brighton Rock | Pinkie Brown | |||
| The Man Within The Man Within (film) The Man Within is a 1947 British, Technicolor, adventure, crime, drama film, directed by Bernard Knowles and starring Ronald Shiner as Cockney Harry, Michael Redgrave, Jean Kent, Joan Greenwood and Richard Attenborough. It was produced by Triton Films and Production Film Service. The film was also... |
Francis Andrews | ||||
| Dancing with Crime Dancing with Crime Dancing with Crime is a 1947 British film directed by John Paddy Carstairs with a screenplay by Brock Williams from an original story by Peter Fraser.-Plot:... |
Ted Peters | ||||
| 1948 | London Belongs to Me London Belongs to Me London Belongs to Me is a 1948 British film directed by Sidney Gilliat and starring Richard Attenborough and Alastair Sim. It was based on the novel of the same name by Norman Collins... |
Percy Boon | |||
| The Guinea Pig | Jack Read | ||||
| 1949 | The Lost People | Jan | |||
| Boys in Brown Boys in Brown Boys in Brown is a 1949 British drama film directed by Montgomery Tully. Depicting life in a borstal for young offenders, it starred Jack Warner, Richard Attenborough, Dirk Bogarde and Jimmy Hanley.-Cast:* Jack Warner as Governor... |
Jackie Knowles | ||||
| 1950 | Morning Departure Morning Departure Morning Departure is a 1950 British naval film directed by Roy Ward Baker, produced by Jay Lewis, and starring John Mills, Nigel Patrick, Peter Hammond, George Cole, Bernard Lee and Richard Attenborough... |
Stoker Snipe | |||
| 1951 | The Magic Box The Magic Box (film) The Magic Box is a 1951 British, Technicolor, biographical drama film, directed by John Boulting and starring Ronald Shiner as the Fairground Barker, Sid James, Laurence Olivier, Peter Ustinov and Charles Victor. It was produced by Ronald Neame and distributed by British Lion Film Corporation... |
Jack Carter | |||
| Hell is Sold Out Hell is Sold Out Hell is Sold Out is a 1951 British drama film directed by Michael Anderson and starring Mai Zetterling, Herbert Lom and Richard Attenborough. A woman publishes a book under the name of a man believed to be long dead.-Main cast:... |
Pierre Bonnet | ||||
| 1952 | Father's Doing Fine Father's Doing Fine Father's Doing Fine is a 1952 British comedy film directed by Henry Cass and starring Richard Attenborough, Heather Thatcher, Noel Purcell and Sid James. It was based on the 1950 play Little Lambs Eat Ivy by Noel Langley.-Cast:... |
Dougall | |||
| Eight O’Clock Walk Eight O’Clock Walk Eight O'Clock Walk is a 1954 British drama film directed by Lance Comfort and starring Richard Attenborough, Cathy O'Donnell, and Maurice Denham... |
Thomas "Tom" Leslie Manning | ||||
| Gift Horse Gift Horse (film) Gift Horse is a 1952 British war film starring Trevor Howard and Richard Attenborough.The film follows the story of the fictional ship HMS Ballantrae and her crew from the time they come together in 1940 until they go on a one-way mission to destroy a German-held dry dock in France.-Synopsis:A... |
Dripper Daniels | ||||
| 1955 | The Ship That Died of Shame The Ship That Died of Shame The Ship That Died of Shame released in the United States as PT Raiders is a black-and-white 1955 Ealing Studios crime film starring George Baker, Richard Attenborough and Bill Owen.... |
George Hoskins | |||
| 1956 | Private's Progress Private's Progress Private's Progress is a 1956 British comedy film based on the novel by Alan Hackney. It was directed and produced by John and Roy Boulting, from a script by John Boulting and Frank Harvey.-Plot:... |
Pvt. Percival Henry Cox | |||
| The Baby and the Battleship The Baby and the Battleship The Baby and the Battleship is a colour 1956 British comedy film directed by Jay Lewis and starring John Mills, Richard Attenborough and André Morell. It is based on the 1956 novel by Anthony Thorne with a screenplay by Richard De Roy, Gilbert Hackforth-Jones and Bryan Forbes... |
Knocker White | ||||
| 1957 | The Scamp The Scamp The Scamp is a 1957 British drama film directed by Wolf Rilla and starring Richard Attenborough, Colin Petersen, and Dorothy Alison.-Cast:* Richard Attenborough as Stephen Leigh* Dorothy Alison as Barbara Leigh* Colin Petersen as Tod Dawson... |
Stephen Leigh | |||
| Brothers in Law Brothers in Law (film) Brothers in Law is a 1957 British comedy film directed by Roy Boulting and starring Richard Attenborough, Ian Carmichael, Terry-Thomas and Jill Adams... |
Henry Marshall | ||||
| 1958 | Dunkirk Dunkirk (film) Dunkirk is a 1958 British war film directed by Leslie Norman and starring John Mills, Richard Attenborough and Bernard Lee. It was based on two novels: Elleston Trevor's The Big Pick-Up and Lt. Col. Ewan Hunter and Maj. J. S... |
John Holden | |||
| The Man Upstairs The Man Upstairs (film) The Man Upstairs is a 1958 film directed by Don Chaffey. It stars Richard Attenborough and Bernard Lee.-Cast:* Richard Attenborough as Peter Watson* Bernard Lee as Inspector Thompson* Donald Houston as Dr. Sanderson* Dorothy Alison as Mrs. Barnes... |
Peter Watson | ||||
| Sea of Sand | Brody | ||||
| 1959 | The League of Gentlemen The League of Gentlemen (film) The League of Gentlemen is a 1960 British crime film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Jack Hawkins, Nigel Patrick and Richard Attenborough. It was based on the 1958 novel by John Boland and adapted by Bryan Forbes, who also starred in the film... |
Lexy | |||
| I'm All Right Jack I'm All Right Jack I'm All Right Jack is a 1959 British comedy film directed and produced by John and Roy Boulting from a script by Frank Harvey, John Boulting and Alan Hackney, based on the novel Private Life by Hackney... |
Sidney De Vere Cox | ||||
| Danger Within Danger Within Danger Within is a 1959 British war film set in a prisoner of war camp in northern Italy during the summer of 1943.-Plot:After a clever escape plan fails, the escape committee, led by Lieutenant Colonel David Baird suspects that there is an informer in their ranks... |
Capt. "Bunter" Phillips | ||||
| Jet Storm Jet Storm Jet Storm is a 1959 British thriller film, where Richard Attenborough plays Ernest Tilley, a man who lost his daughter in a hit-and-run accident. He tracks down the man responsible for the accident and boards the same plane, threatening to blow up himself and everyone on board as an act of... |
Ernest Tiller | ||||
| SOS Pacific SOS Pacific SOS Pacific is a 1959 British drama film directed by Guy Green and starring Richard Attenborough and Pier Angeli.-Plot synopsis:The pilot of a flying boat, along with five passengers, has to ditch his plane in a thunder storm. The plane ditches in the Pacific near an island... |
Whitney Mullen | ||||
| 1960 | The Angry Silence The Angry Silence The Angry Silence is a 1960 British drama film directed by Guy Green and starring Richard Attenborough. Screenwriter Bryan Forbes won a BAFTA Award and an Oscar nomination for his contribution... |
Tom Curtis | |||
| 1961 | Whistle Down the Wind Whistle Down the Wind (film) Whistle Down the Wind is a 1961 British film, directed by Bryan Forbes, screenplay by Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall, from the novel by Mary Hayley Bell.-Plot:... |
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| 1962 | Only Two Can Play Only Two Can Play Only Two Can Play is a 1962 comedy film based on the novel That Uncertain Feeling by Kingsley Amis. Sidney Gilliat directed the film from a screenplay by Bryan Forbes.... |
Probert | |||
| The L-Shaped Room The L-Shaped Room The L-Shaped Room is a 1962 British drama film, directed by Bryan Forbes, which tells the story of a young French woman, unmarried and pregnant, who moves into a London boarding house, befriending a young man in the building... |
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| Trial and Error | Herbert Fowle | ||||
| 1963 | The Great Escape The Great Escape (film) The Great Escape is a 1963 American film about an escape by Allied prisoners of war from a German POW camp during World War II, starring Steve McQueen, James Garner, and Richard Attenborough... |
Squadron Leader Roger Bartlett | |||
| 1964 | The Third Secret The Third Secret (film) The Third Secret is a 1964 British drama film directed by Charles Crichton. The screenplay by Robert L. Joseph focuses on an American newscaster who investigates the mysterious death of his psychoanalyst... |
Alfred Price-Gorham | |||
| Séance on a Wet Afternoon Seance on a Wet Afternoon Séance on a Wet Afternoon is a 1964 British film directed by Bryan Forbes, based on the novel by Mark McShane in which an unstable medium convinces her husband to kidnap a child so she can help the police solve the crime and collect the ransom... |
Billy Savage | ||||
| Guns at Batasi Guns at Batasi Guns at Batasi is a 1964 drama film starring Richard Attenborough, Jack Hawkins, Flora Robson, John Leyton and Mia Farrow. It is set in an overseas colonial military outpost during the last days of the British Empire in East Africa.... |
Regimental Sgt. Major Lauderdale | ||||
| 1965 | The Flight of the Phoenix The Flight of the Phoenix (1965 film) The Flight of the Phoenix is a 1965 American film produced and directed by Robert Aldrich and based on the 1964 novel The Flight of the Phoenix by Elleston Trevor... |
Lew Moran | |||
| 1966 | The Sand Pebbles The Sand Pebbles (film) The Sand Pebbles is a 1966 American period war film directed by Robert Wise. It tells the story of an independent, rebellious U.S. Navy Machinist's Mate aboard the fictional gunboat USS San Pablo in 1920s China.... |
Frenchy Burgoyne | |||
| 1967 | Doctor Dolittle Doctor Dolittle (film) Doctor Dolittle is a 1967 American musical film directed by Richard Fleischer and starring Rex Harrison, Samantha Eggar, Anthony Newley and Richard Attenborough. It's adapted by Leslie Bricusse from the novel series by Hugh Lofting, primarily The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle, The Story of Doctor... |
Albert Blossom | |||
| 1968 | Only When I Larf | Silas | |||
| The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom is a 1968 British comedy film directed by Joseph McGrath. The screenplay by Alec Coppel and Denis Norden was adapted from a play by Coppel that was based on a short story by Josef Shaftel, who served as the film's producer.-Plot:... |
Robert Blossom | ||||
| 1969 | The Magic Christian The Magic Christian (film) The Magic Christian is a 1969 British comedy film directed by Joseph McGrath and starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr, with noteworthy appearances by John Cleese, Raquel Welch, Christopher Lee, Richard Attenborough and Roman Polanski. It was loosely adapted from the 1959 comic novel of the same... |
Oxford coach | |||
| Oh! What A Lovely War Oh! What a Lovely War Oh! What a Lovely War is a musical film based on the stage musical Oh, What a Lovely War! originated by Charles Chilton as a radio play, The Long Long Trail in December 1961, and transferred to stage by Gerry Raffles in partnership with Joan Littlewood and her Theatre Workshop created in 1963,... |
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| 1970 | Loot Loot (film) Loot is a 1970 British comedy film directed by Silvio Narizzano, based on the play of the same name by Joe Orton. It was entered into the 1971 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Richard Attenborough - Inspector Truscott* Lee Remick - Nurse Fay McMahon... |
Inspector Truscott | |||
| The Last Grenade The Last Grenade The Last Grenade is a 1970 British war film directed by Gordon Flemyng and starring Stanley Baker and Alex Cord as two soldiers of fortune, formerly comrades, who now find themselves on opposite sides... |
Gen. Charles Whiteley | ||||
| A Severed Head | Palmer Anderson | ||||
| 1971 | 10 Rillington Place | John Reginald Christie | |||
| 1972 | Cup Glory | Narrator | |||
| Young Winston Young Winston Young Winston is a 1972 British film based on the early years of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.The film was based on the book My Early Life: A Roving Commission by Winston Churchill. The first part of the film covers Churchill's unhappy schooldays, up to the death of his father... |
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| 1974 | And Then There Were None And Then There Were None (1974 film) And Then There Were None is a 1974 film version of the Agatha Christie mystery novel of the same name. Two previous theatrical adaptations were released in 1945 and 1965, and a videotaped made-for-television version was broadcast in 1959... |
Judge Arthur Cannon | |||
| 1975 | Rosebud Rosebud (film) Rosebud is a 1975 motion picture directed by Otto Preminger, and starring Peter O'Toole, Richard Attenborough, and Peter Lawford. Originally the film was set to star Robert Mitchum, but he left after disagreements with Preminger... |
Edward Sloat | |||
| Brannigan Brannigan (film) Brannigan is a British action film set principally in London, directed by Douglas Hickox, and starring John Wayne and Richard Attenborough... |
Cmdr. Sir Charles Swann | ||||
| Conduct Unbecoming Conduct Unbecoming (film) Conduct Unbecoming is a 1975 British drama film, an adaptation of the Barry England play Conduct Unbecoming first staged in 1969. It was directed by Michael Anderson and starred an ensemble cast of actors including Michael York, Richard Attenborough and Trevor Howard.-Plot:Two young British... |
Maj. Lionel E. Roach | ||||
| 1977 | Shatranj Ke Khiladi Shatranj Ke Khiladi The Chess Players is a genre painting of 1876 by American artist Thomas Eakins . It is a small oil on wood panel depicting Eakins' father Benjamin observing a chess match. The two players are Bertrand Gardel , an elderly French teacher, and the somewhat younger George Holmes, a painter... |
General Outram | |||
| A Bridge Too Far | Lunatic wearing glasses | ||||
| 1978 | Magic | ||||
| 1979 | The Human Factor The Human Factor (1979 film) The Human Factor is a 1979 British thriller film starring Richard Attenborough, Nicol Williamson, Derek Jacobi and John Gielgud. It is based on the novel of the same name by Graham Greene, with the screenplay written by Tom Stoppard... |
Col. John Daintry | |||
| 1982 | Gandhi Gandhi (film) Gandhi is a 1982 biographical film based on the life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who led the nonviolent resistance movement against British colonial rule in India during the first half of the 20th century. The film was directed by Richard Attenborough and stars Ben Kingsley as Gandhi. They both... |
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| 1985 | A Chorus Line A Chorus Line (film) A Chorus Line is a 1985 musical film directed by Richard Attenborough, starring Michael Douglas. The screenplay by Arnold Schulman is based on the Tony Award-winning book of the 1975 stage production of the same name by James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nicholas Dante... |
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| 1987 | Cry Freedom Cry Freedom Cry Freedom is a 1987 British drama film directed by Richard Attenborough, set in the late 1970s, during the apartheid era of South Africa. It was written from a screenplay by John Briley based on a pair of books by journalist Donald Woods... |
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| 1992 | Chaplin | ||||
| 1993 | Jurassic Park Jurassic Park (film) Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. It stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Martin Ferrero, and Bob Peck... |
John Hammond | |||
| Shadowlands Shadowlands (film) Shadowlands is a 1993 British biographical film directed by Richard Attenborough. The screenplay by William Nicholson is based on his 1985 television production and 1989 stage adaptation of the same name. The original television film began life as a script entitled I Call it Joy written for Thames... |
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| 1994 | Miracle on 34th Street Miracle on 34th Street (1994 film) Miracle on 34th Street is a 1994 American fantasy film directed by Les Mayfield. It is the fourth remake of the original 1947 film. Like the original, this film was released by 20th Century Fox... |
Kris Kringle Santa Claus Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus... |
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| 1996 | Hamlet Hamlet (1996 film) Hamlet is a 1996 film version of William Shakespeare's classic play of the same name, adapted and directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also stars in the title role as Prince Hamlet... |
English Ambassador to Denmark | |||
| In Love and War In Love and War (1996 film) In Love and War is a romance drama film based on the book, Hemingway in Love and War by Henry S. Villard and James Nagel, starring Mackenzie Astin, Chris O'Donnell, Sandra Bullock, and Margot Steinberg. This film takes place during World War I, and is based on the World War I experiences of the... |
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| 1997 | The Lost World: Jurassic Park The Lost World: Jurassic Park The Lost World: Jurassic Park is a 1997 science fiction thriller film, directed by Steven Spielberg. The film was produced by Bonnie Curtis, Kathleen Kennedy, Gerald R. Molen and Colin Wilson... |
John Hammond | |||
| 1998 | Elizabeth Elizabeth (film) Elizabeth is a 1998 biographical film written by Michael Hirst, directed by Shekhar Kapur, and starring Cate Blanchett in the title role of Queen Elizabeth I of England, alongside Geoffrey Rush, Christopher Eccleston, Joseph Fiennes, Sir John Gielgud, Fanny Ardant and Richard Attenborough... |
William Cecil | |||
| 1999 | Grey Owl Grey Owl (film) Grey Owl is a 1998 biopic directed by Richard Attenborough and starring Pierce Brosnan in the role of real life British schoolboy turned Indian trapper "Grey Owl," Archibald Belaney , and Annie Galipeau as his wife Anahareo. With brief appearances by Graham Greene and others. The screenplay was... |
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| Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story is based on the "coat of many colors" story of Joseph from the Hebrew Bible's Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice musical to be performed publicly... |
Jacob | ||||
| 2002 | Puckoon Puckoon Puckoon is a comic novel by Spike Milligan, first published in 1963. It is his first full-length novel, and only major fictional work. Set in 1924, it details the troubles brought to the fictional Irish village of Puckoon by the Partition of Ireland: the new border, due to the incompetence of the... |
narrator | |||
| 2007 | Closing the Ring Closing the Ring Closing the Ring is a film directed by Richard Attenborough and starring Shirley MacLaine, Christopher Plummer, Mischa Barton, Stephen Amell, Neve Campbell, Pete Postlethwaite, and Brenda Fricker.... |
Styles
- Richard Attenborough, Esq. (1923–1967)
- Richard Attenborough, Esq., CBE (1967–1976)
- Sir Richard Attenborough, CBE (1976–1993)
- The Rt Hon. The Lord Attenborough, CBE (1993–)
External links
- Richard Attenborough Archive on the BAFTA website
- University of Sussex media release about Lord Attenborough's election as Chancellor, dated Friday, 20 March 1998
- Richard Attenborough Stills & Posters Gallery from the British Film Institute
- Richard Attenborough Centre for Disability and the Arts