Roger Livesey
Encyclopedia
Roger Livesey was a British stage
and film
actor
. He is most often remembered for the three Powell & Pressburger
films in which he starred: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
, I Know Where I'm Going!
and A Matter of Life and Death. Tall and broad with a mop of chestnut hair, Livesey used his highly distinctive husky voice, gentle manner and athletic physique to create many notable roles in his theatre and film work.
. Although most articles about him indicated that his parents were Sam Livesey and Mary Catherine (née Edwards), later research has shown that Roger's father was actually Joseph Livesey. The confusion may have come about when his mother Mary married Samuel (Joseph's brother) after Joseph's death and the death of Samuel's wife, Mary's sister. Samuel and Mary had a child of their own, Stella, who would have been Roger's half sister. He was educated at Westminster City School
, London
. His two stepbrothers were also actors.
to modern comedies. He played various roles in the West End
from 1920 to 1926, toured the West Indies and South Africa
, and then returned to join the Old Vic
/Sadler's Wells company from September 1932 until May 1934. In 1936, he appeared in New York
in Wycherley
's comedy The Country Wife
and married actress Ursula Jeans
, whom he had known previously in England, (Livesey's sister Peggy was already married to Ursula Jeans' brother Desmond).
At the outbreak of the Second World War Livesey and Jeans were among the first volunteers to entertain the troops, before he volunteered for flying duties in the R.A.F.
His age led to his being turned down, instead he worked in an aircraft factory at Desford
aerodrome near Leicester
to "do his bit for the war effort". He was chosen by Michael Powell
to play the lead in The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
(1943). This was shown in New York and established his international reputation as a talented character actor. In 1945, he was the first choice for the male lead role in Brief Encounter
, which in the end went to Trevor Howard
.
He continued playing many theatrical roles during his film career until 1969. One of his last roles was as the Duke of St Bungay in The Pallisers
television series. His final television appearance was in the series Benjamin Franklin in 1975.
After Joseph died in 1911 and Margaret Ann died in 1913, Sam married Mary Catherine in 1913. They then brought up the children as one large family, having another child of their own, Stella in 1915.
The family tree was further complicated when Roger Livesey married Ursula Jeans whose brother Desmond Jeans was already married to Roger's sister Maggie.
Many of the family formed a touring company of actors, performing in regional theatres and from the back of an old waggon, one side of which could be dropped to form a stage. Because of their touring, they did not regard themselves as particularly Welsh, or English. They were just British because people happened to be born in the places where their mothers happened to be residing at the time.
Stage (theatre)
In theatre or performance arts, the stage is a designated space for the performance productions. The stage serves as a space for actors or performers and a focal point for the members of the audience...
and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He is most often remembered for the three Powell & Pressburger
Powell and Pressburger
The British film-making partnership of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, also known as The Archers, made a series of influential films in the 1940s and 1950s. In 1981 they were recognized for their contributions to British cinema with the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award, the most prestigious...
films in which he starred: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp is a 1943 film by the British film making team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger under the production banner of The Archers. It stars Roger Livesey, Deborah Kerr and Anton Walbrook. The title derives from the satirical Colonel Blimp comic strip by David...
, I Know Where I'm Going!
I Know Where I'm Going!
I Know Where I'm Going! is a 1945 romance film by the British-based film-makers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. It stars Wendy Hiller and Roger Livesey, and features Pamela Brown, Finlay Currie and Petula Clark in her fourth film appearance....
and A Matter of Life and Death. Tall and broad with a mop of chestnut hair, Livesey used his highly distinctive husky voice, gentle manner and athletic physique to create many notable roles in his theatre and film work.
Early life
Livesey was born in Barry, WalesWales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. Although most articles about him indicated that his parents were Sam Livesey and Mary Catherine (née Edwards), later research has shown that Roger's father was actually Joseph Livesey. The confusion may have come about when his mother Mary married Samuel (Joseph's brother) after Joseph's death and the death of Samuel's wife, Mary's sister. Samuel and Mary had a child of their own, Stella, who would have been Roger's half sister. He was educated at Westminster City School
Westminster City School
Westminster City School is a voluntary aided Christian school for boys in Westminster, London. The school has 800 students on its roll, and it offers 105 of 130 places each year to boys practising the Christian faith in the Anglican dioceses of London and Southwark. The other 25 spaces are...
, 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...
. His two stepbrothers were also actors.
Acting career
His first stage appearance was the office boy in Loyalties at St. James's Theatre in 1917. He then played in everything from ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
to modern comedies. He played various roles in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
from 1920 to 1926, toured the West Indies and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, and then returned to join the Old Vic
Old Vic
The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...
/Sadler's Wells company from September 1932 until May 1934. In 1936, he appeared in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in Wycherley
William Wycherley
William Wycherley was an English dramatist of the Restoration period, best known for the plays The Country Wife and The Plain Dealer.-Biography:...
's comedy The Country Wife
The Country Wife
The Country Wife is a Restoration comedy written in 1675 by William Wycherley. A product of the tolerant early Restoration period, the play reflects an aristocratic and anti-Puritan ideology, and was controversial for its sexual explicitness even in its own time. The title itself contains a lewd pun...
and married actress Ursula Jeans
Ursula Jeans
Ursula Jean McMinn was a British actress on film, stage, and television.Ursula Jeans was born in Shimla, British India, to British parents, and brought up and educated in London. She was the youngest of three siblings...
, whom he had known previously in England, (Livesey's sister Peggy was already married to Ursula Jeans' brother Desmond).
At the outbreak of the Second World War Livesey and Jeans were among the first volunteers to entertain the troops, before he volunteered for flying duties in the R.A.F.
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...
His age led to his being turned down, instead he worked in an aircraft factory at Desford
Desford
Desford is a village and civil parish in the North West Leicestershire district, west of the centre of Leicester. The parish includes the hamlets of Botcheston and Newtown Unthank and a scattered settlement at Lindridge.-Manors:...
aerodrome near 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...
to "do his bit for the war effort". He was chosen by Michael Powell
Michael Powell (director)
Michael Latham Powell was a renowned English film director, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger...
to play the lead in The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp is a 1943 film by the British film making team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger under the production banner of The Archers. It stars Roger Livesey, Deborah Kerr and Anton Walbrook. The title derives from the satirical Colonel Blimp comic strip by David...
(1943). This was shown in New York and established his international reputation as a talented character actor. In 1945, he was the first choice for the male lead role in Brief Encounter
Brief Encounter
Brief Encounter is a 1945 British film directed by David Lean about the conventions of British suburban life, centring on a housewife for whom real love brings unexpectedly violent emotions. The film stars Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway and Joyce Carey...
, which in the end went to Trevor Howard
Trevor Howard
Trevor Howard , born Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith, was an English film, stage and television actor.-Early life:...
.
He continued playing many theatrical roles during his film career until 1969. One of his last roles was as the Duke of St Bungay in The Pallisers
The Pallisers
The Pallisers is a 1974 BBC television adaptation of Anthony Trollope's Palliser novels.-Cast :*Anthony Ainley: Rev. Emilius*Terence Alexander: Lord George*Anthony Andrews: Lord Silverbridge*Sarah Badel: Lizzie Eustace...
television series. His final television appearance was in the series Benjamin Franklin in 1975.
Livesey family
The Livesey family has a complicated structure. Brothers Joseph and Sam Livesey married the Edwards sisters. Sam married Margaret Ann in 1900 and Joseph married Mary Catherine in 1905. Sam and Margaret Ann had two sons, Jack (1901) and Barrie Livesey (1905). Joseph and Mary Catherine had two children, Roger (1906) and Maggie (1911).After Joseph died in 1911 and Margaret Ann died in 1913, Sam married Mary Catherine in 1913. They then brought up the children as one large family, having another child of their own, Stella in 1915.
The family tree was further complicated when Roger Livesey married Ursula Jeans whose brother Desmond Jeans was already married to Roger's sister Maggie.
Many of the family formed a touring company of actors, performing in regional theatres and from the back of an old waggon, one side of which could be dropped to form a stage. Because of their touring, they did not regard themselves as particularly Welsh, or English. They were just British because people happened to be born in the places where their mothers happened to be residing at the time.
Filmography
- Where the Rainbow Ends (1921)
- The Four FeathersThe Four Feathers (1921 film)The Four Feathers is a silent film adaptation of A. E. W. Mason's novel of the same name.-Cast:*Harry Ham as Harry Faversham*Mary Massart as Ethne Eustace*Cyril Percival as Jack Durrance*Henry Vibart as General Faversham...
(1921) - Married LoveMarried LoveMarried Love or Love in Marriage is a book written by Dr. Marie Carmichael Stopes, first published in March 1918 by a small publisher, after many other larger publishers turned her down because of the content. It rapidly sold out, and was in its sixth printing within a fortnight.The US Customs...
(1923) - East Lynne on the Western FrontEast Lynne on the Western FrontEast Lynne on the Western Front is a 1931 British comedy film directed by George Pearson and starring Herbert Mundin, Mark Daly and Alf Goddard...
(1931) - The Veteran of WaterlooThe Veteran of WaterlooThe Veteran of Waterloo is a 1933 British short drama film directed by A.V. Bramble and starring Jerrold Robertshaw, Roger Livesey and Joan Kemp-Welch. An old soldier recounts his participation in the 1815 Battle of Waterloo...
(1933) - A Cuckoo in the Nest (1933)
- Blind JusticeBlind Justice (1934 film)Blind Justice is a 1934 British thriller film directed by Bernard Vorhaus and starring Eva Moore, Frank Vosper, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Roger Livesey and John Mills. A woman is blackmailed by a criminal, who has discovered that her brother was shot as a coward during the First World War...
(1934) - Lorna DooneLorna DooneLorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor is a novel by Richard Doddridge Blackmore. It is a romance based on a group of historical characters and set in the late 17th century in Devon and Somerset, particularly around the East Lyn Valley area of Exmoor....
(1934) - Midshipman EasyMidshipman EasyMidshipman Easy is a 1935 British adventure film directed by Carol Reed and starring Hughie Green, Margaret Lockwood and Harry Tate. A young man runs away from home, joins the navy and goes to sea in the 1790s. He rescues a captive woman from a Spanish ship and battles pirates and smugglers...
(1935) - The Price of Wisdom (1935)
- Rembrandt (1936)
- The Rebel SonThe Rebel SonThe Rebel Son, The Barbarian and the Lady or The Rebel Son of Taras Bulba was a 1938 British film, notable as the first film appearance of Patricia Roc. It is a re-working by Alexander Korda of Granowski's 1935 French film adaptation of the Russian novel Taras Bulba by Nikolai Gogol, set in the...
(1938) - Black Magic (1938, TV film)
- Spring MeetingSpring MeetingSpring Meeting is a 1941 British comedy film directed by Walter C. Mycroft and starring Enid Stamp-Taylor, Michael Wilding, Basil Sydney and Sarah Churchill. Instead of marrying the woman his parents have chosen for him, a man falls in love with her sister. It was based on the play by M. J...
(1938, TV film) - Keep SmilingKeep Smiling (film)Keep Smiling is a 1938 British comedy film directed by Monty Banks and starring Gracie Fields, Roger Livesey and Mary Maguire. After they are cheated out of money by an ex-manager, a group of performers club together to buy a bus and travel around the country doing shows.Banks incidentally, had...
(1938) - The DrumThe Drum (1938 film)The Drum is a 1938 British Technicolor film from the book by A. E. W. Mason. The film was directed by Zoltan Korda and produced by Alexander Korda...
(1938) - A Cup of Happiness (1939, TV film)
- Spies of the AirSpies of the AirSpies of the Air is a 1940 British adventure film directed by David MacDonald and starring Edward Ashley, Felix Aylmer and Barry K. Barnes. It was based on the play Official Secret by Jeffrey Dell. A British test pilot is passing secret to the Germans....
(1940) - Girl in the NewsGirl in the NewsGirl in the News is a 1940 British thriller film directed by Carol Reed and starring Margaret Lockwood, Barry K. Barnes and Emlyn Williams.-Cast:* Margaret Lockwood - Anne Graham* Barry K...
(1940) - The Life and Death of Colonel BlimpThe Life and Death of Colonel BlimpThe Life and Death of Colonel Blimp is a 1943 film by the British film making team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger under the production banner of The Archers. It stars Roger Livesey, Deborah Kerr and Anton Walbrook. The title derives from the satirical Colonel Blimp comic strip by David...
(1943) - I Know Where I'm Going!I Know Where I'm Going!I Know Where I'm Going! is a 1945 romance film by the British-based film-makers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. It stars Wendy Hiller and Roger Livesey, and features Pamela Brown, Finlay Currie and Petula Clark in her fourth film appearance....
(1945) - A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
- Vice VersaVice Versa (1948 film)Vice Versa is a 1948 British comedy film written and directed by Peter Ustinov. It is the third screen adaptation of the 1882 novel of the same name by F. Anstey. The film was produced by Two Cities Films and distributed by General Film Distributors....
(1948) - Men of Darkness (1948, TV film)
- That Dangerous AgeThat Dangerous AgeThat Dangerous Age is a 1949 British romance film directed by Gregory Ratoff and starring Myrna Loy, Roger Livesey and Peggy Cummins. It is an adaptation of the play Autumn by Ilya Surguchev.-Partial cast:* Myrna Loy - Lady Cathy Brooke...
(1949) - The Master Builder (1950, TV film)
- Green Grow the RushesGreen Grow the Rushes (film)Green Grow the Rushes is a British comedy film from the production company A.C.T. Films. -Plot:Three British government bureaucrats arrive in Kent to inquire as to why the costal marsh is not being cultivated...
(1951) - The Master of BallantraeThe Master of Ballantrae (film)The Master of Ballantrae is a 1953 British adventure film starring Errol Flynn, Roger Livesey, and Anthony Steel. It is a loose and highly truncated adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson novel of the same title...
(1953) - The Intimate StrangerThe Intimate StrangerThe Intimate Stranger is a 1956 British drama film directed by Joseph Losey, under the pseudonym Joseph Walton, and starring Richard Basehart, Mary Murphy, Constance Cummings and Roger Livesey. It was also released as Finger of Guilt.-Production:...
(1956) - The StowawayThe Stowaway (1958 film)The Stowaway is a 1958 French-Australian film co produced by Lee Robinson. It was shot on location in Tahiti. There are French and English versions.-Cast:* Martine Carol* Roger Livesey* Arletty* Serge Reggiani* Carl Boehm* Reg Lye...
(1958) - It Happened in Broad Daylight (1958)
- The League of GentlemenThe 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...
(1960) - The EntertainerThe Entertainer (film)The Entertainer is a 1960 film adaptation of the stage play of the same name by John Osborne, which told the story of a failing third-rate music hall stage performer who tried to keep his career going even as his personal life fell apart....
(1960) - By Invitation OnlyBy Invitation Only-By Invitation Only tracklisting::# "Run To The Hills" #* Vocals: Robin McAuley#* Rhythm Guitar: Pete Fletcher #* Bass: Tony Franklin #* Drums: Brian Tichy...
(1961) - No My Darling DaughterNo My Darling DaughterNo My Darling Daughter is a 1961 British comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas and featuring Michael Redgrave, Michael Craig, Roger Livesey, James Westmoreland, and Juliet Mills...
(1961) - The Amorous Adventures of Moll FlandersThe Amorous Adventures of Moll FlandersThe Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders is a 1965 British historical comedy film directed by Terence Young and starring Kim Novak, Richard Johnson and Claire Ufland...
(1965) - Of Human BondageOf Human Bondage (1964 film)Of Human Bondage is a 1964 British drama film directed by Ken Hughes. The MGM release, the third screen adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham's 1915 novel, was written by Bryan Forbes.-Synopsis:...
(1964) - Oedipus the KingOedipus the KingOedipus the King , also known by the Latin title Oedipus Rex, is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed c. 429 BCE. It was the second of Sophocles's three Theban plays to be produced, but it comes first in the internal chronology, followed by Oedipus at Colonus and then Antigone...
(1967) - HamletHamlet (1969 film)Hamlet is a 1969 British film adaptation of Shakespeare's play Hamlet, starring Nicol Williamson as Prince Hamlet. It was directed by Tony Richardson and based on his own stage production at the Roundhouse theatre in London...
(1969) - Futtocks End (1970)