John Gielgud

Sir Arthur John Gielgud OM, CH (14 April, 1904 – 21 May 2000), known as Sir John Gielgud, was an English theatre and film actor, regarded by many as one of the greatest British actors in history.

Life and Work

Arthur John Gielgud was born in Kensington in London to a Protestant mother, Kate Terry, and a Catholic father, Frank Gielgud (who was of Polish or Lithuanian descent), and was raised a Protestant. Gielgud had a head start in the theatrical profession, being a great nephew of Dame Ellen Terry. His elder brother was Val Gielgud who was one of the most pioneering and influential leaders of BBC Radio.

After Westminster School, where he gained a King's Scholarship, he trained at RADA and had his initial success as a stage actor in classical roles. He starred and directed in many Royal Shakespeare Company productions at Stratford-upon-Avon. His Hamlet of 1936 was particularly admired and widely acclaimed.

Although he began to appear in British films as early as the 1930s, he would not make an impact in the medium until the last decades of his life. His film roles included: Benjamin Disraeli in The Prime Minister (1940), Cassius in Julius Caesar (1953) and George, Duke of Clarence to Laurence Olivier's Richard III (1955). Unlike Olivier, he remained primarily a stage actor, and so the rivalry between them was minimal.

As he aged, Gielgud began to adapt more to changing fashions in the theatre, appearing in plays by David Storey (Home), Charles Wood (Veterans), Edward Bond (Bingo) and Harold Pinter (No Man's Land). In the 1980s and 1990s, it was jokingly said that he was prepared to do almost anything for his art. He won an Academy Award for his supporting role as a sardonic butler in the 1981 comedy Arthur, starring Dudley Moore, and his performance in Shine (1996) was critically acclaimed. Gielgud was also one of the few people who has won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award.

He was convicted of lewd behaviour (cottaging) in 1953. Instead of being rejected by the public, he got a standing ovation at his next stage appearance. Biographer Sheridan Morley writes that while Gielgud never denied being gay, Gielgud always tried to be discreet about it and felt humliated by the ordeal. Some speculate that it helped to bring to public attention a crusade to decriminalise homosexuality in England and Wales. Longtime lover Martin Hensler, 30 years his junior, died just a few months before Sir John did in 2000. He only publically acknowledged Hensler as his partner in 1988, in the programme note for Best of Friends (play) which was his final stage performance. Despite going to Hollywood to appear alongside Marlon Brando in Julius Caesar in early 1950s, Gielgud would avoid Hollywood for over a decade for fear of being denied entry because of the arrest.

Gielgud and Ralph Richardson were the first guest stars on Second City Television. Playing themselves, they were in Toronto during their tour of Harold Pinter's No Man's Land. According to Dave Thomas, in his book, SCTV: Behind the Scenes, their sketch stunk and the actors gave a bad performance.

Gielgud's final onscreen appearance in a major release motion picture was as Pope Paul IV in Elizabeth which was released in 1998. His final acting performance was in a film adaptation of Samuel Beckett's short play Catastrophe, opposite longtime collaborator Harold Pinter and directed by American playwright David Mamet; Gielgud died mere weeks after production was completed at the age of 96 of natural causes.

The Globe Theatre in London was renamed the Gielgud Theatre in 1994 in his honor.

Awards and honours

He was knighted in the 1953 coronation honours, became a Companion of Honour in 1977, and was admitted to the Order of Merit in 1996.

In 1982 he received an Evening Standard Special Award

Olivier Award
* 1985: Special Award

Academy Awards
* 1964: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor, for Becket
* 1981: Winner for Best Supporting Actor, for Arthur

Emmy Awards
* 1982: Nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Special, for Brideshead Revisited
* 1984: Nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Special, for The Master of Ballantrae
* 1985: Nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Special, for Romance on the Orient Express
* 1989: Nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Special, for War and Remembrance
* 1991: Winner for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Special, for Summer's Lease

Tony Awards
* 1959: Winner, Special Award, for contribution to theatre for his extraordinary insight into the writings of Shakespeare as demonstrated in his one-man play, Ages of Man
* 1961: Winner, Best Director (Dramatic), for Hamlet
* 1963: Nominated for Best Director (Dramatic), for The School for Scandal
* 1965: Nominated for Best Actor (Dramatic), for Tiny Alice
* 1971: Nominated for Best Actor (Dramatic), for Home

Grammy Awards
* 1959: Nominated for Best Documentary or Spoken Word Recording, for Ages of Man
* 1960: Nominated for Best Documentary or Spoken Word Recording, for Hamlet with Richard Burton, Hume Cronyn, Alfred Drake, George Voskovec, Eileen Herlie, William Redfield and George Ross
* 1964: Nominated for Best Documentary or Spoken Word Recording, for Ages of Man, Volume 2 (One Man in His Time) Part Two - Shakespeare
* 1979: Winner for Best Spoken Word, Documentary or Drama Recording, for Ages of Man - Recordings from Shakespeare
* 1982: Nominated for Best Spoken Word, Documentary or Drama Recording, for No Man's Land with Ralph Richardson
* 1983: Nominated for Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Recording, for Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats with Irene Worth
* 1986: Nominated for Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Recording, for Gulliver
* 1988: Nominated for Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Recording, for A Christmas Carol
* 1989: Nominated for Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Recording, for Sir John Gielgud Reads Alice in Wonderland
* 1991: Nominated for Best Album for Children, for The Emperor's New Clothes with Mark Isham

New York Film Critics Award
* 1977: Best Actor, for Providence

There is also the Sir John Gielgud Award for "Excellence in the Dramatic Arts" presented by the US-based Shakespeare Guild. Past winners include Ian McKellen, Kenneth Branagh, Kevin Kline and Judi Dench

Other interests

Sir John Gielgud believed that animals should not be exploited. He was particularly fond of birds and joined PETA's campaign against the foie gras industry in the early 1990s, narrating PETA's video exposé of the force-feeding of geese and ducks. Many chefs and restaurateurs who saw that video dropped foie gras from their menus. Sir John received PETA's Humanitarian of the Year Award twice, in 1994 and 1999.

He also authored several books, including his memoirs in An Actor and His Time, Early Stages and Distinguished Company. He also co-wrote, with John Miller, Acting Shakespeare.

Selected Filmography

Secret Agent (1936)
Julius Caesar (1953)
Richard III (1955)
Becket (1964)
Chimes at Midnight (1965)
The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968)
Oh! What a Lovely War (1969)
Julius Caesar (1970)
Lost Horizon (1973)
Frankenstein: The True Story (1973)
11 Harrowhouse (1974)
Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
Providence (1977)
Caligula (1979)
The Elephant Man (1980)
The Formula (1980)
Lion of the Desert (1981)
Arthur (1981)
Chariots of Fire (1981)
Gandhi (1982)
Wagner (1983)
Wicked Lady (1983)
The Master of Ballantrae (1984)
The Far Pavilions (1984)
Plenty (1985)
The Whistle Blower (1986)
Appointment with Death (1988)
Arthur 2: On the Rocks (1988)
Getting it Right (1989)
Prospero's Books (1991)
Shining Through (1992)
Scarlett (1994)
First Knight (1995)
Merlin (1996)
Hamlet (1996)
Shine (1996)
Elizabeth (1998)

See also

*List of people who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award

External links