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Michael Hordern (1911–1995)

Actor | Soundtrack

Some of Hordern's finest work was not in films or television but on radio: His performance as Gandalf in the BBC's radio adaptation of The Lord of the Rings was arguably the definitive portrayal of that character (contrast Hordern's Gandalf with that of Ian McKellen in the 3-part film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings directed by Peter Jackson). See full bio »

Born:

Michael Murray Hordern
in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Died:

(age 83) in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK
1 photo | 17 videos | 35 news articles »

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Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 2 wins See more awards »

Known For


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Filmography

Hide HideActor (182 titles)
1997-2001 The Adventures of Paddington Bear (TV series)
Narrator
 
1992-1995 Screen Two (TV series)
Godfrey Colston / Lord Langland
– A Very Open Prison (1995) … Lord Langland
– Memento Mori (1992) … Godfrey Colston
 
1994 Middlemarch (TV mini-series)
Peter Featherstone
– Episode #1.3 (1994) … Peter Featherstone
– Episode #1.2 (1994) … Peter Featherstone
– Episode #1.1 (1994) … Peter Featherstone
 
1993 Lovejoy (TV series)
Wilfred Shotley
– Fly the Flag (1993) … Wilfred Shotley
 
1992 Freddie as F.R.O.7.
King (voice) (as Sir Michael Hordern)
 
1992 Chillers (TV series)
Colonel Eddie Phelps
– The Cat Brought It In (1992) … Colonel Eddie Phelps
 
1992/I Beauty and the Beast (video)
Monsieur Du Bois (voice)
 
1992 Truckers (TV series)
The Abbot (voice)
 
1990 The Fool
Mr. Tatham
 
1990 The Green Man (TV series)
Gramps
– Episode #1.3 (1990) … Gramps
– Episode #1.1 (1990) … Gramps
 
1989-1990 Oh! Mr. Toad (TV series)
Badger
– Toad: Film Maker (1990) … Badger (voice)
– Toad in Love (1990) … Badger (voice)
– Oarsman Toad (1990) … Badger (voice)
– A Toad in Time (1990) … Badger (voice)
– Happy Birthday (1990) … Badger (voice)
See all 14 episodes »
 
1990 Perfect Scoundrels (TV series)
Sir Norman
– The Play's the Sting (1990) … Sir Norman
 
1989 Dark Obsession
Lord Crewne
 
1989 Roald Dahl's Danny the Champion of the World (TV movie)
Lord Claybury
 
1989 Ending Up (TV movie)
George
 
1989 The Dog It Was That Died (TV movie)
George
 
1988 American Playhouse (TV series)
Lord McLaidlaw
– Suspicion (1988) … Lord McLaidlaw
 
1984-1988 The Wind in the Willows (TV series)
Badger
– Happy New Year! (1988) … Badger (voice)
– Tunnels and Tremors (1988) … Badger (voice)
– Remember, Remember (1988) … Badger (voice) (as Sir Michael Hordern)
– Monster of the Wild Wood (1988) … Badger (voice) (as Sir Michael Hordern)
– Toad's Harvest (1988) … Badger (voice)
See all 47 episodes »
 
1987 The Trouble with Spies
Jason Locke
 
1987 The Secret Garden (TV movie)
Ben Weatherstaff
 
1987 Scoop (TV movie)
The Country - Uncle Theodore
 
1987 The Secret World of Polly Flint (TV movie)
Narrator
 
1987 Inspector Morse (TV series)
Doctor Starkie
– Service of All the Dead (1987) … Doctor Starkie
 
1986 Paradise Postponed (TV mini-series)
Rev. Simeon Simcox
– The Simcox Inheritance (1986) … Rev. Simeon Simcox
– The Gods of the Copy Book Headings (1986) … Rev. Simeon Simcox
– Enigma Variations (1986) … Rev. Simeon Simcox
– And a Happy New Year to You, Too! (1986) … Rev. Simeon Simcox
– The Lost Leader (1986) … Rev. Simeon Simcox
See all 10 episodes »
 
1986 Labyrinth
The Wiseman (voice)
 
1986 Lady Jane
Doctor Feckenham
 
1986 Paddington Goes to School (TV short) (voice)
 
1986 Comrades
Mr. Pitt
 
1985 Young Sherlock Holmes
Older Watson (voice)
 
1985 Theatre Night (TV series)
– Trelawny of the Wells (1985)
 
1985 Now Voyager (video)
Old man
 
1984 The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood (TV movie)
Psychoanalyst
 
1983/I The Wind in the Willows (TV movie)
Badger (voice)
 
1983 Yellowbeard
Dr. Gilpin
 
1982 Cymbeline (TV movie)
Jupiter
 
1982 Gandhi
Sir George Hodge
 
1982 The Missionary
Slatterthwaite/Narrator
 
1982 King Lear (TV movie)
King Lear
 
1982 A Dream of Alice (TV movie)
 
1982/I Oliver Twist (TV movie)
Mr. Brownlow
 
1982 Ivanhoe (TV movie)
Cedric
 
1981 Thank You, P.G. Wodehouse (TV movie)
Wodehouse (voice)
 
1981 BBC2 Playhouse (TV series)
Patient
– You're All Right, How Am I? (1981) … Patient
 
1981 The History Man (TV series)
Prof. Marvin
– Gross Moral Turpitude (1981) … Prof. Marvin
– Part 3: October 3nd 1972 (P.M.) (1981) … Prof. Marvin
– Part 2: October 3nd 1972 (A.M.) (1981) … Prof. Marvin
 
1981 All's Well That Ends Well (TV movie)
Lafeu
 
1980 Shogun (TV movie)
Friar Domingo
 
1980 Shogun (TV mini-series)
Friar Domingo
 
1980 The Wildcats of St. Trinian's
Sir Charles Hackforth
 
1980 Gauguin the Savage (TV movie)
Durand-Huel
 
1980 The Tempest (TV movie)
Prospero
 
1979 Tales of the Unexpected (TV series)
Cyril Bixby
– Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Coat (1979) … Cyril Bixby
 
1978 The Talking Parcel (TV movie)
Oswald, the Sea Serpent (voice)
 
1978 Romeo & Juliet (TV movie)
Capulet
 
1978 Watership Down
Frith (voice)
 
1978 The Medusa Touch
Atropos - Fortune Teller
 
1977 A Christmas Carol (TV movie)
Scrooge
 
1977 Joseph Andrews
Parson Adams
 
1976 Brensham People (TV series)
 
1971-1976 BBC Play of the Month (TV series)
God / King Lear / Mr. Posket / …
– Chester Mystery Cycle (1976) … God
– King Lear (1975) … King Lear
– The Magistrate (1972) … Mr. Posket
– Tartuffe (1971) … Tartuffe
– Don Juan in Hell (1971) … The Devil
 
1976 The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella
King
 
1976 Paddington Bear (TV series)
Narrator / Voices
– Please Look After This Bear (1976) … Narrator
– Christmas … Narrator/Voices (voice)
– Paddington and the Christmas Shopping … Narrator/Voices (voice)
 
1975 Lucky Lady
Capt. Rockwell
 
1975 Barry Lyndon
Narrator (voice)
 
1975 Mr. Quilp
Grandfather/Edward Trent
 
1975 Royal Flash
Headmaster
 
1975 Edward the King (TV series)
W.E. Gladstone / W. E. Gladstone
– The Years of Waiting (1975) … W.E. Gladstone
– Scandal (1975) … W.E. Gladstone
– The Royal Quadrille (1975) … W.E. Gladstone
– The Invisible Queen (1975) … W. E. Gladstone
– A Hundred Thousand Welcomes (1975) … W. E. Gladstone
 
1974 Cakes and Ale (TV mini-series)
Willie Ashenden
– Part 3 (1974) … Willie Ashenden
– Part 2 (1974) … Willie Ashenden
– Part 1 (1974) … Willie Ashenden
 
1974 Juggernaut
Mr. Baker (uncredited)
 
1974 Fall of Eagles (TV mini-series)
Narrator
– End Game (1974) … Narrator
– The Secret War (1974) … Narrator
– Tell the King the Sky Is Falling (1974) … Narrator
– The Last Tsar (1974) … Narrator
– The Honest Broker (1974) … Narrator
See all 10 episodes »
 
1973 England Made Me
F. Minty
 
1973 The MacKintosh Man
Brown
 
1973 Theatre of Blood
George William Maxwell
 
1972 But Seriously, It's Sheila Hancock (TV series)
– Art for Whose Sake? (1972)
 
1972 Grubstreet (TV series)
 
1972 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Mock Turtle
 
1972 Demons of the Mind
Priest
 
1972 The Pied Piper
Melius, Alchemist
 
1972 The Possession of Joel Delaney
Justin
 
1971 A Christmas Carol (TV short)
Marley's Ghost (voice)
 
1971 Up Pompeii
Ludicrus Sextus
 
1971 Six Dates with Barker (TV series)
Arch Funster
– 2774 AD: All the World's a Stooge (1971) … Arch Funster
 
1971 Girl Stroke Boy
George Mason
 
1970 Some Will, Some Won't
Denniston Russell
 
1970 Futtocks End
The Butler
 
1969 Anne of the Thousand Days
Thomas Boleyn
 
1969 The Bed Sitting Room
Bules Martin
 
1968 Where Eagles Dare
Adm. Rolland
 
1968 Prudence and the Pill
Dr. Morley (uncredited)
 
1968 Omnibus (TV series documentary)
Professor Parkins
– Whistle and I'll Come to You (1968) … Professor Parkins
 
1967 I'll Never Forget What's'isname
Headmaster
 
1967 How I Won the War
Grapple
 
1967/I The Jokers
Sir Matthew
 
1967 The Taming of the Shrew
Baptista
 
1967 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (TV series)
Prof. Ainslie Grey
– The Chemistry of Love (1967) … Prof. Ainslie Grey
 
1966 On the Margin (TV series)
 
1966 A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Senex
 
1966 Khartoum
Lord Granville
 
1966 Court Martial (TV series)
Col. Miller
– Let No Man Speak (1966) … Col. Miller
 
1966 Lamp at Midnight (TV movie)
Cardinal Barberini , later Pope Urban VIII
 
1956-1966 ITV Play of the Week (TV series)
Andrew Crocker Harris / George Kettle / Hartley / …
– The Browning Version (1966) … Andrew Crocker Harris
– Nelson: A Study in Miniature (1966) … Lord Minto
– The Quails (1963) … Ratcliff
– Any Other Business? (1961) … Sir Norman Tullis
– Flowering Cherry (1960) … Jim Cherry
See all 8 episodes »
 
1966 Cast a Giant Shadow
British Ambassador
 
1965 The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
Ashe
 
1965 Genghis Khan
Geen
 
1964-1965 The Wednesday Play (TV series)
General Kokoshkin, Chief of Police / Sir Jocelyn Symonds
– Sir Jocelyn, the Minister Would Like a Word... (1965) … Sir Jocelyn Symonds
– A Crack in the Ice (1964) … General Kokoshkin, Chief of Police
 
1964 The Yellow Rolls-Royce
Harnsworth
 
1964 Detective (TV series)
Detective Inspector Rason
– The Man Who Murdered in Public (1964) … Detective Inspector Rason
 
1964 First Night (TV series)
Arthur Walmer
– Land of My Dreams (1964) … Arthur Walmer
 
1964 Land of My Dreams (TV movie)
 
1964 Festival (TV series)
Sir Augustus Thwaites
– August for the People (1964) … Sir Augustus Thwaites
 
1963 Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (TV series)
Squire Banks / Squire Thomas Banks
– The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh: Part 1 (1963) … Squire Thomas Banks
– The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh: Part 2 (1963) … Squire Banks
– The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh: Part 3 (1963) … Squire Banks
 
1963 Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow
Squire Thomas Banks
 
1963 Espionage (TV series)
Minister
– The Gentle Spies (1963) … Minister
 
1963 Cleopatra
Cicero
 
1963 The V.I.P.s
Airport Director
 
1963 Back to Back (TV movie)
 
1961 El Cid
Don Diego
 
1961 ITV Television Playhouse (TV series)
Man
– The Square (1961) … Man
 
1960/III Macbeth (TV movie)
Banquo
 
1960 Man in the Moon
Dr. Davidson
 
1960 Without the Grail (TV movie)
 
1960 BBC Sunday-Night Play (TV series)
Walter Ormund
– Twentieth Century Theatre: I Have Been Here Before (1960) … Walter Ormund
 
1960 Sink the Bismarck!
Commander in Chief (King George V)
 
1960 Malaga
Inspector Farrell
 
1959 The DuPont Show of the Month (TV series)
Mr. Brownlow
– Oliver Twist (1959) … Mr. Brownlow
 
1959 Play of the Week (TV series)
Morganhall / Tony Peters
– Back to Back: The Dock Brief and What Shall We Tell Caroline? (1959) … Morganhall/Tony Peters
 
1950-1959 BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (TV series)
Christopher Williams / General Parmenion / Hugh Wigmore / …
– Farewell My City (1959) … Maurice Lammering
– The Merchant of Venice (1955) … Shylock
– Candida (1955) … Rev. James Mavor Morell
– As You Like It (1953) … Jacques
– The Voysey Inheritance (1951) … Major Booth Voysey
See all 9 episodes »
 
1959 Playhouse 90 (TV series)
Griffith
– Dark as the Night (1959) … Griffith
 
1958 Girls at Sea
Adm. Reginald Victor Hewitt
 
1958 Hell, Heaven or Hoboken
Governor of Gibraltar
 
1958 The Spaniard's Curse
Judge Manton
 
1958 I Accuse!
Prosecutor - 2nd Dreyfus trial
 
1957 Windom's Way
Patterson
 
1957 No Time for Tears
The Surgeon
 
1957 The Indifferent Shepherd (TV movie)
Henry Aspen
 
1957 Armchair Theatre (TV series)
– The Witness (1957)
 
1956 The Spanish Gardener
Harrington Brande
 
1956 The Baby and the Battleship
Capt. Hugh
 
1956 Pacific Destiny
Resident Commissioner
 
1956 Alexander the Great
Demosthenes
 
1956 The Man Who Never Was
Gen. Coburn
 
1956 London Playhouse (TV series)
Mr. Frisby
– The Guv'nor (1956) … Mr. Frisby
 
1955 Storm Over the Nile
General Faversham
 
1955 Marriage a la Mode
Judge
 
1955 The Dark Avenger
King Edward
 
1955 The Night My Number Came Up
Commander Lindsay
 
1954 Svengali
Billy's uncle (uncredited)
 
1954 The Beachcomber
The Headman
 
1954 Forbidden Cargo
Director of Customs
 
1954 You Know What Sailors Are
Captain Hamilton
 
1953 The Heart of the Matter
Commissioner
 
1953 Personal Affair
Headmaster Griffith
 
1953 Wicked Wife
Insp. Ayling
 
1953 Both Sides of the Law
Det. Insp. Heron
 
1953 The Commonplace Heart (TV movie)
Miles Beecham
 
1952 The Hour of 13
Sir Herbert Frensham
 
1952 The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men
Scathelock
 
1952 The Promoter
Bank Manager (uncredited)
 
1951 The Magic Box
Official Receiver
 
1951 Tom Brown's Schooldays
Wilkes
 
1951 Scrooge
Jacob Marley
 
1951 Flesh & Blood
Webster
 
1950 Highly Dangerous
Lab Director Owens
 
1950 Trio
Vicar (in segment The Verger)
 
1950 The Astonished Heart
Ernest
 
1949 Train of Events
Plainclothesman (segment "The Actor")
 
1949 Passport to Pimlico
Bashford
 
1949 The Hideout
Dr. Mennell
 
1949 Third Time Lucky
Doctor (uncredited)
 
1948 Lost Daughter
Johnson
 
1948 Good-Time Girl
Seddon
 
1948 Morning Departure (TV movie)
Captain
 
1947 Night Beat (uncredited)
 
1947 Mine Own Executioner
Co-counsel at Felix's Hearing (uncredited)
 
1947 Rebecca (TV movie)
Maxim de Winter
 
1946 Morning Departure (TV movie)
Commander Gates
 
1946 Secret Flight
Lt. Cmdr. Lowther
 
1946 A Girl in a Million
Divorce Counsel
 
1946 Noah (TV movie)
Noah
 
1946 The Years Between
Member Of Parliament (uncredited)
 
1940 Girl in the News
Assistant Prosecuting Counsel (uncredited)
 
1940 Band Waggon
Minor Role (uncredited)
 
1939 A Girl Must Live
 
Show ShowSoundtrack (3 titles)
1976 The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella (performer: "What Has Love To Do With Getting Married?", "Protocoligorically Correct")
 
1972 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (performer: "Will You Walk A Little Faster, Said A Whiting To A Snail")
 
1966 A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (performer: "EVERYBODY OUGHT TO HAVE A MAID", "COMEDY TONIGHT" reprise)
 
Show ShowSelf (16 titles)
1996 The 68th Annual Academy Awards (TV special)
Himself - Memorial Tribute
 
1991 Horizon (TV series documentary)
Himself - Narrator
– Colonizing Cyberspace (1991) … Himself - Narrator (voice) (as Sir Michael Hordern)
 
1989 An Invitation to Remember (TV series)
Himself
– Sir Michael Hordern (1989) … Himself (as Sir Michael Hordern)
 
1988 Aspel & Company (TV series)
Himself
– Episode #6.5 (1988) … Himself
 
1986 The Little Match Girl (TV movie)
Himself - Introduction
 
1986 The Story of English (TV mini-series documentary)
Himself / King Lear / Prospero
– A Muse of Fire (1986) … Prospero (also archive footage) / King Lear (also archive footage) / Himself (also archive footage)
 
1983 Group Madness (documentary)
Himself / Dr. Gilpin
 
1980 The Basil Brush Show (TV series)
Himself
– Basil's Christmas Cruise (1980) … Himself
 
1978 The South Bank Show (TV series documentary)
Himself
– Tom Stoppard (1978) … Himself
 
1976 Claude Monet (TV documentary)
Himself - Narrator
 
1972 Aquarius (TV series)
Himself
– Why Shun a Nude Tag? (1972) … Himself
 
1971 Omnibus; in Search of Lost Time (TV documentary)
Narrator
 
1967-1970 Call My Bluff (TV series)
Himself
– Episode dated 19 October 1970 (1970) … Himself
– Episode dated 12 October 1970 (1970) … Himself
– Episode dated 29 January 1970 (1970) … Himself
– Episode dated 4 December 1967 (1967) … Himself
 
1968 Tempo (TV series)
Himself / Prospero
– The Actor and the Role: Michael Hordern (1968) … Himself / Prospero
 
1965 The More Man Understands (documentary short)
Himself - Commentator
 
1961 First Left Past Aden (documentary short)
Commentator (voice)
 
Show ShowArchive Footage (2 titles)
1972 Review (TV series documentary)
 
1955 Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (TV series)
 

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Personal Details

Other Works:

His theatre credits include: John, King of England in "King John" by William Shakespeare , directed by Michael Benthall (Old Vic Theatre, London, 1953) See more »

Alternate Names:

Sir Michael Hordern
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Did You Know?

Trivia:

Terry Gilliam's first casting choice for The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. See more »

Star Sign:

Libra