Ian Richardson(1934-2007)
- Actor
- Soundtrack
A classical actor (and founding member in 1960 of the Royal
Shakespeare Company), Richardson earned international fame as the
villainous Francis Urquart in the BBC television trilogy,
"House of Cards." Uttered in a cut-glass accent, the Machiavellian
Prime Minister's sly "You might well think that ... I couldn't possibly
comment" became a catchphrase when the series was broadcast in the
1990s. Richardson's contributions to his art were honored in 1989 when
he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE.)
Fittingly, his family had his ashes buried beneath the auditorium of
the new Royal Shakespeare theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.
Born the son of John and Margaret (Drummond) Richardson on April 7,
1934, he was educated at Tynecastle School in Edinburgh, and studied
for the stage at the College of Dramatic Art in Glasgow, where he was
awarded the James Bridie Gold Medal in 1957. He joined the Birmingham
Repertory Theatre Company a year later where he played Hamlet as well
as John Worthing in "The Importance of being Earnest." In 1960 he
joined the Royal Shakespeare Company (then called the Shakespeare
Memorial Theatre) and drew excellent notices for his work in "The
Merchant of Venice," "Twelfth Night," "The Winter's Tale," "Much Ado
About Nothing," "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "The Taming of the Shrew,"
"The Comedy of Errors" and "King Lear", among others. In 1964
Richardson played the role of the Herald before advancing to the title
role of Jean-Paul Marat in the stunning, avant-garde RSC production of
"Marat-Sade". In addition, he made his Broadway debut in said role at
the very end of 1965, and recreated it to critical acclaim in
Peter Brooks' film adaptation with
Glenda Jackson as murderess Charlotte
Corday. Richardson also went on to replay Oberon in a lukewarm film
version of RSC's
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1968)
that nevertheless bore an elite company of Britain's finest pre-Dames
-- Judi Dench,
Helen Mirren and
Diana Rigg. One of his lower film
points during that time period, however, was appearing in the huge
musical movie misfire
Man of La Mancha (1972) in the
role of the Padre opposite
Peter O'Toole and
Sophia Loren.
Richardson was never far from the Shakespearean stage after his
induction into films with majestic portraits of Coriolanus, Pericles,
Richard II, Richard III, Cassius ("Julius Caesar"), Malcolm
("Macbeth"), Angelo ("Measure for Measure"), Prospero ("The Tempest")
and Mercutio ("Romeo and "Juliet") paving the way. Elsewhere on
Broadway he received a Drama Desk Award and Tony nomination for his
splendid Henry Higgins in a revival of "My Fair Lady" in 1976, and was
part of the cast of the short-lived (12 performances) production of
"Lolita" (1981), written by Edward Albee
and starring Donald Sutherland
as Humbert Humbert.
Customary of many talented Scots, Richardson would find his best
on-camera roles in plush, intelligent TV mini-series. On the
Shakespearean front he appeared in TV adaptations of
As You Like It (1963),
All's Well That Ends Well (1968)
and
Much Ado About Nothing (1978).
After delivering highly capable performances as Field-Marshal
Montgomery in both
Churchill and the Generals (1979)
and Ike: The War Years (1979), Sherlock Holmes in
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1983),
and Indian Prime Minister Nehru in
Masterpiece Theatre: Lord Mountbatten - The Last Viceroy (1986),
he capped his small-screen career in the role of the immoral politician
Francis Urquhart in a trio of dramatic satires:
House of Cards (1990),
To Play the King (1993) and
The Final Cut (1995). His
impeccably finely-tuned villain became one his best remembered roles.
Filmwise, Richardson's stature did not grow despite polished work in
Brazil (1985),
Cry Freedom (1987),
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (1990),
M. Butterfly (1993),
Dark City (1998), and the lightweight
mainstream fare B*A*P*S (1997) and
102 Dalmatians (2000). He appeared
less and less on stage in his later years. He took his final stage bows
in 2006 with West End productions of "The Creeper" and "The Alchemist".
The urbane 72-year-old actor died unexpectedly in his sleep at his
London abode on February 9, 2007, survived by his widow
Maroussia Frank (his wife from 1961 and
an RSC actress who played an asylum inmate alongside him in
"Marat-Sade") and two sons, one of whom,
Miles Richardson, has been a resident
performer with the RSC.
Shakespeare Company), Richardson earned international fame as the
villainous Francis Urquart in the BBC television trilogy,
"House of Cards." Uttered in a cut-glass accent, the Machiavellian
Prime Minister's sly "You might well think that ... I couldn't possibly
comment" became a catchphrase when the series was broadcast in the
1990s. Richardson's contributions to his art were honored in 1989 when
he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE.)
Fittingly, his family had his ashes buried beneath the auditorium of
the new Royal Shakespeare theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.
Born the son of John and Margaret (Drummond) Richardson on April 7,
1934, he was educated at Tynecastle School in Edinburgh, and studied
for the stage at the College of Dramatic Art in Glasgow, where he was
awarded the James Bridie Gold Medal in 1957. He joined the Birmingham
Repertory Theatre Company a year later where he played Hamlet as well
as John Worthing in "The Importance of being Earnest." In 1960 he
joined the Royal Shakespeare Company (then called the Shakespeare
Memorial Theatre) and drew excellent notices for his work in "The
Merchant of Venice," "Twelfth Night," "The Winter's Tale," "Much Ado
About Nothing," "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "The Taming of the Shrew,"
"The Comedy of Errors" and "King Lear", among others. In 1964
Richardson played the role of the Herald before advancing to the title
role of Jean-Paul Marat in the stunning, avant-garde RSC production of
"Marat-Sade". In addition, he made his Broadway debut in said role at
the very end of 1965, and recreated it to critical acclaim in
Peter Brooks' film adaptation with
Glenda Jackson as murderess Charlotte
Corday. Richardson also went on to replay Oberon in a lukewarm film
version of RSC's
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1968)
that nevertheless bore an elite company of Britain's finest pre-Dames
-- Judi Dench,
Helen Mirren and
Diana Rigg. One of his lower film
points during that time period, however, was appearing in the huge
musical movie misfire
Man of La Mancha (1972) in the
role of the Padre opposite
Peter O'Toole and
Sophia Loren.
Richardson was never far from the Shakespearean stage after his
induction into films with majestic portraits of Coriolanus, Pericles,
Richard II, Richard III, Cassius ("Julius Caesar"), Malcolm
("Macbeth"), Angelo ("Measure for Measure"), Prospero ("The Tempest")
and Mercutio ("Romeo and "Juliet") paving the way. Elsewhere on
Broadway he received a Drama Desk Award and Tony nomination for his
splendid Henry Higgins in a revival of "My Fair Lady" in 1976, and was
part of the cast of the short-lived (12 performances) production of
"Lolita" (1981), written by Edward Albee
and starring Donald Sutherland
as Humbert Humbert.
Customary of many talented Scots, Richardson would find his best
on-camera roles in plush, intelligent TV mini-series. On the
Shakespearean front he appeared in TV adaptations of
As You Like It (1963),
All's Well That Ends Well (1968)
and
Much Ado About Nothing (1978).
After delivering highly capable performances as Field-Marshal
Montgomery in both
Churchill and the Generals (1979)
and Ike: The War Years (1979), Sherlock Holmes in
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1983),
and Indian Prime Minister Nehru in
Masterpiece Theatre: Lord Mountbatten - The Last Viceroy (1986),
he capped his small-screen career in the role of the immoral politician
Francis Urquhart in a trio of dramatic satires:
House of Cards (1990),
To Play the King (1993) and
The Final Cut (1995). His
impeccably finely-tuned villain became one his best remembered roles.
Filmwise, Richardson's stature did not grow despite polished work in
Brazil (1985),
Cry Freedom (1987),
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (1990),
M. Butterfly (1993),
Dark City (1998), and the lightweight
mainstream fare B*A*P*S (1997) and
102 Dalmatians (2000). He appeared
less and less on stage in his later years. He took his final stage bows
in 2006 with West End productions of "The Creeper" and "The Alchemist".
The urbane 72-year-old actor died unexpectedly in his sleep at his
London abode on February 9, 2007, survived by his widow
Maroussia Frank (his wife from 1961 and
an RSC actress who played an asylum inmate alongside him in
"Marat-Sade") and two sons, one of whom,
Miles Richardson, has been a resident
performer with the RSC.