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IMDbPro

Richard Vernon(1925-1997)

  • Actor
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Richard Vernon in Goldfinger (1964)
Official Trailer
Play trailer2:22
Cash on Demand (1961)
1 Video
11 Photos
Dignified, aristocratic-looking Richard Vernon was born to English parents in Kenya. He was educated at Reading and Leighton Park Schools and commenced his acting career near the end of his wartime service with the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve, producing, directing and starring in a production of George Bernard Shaw's 'Heartbreak House' for the Combined Services Club. At various times he was stationed in Singapore and Hong Kong. After being demobbed, Richard completed his training at the Central School of Speech and Drama. On the professional stage from 1950, he enjoyed a successful theatrical career in West End productions ranging from 'Peter Pan' (as Mr.Darling) to Noël Coward's 'Hay Fever' (as Richard Greatham). During the 60s, he appeared in supporting roles in several prestigious motion pictures, including Village of the Damned (1960), The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1964) and Goldfinger (1964).

Considerably better employed on the small screen, Richard evolved into the consummate scene-stealer. Balding, looking rather older than his years and a dignified bearing made him ideal casting for typically British stiff-upper-lip military or aristocratic types or stuffy senior public servants. A noteworthy early starring role was as The Man in Room 17 (1965), a barrister and ex- war correspondent assigned to a secret unit as an infallible criminologist investigating cases deemed too difficult for the local plods and Scotland Yard. A natural propensity for period drama then insured his successful run in several popular series, notably Upstairs, Downstairs (1971) and The Duchess of Duke Street (1976). Above all, Richard excelled in gleeful old rogues and slightly dishevelled or befuddled eccentrics. His great asset was a way of delivering even the funniest of lines totally deadpan and matter-of-fact. He was wonderfully droll as Lord Bartlesham in the Ripping Yarns (1976) episode 'Roger of the Raj'. Arguably his most famous role was that of galactic fjord builder Slartibartfast in The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1981), a part to which he had originally lent his voice in a 1978 radio serial.

A truly unique and likeable character actor, Richard Vernon plied his craft until two years prior to his death from Parkinson's Disease. From 1955 until 1990, he had been married to Benedicta Leigh (née Hoskyns).
BornMarch 7, 1925
DiedDecember 4, 1997(72)
BornMarch 7, 1925
DiedDecember 4, 1997(72)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank

Photos11

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Known for

Sean Connery, Honor Blackman, and Shirley Eaton in Goldfinger (1964)
Goldfinger
7.7
  • Smithers
  • 1964
Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and The Beatles in A Hard Day's Night (1964)
A Hard Day's Night
7.5
  • Man on Train
  • 1964
The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976)
The Pink Panther Strikes Again
7.1
  • Dr. Hugo Fassbender
  • 1976
The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1981)
The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy
8.0
TV Series
  • Slartibartfast

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor



  • Loch Ness (1996)
    Loch Ness
    5.5
    • Aged Professor
    • 1996
  • Joanna Lumley in Class Act (1994)
    Class Act
    7.7
    TV Series
    • Sir Horace Mainwaring
    • 1994–1995
  • Ian McShane in Lovejoy (1986)
    Lovejoy
    7.8
    TV Series
    • Roger Nettleton
    • 1994
  • Timothy Spall in Frank Stubbs Promotes (1993)
    Frank Stubbs Promotes
    6.8
    TV Series
    • Lord Dunstable
    • 1994
  • The Return of the Borrowers (1993)
    The Return of the Borrowers
    7.5
    TV Series
    • Mr. Pott
    • 1993
  • Jill Baker in Rides (1992)
    Rides
    8.1
    TV Series
    • Arthur Copthorne
    • 1993
  • The Comic Strip Presents (1982)
    The Comic Strip Presents
    7.8
    TV Series
    • Suspect (uncredited)
    • 1993
  • You Rang, M'Lord? (1988)
    You Rang, M'Lord?
    8.7
    TV Series
    • The Earl of Swaffham
    • 1993
  • Bonjour la Classe (1993)
    Bonjour la Classe
    6.9
    TV Series
    • Sir Lionel
    • 1993
  • De terre et de sang (1992)
    De terre et de sang
    6.9
    TV Movie
    • Heraclius
    • 1992
  • Rumpole of the Bailey (1978)
    Rumpole of the Bailey
    8.4
    TV Series
    • Lionel Leering
    • 1992
  • Imelda Staunton and Janet McTeer in A Masculine Ending (1992)
    A Masculine Ending
    6.3
    TV Movie
    • Miriam's father
    • 1992
  • Jennifer Ehle and Tara Fitzgerald in The Camomile Lawn (1992)
    The Camomile Lawn
    7.4
    TV Series
    • General
    • The General
    • 1992
  • KYTV (1989)
    KYTV
    7.7
    TV Series
    • Chester Chuckles
    • 1992
  • About Face (1989)
    About Face
    6.9
    TV Series
    • Bingham
    • 1989

Soundtrack



  • The Man in Room 17 (1965)
    The Man in Room 17
    7.4
    TV Series
    • performer: "When I went to the Bar as a very young man"
    • performer: "Rigoletto, Act III: La donna è mobile" (uncredited)
    • 1965–1966

Videos1

Cash on Demand
Trailer 2:22
Cash on Demand

Personal details

Edit
  • Official site
    • roguesandvagabonds.co.uk - Biography on daughter's theatre site
  • Height
    • 6′ (1.83 m)
  • Born
    • March 7, 1925
    • Reading, Berkshire, England, UK
  • Died
    • December 4, 1997
    • Richmond, London, England, UK(Parkinson's disease)
  • Spouse
    • Benedicta LeighJuly 4, 1955 - December 1990 (divorced, 2 children)
  • Children
    • Sarah Vernon
  • Other works
    The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio series (Slartibartfast)
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Magazine Cover Photo

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    Daughter, actress Sarah Vernon

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