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| − | {{Infobox actor
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| − | | name = Sir John Gielgud
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| − | | image = Sir John Gielgud actor.jpg
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| − | | imagesize = 250px
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| − | | caption = photo by [[Carl Van Vechten]], 1936
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| − | | birthname = Arthur John Gielgud
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| − | | birthdate = {{birth date|1904|4|14|df=y}}
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| − | | location = [[South Kensington]], [[London]], [[England]]
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| − | | deathdate = {{death date and age|2000|5|21|1904|4|14|df=y}}
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| − | | deathplace = [[Wotton House|Wotton Underwood]], [[Buckinghamshire]], [[England]]
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| − | | partner = {{nowrap|Martin Hensler (ca. 1963–1999)}}
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| − | | yearsactive = 1924–2000
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| − | | academyawards = '''[[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]]'''<br/>1981 ''[[Arthur (film)|Arthur]]''
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| − | | emmyawards = '''[[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Miniseries or a Movie|Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie]]'''<br/>1991 ''[[Summer's Lease]]''
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| − | | grammyawards = '''[[Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album|Best Spoken Word, Documentary or Drama Recording]]'''<br/>1979 ''[[Ages of Man - Recordings from Shakespeare]]''
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| − | | tonyawards = '''Outstanding Foreign Company'''<br/>1948 ''[[The Importance of Being Earnest]]''<br/>'''Special Award'''<br/>1959 ''[[Ages of Man (play)|Ages of Man]]''<br/>'''[[Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play|Best Director - Drama]]'''<br/>1961 ''[[Big Fish, Little Fish (play)|Big Fish, Little Fish]]''
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| − | | baftaawards = '''[[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role|Best Actor]]''' <br/> 1953 ''[[Julius Caesar (1953 film)|Julius Caesar]]'' <br/> '''[[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role|Best Supporting Actor]]''' <br/> 1974 ''[[Murder on the Orient Express (1974 film)|Murder on the Orient Express]]''<br/> 1992 '''[[BAFTA Awards|Academy Fellowship]]'''
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| − | | goldenglobeawards = '''[[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture|Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture]]''' <br/> 1982 ''[[Arthur (film)|Arthur]]'' <br/> '''[[List of Golden Globe Awards: Mini-series, Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor - Miniseries]]''' <br/> 1989 ''[[War and Remembrance]]''
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| − | | laurenceolivierawards= '''[[Laurence Olivier Award|Special Award]]''' <br/> 1986 Lifetime Achievement
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| − | | awards = '''[[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor|NYFCC Award for Best Supporting Actor]]'''<br/>1981 ''[[Arthur (film)|Arthur]]''<br/>'''[[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor|NYFCC Award Best Actor]]'''<br/>1977 ''[[Providence (1977 film)|Providence]]''
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| − | }}
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| − | '''Sir Arthur John Gielgud''', [[Order of Merit (Commonwealth)|OM]], [[Companion of Honour|CH]] (14 April, 1904 – 21 May 2000), known as '''Sir John Gielgud''', was an [[England|English]] theater and film [[actor]] particularly known for his warm expressive voice. Gielgud is a member of [[List of people who have won Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards|the short list of entertainers]] with the distinction of having won an [[Emmy Award|Emmy]], a [[Grammy Award|Grammy]], an [[Academy Award|Oscar]] and a [[Tony Award|Tony]] award.
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| − | Gielgud is best known for his work as a [[Shakespeare|Shakespearian]] actor. At different stages of his career he played [[Hamlet]], [[Prospero]] and even Hamlet's father among the many Shakespearean roles that he played. He staged a one man show based on Shakespeare's work as well.
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| − | Gielgud was known as single-minded in his devotion to his craft. His pre-[[World War II|war]] has been credited with laying the foundation for the renaissance of British theater in the post-war period. In addition to his work as an actor, Gielgud was a famed theater director. Although he was more distinguished for his theater work than film, he won an [[Academy Award]] for his role in the 1981 film, ''Arthur''.
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| − | ==Biography==
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| − | Arthur John Gielgud was born in [[South Kensington]] in [[London]] to a [[Protestant]] mother, Kate Terry, and a [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]] father, Frank Gielgud, and was raised a Protestant. Gielgud's [[Catholic]] father, Franciszek Giełgud, born 1880, was a descendant of a [[Lithuania]]n [[Lithuanian nobility|noble family]] residing at [[Gelgaudiškis]] manor dating back to the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]] (now a town in [[Marijampolė County]], Lithuania). The Lithuanian form of the name Giełgud is [[Gelgaudas]]. Sir John's grandfather was Adam Giełgud (1834-1920), married to Leontyna Aniela Aszperger. Adam Giełgud's father's (Jan Giełgud's) mother was Countness Eleonora Tyszkiewicz-Łohojski, [[Leliwa coat of arms|Clan Leliwa]] (by heraldic adoption). As a descendant of [[Tyszkiewicz]] ([[Tiškevičius]]) [[count]]s he was related to many well-known Polish and Lithuanian personalities, including actress [[Beata Tyszkiewicz]] and other [[:Category:Lithuanian noble families|Lithuanian noble families]].
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| − | A great nephew of Dame [[Ellen Terry]], Gielgud had a head start in the theatrical profession. His elder brother was [[Val Gielgud]] who was a pioneering figure in [[BBC Radio]]. His niece is [[Maina Gielgud]], dancer and one time artistic director of [[The Australian Ballet]] and the [[Royal Danish Ballet]].
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| − | ===Early stages===
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| − | After Hillside Preparatory School in [[Godalming]], [[Surrey]] and [[Westminster School]], where he gained a King's Scholarship, Gielgud trained at [[RADA]] and had his initial success as a stage actor in classical roles, first winning stardom during a successful two seasons at the [[Old Vic Theatre]] from 1929 to 1931 where his performances as [[Richard II (play)|Richard II]] and [[Hamlet]] were particularly acclaimed. The latter was the first Old Vic production to be transferred to the [[West End theatre|West End]] for a run. He returned to the role of Hamlet in a famous production under his own direction in 1934 at the [[Noël Coward Theatre|New Theatre]] in the West End. He was hailed as a [[Broadway theatres|Broadway]] star in [[Guthrie McClintic|Guthrie McClintic's]] production in which [[Lillian Gish]] played [[Ophelia (character)|Ophelia]] in 1936 (and which was assisted by a rival staging starring [[Leslie Howard (actor)|Leslie Howard]] that opened shortly afterwards and failed badly by comparison). A 1939 production that Gielgud directed, it was the last play performed at [[Henry Irving]]'s [[Orpheum Theatre]] and was later taken to [[Elsinore Castle]] in [[Denmark]] (where the play is set), a 1944 production directed by [[George Rylands]], and finally a 1945 production that toured the Far East under Gielgud's own direction. In his later years, Gielgud would play the Ghost of Hamlet's Father in productions of the play, first to [[Richard Burton]]'s Melancholy Dane on the [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] stage which Gielgud directed in 1964, then on [[television]] with [[Richard Chamberlain]], and finally in a radio production starring Gielgud's [[protégé]], [[Kenneth Branagh]].
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| − | Gielgud had triumphs in many other plays. His greatest popular success was likely ''[[Richard of Bordeaux (play)|Richard of Bordeaux]]'' (1933) (a romantic version of the story of [[Richard II of England|Richard II]]). He also starred in ''[[The Importance of Being Earnest]]'' which he first performed at the [[Lyric Hammersmith]] in 1930 and which would remain in his repertory until 1947, and a legendary production of ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'' (1935) which Gielgud directed and alternated the roles of [[Romeo]] and [[Mercutio]] with a young [[Laurence Olivier]] in his first professional [[Shakespearean]] leading role.
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| − | ===Conflict with Olivier===
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| − | Olivier's performance won him an engagement as the leading man of the [[Old Vic Theatre]] the following season, starting his career as a classical actor, but he was said to have resented Gielgud's direction and developed a wary relationship with Gielgud which resulted in Olivier turning down Gielgud's request to play the Chorus in Olivier's film of ''[[Henry V (1944 film)|Henry V]]'' and later doing his best to block Gielgud from appearing at the [[Royal National Theatre]] when Olivier was its director.<ref>Jonathan Croall, [http://www.amazon.com/dp/0826413331 ''Gielgud: A Theatrical Life 1904-2000''], Continuum, 2001 Retrieved January 18, 2009.</ref>.
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| − | [[Image:Gielgud.jpeg|160px|thumb|right|photo of Gielgud as ''Richard II'' by [[Carl Van Vechten]] (1936).]]
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| − | ===Queen's Theatre season===
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| − | Gielgud had hoped to stay in the [[United States]] after his [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] performance as [[Hamlet]] in 1936 to play [[Richard II (play)|Richard II]] in [[New York]], but director [[Guthrie McClintic]] was so certain that the production would fail in the U.S. that Gielgud gave up the idea (and was dismayed when [[Maurice Evans (actor)|Maurice Evans]] had a legendary success in the play on Broadway with Gielgud's blessing). Instead, Gielgud returned to [[London]] in 1937 and had an enormous influence on the development of English Theater when he produced a season of plays at the [[Queen's Theatre]] in 1937/38, presenting the aforementioned ''Richard II, [[Richard Brinsley Sheridan|Sheridan's]] [[The School for Scandal]], [[Anton Chekhov]]'s [[The Three Sisters]],'' and [[Shakespeare]]'s ''[[The Merchant of Venice]]'' with a permanent company (that included [[Peggy Ashcroft]], [[Michael Redgrave]] and [[Alec Guinness]]) that would shape the development of such theatrical institutions as the [[Royal Shakespeare Company]] and the [[Royal National Theatre]]. Gielgud acted in all four productions and directed the two Shakespeare plays, while [[Tyrone Guthrie]] directed ''The School for Scandal'' and [[Michael Saint-Denis]] staged ''The Three Sisters.'' [[Laurence Olivier]] said that Gielgud's performance in ''The School for Scandal'' was "the best light comedy performance I have ever seen–or ever shall!" and considered his [[Shylock]] to be among his greatest impersonations, but the greatest success of the season was the production of ''The Three Sisters,'' with Gielgud's performance as Vershinin, coupled with his successes in ''[[The Seagull]]'' (1929 and 1936), ''[[The Cherry Orchard]]'' (1954), and ''[[Ivanov (play)|Ivanov]]'' (1965)–establishing Chekhov's acceptance on the English-speaking stage.
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| − | ===Shakespearean legacy===
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| − | It would always be, however, for his [[Shakespearean]] work that Gielgud would be best known. In addition to [[Hamlet]] which he played over 500 times in six productions, he gave what some consider definitive performances in ''[[The Tempest]]'' (as Prospero) in four productions (and in the [[1991 film]] ''[[Prospero's Books]])'', as well as in other roles–[[Richard II (play)|Richard II]] in three productions, [[Benedick]] in ''[[Much Ado About Nothing]]'' which he first played in 1930 and revived throughout the 1950s, [[Macbeth]] and [[Oberon (Fairy King)|Oberon]] in ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'' twice, [[Romeo]] three times, and [[King Lear]] four times (as well as taking on the part for a final time in a radio broadcast at the age of 90). He also had triumphs as [[Malvolio]] in ''[[Twelfth Night]]'' (1931), [[Shylock]] in ''[[The Merchant of Venice]]'' (1937), [[Angelo (Shakespeare)|Angelo]] in ''[[Measure for Measure]]'' (1950), Cassius in ''[[Julius Caesar (play)|Julius Caesar]]'' (1950) (which he immortalized in the 1953 [[Julius Caesar (1953 film)|film]]), Leontes in ''[[The Winter's Tale]]'' (1951), and [[Cardinal Wolsey]] in ''[[Henry VIII (play)|Henry VIII]]'' (1959) (although his 1960 performance as [[Othello]] was not a success). It was rumored that Gielgud also provided the voice for the uncredited role of the Ghost of Hamlet's Father in [[Hamlet (1948 film)|Laurence Olivier's 1948 film version]], but the voice was actually that of Olivier, electronically distorted. Gielgud did play the Ghost in his own [[Richard Burton's Hamlet|film]] of the play in 1964 and in the 1970 [[Hallmark Hall of Fame]] presentation starring [[Richard Chamberlain]].
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| − | Gielgud's crowning achievement, many believe, was ''[[Ages of Man (play)|Ages of Man]],'' his one-man recital of Shakespearean excerpts which he performed throughout the 1950s and 1960s, winning a [[Tony Award]] for the [[Broadway theatres|Broadway]] production, a [[Grammy Award]] for his recording of the piece, and an [[Emmy Award]] for producer [[David Susskind]] for the 1966 telecast on [[CBS]]. Gielgud made his final [[Shakespearean]] appearance on stage in 1977 in the title role of [[John Schlesinger]]'s production of ''[[Julius Caesar (play)|Julius Caesar]]'' at the [[Royal National Theatre]]. He also made a recording of many of [[Shakespeare's sonnets]] in 1963. Among his non-Shakespearean Renaissance roles, his Ferdinand in [[John Webster]]'s ''[[The Duchess of Malfi]]'' was well-known.
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| − | ===Later stage work===
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| − | As he aged, Gielgud began to adapt more to changing fashions in the theater, appearing in plays by [[Edward Albee]] ''([[Tiny Alice]])'', [[Alan Bennett]] ''([[Forty Years On]])'', [[Charles Wood]] ''([[Veterans]])'', [[Edward Bond]] (''[[Bingo (play)|Bingo]]'', in which Gielgud played [[William Shakespeare]]), David Storey ''([[Home (play)|Home]])'', and [[Harold Pinter]] (''[[No Man's Land (play)|No Man's Land]]''), the latter two in partnership with his old friend [[Ralph Richardson]], but he drew the line at being offered the role of Hamm in [[Samuel Beckett|Beckett's]] ''[[Endgame (play)|Endgame]],'' saying that the play offered "nothing but loneliness and despair."<ref>Sheridan Morley, ''John Gielgud: The Authorized Biography'', Simon and Shuster (2002) p. 311</ref> It looked as though Gielgud would retire from the stage after appearing in ''[[Half Life (1977 play)|Half Life]]'' at the Duke of York's Theatre in 1978, but he made a successful comeback in 1988 in [[Hugh Whitemore]]'s play ''[[The Best of Friends (play)|The Best of Friends]]'' as museum curator [[Sydney Cockerell]].
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| − | ===Directing career===
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| − | Gielgud was almost as highly regarded for his work as a theater director as for his acting, having staged his first production as a guest director of the [[Oxford University Dramatic Society]] production of ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'' in 1932. The custom of OUDS at the time was to cast student undergraduates in the male roles and professional actresses in the female roles. Gielgud engaged [[Peggy Ashcroft]] as [[Juliet]] and [[Edith Evans]] as the nurse, who would play the same roles three years later in his legendary production of the play at the [[Noel Coward Theatre|New Theatre]].
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| − | Gielgud quickly rose to the status of being one of the top directors for the H.M. Tennent, Ltd. production company in London's [[West End Theatre]] and later on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]], his productions including ''[[Lady Windermere's Fan]]'' (1945), ''[[The Glass Menagerie]]'' (1948), ''[[The Heiress]]'' (1949), his own adaptation of ''[[The Cherry Orchard]]'' (1954), ''[[The Potting Shed]]'' (1958), ''[[Five Finger Exercise]]'' (1959), [[Peter Ustinov]]'s comedy ''[[Half Way Up a Tree]]'' (1967), and ''[[Private Lives]]'' (1972). Gielgud won a [[Tony Award]] for his direction of ''[[Big Fish, Little Fish]]'' in 1961–the only time he won the award in a competitive category. (He won honorary awards for "Best Foreign Company" for his 1947 production of ''[[The Importance of Being Earnest]]'' and for his one-man show ''[[Ages of Man]]''). He also directed the operas ''[[The Trojans]]'' in 1957 and ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream (opera)|A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'' in 1960.
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| − | Gielgud directed other actors in many of the Shakespearean roles that he was famous for playing, notably [[Richard Burton]] as [[Hamlet]] (1964), [[Anthony Quayle]] as [[Benedick]] in ''[[Much Ado About Nothing]]'' (1950), and [[Paul Scofield]] as the title role in [[Richard II (play)|Richard II]] (1952). Gielgud didn't always have the magic touch, staging a disappointing revival of ''[[Twelfth Night]]'' with [[Laurence Olivier]] and [[Vivien Leigh]] in 1955 and a disastrous production of ''[[Macbeth]]'' with [[Ralph Richardson]] in 1952.
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| − | Gielgud was best known for directing productions in which he also starred, including his greatest commercial success ''[[Richard of Bordeaux]]'' (1933), his definitive production of ''[[The Importance of Being Earnest]]'' (1939, 1942, 1947), ''[[Medea]]'' with [[Judith Anderson]]'s [[Tony Award]]-winning performance of the title role with Gielgud supporting her as [[Jason]] (1947), ''[[The Lady's Not for Burning]]'' (1949) that won [[Richard Burton]] his first notoriety as an actor, and ''[[Ivanov]]'' (1965). But many believed that his greatest successes were in Shakespearean productions in which he both directed and starred, especially ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'' (1935), ''[[Richard II (play)|Richard II]]'' (1937, 1953), ''[[King Lear]]'' (1950, 1955), ''[[Much Ado About Nothing]]'' (1952, 1955, 1959) and his signature role of ''[[Hamlet]]'' (1934, 1939, 1945).
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| − | ===Radio Work===
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| − | Gielgud's brother [[Val Gielgud]] became the head of [[BBC]] Radio Production in 1928<ref>Jonathan Croall, Gielgud: A Theatrical Life 1904-2000, Continuum, 2001 pg 179</ref>, and John made his radio debut there the following year in a version of [[Luigi Pirandello|Pirandello's]] ''[[The Man With the Flower in His Mouth]]'', which he was then performing at the [[Old Vic Theatre]]. In the ensuing years, John played many of his greatest stage roles on BBC Radio including ''[[Richard of Bordeaux]], [[The Importance of Being Earnest]], [[The Tempest]],'' and ''[[Hamlet]]'', one production of which featured [[Emlyn Williams]] as Claudius, [[Celia Johnson]] as Ophelia, and [[Martita Hunt]] as Gertrude (the part she played in Gielgud's debut in the role at the Old Vic in 1930). He also played some [[Shakespearean]] roles which he would never essay on stage, such as [[Iago]] in a 1932 broadcast of ''[[Othello]]'' opposite [[Henry Ainley]] as the Moor, <ref>Jonathan Croall, Gielgud: A Theatrical Life 1904-2000, Continuum, 2001 pg 180</ref> Buckingham (1954) and Cranmer (1977) in ''[[Henry VIII (play)|Henry VIII]]'', and Friar Laurence in ''[[Romeo & Juliet]]'' for the first time when he was eighty-nine.
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| − | John Gielgud played [[Sherlock Holmes]] for BBC radio in the 1950s, with [[Ralph Richardson]] as [[Dr. John Watson|Watson]]. Gielgud's brother, Val Gielgud, appeared in one of the episodes as the great detective's brother [[Mycroft Holmes|Mycroft]]. This series was co-produced by the American Broadcasting Company. [[Orson Welles]] appeared as [[Professor Moriarty]] in ''[[The Final Problem]].''
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| − | Gielgud gave one of his final radio performances in the title role of an All Star production of ''[[King Lear]]'' in 1994 that was mounted to celebrate his 90th birthday. The cast included noted [[actor]]s Dame [[Judi Dench]], [[Kenneth Branagh]], [[Derek Jacobi]], and [[Simon Russell Beale]].
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| − | ===Film work===
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| − | Although he began to appear in British films as early as 1924, making his debut in the [[silent movie]] ''Who Is the Man?'', he would not make an impact in the medium until the last decades of his life. His early film roles were sporadic and included the lead in [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s ''[[Secret Agent (1936 film)|Secret Agent]]'' (1936), [[Benjamin Disraeli]] in ''The Prime Minister'' (1940), Cassius in ''[[Julius Caesar (1953 film)|Julius Caesar]]'' (1953) ([[BAFTA Award]] for Best British Actor), [[George, Duke of Clarence]] to Olivier's ''[[Richard III (1955 film)|Richard III]]'' (1955), and [[Henry IV of England|Henry IV]] to [[Orson Welles]]' [[Falstaff]] in ''[[Chimes at Midnight]]'' (1966). He overcame his aversion to filming in the late 1960s, and by the 1980s and 1990s he had thrown himself into the medium, so much so that it was jokingly said that he was prepared to do almost anything for his art. He won an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] for his supporting role as a sardonic butler in the 1981 comedy ''[[Arthur (film)|Arthur]]'', starring [[Dudley Moore]] and [[Liza Minnelli]], a [[New York Film Critics Circle Awards|New York Film Critics Circle Award]] for ''[[Providence (1977 film)|Providence]]'' (1977), and a BAFTA Award for ''[[Murder on the Orient Express (1974 film)|Murder on the Orient Express]]'' (1974), and his performances in ''[[The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968 film)|The Charge of the Light Brigade]]'' (1968), ''[[The Elephant Man (film)|The Elephant Man]]'' (1981), and ''[[Shine (film)|Shine]]'' (1996) were critically acclaimed. In 1991, Gielgud was able to satisfy his life's ambition by immortalizing his [[Prospero]] on screen in the film ''[[Prospero's Books]].''<ref>''Sir John Gielgud: A Life in Letters'', Arcade Publishing (2004).</ref>
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| − | Television also developed as one of the focal points of his career, with Gielgud giving a particularly notable performance in ''[[Brideshead Revisited]]'' (1981). He won an [[Emmy Award]] for ''[[Summer's Lease]]'' (1989) and televised his stage performances of ''[[A Day by the Sea]]'' (1957), ''Home'' (1970), ''[[No Man's Land (play)|No Man's Land]]'' (1976) and his final theater role in ''[[The Best of Friends]]'' as [[Sydney Cockerell]] in the 1991 Masterpiece Theatre Production, along with [[Patrick McGoohan]] and Dame [[Wendy Hiller]]. In 1983, he made his second onscreen appearance with fellow theatrical knights [[Laurence Olivier]] and [[Ralph Richardson]] (following Olivier's own [[Richard III (1955 film)|Richard III]]) in a television miniseries about composer [[Richard Wagner]]. In 1996 he played a wizard in the TV adaptation of ''[[Gulliver's Travels (TV miniseries)|Gulliver's Travels]]''. 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 (actor)|Dave Thomas]], in his book, ''[[SCTV: Behind the Scenes]]'', their sketch stank and the actors gave a bad performance. Gielgud's final television performance was on film in ''[[Merlin (film)|Merlin]]'' in 1998, his final television studio appearance having been in ''A Summer Day's Dream'' recorded in 1994 for the [[BBC 2]] ''Performance'' series.
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| − | Gielgud's final onscreen appearance in a major release motion picture was as Pope Paul IV in ''[[Elizabeth (film)|Elizabeth]]'' which was released in 1998. His final acting performance was in a film adaptation of [[Samuel Beckett]]'s short play ''[[Catastrophe (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.
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| − | ==Origins and personal life==
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| − | ===Personal life===
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| − | Gielgud was convicted of "persistently importuning for immoral purposes" ([[cottaging]]) in a [[Chelsea, London|Chelsea]] [[mews]] in 1953. Instead of being rejected by the public, he received a standing ovation at his next stage appearance. Biographer [[Sheridan Morley]] writes that while Gielgud never denied being homosexual, he always tried to be discreet about it and felt humiliated by the ordeal. Some speculate that it helped to bring to public attention a crusade to decriminalize homosexuality in England and Wales. Longtime partner Martin Hensler, 30 years his junior, died just a few months before Gielgud's own death in 2000. He only publicly acknowledged Hensler as his partner in 1988, in the program notes for ''The Best of Friends'' which was his final stage performance.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Gielgud, 83, comes out | journal=Gay Times | issue=114 | publisher=Millivres | month=March | year=1988 | id=ISSN 0950-6101 | accessdate=2006-12-25}}</ref> Gielgud would avoid Hollywood for over a decade for fear of being denied entry because of the arrest.
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| − | The 'Gielgud case' was dramatized by critic turned playwright Nicholas de Jongh in the play ''Plague Over England'' and performed at the Finborough, a small London theatre, in 2008 with Jasper Britton as Gielgud.
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| − | In ''Curtain'' (1991), Michael Korda's novel based on the marriage of [[Laurence Olivier]] and [[Vivien Leigh]], Gielgud becomes Philip Chagrin.
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| − | Another fictionalized Gielgud - this time given the family name John Terry - appeared around the same time as de Jongh's play in Nicola Upson's detective novel ''[[An Expert in Murder]]'', a crime story woven around the original production of ''[[Richard of Bordeaux]]''.
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| − | John Gielgud was [[cremation|cremated]] at Oxford Crematorium.
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| − | ==Legacy==
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| − | Gielgud was one of the few people [[List of people who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award|who has won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award]]. [[Alec Guinness|Sir Alec Guinness]] likened his voice to "a silver trumpet muffled in silk." <ref>[[Nan C. Robertson|Robertson, Nan]]. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE6D8123EF934A15757C0A961948260 "A Reticent Alec Guinness Awaits a Movie Tribute;"] The ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'', 27 April 1987. Retrieved January 18, 2009.</ref><ref>[[Gerald Clarke|Clarke, Gerald]]. [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,960898,00.html "Alec Guinness Takes Off His Masks;"] ''[[Time Magazine|Time]]'', 17 March 1986. Retrieved January 18, 2009.</ref>
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| − | Together with [[Laurence Olivier]] and [[Ralph Richardson]], Gielgud represented his era's most famous and popular British Shakespearean [[actor]]s and his body of work was comparable to theirs. Gielgud's importance to English theater is hard to overstate. He work as an actor and manager helped review West End theater. "Gielgud created classical companies that laid the foundations for the great renaissance of British theater that blossomed after the War, doing the groundwork at the New Theatre in 1935, at the Queen's Theatre in the 1937 and '38 seasons, and at the Haymarket in 1944. His companies featured in repertory Shakespeare, Sheridan, Congreve, and Chekhov, and his patronage of the design team Motley reinvented the look of British theatrical staging.... Without Gielgud, those paragons of the modern English theater, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre, likely would not have come into existence. 'Percy' Harris, one of the Motley theatrical design team, said, 'I think he single-handedly put English theater back on the map. Larry [Olivier] gets all the credit and John doesn't, which I think is a sign of John's innate modesty.'" <ref>http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000024/bio</ref>
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| − | Sir John 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.<ref>[http://observer.guardian.co.uk/magazine/story/0,11913,982400,00.html ''Peta foie gras'']. The Observer Magazine. 22 June 2003. Retrieved January 18, 2009.</ref>
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| − | He 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]]''.
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| − | ===Awards and honors===
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| − | *He was [[Knight Bachelor|knighted]] in the 1953 [[Coronation of the British monarch|coronation]] honors, became a [[Order of the Companions of Honour|Companion of Honour]] in 1977, and was admitted to the [[Order of Merit (Commonwealth)|Order of Merit]] in 1996.
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| − |
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| − | *In 1982 he received an [[Evening Standard Awards|Evening Standard Special Award]]
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| − |
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| − | *The Globe Theatre in London was renamed the [[Gielgud Theatre]] in 1994 in his honor.
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| − |
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| − | ====Laurence Olivier Awards====
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| − | * 1985: Special Award
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| − |
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| − | ====Academy Awards====
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| − | * 1964: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor, for ''[[Becket (film)|Becket]]''
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| − | * 1981: Winner for [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]], for ''[[Arthur (film)|Arthur]]''
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| − |
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| − | ====Emmy Awards====
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| − | * 1982: Nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Special, for ''[[Brideshead Revisited (TV serial)|Brideshead Revisited]]''
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| − | * 1984: Nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Special, for ''[[The Master of Ballantrae (1984 film)|The Master of Ballantrae]]''
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| − | * 1985: Nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Special, for ''[[Romance on the Orient Express]]''
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| − | * 1989: Nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a miniseries or Special, for ''[[War and Remembrance]]''
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| − | * 1991: Winner for [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Miniseries or a Movie|Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie]], for ''[[Summer's Lease]]''
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| − |
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| − | ====Tony Awards====
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| − | * 1948: Winner for Outstanding Foreign Company, ''[[The Importance of Being Earnest]]''
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| − | * 1959: Winner, Special Award, for contribution to theatre for his extraordinary insight into the writings of Shakespeare as demonstrated in his one-man show, ''[[Ages of Man (play)|Ages of Man]]''
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| − | * 1961: Winner for Best Director (Dramatic), for ''[[Big Fish, Little Fish (play)|Big Fish, Little Fish]]''
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| − | * 1963: Nominated for Best Director (Dramatic), for ''[[The School for Scandal]]''
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| − | * 1965: Nominated for [[Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play|Best Actor (Dramatic)]], for ''[[Tiny Alice]]''
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| − | * 1971: Nominated for Best Actor (Dramatic), for ''[[Home (play)|Home]]''
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| − |
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| − | ====Grammy Awards====
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| − | * 1959: Nominated for Best Documentary or Spoken Word Recording, for ''[[Ages of Man (play)|Ages of Man]]''
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| − | * 1960: Nominated for Best Documentary or Spoken Word Recording, for ''[[Hamlet (play)|Hamlet]]'' with [[Richard Burton]], [[Hume Cronyn]], [[Alfred Drake]], [[George Voskovec]], [[Eileen Herlie]], [[William Redfield (actor)|William Redfield]] and [[George Rose (actor)|George Rose]]
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| − | * 1964: Nominated for Best Documentary or Spoken Word Recording, for ''[[Ages of Man, Volume 2 (One Man in His Time) Part Two - Shakespeare]]''
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| − | * 1979: Winner for Best Spoken Word, Documentary or Drama Recording, for ''[[Ages of Man - Recordings from Shakespeare]]''
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| − | * 1982: Nominated for Best Spoken Word, Documentary or Drama Recording, for ''[[No Man's Land]]'' with [[Ralph Richardson]]
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| − | * 1983: Nominated for Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Recording, for ''[[Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats]]'' with [[Irene Worth]]
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| − | * 1986: Nominated for Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Recording, for ''[[Gulliver]]''
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| − | * 1988: Nominated for Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Recording, for ''[[A Christmas Carol]]''
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| − | * 1989: Nominated for Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Recording, for ''[[Sir John Gielgud Reads Alice in Wonderland]]''
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| − | * 1991: Nominated for Best Album for Children, for ''[[The Emperor's New Clothes (recording)|The Emperor's New Clothes]]'' with [[Mark Isham]]
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| − |
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| − | ====New York Film Critics Circle Awards====
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| − | * 1977: Best Actor, for ''[[Providence (1977 film)|Providence]]''
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| − | * 1981: Best Supporting Actor, for ''[[Arthur (film)|Arthur]]''
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| − |
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| − | ====Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards====
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| − | * 1981: Best Supporting Actor, for ''[[Arthur (film)|Arthur]]''
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| − | * 1985: Best Supporting Actor, for ''[[Plenty (film)|Plenty]]''
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| − |
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| − | 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]], Glen Joseph, [[Kevin Kline]] and [[Judi Dench]]
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| − |
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| − | ==Selected filmography==
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| − | <div style="-moz-column-count:3; column-count:3;">
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| − | *''[[The Good Companions (1933 film)|The Good Companions]]'' (1933)
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| − | *''[[Secret Agent]]'' (1936)
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| − | *''[[Julius Caesar (1953 film)|Julius Caesar]]'' (1953)
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| − | *''[[Richard III (1955 film)|Richard III]]'' (1955)
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| − | *''[[Around the World in Eighty Days (1956 film)|Around the World in Eighty Days]]'' (1956)
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| − | *''[[Saint Joan (1957 film)|Saint Joan]]'' (1957)
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| − | *''[[The Barretts of Wimpole Street]]'' (1957)
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| − | *''[[Becket (film)|Becket]]'' (1964)
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| − | *''[[Richard Burton's Hamlet|Hamlet]]'' (1964)
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| − | *''[[Chimes at Midnight]]'' (1965)
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| − | *''[[The Loved One (film)|The Loved One]]'' (1965)
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| − | *''[[Sebastian (1968 film)|Sebastian]]'' (1968)
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| − | *''[[The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968 film)|The Charge of the Light Brigade]]'' (1968)
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| − | *''[[Oh! What a Lovely War]]'' (1969)
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| − | *''[[Julius Caesar (1970 film)|Julius Caesar]]'' (1970)
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| − | *''[[Lost Horizon (1973 film)|Lost Horizon]]'' (1973)
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| − | *''[[Frankenstein: The True Story]]'' (1973)
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| − | *''[[11 Harrowhouse]]'' (1974)
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| − | *''[[Murder on the Orient Express (1974 film)|Murder on the Orient Express]]'' (1974)
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| − | *''[[Gold (1974 film)|Gold]]'' (1974)
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| − | *''[[Providence (1977 film)|Providence]]'' (1977)
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| − | *''[[Caligula (film)|Caligula]]'' (1979)
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| − | *''[[The Elephant Man (film)|The Elephant Man]]'' (1980)
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| − | *''[[The Formula]]'' (1980)
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| − | *''[[Lion of the Desert]]'' (1981)
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| − | *''[[Arthur (film)|Arthur]]'' (1981)
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| − | *''[[Chariots of Fire]]'' (1981)
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| − | *''[[Gandhi (film)|Gandhi]]'' (1982)
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| − | *''[[Wagner]]'' (1983)
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| − | *''[[The Wicked Lady]]'' (1983)
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| − | *''[[The Master of Ballantrae]]'' (1984)
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| − | *''[[The Far Pavilions]]'' (1984)
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| − | *''[[Plenty]]'' (1985)
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| − | *''[[Time After Time (1986 film)|Time After Time]]'' (1986)
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| − | *''[[The Whistle Blower]]'' (1986)
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| − | *''[[Appointment With Death (film)|Appointment with Death]]'' (1988)
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| − | *''[[Arthur 2: On the Rocks]]'' (1988)
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| − | *''[[Getting It Right (film)|Getting it Right]]'' (1989)
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| − | *''[[Prospero's Books]]'' (1991)
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| − | *''[[Shining Through]]'' (1992)
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| − | *''[[The Power of One (film)|The Power of One]]'' (1992)
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| − | *''[[Scarlett]]'' (1994)
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| − | *''[[First Knight]]'' (1995)
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| − | *''[[Hamlet (1996 movie)|Hamlet]]'' (1996)
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| − | *''[[Shine (film)|Shine]]'' (1996)
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| − | *''[[Merlin (film)|Merlin]]'' (1998)
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| − | *''[[Elizabeth (film)|Elizabeth]]'' (1998)
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| − | *''[[Catastrophe (film)|Catastrophe]]'' (2000)
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| − | </div>
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| − |
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| − | ==Notes==
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| − | {{Reflist}}
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| − |
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| − | ==References==
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| − | *Gielgud, John., Richard Mangan (Ed.) ''Notes From The Gods'', Nick Hearn Books 1994, ISBN 9781854591050
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| − | *Gielgud, John., Richard Mangan (Ed.) ''Gielgud's Letters''. Weidenfeld and Nicolson 2004, ISBN 9780297829898
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| − | *Young, Jordan R. (1989). ''Acting Solo: The Art of One-Person Shows''. Beverly Hills: Past Times Publishing Co. ISBN 9780940410848
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| − |
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| − | ==External links==
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| − | All links Retrieved January 18, 2009.
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| − | {{commons}}
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| − | *{{ibdb name|9565}}
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| − | *{{imdb name|0000024}}
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| − | *{{tcmdb name|70965}}
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| − | *[http://www.bl.uk/projects/theatrearchive/gielgud.html Gielgud Archive] in the British Library Manuscripts Collections
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| − | *[http://www.shakespeare.org.uk/content/view/358/358/ Theatre Profiles - Sir John Gielgud]
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| − |
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| − | {{start box}}
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| − | {{s-ach}}
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| − | {{succession box
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| − | | title=[[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role]]
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| − | | years=1975<br/>'''for ''[[Murder on the Orient Express (1974 film)|Murder On The Orient Express]]'' '''
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| − | | before=[[Arthur Lowe]]<br/>for ''[[O Lucky Man!]]''
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| − | | after=[[Fred Astaire]]<br/>for ''[[The Towering Inferno]]''
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| − | }}
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| − | {{succession box
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| − | | title = [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture]]
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| − | | years = 1982<br/>'''for ''[[Arthur (film)|Arthur]]''
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| − | | before= [[Timothy Hutton]]<br/>for ''[[Ordinary People]]''
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| − | | after = [[Louis Gossett, Jr.]]<br/>for ''[[An Officer and a Gentleman]]''
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| − | }}
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| − | {{end box}}
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| − |
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| − | {{AcademyAwardBestSupportingActor 1981-2000}}
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| − | {{EmmyAward MiniseriesLeadActor 1976-2000}}
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| − | {{TonyAward PlayDirection 1947-1975}}
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| − |
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| − | [[category:Art, music, literature, sports and leisure]]
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| − | [[category:Drama]]
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| − | {{credits|262580983}}
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