The famous English actor, standing alongside such masters as Lawrence Olivier and John Gilgud, the star of British theater and cinema, Ralph Richardson was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, on December 19, 1902. As a teenager, he entered art school, but left it, preferring a career as a theater actor. From the age of eighteen he began to perform in a touring troupe, in 1926 he joined the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, and four years later he first appeared on the stage of the most famous English
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The famous English actor, standing alongside such masters as Lawrence Olivier and John Gilgud, the star of British theater and cinema, Ralph Richardson was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, on December 19, 1902. As a teenager, he entered art school, but left it, preferring a career as a theater actor. From the age of eighteen he began to perform in a touring troupe, in 1926 he joined the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, and four years later he first appeared on the stage of the most famous English theater "Old Vic". He played with equal success both in the classical plays of William Shakespeare and in plays based on the works of Somerset Maugham and John Boynton Priestley. He first appeared in films in 1934, in the horror film directed by Thomas Hayes Hunter “Vurdalak” with Boris Karloff. It was followed by a number of films, including The Man Who Could Do Miracles (1936, dir. Lothar Mendes), The Divorce of Lady X (1938, dir. Tim Whelan) The Citadel (1938, dir. King Vidor). During World War II, Richardson served in naval aviation, but continued to act in films until 1943. After demobilization in 1944, together with Laurence Olivier, he headed the Old Vic Theatre, while continuing to play on stage, reaching the pinnacle of acting as Falstaff and Per Gunt. In 1947, for merits in the field of theatrical art, he was made a knight of the British Empire. No less successful was his career in cinema - in the postwar years he received wide recognition, playing Karenin in the film by French director Julien Duvier "Anne Karenina" (1948) and Baines' butler in "The Idol Defeated" by his compatriot Carol Reed. Over the years, Richardson worked with the most famous English directors - he played in David Lean's films "Sound Barrier" (1952) and "Doctor Zhivago" (1965), in "Richard III" by Lawrence Olivier, in the comedy Brian Forbes "The Wrong Box" (1966) and again returned to work with Carol Reed - "The Exile of the Islands" (1951) and "Our Man in Havana" (1959). Among Richardson’s film awards are two awards in the category “Best Actor”: the first he received in 1953 from the British Film Academy for the film “The Sound Barrier”, and the second – nine years later at the Cannes Film Festival for his role in the film by American director Sidney Lumet “Long day passes into night” (1962). Other notable films in which Sir Ralph played include Guy Hamilton's Battle for Britain (1969) and Lindsay Anderson's famous socio-dramatic musical Oh Lucky Man! (1973). A brilliant actor, he repeatedly showed the audience the diversity of his talent, appearing at times in the most bizarre roles, whether it is a caterpillar in Alice in Wonderland (1972, directed by William Sterling) or God in Time Bandits (1981, dir. Terry Gilliam). In addition to working in theater and film, he also participated in television productions of English classical literature. He died in London on 10 October 1983.