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John Neville
Life Time
2 May 1925 - 19 November 2011
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John Neville was born on 2 May 1925 in London to Mabel Lillian and Reginald Daniel Neville, a truck driver. He received a secondary education at a school for boys. During World War II he served as a communications officer in the Royal Navy. After the war he entered the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. In the 50s of the last century, Neville was an idol and a favorite of the London public. He was considered one of the most powerful classical actors of that generation. Entering the Old Vic Theatre
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John Neville was born on 2 May 1925 in London to Mabel Lillian and Reginald Daniel Neville, a truck driver. He received a secondary education at a school for boys. During World War II he served as a communications officer in the Royal Navy. After the war he entered the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.
In the 50s of the last century, Neville was an idol and a favorite of the London public. He was considered one of the most powerful classical actors of that generation. Entering the Old Vic Theatre in 1953, John Neville quickly became a Shakespearean performer. He played Romeo, King Lear, Richard II, Hamlet, Othello, rivaling Richard Barton in his brilliant performance. Theatre critics have repeatedly noted that in the strength and manner of his game, he resembles and is a worthy successor to the famous John Gilgud.
In 1961, Neville left London and joined the Nottingham Theatre. In 1972 he and his family moved to Canada. From 1973 to 1978 he was artistic director of the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton. From 1978 to 1983 he was artistic director of the Neptune Theatre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. From 1985 to 1989 he was artistic director of the Stratford Shakespeare Theatre Festival.
John Neville began acting in the 50s in the TV series “BBC Sunday – Night Theatre”. Then there were such films and TV series as “Star Trek: The Next Generation”, “Benjamin Franklin”, “The Adventures of Gerard”, “The First Churchill Omnibus”, “The Study of Terror”, “Theater”, “Wednesday Games”, “Strange Stranger”,
"The X-Files: Struggle for the Future" . But he was best known for his role in Terry Gilliam’s 1988 film The Adventures of Baron Munchausen.
The great actor John Neville died on November 11, 2011, at the age of 86 from Alzheimer’s disease in Toronto, surrounded by family.