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Harry Andrews
Life Time
10 November 1911 - 6 March 1989
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Harry Fleetwood Andrews was born in Tonbridge on November 10, 1911. He began as a stage actor in Liverpool in 1933. After World War II, he returned to the stage. He played in Shakespeare's plays at London's Old Vic Theatre, which was then led by famous British actors Lawrence Olivier and Ralph Richardson. He came to cinema in the mid-fifties, starring in the military drama Terence Young "Red Beret" (1953). A bright character actor, with a harsh, masculine appearance and a sharp voice, Andrews was
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Harry Fleetwood Andrews was born in Tonbridge on November 10, 1911. He began as a stage actor in Liverpool in 1933. After World War II, he returned to the stage. He played in Shakespeare's plays at London's Old Vic Theatre, which was then led by famous British actors Lawrence Olivier and Ralph Richardson. He came to cinema in the mid-fifties, starring in the military drama Terence Young "Red Beret" (1953). A bright character actor, with a harsh, masculine appearance and a sharp voice, Andrews was mostly known as the performer of the roles of sergeants and officers. Since his cinematic debut, he has starred in a huge number of military-historical films such as Ice Cold in Alex (1958, directed by J. Lee Thompson), Squadron 633 (1964, directed by Walter Groman), Hill (1965, Sidney Lumet), Attack of the Light Brigade (1968, directed by Tony Richardson), Battle of Britain (1969, directed by Guy Hamilton) and many others. Despite this, he was just as confident in other genres, particularly comedies, playing roles that were completely out of step with his now-accustomed on-screen image – like the homosexual in Douglas Hickox’s black comedy Funny Mr. Sloan (1970) or the dorky 13th Earl Garney in Peter Meduck’s Ruling Class (1972). In 1966, for his role as Senior Sergeant Wilson in the film The Hill by Sydney Lumet and Bramante in Carol Reed's historical drama Agony and Ecstasy, Andrews was awarded the Best Supporting Actor Award by the British Academy of Film and Television. Among the other films in which the actor starred, it is also necessary to mention: the adventure film Cy Endfield “Kalahari Sands” (1965), Joseph Losi’s comedy “Modesty Blaze” (1970), the historical “Alexander the Great” by Robert Rossen (1956), “Nicholas and Alexander” by Franklin Schaffner (1971), as well as the famous adaptation of Herman Melville’s novel “Moby Dick” (1956) directed by John Houston. Being a supporting actor, in most of his films he managed to get out of the shadow of recognized stars and be able to attract the attention of the viewer to himself. His last work was the television movie Jack the Ripper with Michael Caine, in which he played a cameo role as an investigator. He died on March 6, 1989 in Salhurst, Sussex.