Person
John Gielgud
Acting · 1904–2000 · London, England
Biography
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH, was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937. He was known for his beautiful speaking of verse and particularly for his warm and expressive voice, which his colleague Sir Alec Guinness likened to a silver trumpet muffled in silk. Gielgud is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award.
Known for
Play for Today
Harry
Great Performances
Self
Omnibus
Self
The Dick Cavett Show
Self - Guest
BBC Play of the Month
Chorus
Screen Two
Eddie Loomis
Tonight Starring Jack Paar
Self
The Wednesday Play
Gabriel Quantara
Tales of the Unexpected
Jelks
Thirty-Minute Theatre
The Writer
Filmography
- 2018Nothing Like a DameSelf (archive footage)
- 2016Boys On Film 15: Time & TiedWriter
- 2016Play On! Shakespeare in Silent FilmSelf
- 2016Trouser BarWriter
- 2014Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon FilmsHogarth (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 2011Discovering HamletKing Hamlet's Ghost (archive footage)
- 2009Behind The Scenes of Caligula
- 2005Revisiting BridesheadSelf (archive footage)
- 2003Check the Gate: Putting Beckett on FilmSelf - The Protagonist ("Catastrophe")
- 2001CatastropheThe Protagonist
- 2000Vivien Leigh: A Delicate BalanceSelf
- 1999The Tichborne ClaimantCockburn
- 1998ElizabethThe Pope
- 1998Quest for CamelotMerlin (voice)
- 1998MerlinKing Constant
- 1998Rachmaninoff: The Harvest of Sorrow
- 1997A Dance to the Music of TimeSt. John Clarke
- 1997DavidStimme Gottes
- 1996HamletPriam
- 1996The Portrait of a LadyMr. Touchett
- 1996Looking for RichardSelf - Interviewee
- 1996The Leopard SonNarrator
- 1996ShineCecil Parkes
- 1996DragonHeartKing Arthur (voice) (uncredited)
- 1996Gulliver's TravelsProfessor of Light
- 1995HauntedDr Henry Doyle
- 1995Stick with Me, KidGrandpa
- 1995First KnightOswald
- 1995The Thomas The Tank Engine ManSelf (Voice)
- 1994A Summer Day's Dream
- 1994ScarlettPierre Robillard
- 1993Hollywood U.K.: British Cinema in the SixtiesSelf
- 1992The Power of OneSt. John
- 1992Shining ThroughSunflower
- 1992Swan SongSvetlovidov
- 1992A Walk Through Prospero's LibraryProspero
- 1991The Strauss DynastyDrechsler
- 1991Preminger: Anatomy of a FilmmakerSelf (archive footage)
- 1991PerformanceStephen Dawlish
- 1991Prospero's BooksProspero
- 1991A TV Dante (Cantos 9 to 14)Virgil (voice)
- 1991The Best of FriendsSydney Cockerell
- 1991The Strauss DynastyDrechsler
- 1990Vivien Leigh: Scarlett and BeyondSelf
- 1990Rabbit Ears - The Emperor's New ClothesNarrator (voice)
- 1990A TV DanteVirgil
- 1990Strike It RichHerbert Dreuther
- 1989Barbablù, BarbablùBarbablù
- 1989Summer's LeaseHaverford Downs
- 1989Getting It RightSir Gordon Munday
- 1988A Man for All SeasonsCardinal Wolsey
- 1988War and RemembranceAaron Jastrow
- 1988In from the Cold? A Portrait of Richard BurtonSelf
- 1988Arthur 2: On the RocksHobson
- 1988Appointment with DeathColonel Carbury
- 1987Funny, You Don't Look 200: A Constitutional VaudevilleBritish Lord
- 1987Quartermaine's TermsEddie Loomis
- 1987Inspector MorseLord Hinksey
- 1986The Canterville GhostSir Simon de Canterville
- 1986The Whistle BlowerSir Adrian Chappie
- 1986Theban Plays: AntigoneTiresias
- 1986Theban Plays: Oedipus the KingTieresias
- 1986Time After TimeJasper Swift
- 1986LovejoyLord Wakering
- 1985PlentySir Leonard Darwin
- 1985Leave All FairJohn Middleton Murry
- 1985Romance on the Orient ExpressTheodore Woodward
- 1985The Shooting PartyCornelius Cardew
- 1985To Be HamletSelf
- 1985Screen TwoEddie Loomis
- 1984CamilleDuke de Charles
- 1984FrankensteinDe Lacey
- 1984Six Centuries of VerseSelf - Presenter
- 1984The Far PavilionsCavagnari
- 1984The Master of BallantraeLord Durrisdeer
- 1984ScandalousUncle Willie
- 1984James Mason: The Star They Loved to HateSelf - on the set of 'The Shooting Party' (uncredited)
- 1983WagnerPfistermeister
- 1983The Wicked LadyHogarth
- 1983The Scarlet and the BlackPope Pius XII
- 1983Invitation to the Wedding
- 1982Marco PoloDoge di Venezia
- 1982GandhiLord Irwin
- 1982Laurence Olivier: A LifeSelf
- 1982The CriticLord Burleigh
- 1982Inside the Third ReichAlbert Speer Sr.
- 1982The Hunchback of Notre DameCharmolue
- 1981Brideshead RevisitedEdward 'Ned' Ryder
- 1981Priest of LoveHerbert G. Muskett
- 1981ArthurHobson
- 1981Chariots of FireMaster of Trinity
- 1981Lion of the DesertSharif El Gariani
- 1981Agatha Christie's Seven Dials MysteryMarquis of Caterhan
- 1981SphinxAbdu-Hamdi
- 1980The FormulaDr. Abraham Esau
- 1980The Elephant ManCarr Gomm
- 1980Why Didn't They Ask Evans?Reverend Jones
- 1980The ConductorJohn Lasocki
- 1979The Human FactorBrigadier Tomlinson
- 1979CaligulaNerva
- 1979Tales of the UnexpectedJelks
- 1979Murder by DecreePrime Minister
- 1978Les MisérablesGillenormand
- 1978Richard IIJohn of Gaunt
- 1978Romeo and JulietChorus
- 1978The BBC Television ShakespeareChorus
- 1978No Man's LandSpooner
- 1977A Portrait of the Artist as a Young ManThe Preacher
- 1977Heartbreak HouseCaptain Shotover
- 1977The Grand InquisitorInquisitor
- 1977Joseph AndrewsThe Doctor
- 1977ProvidenceClive Langham
- 1976Peter PanNarrator
- 1976Second City TelevisionSelf
- 1976The Picture of Dorian GrayLord Henry Wotton
- 1976Aces HighHeadmaster
- 1975GalileoThe Old Cardinal
- 1974Murder on the Orient ExpressMr. Beddoes
- 197411 HarrowhouseMeecham
- 1974Frankenstein: The True StoryChief Constable
- 1974GoldFarrell
- 1974QB VIIClinton-Meek
- 1973Frankenstein: The True StoryChief Constable
- 1973Lost HorizonChang
- 1973William: The Life, Works and Times of William ShakespeareVarious
- 1972ABC Afterschool SpecialVarious Roles
- 1972ProbeHarold L. Streeter
- 1972Eagle in a CageLord Sissal
- 1972HomeHarry
- 1971Film '72Self
- 1971Great PerformancesSelf
- 1970HamletThe Ghost
- 1970Play for TodayHarry
- 1970MenaceFrederick William Densham
- 1970Julius CaesarJulius Caesar
- 1969Oh! What a Lovely WarCount Leopold Von Berchtold
- 1968The Shoes of the FishermanThe Elder Pope
- 1968The Dick Cavett ShowSelf - Guest
- 1968The Love Song of Barney KempinskiRich Man
- 1968Assignment to KillCurt Valayan
- 1968The Charge of the Light BrigadeLord Raglan
- 1968From Chekhov with LoveAnton Chekhov
- 1968SebastianHead of Intelligence
- 1967OmnibusSelf
- 1967October RevolutionNarrator (voice)
- 1967Romeo and JulietChorus
- 1966Alice in WonderlandMock Turtle
- 1966The Mayfly and the FrogGabriel Quantara
- 1966ABC Stage 67Rich Man
- 1966IvanovNikolai ivanov
- 1966Ages of Man
- 1965Chimes at MidnightHenry IV
- 1965BBC Play of the MonthChorus
- 1965The Loved OneSir Francis Hinsley
- 1965Thirty-Minute TheatreThe Writer
- 1964The Wednesday PlayGabriel Quantara
- 1964HamletGhost (voice)
- 1964BecketKing Louis VII of France
- 1963To Die in MadridNarrator (English version) (voice)
- 1962The Cherry OrchardGaev
- 1959The Big PartySelf
- 1959The Bell Telephone HourSelf
- 1958The Immortal Land
- 1957Tonight Starring Jack PaarSelf
- 1957Saint JoanEarl of Warwick
- 1957The Barretts of Wimpole StreetEdward Moulton-Barrett
- 1956Around the World in 80 DaysFoster
- 1955Richard IIIGeorge, Duke of Clarence
- 1955ITV Opening Night at the GuildhallJohn Worthing, JP
- 1954Romeo and JulietChorus
- 1954Hamlet: The Actor's ViewSelf
- 1953Julius CaesarCassius
- 1953Ariel’s Song / Full Fathom FiveNarrator
- 1951Hallmark Hall of FameThe Ghost
- 1948The Ed Sullivan ShowSelf
- 1945A Diary for TimothyHamlet
- 1941An Airman's Letter to His MotherNarrator
- 1941The Prime MinisterDisraeli
- 1937Heredity in ManSelf
- 1936Secret AgentRichard Ashenden / Edgar Brodie
- 1933The Good CompanionsInigo Jollifant
- 1932InsultHenri Dubois
- 1929The Clue of the New PinRex Trasmere
- 1924Who Is the Man?Daniel
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