Ralph Richardson mini-bio: Ralph Richardson made his professional stage debut in 1921 at
the Little Theatre, Brighton. In 1926 he joined the Birmingham Repertory
Theatre. He commenced his association with the Old Vic in 1930, and gained
prominence in a series of West End productions of modern plays, including
Somerset Maugham's Sheppey (1933) and J.B. Priestley's Cornelius (1935).
Richardson made his feature film debut in Boris Karloff?s The Ghoul (1933),
about a dead Egyptologist returning from beyond the grave. He was prominent
in the West End throughout the remainder of the decade, touring the United
States in 1935, and in 1938. During World War II, Richardson served in the
Fleet Air Arm. When demobbed in 1944, he was asked to lead the Old Vic?s
post-war revival after it had been bombed out of its old premises. 1946, he
went with the Old Vic on a tour of the United States. He was knighted in
1947. Meanwhile, he made a great impact at the cinema, notably in his
award-winning performance as the suspected butler in Carol Reed?s The Fallen
Idol (1948).
Richardson joined up with David Lean for the role of Sir John Ridgefield in
The Sound Barrier (1952), about the early days of jet flight, and renewed
his association with Carol Reed in Our Man in Havana (1959). In addition to
these he made an appearance in director Laurence Olivier's lavish production
of Richard III (1955). During the 1950s Richardson also performed at the
Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, receiving excellent notices for his Prospero
in Shakespeare's The Tempest and the title role in Jonson's Volpone. After a
period away from the stage, Richardson returned triumphantly to the theatre
in Robert Bolt's Flowering Cherry (1957). Throughout the 1960s Richardson
accepted more roles in films, including Long Day's Journey Into Night
(1962), a supporting role in David Lean's Dr. Zhivago (1965) and a comedic
turn in The Wrong Box (1966). During the late 1970s and early 1980s
Richardson's work included stage productions of Shakespeare and a whimsical
appearance as God in Terry Gilliam?s fantasy adventure Time Bandits (1981).
