Jump to content

Finlay Currie: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
replace with better source
rmv Jefferson from his full name - can find no source for this - ODNB cites his birth certificate and gives William Finlay Currie as his full name, as does his probate record at gov.uk
Line 7: Line 7:
| imagesize = 250px
| imagesize = 250px
| caption = Currie in 1938
| caption = Currie in 1938
| birth_name = William Finlay Jefferson Currie
| birth_name = William Finlay Currie
| birth_date = {{birth date|1878|01|20|df=yes}}
| birth_date = {{birth date|1878|01|20|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Edinburgh]], [[Midlothian]], [[Scotland]]
| birth_place = [[Edinburgh]], [[Midlothian]], [[Scotland]]
Line 18: Line 18:
| children = 2
| children = 2
}}
}}
'''William Finlay Jefferson Currie''' (20 January 1878 – 9 May 1968) was a [[Scottish people|Scottish]] actor of stage, screen, and television.<ref name="Film">McFarlane, Brian (28 February 2014). ''The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition''. Oxford University Press. pp. 175-176; {{ISBN|9781526111968}}</ref><ref name=bfi>{{cite web|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba13e32a4|title=Finlay Currie|website=[[British Film Institute|BFI]]|access-date=1 July 2018}}</ref> He received great acclaim for his roles as [[Abel Magwitch]] in the British film ''[[Great Expectations (1946 film)|Great Expectations]]'' (1946) and as [[Balthazar (Magus)|Balthazar]] in the American film ''[[Ben-Hur (1959 film)|Ben-Hur]]'' (1959).<ref name=screenonline/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/ben-hur-v4794/review|title=Ben-Hur (1959) – William Wyler – Review|website=AllMovie}}</ref>
'''William Finlay Currie''' (20 January 1878 – 9 May 1968) was a [[Scottish people|Scottish]] actor of stage, screen, and television.<ref name="Film">McFarlane, Brian (28 February 2014). ''The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition''. Oxford University Press. pp. 175-176; {{ISBN|9781526111968}}</ref><ref name=bfi>{{cite web|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba13e32a4|title=Finlay Currie|website=[[British Film Institute|BFI]]|access-date=1 July 2018}}</ref> He received great acclaim for his roles as [[Abel Magwitch]] in the British film ''[[Great Expectations (1946 film)|Great Expectations]]'' (1946) and as [[Balthazar (Magus)|Balthazar]] in the American film ''[[Ben-Hur (1959 film)|Ben-Hur]]'' (1959).<ref name=screenonline/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/ben-hur-v4794/review|title=Ben-Hur (1959) – William Wyler – Review|website=AllMovie}}</ref>


In his career spanning 70 years, Currie appeared in seven films nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Picture]], of which ''[[Around the World in 80 Days (1956 film)|Around the World in 80 Days]]'' (1956) and ''[[Ben-Hur (1959 film)|Ben-Hur]]'' (1959) were winners.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170224153351/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/academy-awards-complete-list-every-best-picture-oscar-winner/1957-around-world-80-days/ The Daily Telegraph] {{Bare URL inline|date=May 2021}}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170224153446/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/academy-awards-complete-list-every-best-picture-oscar-winner/1960-ben-hur/ The Daily Telegraph] {{Bare URL inline|date=May 2021}}</ref>
In his career spanning 70 years, Currie appeared in seven films nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Picture]], of which ''[[Around the World in 80 Days (1956 film)|Around the World in 80 Days]]'' (1956) and ''[[Ben-Hur (1959 film)|Ben-Hur]]'' (1959) were winners.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170224153351/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/academy-awards-complete-list-every-best-picture-oscar-winner/1957-around-world-80-days/ The Daily Telegraph] {{Bare URL inline|date=May 2021}}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170224153446/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/academy-awards-complete-list-every-best-picture-oscar-winner/1960-ben-hur/ The Daily Telegraph] {{Bare URL inline|date=May 2021}}</ref>

Revision as of 17:59, 22 July 2021

Finlay Currie
File:Finlay Currie.jpg
Currie in 1938
Born
William Finlay Currie

(1878-01-20)20 January 1878
Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland
Died9 May 1968(1968-05-09) (aged 90)
Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, England
Resting placeBreakspear Crematorium, Ruislip, London, England
OccupationActor
Years active1898–1968
Spouse
Maude Courtney
​
​
(m. 1905; died 1959)​
Children2

William Finlay Currie (20 January 1878 – 9 May 1968) was a Scottish actor of stage, screen, and television.[1][2] He received great acclaim for his roles as Abel Magwitch in the British film Great Expectations (1946) and as Balthazar in the American film Ben-Hur (1959).[3][4]

In his career spanning 70 years, Currie appeared in seven films nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, of which Around the World in 80 Days (1956) and Ben-Hur (1959) were winners.[5][6]

Career

Currie was born in Edinburgh, Scotland.[7] He attended George Watson's College and worked as organist and choir director.[3] In 1898 he got his first job in Benjamin Fuller's theatre group, and appeared with them for almost 10 years.[8]

After emigrating to the United States in the late 1890s, Currie and his wife, Maude Courtney, did a song-and-dance act on the stage.[3] He made his first film , The Old Man, in 1931.[2] He appeared as a priest in the 1943 Ealing Second World War film Undercover (1943).[9] His most famous film role was the convict, Abel Magwitch, in David Lean's Great Expectations (1946).[8]

In the following years he appeared in Hollywood film epics, including such roles as Saint Peter in Quo Vadis (1951), as Balthazar, one of the Three Magi, in the multi-Oscar-winning Ben-Hur (1959); the Pope in Francis of Assisi (1961); and an aged, wise senator in The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964). He appeared in People Will Talk with Cary Grant; and portrayed Robert Taylor's embittered father, Sir Cedric, in MGM's Technicolor version of Ivanhoe (1952).[2] But Ivanhoe also gave Currie one of his most delightful roles, highlighting his comic capabilities, as well as a willingness to still do some action scenes, even in his 70s. In 1962, he starred in an episode of NBC's The DuPont Show of the Week, The Ordeal of Dr. Shannon, an adaptation of A.J. Cronin's novel, Shannon's Way.

He was the subject of This Is Your Life in February 1963, when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at the BBC Television Theatre in London.[10]

In 1966, Currie played Mr. Lundie, the minister, in the television adaptation of the musical Brigadoon.[11] His last performance was for the television series The Saint which starred Roger Moore. Currie played a dying mafioso boss in the two-part episode "Vendetta for the Saint", which was shown posthumously in 1969.[12]

Later in life, he became a much respected antiques dealer, specialising in coins and precious metals. He was also a longtime collector of the works of Robert Burns.[7]

Personal life and death

Currie was married to American actress Maude Courtney.[7][3] They had two children, George and Marion.[7]

Currie died on 9 May 1968 in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire at age 90.[2] His ashes were scattered in Breakspear Crematorium, Ruislip, Middlesex.[13]

Complete filmography

Partial television credits

References

  1. ^ McFarlane, Brian (28 February 2014). The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition. Oxford University Press. pp. 175-176; ISBN 9781526111968
  2. ^ a b c d "Finlay Currie". BFI. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d "BFI Screenonline: Currie, Finlay (1878–1968) Biography". www.screenonline.org.uk.
  4. ^ "Ben-Hur (1959) – William Wyler – Review". AllMovie.
  5. ^ The Daily Telegraph [bare URL]
  6. ^ The Daily Telegraph [bare URL]
  7. ^ a b c d "Currie, (William) Finlay (1878–1968)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/55968. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  8. ^ a b "Finlay Currie – Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos". AllMovie.
  9. ^ "Undercover (1943) – Sergei Nolbandov – Cast and Crew". AllMovie.
  10. ^ Finlay Currie's appearance on This Is Your Life, bigredbook.info;, accessed 9 March 2015.
  11. ^ "Brigadoon (1966)". BFI.
  12. ^ "Finlay Currie – Movies and Filmography". AllMovie.
  13. ^ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6942757 [bare URL]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Finlay_Currie&oldid=1034940771"