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'{{Use British English|date=February 2012}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2012}} {{Infobox person | image = Richard Johnson (actor).jpg | imagesize = 240px | caption = Richard Johnson, {{circa|2008}} | name = Richard Johnson | birth_date = {{birth date|df=y|1927|7|30}} | death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|2015|6|5|1927|7|30}} | birth_place = [[Upminster]], [[Essex]], [[England]], UK | death_place = [[Chelsea, London|Chelsea]], [[London]], England, UK | yearsactive = 1950-2015 | spouse = Sheila Sweet (2 children)<br/>[[Kim Novak]] (1965–1966; divorced)<br/>Marie-Louise Norlund (1 child)<br/>Lynne Gurney (2004-2015; his death) | partner = [[Françoise Pascal]] (1 son)<ref name="Pendreigh">Brian Pendreigh [http://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/obituary-richard-johnson-actor-1-3795273 "Obituary: Richard Johnson, actor"], ''The Scotsman'', 8 June 2015</ref> }} '''Richard Keith Johnson'''<ref name="Coveney" /> (30 July 1927 – 5 June 2015)<ref name="nytimes.com">http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/08/arts/richard-johnson-british-actor-of-stage-screen-and-tv-dies-at-87.html?_r=0</ref> was a British actor, writer and producer, who starred in several British films of the 1960s and also had TV roles and a distinguished stage career. His last known film appearance was in ''[[Radiator (film)|Radiator]]'' (2014). ==Early life and acting career== Johnson was born in [[Upminster]], [[Essex]], the son of Frances Louisa Olive (née Tweed) and Keith Holcombe Johnson.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/37/Richard-Johnson.html|title=Richard Johnson profile|publisher=Filmreference.com|date=30 July 1927|accessdate=28 February 2012}}</ref> Johnson went to [[Felsted School]], then trained at [[RADA]] and made his first professional appearances on stage in Manchester with [[John Gielgud]]'s company in a production of ''[[Hamlet]]'' in 1944.<ref name="Telegraphobit">[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/11657748/Richard-Johnson-actor-obituary.html "Richard Johnson, actor - obituary"], ''Daily Telegraph'', 7 June 2015, accessed 9 June 2015</ref> He served in the [[Royal Navy]] from 1945 to 1948,<ref name="Coveney">Michael Coveney [http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/jun/07/richard--johnson Richard Johnson obituary], theguardian.com, 7 June 2015, accessed 8 June 2015.</ref> and made his film debut in 1959, when he appeared in a major co-star role in the MGM film ''[[Never So Few]]'', starring [[Frank Sinatra]] and [[Gina Lollobrigida]]. Subsequently he was contracted by MGM to appear in 1 film per year over 6 years. His biggest successes as a film actor came with ''[[The Haunting (1963 film)|The Haunting]]'' (1963) also featuring [[Claire Bloom]] and [[Julie Harris (actress)|Julie Harris]], ''[[Khartoum (film)|Khartoum]]'' (1966) with [[Charlton Heston]] and [[Laurence Olivier]], and the [[spy film]] ''[[Danger Route]]'' (1967). Johnson was director [[Terence Young (director)|Terence Young]]'s preferred choice for the role of [[James Bond]] in the first film in the series, but Johnson turned the role down.<ref>''Cinema Retro'' magazine issue #10</ref> A few years later, [[Bulldog Drummond]] was reimagined as a 007-type hero in ''[[Deadlier Than the Male]]'' (1967) and its sequel ''[[Some Girls Do]]'' (1969).<ref name="Telegraphobit"/> He also appeared in several Italian films, including Lucio Fulci's cult classic, ''[[Zombi 2]]'' and [[Sergio Martino|Sergio Martino's]] ''[[Island of the Fishmen|L'isola degli uomini pesce]]'' (aka ''Island of the Fishmen''). At the same time, he was a stage actor, appearing in the title role in [[Tony Richardson]]'s production of ''[[Pericles, Prince of Tyre]]'' in 1958. His stage career was extensive and distinguished. His early work in the London theatre attracted the attention of the director of the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre. He appeared in many important productions at that theatre in the late 1950s and early 1960s, making notable successes as Romeo, Orlando in ''[[As You Like It]]'', Pericles and Mark Antony in ''[[Julius Caesar (play)|Julius Caesar]]''.<ref name="Telegraphobit"/> In 1958 he appeared in <!-- Not knighted until 1977. -->[[Peter Hall (director)|Peter Hall]]'s first production at the theatre, ''[[Cymbeline]]'', and the following year in ''[[Twelfth Night]]'' (as Sir Andrew Aguecheek). Hall took over the direction of the company in 1959 - it was renamed the [[Royal Shakespeare Company]] (RSC), and he invited Johnson to be part of the first group of actors to be named an Associate Artist of the RSC, a position he retained until he died. He continued to act with the RSC from time to time, including as Antony in ''[[Antony and Cleopatra]]'', which he played on two occasions (in 1971–72, with <!-- Not a DBE until 2011. -->[[Janet Suzman]], and in 1991–92). He played the role in [[Antony and Cleopatra (1974 TV drama)|ITV's production in 1974]].{{citation needed|date=June 2015}} He continued to appear on film and television in the first decade of the 21st century. His films during this period included ''[[Lara Croft: Tomb Raider]]'' and ''[[The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (film)|The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas]]''. He also appeared in several TV films: in 2005 he appeared as Stanley Baldwin in ''[[Wallis & Edward]]'', in 2007 as Earl Mountbatten in ''Whatever Love Means'', and in 2009 in ''[[Lewis (TV series)|Lewis]]''. He contributed to British episodic TV, including ''[[Spooks]]'', ''[[Waking the Dead (TV series)|Waking the Dead]]'', twice in ''[[Midsomer Murders]]'', and twice in ''[[Doc Martin]]'' (as Colonel Gilbert Spencer). From 2007, he led the cast of the BBC's radio comedy series ''[[Bleak Expectations]]'' which ran until 2012.<ref name="Telegraphobit"/> ==Other work== Throughout his career Johnson continued to teach young actors and students. He toured American universities and taught summer schools at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). He was appointed to the Council of RADA in 2000, and served as a Council Member of the [[British Academy of Film and Television Arts]] (BAFTA) in the 1970s. Johnson wrote the original story for the 1975 thriller, ''[[Hennessy (film)|Hennessy]]''.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}} Johnson founded the British production company United British Artists (UBA) in 1981, and served as the company's CEO until 1990, when he resigned in order to resume his acting career. During his tenure at UBA he produced the films ''[[Turtle Diary]]'' (starring [[Glenda Jackson]] and [[Ben Kingsley]], with a screenplay commissioned from [[Harold Pinter]]), and ''[[The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne]]''. In London, he produced [[Harold Pinter|Pinter]]'s ''[[Old Times]]'', a revival of ''[[Serjeant Musgrave's Dance]]'' (Old Vic), and for theatre and television, the docudrama ''Biko'', about the death of [[Steven Biko]]. Johnson wrote travel articles regularly for the London mass-circulation newspaper ''[[The Mail on Sunday]]''. He kept a [[blog]] and teaching website called ''The Shakespeare Masterclass''.<ref>{{cite web|author=Staff|url=http://www.theshakespearemasterclass.com|title=The Shakespeare Masterclass |publisher=The Shakespeare Masterclass|accessdate=28 February 2012}}</ref> ==Personal life== By his first marriage, to Sheila Sweet, Johnson had two children, tabletop games designer [[Jervis Johnson]] (b. 1959){{Verify source|date=May 2009}}<!-- 2nd marriage to Kim Novak precedes this child from 1st marriage, according to infobox --> and actress Sorel Johnson. His second wife was American actress [[Kim Novak]], with whom he appeared in the film ''[[The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders]]'' (1965); they had no children. He also had another daughter, Jennifer Johnson, by his third wife, Marie-Louise Norlund,<ref name="Coveney" /> and a fourth child, Nicholas Johnson, by [[Françoise Pascal]]. Johnson then married Lynne Gurney on a beach in [[Goa]], [[India]], in 1989, following this with a discreet civil wedding at [[Kings Road]], [[Chelsea, London|Chelsea]] in 2004. Johnson was the founder of ''It's a Green Green World'', a global listing of [[environmentally friendly]] hotels.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.itsagreengreenworld.com|title=It's a Green Green World |publisher=Itsagreengreenworld.com |accessdate=28 February 2012}}</ref> ==Death== Johnson died on 5 June 2015, aged 87, at the Royal Marsden Hospital in [[Chelsea, London|Chelsea]], [[London]].<ref name="nytimes.com"/> ==Filmography== ===Film=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- | rowspan="2"| 1951 | ''Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N'' | Macrae | (uncredited) |- | ''[[Calling Bulldog Drummond]]'' | Control Tower Operator | (uncredited) |- | 1953 | ''[[Saadia (film)|Saadia]]'' | Lt. Girard | |- | 1959 | ''[[Never So Few]]'' | Captain Danny De Mortimer | |- | rowspan="3"| 1963 | ''[[Cairo (1963 film)|Cairo]]'' | Ali | |- | ''[[80,000 Suspects]]'' | Dr Steven Monks | |- | ''[[The Haunting (1963 film)|The Haunting]]'' | Dr. John Markway | |- | 1964 | ''[[The Pumpkin Eater]]'' | Giles | |- | rowspan="2"| 1965 | ''[[Operation Crossbow (film)|Operation Crossbow]]'' | Duncan Sandys | |- | ''[[The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders]]'' | Jemmy | |- | 1966 | ''[[Khartoum (film)|Khartoum]]'' | [[John Donald Hamill Stewart|Col. John Stewart]] | |- | rowspan="3"| 1967 | ''[[Deadlier Than the Male]]'' | Hugh Drummond | |- | ''[[The Rover (1967 film)|The Rover]]'' | Real | |- | ''[[Danger Route]]'' | Jonas Wilde | |- | rowspan="4"| 1968 | ''[[Oedipus the King (1968 film)|Oedipus the King]]'' | Creon | |- | ''[[A Twist of Sand]]'' | Geoffrey Peace | |- | ''[[The Column]]'' |Tiberius | |- | ''[[Emma Hamilton (film)|Emma Hamilton]]'' | Horatio Nelson | |- | rowspan="2"| 1969 | ''[[The Fifth Day of Peace]]'' | Captain John Miller | |- | ''[[Some Girls Do]]'' | Hugh Drummond | |- | 1970 | ''[[Julius Caesar (1970 film)|Julius Caesar]]'' | Caius Cassius | |- | 1974 | ''[[Beyond the Door (1974 film)|Beyond the Door]]'' | Dimitri | |- | rowspan="2"| 1975 | ''[[The Cursed Medallion]]'' | Michael Williams | |- | ''[[Hennessy (film)|Hennessy]]'' | Inspector Hollis | |- | rowspan="2"| 1976 | ''[[Take All of Me]]'' | Richard Lasky | |- | ''[[Aces High (film)|Aces High]]'' | Lyle | |- | 1977 | ''[[The Four Feathers (1977 film)|The Four Feathers]]'' | Abou Fatma | |- | 1978 | ''[[The Comeback (film)|The Comeback]]'' | Macauley | |- | rowspan="4"| 1979 | ''[[Island of the Fishmen]]'' | | |- | ''[[The Great Alligator River]]'' | Prophet Jameson | |- | ''[[Zombi 2]]'' | Dr. Menard | Released as ''Zombie'' in USA |- | ''[[A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square (film)|A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square]]'' | Inspector Watford | |- | 1981 | ''[[The Monster Club]]'' | Busotsky's Father | |- | rowspan="2"| 1985 | ''[[Turtle Diary]]'' | Mr Johnson | |- | ''[[What Waits Below]]'' | Ben Gannon | |- | 1986 | ''[[Lady Jane (film)|Lady Jane]]'' | [[The Earl of Arundel]] | |- | 2001 | ''[[Lara Croft: Tomb Raider]]'' | Distinguished Gentleman | |- | 2006 | ''[[Scoop (2006 film)|Scoop]]'' | Mr Quincy | |- | 2008 | ''[[The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (film)|The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas]]'' | Grandpa | |- | 2014 | ''[[Radiator (film)|Radiator]]'' | Leonard | |- | 2015 | ''[[The Man Who Knew Infinity (film)|The Man Who Knew Infinity]]'' | | |- |} ===Television=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- | 1952 | ''Pride and Prejudice'' | Mr Wickham | 3 episodes |- | 1953 | ''The Heir of Skipton'' | John Lord Clifford/Henry Clifford | 3 episodes |- | 1973-74 | ''[[Moses the Lawgiver]]'' | Narrator | Voice |- | 1974 | ''[[Antony and Cleopatra (1974 TV drama)|Antony and Cleopatra]]'' | [[Mark Antony]] | TV movie |- | rowspan="2"| 1975 | ''[[Churchill's People]]'' | Claudius | Episode: ''The Lost Island'' |- | ''[[Space: 1999]]'' | Lee Russell | Episode: ''Matter of Life and Death'' |- | 1977 | ''[[The Four Feathers (1977 film)|The Four Feathers]]'' | Abou Fatma | TV movie |1980-Tales of the unexpected "Back for Christmas" Dr James Carpenter 1981-tales of the unexpected "Would you believe it?" Archaeologist, Tanner | 1988 | ''[[A Man for All Seasons (1988 film)|A Man for All Seasons]]'' | [[Duke of Norfolk]] | TV movie |- | 2005 | ''[[The Robinsons]]'' | Hector Robinson | 6 episodes |- | 2008 | ''[[Spooks]]'' | Bernard Qualtrough | 4 episodes, released as ''MI-5'' in USA |- |} ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== *{{IMDb name|0426062|Richard Johnson}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Richard (Actor)}} [[Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art]] [[Category:English male film actors]] [[Category:English film producers]] [[Category:English male stage actors]] [[Category:English male television actors]] [[Category:People educated at Felsted School]] [[Category:People from Upminster]] [[Category:Royal Navy personnel of World War II]] [[Category:1927 births]] [[Category:2015 deaths]]'