George Rose

George Walter Rose (19 February 1920 – 5 May 1988) was an English actor and singer in theatre and film. He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for roles in My Fair Lady and The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

Early life Born in Bicester, Oxfordshire, the son of a butcher, Rose studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama. After graduation, he was briefly a farmer and secretary. After wartime service and studies at Oxford, he made his Old Vic stage debut in 1946.

Career Rose spent four years with the Old Vic company and made his Broadway debut in a 1946 production of Henry IV, Part I and continued to play in New York City and London's West End for the remainder of the decade. He spent most of the 1950s appearing in broad comedy roles in the UK, later joining the Royal Shakespeare Company. From then on, he appeared primarily in American plays and films.

Rose made his screen debut in Midnight Frolics in 1949 and made more than 30 films. Notable film credits include The Pickwick Papers (1952), Track the Man Down (1955), A Night to Remember (1958), The Flesh and the Fiends (1959), Hawaii (1966), and A New Leaf (1971). Rose starred in the 1975 television series Beacon Hill, an Americanised version of Upstairs, Downstairs. Other television credits include Naked City, The Trials of O'Brien, the mini-series Holocaust (1978), and several appearances on the Hallmark Hall of Fame.

On Broadway, among other roles, he played the First Gravedigger in John Gielgud's 1964 production of Hamlet starring Richard Burton, a suspicious storekeeper in William Hanley's Slow Dance on the Killing Ground (1964), a bitter soldier in Peter Shaffer's Royal Hunt of the Sun (1965), and the detective in Joe Orton's Loot (1968). as Mr. Darling and Captain Hook in Peter Pan and as one of Rex Harrison's co-stars in The Kingfisher; he won a 1979 Drama Desk Award for the last.

In 1980, he appeared as Major General Stanley in the hit Joe Papp adaptation of The Pirates of Penzance, co-starring Kevin Kline and Linda Ronstadt, being nominated for another Tony award. He also starred in the film adaptation of the production, released in 1983. Rose won his second Tony in 1986 for Rupert Holmes' musical adaptation of The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Rose was appearing in a national tour of Drood at the time of his death in 1988. His last film role was Pound Puppies and the Legend of Big Paw, in which he voiced the villain Marvin McNasty (and also sang one of the film's songs).

Personal life and death Rose owned a pet lynx, birds, and other exotic creatures. He had a music collection numbering around 17,000 records. an uncle, and a friend of the father. The assailants tried to make the death look like a car accident but soon confessed. Though all four were charged and spent time in prison, no trial was ever held, and eventually all were released.

Rose is buried in an unmarked grave in a cemetery near his Sosúa home.

Awards and nominations YearAwardCategoryWorkResult 1970 Tony Award Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical Coco 1974 Drama Desk Award Outstanding PerformanceMy Fat Friend Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding Actor 1975Tony Award Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play 1976 Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a MusicalMy Fair Lady Drama Desk AwardOutstanding Featured Actor in a Musical 1977 She Loves Me 1979 Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play The Kingfisher 1981 Tony Award Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a MusicalThe Pirates of Penzance Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actor in a Musical 1986 Tony Award Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a MusicalThe Mystery of Edwin Drood Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actor in a Musical

Stage productions A Penny for a Song (1951) A Man For All Seasons (1962) Richard Burton's Hamlet (1964) Slow Dance on the Killing Ground (1964) The Royal Hunt of the Sun (1965) Walking Happy (1966) Loot (1968) Canterbury Tales (1969) Coco (1969) Sleuth (1970) Wise Child (1972) My Fat Friend (1974) My Fair Lady (1976) The Kingfisher (1978) Peter Pan (1979) The Pirates of Penzance (1981) You Can't Take It with You (1983) Dance a Little Closer (1983) Aren't We All? (1985) The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1985)

Filmography Year Title Role Notes 1952 The Pickwick Papers Uncredited; film debut 1953 Grand National Night Plainclothes Detective The Beggar's Opera First Turnkey The Square Ring Whitey Johnson 1954 The Good Die Young Bunny Devil on Horseback Blacksmith The Sea Shall Not Have Them Tebbitt 1955 The Night My Number Came Up Bennett Track the Man Down Rick Lambert John and Julie Wilbury Policeman 1956 Port of Escape Publican The Long Arm Slob Reach for the Sky Squadron Leader Edwards Uncredited Sailor Beware! Waiter at Banfield's 1957 Brothers in Law Mark Frost The Good Companions Theatre Manager The Shiralee Donny No Time for Tears Dobbie Barnacle Bill Bullen 1958 A Night to Remember Charles Joughin A Tale of Two Cities Roger Cly Uncredited Law and Disorder Warden in Charge of Cell Under the Court Cat & Mouse Second-Hand Clothes Dealer 1959 The Heart of a Man Charlie Jack the Ripper Clarke The Devil's Disciple British Sergeant Jet Storm James Brock Desert Mice Popados 1960 The Flesh and the Fiends William Burke 1961 No Love for Johnnie Edward Collins 1964 Richard Burton's Hamlet First Gravedigger 1966 Hawaii Capt. Janders 1968 The Pink Jungle Capt. Stopes 1969 The Tree Stuey Morgan 1971 A New Leaf Harold 1973 From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler Saxonburg 1978 Holocaust Franz Lowy Miniseries 1983 The Pirates of Penzance Major-General Stanley 1988 Pound Puppies and the Legend of Big Paw Marvin McNasty / Sir McNasty Voice; final role