Ian Richardson

Ian William Richardson CBE (7 April 1934 – 9 February 2007) was a Scottish actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Conservative politician Francis Urquhart in the BBC Television trilogy House of Cards (1990–1995), as well as Bill Haydon in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. His other notable screen work included a portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in the television films The Sign of Four and The Hound of the Baskervilles (both 1983), as well as significant roles in Brazil (1985), M. Butterfly (1993), and Dark City (1998).

Richardson was also a leading stage actor, well known for his Shakespearean works as well as his portrayal of Jean-Paul Marat in the Broadway production of Marat/Sade.

Early life Richardson was born in Edinburgh, the only son and eldest of three children of John Richardson (1909–1990), a manager at the McVitie & Price factory (where he and his wife met, and, according to his son, where John invented the Jaffa cake), and Margaret ("Peggy") Pollock (1910–1988), née Drummond.

Richardson first appeared on stage at the age of 14, in an amateur production of Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. The director encouraged his talent but warned that he would need to lose his Scottish accent to progress as an actor. His mother arranged elocution lessons, and he became a stage manager with the semi-professional Edinburgh People's Theatre.

After National Service in the Army, part of which he spent as an announcer and drama director with the British Forces Broadcasting Service, Richardson obtained a place at the College of Dramatic Arts in Glasgow. After a period at the Old Rep, also known as the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, he appeared with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), of which he was a founding member, from 1960 to 1975. His first engagement after training was with Birmingham Repertory Theatre, where his performance of Hamlet led to an offer of a place with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He was a versatile member of the company for more than 15 years, playing villainy, comedy and tragedy to equal effect. He was The Herald in Peter Brook's production of Marat/Sade in London in 1964. In the New York City transfer he took the lead role of Jean-Paul Marat, and became the first actor to appear nude on the Broadway stage,

While at the RSC, Richardson played leading roles in many productions for director John Barton. These included the title role in Coriolanus (1967), Cassius in Julius Caesar (1968), Angelo in Measure for Measure (1970) and Iachimo in Cymbeline. Work for other directors at Stratford included the title role in Pericles (1969), directed by Terry Hands; the title role in Richard III (1975), directed by Barry Kyle; and Berowne in David Jones's production of Love's Labour's Lost (1973). Richardson cited the role of Berowne as one of his all-time favourite parts. In 1974, Richardson's Richard II, alternating the parts of the king and Bolingbroke with Richard Pasco, and repeated in New York and London in the following year, was hugely celebrated.

In 1969, Richardson had a significant Shakespearean cameo role in a brief performance as Hamlet in the gravedigger scene as part of episode six, "Protest and Communication", of Kenneth Clark's Civilisation television series. This was performed at Kirby Hall in Northamptonshire with Patrick Stewart as Horatio and Ronald Lacey as the gravedigger.

On leaving the RSC, Richardson played Professor Henry Higgins in the 20th anniversary Broadway revival of My Fair Lady (1976) and received the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical and a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He also appeared on Broadway as onstage narrator in the original production of Edward Albee's play Lolita (1981), an adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov's book that was not critically well received.

In 1995, Richardson played The Miser at Chichester. In 1997, he played The Magistrate, also at Chichester, which transferred to the Savoy Theatre. . In 1978, Richardson played Robespierre in the BBC's Play of the Month production of Danton's Death. In 1979, he played Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery in the TV miniseries Ike.

Richardson's first major television role was his appearance as Bill Haydon ("Tailor") in the BBC adaptation of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979).

Later career Richardson's most acclaimed television role was as Machiavellian politician Francis Urquhart in the BBC adaptation of Michael Dobbs's House of Cards trilogy. and was nominated for both of the sequels To Play the King (1993) and The Final Cut (1995).

In 1989, Richardson also starred in a TV production of The Winslow Boy with Emma Thompson and Gordon Jackson. He received another BAFTA nomination for his role as Falkland Islands governor Sir Rex Hunt in the film An Ungentlemanly Act (1992), He narrated the BBC docudrama A Royal Scandal (1996).

Richardson's other roles in this period include Polonius in Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (1990), Sir Mason Harwood in Year of the Comet (1992), the French ambassador in M. Butterfly (1993), Martin Landau's butler in B*A*P*S (1997), a malevolent alien in Dark City (1998), The Kralahome in The King and I (1999), Cruella de Vil's Barrister, Mr. Torte QC, in the live-action film 102 Dalmatians (2000), and a corrupt aristocrat in From Hell (2001).

In 1999, Richardson became known to a young audience as the main character Stephen Tyler in both series of the family drama The Magician's House (1999–2000).

Richardson's final film appearance was as Judge Langlois in Becoming Jane (2007), released shortly after his death.

During the last 15 years of his life, Richardson appeared five times on television acting opposite his son Miles Richardson, though this was usually with one or the other in a minor role.

Death Richardson died in his sleep of a heart attack on the morning of 9 February 2007, aged 72. He was survived by his wife, Maroussia Frank, an actress, and two sons, one of whom, Miles, is an actor. Richardson's body was cremated. His ashes were placed in the foundation of the auditorium of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford during renovations in 2008.

Tributes Helen Mirren dedicated her 2006 Best Actress BAFTA award for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in the film The Queen to Richardson. In her acceptance speech she said that without his support early in her career, she might not have been so successful, before breaking down and leaving the stage. Other tributes and reminiscences by Richardson's colleagues are offered in a memoir by Sharon Mail, We Could Possibly Comment: Ian Richardson Remembered (2009).

Awards

Selected filmography

Marat/Sade (1967) – Jean-Paul Marat A Midsummer Night's Dream (1968) – Oberon The Darwin Adventure (1972) – Capt. Fitzroy Man of La Mancha (1972) – The Padre Gawain and the Green Knight (1973) – Narrator (uncredited) Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979) – Bill Haydon Charlie Muffin (1979) – Cuthbertson Gauguin the Savage (1980) – Degas Private Schulz (1981) - Major Neuheim The Hound of the Baskervilles (1983) – Sherlock Holmes The Sign of Four (1983) – Sherlock Holmes Brazil (1985) – Mr. Warrenn Whoops Apocalypse (1986) – Rear Admiral Bendish The Fourth Protocol (1987) – Sir Nigel Irvine Cry Freedom (1987) – State Prosecutor Porterhouse Blue (1987) - Sir Godber Evans Burning Secret (1988) – Edmund's father Twist of Fate (1989) – Doctor Schlossberg King of the Wind (1990) – Bey of Tunis Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (1990) – Polonius Year of the Comet (1992) – Sir Mason Harwood Foreign Affairs (1993) – Edwin M. Butterfly (1993) – Ambassador Toulon Dirty Weekend (1993) – Nimrod Words Upon the Window Pane (1994) – Dr. Trench Savage Play (1995) – Count Catherine the Great (1995) – Vorontsov The Treasure Seekers (1996) – Haig B*A*P*S (1997) – Manley The Fifth Province (1997) – Dr. Drudy Incognito (1997) – Turley (prosecutor) Dark City (1998) – Mr Book Alice through the Looking Glass (1998) – Wasp The King and I (1999) – The Kralahome (voice) 102 Dalmatians (2000) – Mr. Torte From Hell (2001) – Sir Charles Warren Joyeux Noël (2005) – L'évêque anglais The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby (2005) – Judge Désaccord parfait (2006) – Lord Evelyn Gaylord Becoming Jane (2007) – Judge Langlois (final film role)