Richard Easton

John Richard Easton (March 22, 1933 – December 2, 2019) was a Canadian stage, television and film actor. Easton began his career with Ottawa's Canadian Repertory Theatre, followed by a long career on the stage at the Crest Theatre, Stratford Festival, Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, in various Broadway theatre roles, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Renaissance Theatre Company. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Brian Hammond in the 1970s BBC serial The Brothers.

Life and career Easton was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the son of Mary Louise (née Withington) and Leonard Idell Easton, a civil engineer. He started acting in a children's theatre group. He played Hamlet in high school and studied with Eleanor Stuart. He made his professional acting debut with the Brae Manor Playhouse in 1947. In 1951, at the age of seventeen, he moved to Ottawa to join the Canadian Repertory Theatre. In 1953, he joined the Stratford Festival in its inaugural season and inaugural production of Richard III.

From 1956 through 1958, Easton appeared in six Crest Theatre stage productions in Toronto.

His first appearance in New York came in 1957 in an off-Broadway production by the Phoenix Theatre. He next appeared at the Stratford, Connecticut Shakespeare Festival. He appeared with the APA Repertory in 1961 in Hamlet, Exit the King in 1967 and The Misanthrope in 1969.

He played Edgar opposite the King Lear of John Gielgud and, on Broadway, Charles Surface in The School for Scandal with Gielgud and Ralph Richardson.

From 1972 to 1976, Easton appeared as Brian Hammond in the 1970s BBC serial The Brothers. He also had television guest appearances on Doctor Who, L.A. Law, Frasier, and Ed.

After The Brothers, Easton worked in British repertory theatre, leading to work with the Royal Shakespeare Company until 1986, when he joined the Renaissance Theatre Company. With the Renaissance company he played Jaques in As You Like It and Claudius in Hamlet.

In 2001, Easton won Tony and Drama Desk Awards for Best Actor in Tom Stoppard's The Invention of Love.

In 2002, Easton starred in the title role in a three-part documentary, Benjamin Franklin, on PBS. Between 2005 and 2011, Easton again appeared as Benjamin Franklin in a series of commercials and videos about Freemasonry, produced for the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts A.F. & A.M.

On October 18, 2006, while performing Tom Stoppard's The Coast of Utopia on stage during the show's second preview at the Lincoln Center Theater's Vivian Beaumont Theater, Easton suffered a heart attack and collapsed. His heart stopped beating, but after co-star Martha Plimpton realized that Easton's fall was serious and asked the audience if a doctor was present, a stagehand stepped up to perform CPR. An ambulance was called and Easton was revived with defibrillation. He underwent a procedure to correct a heart arrhythmia, briefly delaying the opening of the play, in which he played a central role. He made a full recovery and returned to the play soon after the incident.

In 2008, Easton was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.

In 2011, Easton made a guest appearance in the second season of Boardwalk Empire, appearing as Jackson Parkhurst in the episode "Gimcrack & Bunkum".

One of his last notable appearances in media was as the voice of Nigel, the eccentric celebrity fanatic in the game Grand Theft Auto V.

Easton died on December 2, 2019, at the age of 86.

Filmography

Film Film Year Title Role Notes 1976 Feelings (Unknown Role) 1983 Young Warriors Bartender 1989 Henry V Constable of France Charles D'Albret 1991 Dead Again Father Timothy 2000 Finding Forrester Prof. Matthews 2005 Stealing Martin Lane Ed 2005 It's About Time Mr. Dawson 2005 Pizza Mr. Mitchell 2008 Revolutionary Road Mr. Givings

Television Television Year Title Role Notes 1959 Play of the Week Beliaev 1 episode 1960 The DuPont Show of the Month 1 episode 1963 No Hiding Place Simon McCowen 1 episode 1972–1976 The Brothers Brian Hammond 85 episodes 1982 Doctor Who Captain Stapley 4 episodes 1997 Frasier Mel White Episode: "Ham Radio" 2002 Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin PBS mini series3 episodes 2004 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Richard Sutton Episode: "Bound" 2007 Alexander Hamilton George Washington Voice 2011 Boardwalk Empire Jackson Parkhurst Episode: "Gimcrack & Bunkum" 2011 Mildred Pierce Charlie Hannen Episode: 3

Stage Richard III - Sir Thomas Vaughan (1953 Stratford Festival production) King Lear - Edgar (1955 Shakespeare Memorial Theatre production) The School for Scandal (1956 Crest Theatre production) The Italian Straw Hat (1956 Crest Theatre production) The Three Sisters (1956 Crest Theatre production) Antony and Cleopatra (1956 Crest Theatre production) She Stoops to Conquer (1957 Crest Theatre production) Salad Days (1958 Crest Theatre production) Hamlet - Hamlet (1961 APA Repertory Theatre production) Exit the King - Berenger (1967 APA-Phoenix Theatre production) The Misanthrope - Alceste (1969 APA-Phoenix Theatre production) Hamlet - Claudius (1969 Lyceum Theatre production) As You Like It - Jaques (1986 Renaissance Theatre Company production) Hamlet - Claudius (1986 Renaissance Theatre Company production) The Invention of Love - A. E. Housman, aged 77 (2001) Noises Off - Selsdon Mowbray (2001 Royal National Theatre production) Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2 - Henry IV (2003 Lincoln Center production) The Coast of Utopia - Alexander Bakunin/Leonty Ibayev/Stanislaw Worcell (2006 Lincoln Center production) Elling - Alfons (2010 Broadway production)

Video games Videogames Year Title Role 2007 Manhunt 2 Watchdogs member 2013 Grand Theft Auto V Nigel

Awards

Year Award Category Film/TV Show/Play Result 2001 Tony Award Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play The Invention of Love 2001 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actor in a Play