Basil Sydney

Basil Sydney Biography

Basil Sydney (23 April 1894 - 10 January 1968) was an English actor who made over fifty screen appearances, most memorably as Claudius in Laurence Olivier's 1948 film of Hamlet. He also appeared in classic films like Treasure Island (1950), Ivanhoe (1952) and Around the World in Eighty Days (1956), but the focus of his career was the legitimate stage on both sides of the Atlantic.

Sydney made his name in the London stage hit Romance by Edward Sheldon in the dual role of the priest and the priest's nephew opposite the play's Broadway star Doris Keane in 1915, and costarred with Keane in the 1920 silent film of the play. The couple married in 1918, and when Keane revived Romance in New York in 1921, Sydney made his Broadway debut in the parts. He stayed in New York for over a decade playing classical roles like Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet (1922), Richard Dudgeon in The Devil's Disciple (1923), the title role in Hamlet (1923), Prince Hal in Henry IV, Part I (1926), and Petruchio in Taming of the Shrew (1927).

Personal life

In 1925, Sydney divorced Keane; four years later, in 1929, he married actress Mary Ellis, and the couple moved to England. There he concentrated more on film than on theatre work. In the 1940s he married English film actress Joyce Howard; they had three children.

Basil Sydney died from pleurisy in 1968, aged 73.

Filmography

Romance (1920) as The priest / The priest's nephew
Red Hot Romance (1922) as Rowland Stone
The Midshipmaid (1932) as Cmdr. Fosberry
The Third Clue (1934) as Reinhardt Conway
Dirty Work (1934) as Hugh Stafford
The Riverside Murder (1935) as Inspector Philip Winton
The White Lilac (1935) as Ian Mackie
The Tunnel (1935) as Mostyn
The Amateur Gentleman (1936) as Louis Chichester
Rhodes of Africa (1936) as Dr. Jim Jameson
Blind Man's Bluff (1936) as Dr. Peter Fairfax
Crime Over London (1936) as 'Joker' Finnigan
Talk of the Devil (1936) as Stephen Rindlay
Accused (1936) as Eugene Roget
The Four Just Men (1939) as Frank Snell
Shadowed Eyes (1940) as Dr. Zander
Spring Meeting (1941) as James
The Farmer's Wife (1941) as Samuel Sweetland
The Black Sheep of Whitehall (1942) as Costello
Ships with Wings (1942) as Capt. Fairfax
The Big Blockade (1942) as Bit Part (uncredited)
The Next of Kin (1942) as Naval captain
Went the Day Well? (1942) as Major Ortler
Caesar and Cleopatra (1945) as Rufio
Meet Me at Dawn (1947) as Georges Vermorel
The Man Within (1947) as Sir Henry Merriman
Jassy (1947) as Nick Helmar
Hamlet (1948) as Claudius - The King
The Angel with the Trumpet (1950) as Francis Alt
Treasure Island (1950) as Captain Smollett
The Magic Box (1951) as William Fox-Talbot
Ivanhoe (1952) as Waldemar Fitzurse
Salome (1953) as Pontius Pilate
Hell Below Zero (1954) as Bland
Star of India (1954) as King Louis XIV
Three's Company (1954) as Dr. Graham (segment "The Surgeon's Story")
Simba (1955) as Mr. Crawford
The Dam Busters (1955) as Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris
Around the World in 80 Days (1956) as Reform Club Member
Sea Wife (1957) as Bulldog
Island in the Sun (1957) as Julian Fleury
A Question of Adultery (1958) as Sir John Loring
John Paul Jones (1959) as Sir William Young
The Devil's Disciple (1959) as Lawyer Hawkins
The 3 Worlds of Gulliver (1960) as Emperor of Lilliput
The Hands of Orlac (1960) as Maurice Seidelman
A Story of David (1961) as King Saul

This webpage uses material from the Wikipedia article "Basil_Sydney" and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. Reality TV World is not responsible for any errors or omissions the Wikipedia article may contain.

POPULAR TV SHOWS (100)

POPULAR PEOPLE (100)

Show Updates People News Spoiler News Entertainment News RealityTVDB POP Hollywood Reality TV News Wire
Features & Interviews Sexy Social Pics of the Day Things to Know Profiles Message Boards Shows Listing