Richard Griffiths Biography

Richard Thomas Griffiths, OBE (31 July 1947 - 28 March 2013) was an English actor of film, television, and stage. He received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play, the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Featured Actor and a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play, all for his role in The History Boys.

He is also known for his portrayal of Vernon Dursley in the Harry Potter films, Uncle Monty in Withnail and I, Henry Crabbe in Pie in the Sky, and King George II in Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. He also appeared as a British journalist in Richard Attenborough's Oscar-winning 1982 film Gandhi.

Early years

Griffiths was born in Thornaby-on-Tees, North Riding of Yorkshire, the son of Jane (ne Denmark) and Thomas Griffiths. His father was a steelworker who also fought in pubs for money, while his mother's occupation was described as "bagger". He and his brother John were raised in the Roman Catholic faith.

His parents were both deaf, and he learned sign language at an early age in order to communicate with them. During his childhood he attempted to run away from home many times. He dropped out of Our Lady & St Bede School in Stockton-On-Tees at age 15 and worked as a porter for Littlewoods for a while, but his boss eventually persuaded him to go back to school. He decided to attend a drama class at Stockton & Billingham College. He continued his education in drama at Manchester Polytechnic School of Drama (present-day Manchester School of Theatre).

Career

After graduating, Griffiths earned a spot on BBC Radio. He also worked in small theatres, sometimes acting and sometimes managing. He built up an early reputation as a Shakespearean clown with portrayals of the Constable in The Comedy of Errors and Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and went on to play the King in Henry VIII.

He eventually settled in Manchester and began to get lead roles in plays. From there, he began to appear on television and then got his big break in film in It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet (1975). By the early 1980s, he was selected for the lead role in Bird of Prey, an early computer-conspiracy thriller. His character Henry Jay was reprised in Bird of Prey 2 (1984). In 1981, he also gave a memorable performance as Chilean secret police victim William Beausire in an edition of the BBC Prisoners of Conscience series. Griffiths went on to supporting roles in a number of major films, including The French Lieutenant's Woman, Chariots of Fire, and Gandhi. On stage, in 1985-86, he performed the role of Verdi in Julian Mitchell's After Aida, in Wales and at the Old Vic Theatre in London. He appeared in The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends.

Griffiths' film roles were in both contemporary and period pieces, such as Gorky Park (1983), Withnail and I (1987), King Ralph (1991), The Naked Gun 2: The Smell of Fear (1991), Guarding Tess (1994) and Sleepy Hollow (1999). Later, he was seen as Harry Potter's cruel uncle Vernon Dursley in the Harry Potter series, appearing in five of the eight films: Philosopher's Stone, Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban, Order of the Phoenix, and Deathly Hallows - Part 1.

He appeared as Inspector Henry Crabbe, disillusioned policeman and pie chef extraordinaire, in Pie in the Sky, a role which was created specifically for him. He also made an extended appearance in the 2005 version of Charles Dickens' Bleak House. In 2004, he originated the role of Hector (the teacher) in Alan Bennett's play The History Boys, directed by Nicholas Hytner, winning the 2005 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor. During the play's subsequent United States run, he added a Drama Desk Award, an Outer Critics Circle Award, and a Tony Award. He reprised his role in the film version, which was released in October 2006.

Together with his Harry Potter co-star Daniel Radcliffe, he appeared in a stage revival of Peter Shaffer's Equus at the Gielgud Theatre in London, and later from October 2008 in a short run of the play at the Broadhurst Theatre on Broadway, which ended in February 2009. Later, in 2009, he replaced Michael Gambon as W.H. Auden prior to the premiere of The Habit of Art at the National Theatre, once again directed by Hytner.

Griffiths was considered for the part of the Doctor in Doctor Who, following Tom Baker's departure in 1981, but was unavailable. He was strongly considered once again to take on the role of the Eighth Doctor, had the series continued past 1989. Coincidentally, his two principal co-stars from Withnail and I "? Paul McGann and Richard E. Grant "? both went on to play the role in some capacity. He performed in adaptations of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, providing the voice for Slartibartfast for the radio adaptation of Life, the Universe and Everything and playing the Vogon Jeltz in the film version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. He appeared in Bedtime Stories with Adam Sandler and as a special guest in A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa.

He asked a member of the audience to leave a performance of Heroes after her phone rang three times. This interruption of a performance because of audience distraction happened three times in his career.

Griffiths appeared as King George II in Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. He appeared in the first episode of the television series Episodes as Julian Bullard. In April 2012, Griffiths starred, with Danny DeVito, in a revival of the Neil Simon play The Sunshine Boys. The show previewed at the Savoy Theatre from 27 April 2012, opening on 17 May and playing a limited 12-week season until 28 July.

Personal life

Griffiths met Heather Gibson in 1973 and they married in 1980. They had no children.

Griffiths was awarded an honorary degree from Teesside University in 2006 and was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2008 New Year Honours.

Death

Griffiths died aged 65 at the University Hospital Coventry on 28 March 2013 after complications following heart surgery.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1977	It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet	Sam
1980	Breaking Glass	Studio engineer
	Superman II	Terrorist #3
1981	Chariots of Fire	Head Porter at Caius College
	The French Lieutenant's Woman	Sir Tom
	Ragtime	Delmas' Assistant No. 1
1982	Britannia Hospital	Cheerful Bernie
	Gandhi	Collins
1983	Gorky Park	Anton
1984	Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes	Captain Billings
	A Private Function	Henry Allardyce the Accountant
1986	Shanghai Surprise	Willie Tuttle
1987	Withnail and I	Uncle Monty
1991	King Ralph	Duncan Phipps
	The Naked Gun 2: The Smell of Fear	Dr. Albert S. Meinheimer/Earl Hacker
1992	Blame It on the Bellboy	Maurice Horton
1994	Guarding Tess	Frederick
1995	Funny Bones	Jim Minty
1997	The Warrens
1999	Sleepy Hollow	Magistrate Philipse
	Casper & Spooky
2000	Vatel	Dr. Bourdelot
2001	Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone	Vernon Dursley
2002	Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets	Vernon Dursley
2004	Stage Beauty	Sir Charles Sedley
	Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban	Vernon Dursley
2005	The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy	Jeltz	Voice
	Opa!	Tierrney
2006	Venus	Donald
	The History Boys	Hector
2007	Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix	Vernon Dursley
2008	Bedtime Stories	Barry Nottingham
2010	Jackboots on Whitehall	Hermann Goering	Voice
	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1	Vernon Dursley
2011	Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides	King George
	Hugo	Monsieur Frick
2012	Private Peaceful	The Colonel
2013	About Time	Himself	Posthumous release

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1974	Crown Court	Interpreter	Episode 3.31: "Duress: Part 1"
	Village Hall	Mr. Ridealgh	Episode 1.1: "Mr. Ellis Versus the People"
	ITV Playhouse	Park keeper	Episode 7.2: "Norma"
1976	When the Boat Comes In	P.C. Price	Episode 1.1 "A Land Fit for Heroes and Idiots"
	Red Letter Day	Window cleaner	Episode 1.3: "Well Thank You, Thursday"
	The Expert	Ripley	Episode 4.10: "Tainted Money"
1977	Second City Firsts		Episode 8.1: "Twelve Off the Belt"
	ITV Playhouse	Board member	Episode 9.10: "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll"
1978	The Comedy of Errors	Officer	TV play
	The Sweeney	Ronnie Harries	Episode 4.14: "Jack or Knave"
1979	Afternoon Off	Mr. Turnbull	TV play
1980	Nobody's Perfect	Sam Hooper
1981	Prisoners of Conscience	William Beausire	Episode 1.1: "William Beausire"
1982	Minder	Derek Farrow	Episode 3.5: "Dreamhouse"
	Whoops Apocalypse	Premier Dubienkin	Episode 1.6: "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun"
	Bird of Prey	Henry Jay	TV mini-series; all four episodes
	The World Cup: A Captain's Tale	Sidney Barron	TV film
	Five-Minute Films	The Window Cleaner	Episode: "A Light Snack"
	The Merry Wives of Windsor	Sir John Falstaff	TV film
1983	The Cleopatras	Pot Belly	TV mini-series; three episodes
	Bergerac	Jean-Pierre	Episode 2.6: "Fall of a Birdman"
1984	Bird of Prey 2	Henry Jay	TV mini-series; all four episodes
1986	Boon	Sidney Garbutt	Episode 1.6: "Glasshouse People"
	The Raggy Dolls
1987	Casanova	Cardinal	TV film
	Ffizz	Jack Mowbray
	The Marksman	Brown	TV mini-series
1988-1990	A Kind of Living	Trevor Beasley	15 episodes
1989	Goldeneye	Second admiral	TV film
1991	Perfect Scoundrels	Phil Kirby	Episode 2.1: "Ssh, You Know Who"
1992	El C.I.D.	Weatherby	Episode 3.2: "Nothing Is Forever"
	The Good Guys	Archie Phillips	Episode 1.8: "Going West"
	Mr. Wakefield's Crusade	Porter	TV film
1993	Inspector Morse	Canon Humphrey Appleton	Episode 7.2: "The Day of the Devil"
	Lovejoy	Hans Koopman	Episode 4.9: "They Call Me Midas"
1994	A Breed of Heroes	TV film
1994-1995	The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends	Mr. Alderman Ptolomy Tortoise Mr. Jackson Sir Isaac Newton	Two episodes; voice
1994-1997	Pie in the Sky	Henry Crabbe	All 40 episodes
1998	In the Red	Geoffrey Crichton-Potter	Episode 1.3
	The Canterbury Tales	Saturn	Episode 1.1: "Leaving London"; voice
	Oi! Get Off Our Train	Elephant	TV short; voice
	Ted & Ralph	Landowner at Party	TV film
1998-2000	Archibald the Koala	Archibald	All 52 episodes; voice
1999	The Vicar of Dibley	Bishop of Mulberry	Episode 3.17: "Spring"
2000	Gormenghast	Swelter	TV mini-series; two episodes
	Hope and Glory	Leo Wheeldon	Two episodes
2002	TLC	Mr Benedict Ron
	Jeffrey Archer: The Truth	Willie Whitelaw	TV film
2003	The Brides in the Bath	Sir Edward Marshall Hall	TV film
2005	Princes in the Tower	Sir Thomas More	TV film; voice
	Bleak House	Mr. Bayham Badger	TV mini-series; two episodes
2007	Ballet Shoes	Great Uncle Matthew	TV film
2008	A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa	Santa Claus	TV film
2010	National Theatre Live	Fitz / W.H. Auden	TV play: The Habit of Art
2011	George and Bernard Shaw	Bernard	Episode 1.1: "Pilot"
	Episodes	Julian Bullard	Episode 1.1: "Episode One"
2012	The Hollow Crown - Henry V	Duke of Burgundy	TV film