ROBERT HARDY

'Sir Timothy Sydney Robert Hardy', CBE (born October 29, 1925) is one of Britain's long serving actors, with a career spanning the theatre, film and television. He is also an acknowledged expert on the longbow.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Career

Honours

Personal life

Filmography

References

External links

Biography

Early life

Hardy was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire to Jocelyn (Dugdale) and Henry Harrison Hardy.^[1] His father was headmaster of Cheltenham College. He was educated at Rugby School and Magdelen College, Oxford University where he gained a BA Honours degree in English.

Career

Hardy began his career as a classical actor, appearing as Shakespeare's ''Henry V'' on stage and in television's ''An Age of Kings'' (1960), and subsequently played ''Coriolanus'' for the BBC. It was while playing Henry V that Hardy developed an interest in medieval warfare, and he later wrote and presented an acclaimed television documentary on the subject of the Battle of Agincourt. He has also written two books on the subject of the Longbow,^[2] and The Great War Bow' with Matthew Strickland (The Great War Bow. Hardy R, Strickland M. Sutton Publishing 2005. ISBN-10: 0750931671 ISBN-13: 978-0750931670). He was one of the experts consulted by the archaeologists responsible for raising the ''Mary Rose''.
Over the years, Hardy has played a huge range of parts on television and film, but is not as widely known outside the UK. His first continuing role in a TV series was as businessman Alec Stewart in the award-winning oil company drama ''The Troubleshooters'' for the BBC, which he played from 1966 to 1968. But his most famous role was as Siegfried Farnon in the long-running ''All Creatures Great and Small'' (1978–1990), a stylish and much loved adaptation of James Herriot's novels. Some feel Hardy brought just the right touch of eccentricity and belligerence to the part of Siegfried.
He also made a very memorable appearance in the 1987 ITV comedy series ''Hot Metal'', in which he played a dual role, that of a newspaper proprietor, Twiggy Rathbone (who bore more than a passing resemblance to Rupert Murdoch) and his put-upon and harassed editor, Russell Spam. It showed off perfectly Hardy's versatility as an actor.
He has played former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in several productions, including '' (1981). for which he won a BAFTA award. He also played Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester in ''Elizabeth R'', and Prince Albert in ''Edward the Seventh'' (known as ''Edward the King'' to the American audience). He took a leading role in the 1995 film version of ''Sense and Sensibility''. His most recent roles were as Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge in the ''Harry Potter'' movies, and as Lord Malan in ''His Master's Voice''.
His voice performance as Robin Hood in ''Tale Spinner's Robin Hood'', a LP from the 1960s, is considered one of the best Robin Hood renditions of all time.

Honours

He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the Queen's Birthday Honours of 1981.

Personal life

His first marriage, in 1952, was to Elizabeth Fox, the daughter of Sir Lionel Fox. This marriage ended in 1956. In 1961 he married Sally Pearson, the daughter of Dame Gladys Cooper and, thus, sister-in-law of Robert Morley. This marriage ended in 1981. Robert Hardy has three children. He was a close friend of actor Richard Burton whom he met at Oxford University.

Filmography

★ ''Framed (2007) '' (in production) .... Provost

★ ''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix '' (2007) .... Cornelius Fudge

★ ''Goodbye Mr Snuggles (2006)'' .... Mr. Stiles

★ ''Lassie (2005)'' .... Judge Murray

★ ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)'' .... Cornelius Fudge

★ ''Making Waves (2004)'' .... Father Parry

★ ''Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)'' .... Cornelius Fudge

★ ''Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)'' .... Cornelius Fudge

★ ''Thunderpants (2002)'' .... Doctor

★ ''The Gathering (2002)'' .... The Bishop

★ ''Sibirskiy tsiryulnik (1998)'' .... Forsten

★ ''The Tichborne Claimant (1998)'' .... Lord Rivers

★ ''An Ideal Husband (1998)'' .... Lord Caversham

★ ''Mrs Dalloway (1997)'' .... Sir William Bradshaw

★ ''Sense and Sensibility (1995)'' .... Sir John Middleton

★ ''Frankenstein (1994)'' .... Professor Krempe

★ ''A Feast at Midnight (1994)'' .... Headmaster

★ ''Paris by Night (1988)'' .... Adam Gillvray

★ ''The Shooting Party (1985)'' .... Lord Bob Lilburn

★ ''La Gifle (1974)'' .... Robert

★ ''Le Silencieux (1973)'' .... The Assistant

★ ''Gawain and the Green Knight (1973)'' .... Sir Bertilak

★ ''Dark Places (1973)'' .... Edward/Andrew

★ ''Yellow Dog (1973)'' .... Alexander

★ ''Demons of the Mind (1972)'' .... Zorn

★ ''Young Winston (1972)'' .... Headmaster

★ ''10 Rillington Place (1971)'' .... Malcolm Morris

★ ''Psychomania (1971)'' .... Chief Inspector Hesseltine

★ ''How I Won the War (1967)'' .... British General

★ ''Berserk! (1967)'' .... Supt. Brooks

★ ''The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965)'' .... Dick Carlton

★ ''Torpedo Run (1958)'' .... Lt. Redley

References

1. http://www.filmreference.com/film/79/Robert-Hardy.html
2. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Longbow-Military-History-Robert-Hardy/dp/1852604123 Longbow: A Social and Military History

External links

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