Person    | Male  Born 19/12/1902  Died 10/10/1983

Actor. Born Ralph David Richardson in Cheltenham. Along with Laurence Olivier and John Gielgud, he dominated British theatre throughout the latter half of the 20th century. He started his career with the Birmingham Repertory Company before joining the Old Vic Company where he had many leading roles. He went on to appear in many films including 'Things to Come', 'Doctor Zhivago' and 'Oh! What a Lovely War'. His later stage performances ranged from Joe Orton's 'What the Butler Saw' to David Storey's 'Home' and Harold Pinter's 'No Man's Land'. He was offered the role of Estragon in the English language premiere of Samuel Beckett's 'Waiting for Godot', but turned it down - a decision he later regretted.