John Gielgud Biography: Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH (14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was a renowned British actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he became renowned for his profoundly expressive, youthful Hamlet, which broke Broadway box office records in 1937. His genial and expressive voice, which his colleague Sir Alec Guinness likened to “a silver trumpet muffled with silk,” earned him a reputation for his eloquent recitations of poetry. Gielgud is the only British entertainer on the limited list of those who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony.
John Gielgud Biography :
| Name: | John Gielgud |
| Nationality: | London |
| Date of Birth: | 14 April 1904 |
| Place of Birth: | London |
| Died: | 21 May 2000 |
| Movies/Tv Shows: | “Hamlet” (1964) |
| Gender: | Male |
| Profession: | Actor |
John Gielgud Early phases
After attending Hillside Preparatory School in Godalming, Surrey, and Westminster School. He was awarded the King’s Scholarship, Gielgud briefly trained at RADA and understudied Noel Coward in The Vortex on the West End stage. His initial success was as a stage actor in classical roles. Winning stardom during two successful seasons at the Old Vic Theatre from 1929 to 1931 for his performances as Richard II and Hamlet, the latter of which was the first Old Vic production to transfer to the West End.
He reprised the character of Hamlet in a renowned production he directed at the New Theatre in the West End. In the 1936 Guthrie McClintic production in which Lillian Gish portrayed Ophelia, he was lauded as a Broadway star. In juxtaposition to Gielgud’s staging, a subsequent production starring film star Leslie Howard was panned by critics and contributed to the production’s popularity. Gielgud’s production of “Hamlet” on Broadway surpassed the record for longest run.) In 1939, Gielgud again directed a production at the Lyceum Theatre, which was historically the professional home of Henry Irving’s company.
This was the final production to perform at the Lyceum until 50 years later. When it was renovated to accommodate, among other shows. The Lion King, a popular musical. Gielgud’s Hamlet was subsequently performed at Elsinore Castle in Denmark (the actual setting of the play). In a 1944 production directed by George Rylands. In 1945 production directed by Gielgud toured the Far East. Gielgud played the Ghost of Hamlet’s Father in productions of the play, first to Richard Burton’s Melancholy Dane on the Broadway stage that Gielgud directed in 1964. Then to Richard Chamberlain on television, and finally to Gielgud’s protégé Kenneth Branagh in radio production.
Yuri’s Night 2023: Date, History, Facts, Activities
Career
Arthur John Gielgud was born to Kate Terry and Frank Gielgud in South Kensington, London. Being the grandson of actress Kate Terry and the great-nephew of Dame Ellen Terry, as well as Marion Terry, Fred Terry, and all of their thespian siblings, he came from a distinguished theatrical lineage. His older sibling Val Gielgud became a forerunner in BBC Radio. His niece, ballerina and former artistic director of The Australian Ballet and the Royal Danish Ballet, is Maina Gielgud.
John Gielgud Awards
John Gielgud is a legendary actor who has won all four of the entertainment industry’s most prestigious awards: an Oscar, a Grammy, an Emmy, and a Tony. His Oscar was for his performance in the 1981 film Arthur, his Grammy was for his narration of the audiobook. The Ages of Man and his Emmy was for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Special for his role in Summer’s Lease. His Tony was for his performance in the 1976 play The Best Man.
John Gielgud was a renowned theatre director, having won the Tony Award for Best Director for “Big Fish, Little Fish.” The play he directed received high praise, and his Tony Award was a testament to his skill and talent in the theatre industry.
Personal Life
Gielgud flourished during an era when homosexuality was shrouded in secrecy outside of the theatre community. So, shortly after being knighted, Gielgud endured terrible degradation. Gielgud was convicted of “persistently importuning for immoral purposes” (cottaging) in a Chelsea mews in 1953. He was detained for attempting to pick up a man in a public lavatory.
At the play’s initial opening in Liverpool, instead of being rejected by the audience. He received a standing ovation, thanks in part to his co-star Sybil Thorndike. Who seized him as he stood in the wings unable to make his first entrance and brought him onstage, whispering, “Come on, John, they won’t boo me.
Some hypothesise that it helped publicise the campaign to decriminalise homosexuality in England and Wales. Gielgud’s longtime companion Martin Hensler passed away just a few months before his passing in 2000. He did not acknowledge Hensler as his companion until 1988. In the programme notes for his final stage performance, The Best of Friends.
The ‘Gielgud case’ was dramatised by critic-turned-playwright Nicholas de Jongh in his 2008 play Plague Over England, which was performed at the Finborough, a small London theatre, with Jasper Britton in the role of Gielgud. In 2009, the play had a limited run at the Duchess Theatre in London’s West End, starring Michael Feast (who had previously worked with Gielgud).
 was a renowned British actor, director, and producer.){kind=link}