Roger Livesey
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Roger Livesey (25 June 1906 – 4 February 1976) was a British stage and film actor. He is most often remembered for the three Powell & Pressburger films in which he starred: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, I Know Where I'm Going! and A Matter of Life and Death. Tall and broad with a mop of chestnut hair, Livesey used his highly distinctive husky voice, gentle manner and athletic physique to create many notable roles in his theatre and film work.
Early life
Livesey was born in Barry, Wales, son of actor Joseph Livesey (1880-1911) and Mary Catherine ("Cassie"), née Edwards.<ref name="ODNB">Template:Cite ODNB</ref> It had previously been believed and reported that his father was in fact Joseph's brother, actor Samuel Livesey, to whom Mary Catherine Edwards was married after Joseph's death. Her sister was Samuel Livesey's first wife.Template:Citation needed Roger Livesey was educated at Westminster City School, London.<ref>The Great Stage Stars, by Sheridan Morley, Facts on File Publications, 1986, p. 235</ref>
Acting career
Livesey studied under Italia Conti.<ref>Actor's bio, Theatre Programme, "Oh Clarence", Grand Theatre, Leeds, December 1970.</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> His first stage role was as the office boy in Loyalty at St James's Theatre in 1917.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He then appeared in a wide range of productions from Shakespeare to modern comedies.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He played various roles in the West End from 1920 to 1926, toured the West Indies and South Africa, and then returned to join the Old Vic/Sadler's Wells company from September 1932 until May 1934.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1936 he appeared in New York City in Wycherley's comedy The Country Wife.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> While in New York he married actress Ursula Jeans, whom he had known previously in England<ref>A Who's Who of British Film Actors, by Scott Palmer, The Scarecrow Press 1981 p. 307</ref> (Livesey's sister Maggie was already married to Ursula Jeans' brother Desmond).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
At the outbreak of the Second World War Livesey and Jeans were among the first volunteers to entertain the troops.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He then applied for flying duties in the Royal Air Force but due to his age was rejected.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Instead he worked in an aircraft factory at Desford aerodrome near Leicester to "do his bit for the war effort".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Livesey was chosen by Michael Powell to play the lead in The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) after Powell was denied his original choice, Laurence Olivier (Winston Churchill had objected to the film and the Fleet Air Arm refused to release Olivier, who had been a Hollywood film star before returning to England to take a Navy commission).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The film was shown in New York and established Livesey's international reputation as a talented character actor.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1945, he was the first choice for the male lead role in Brief Encounter, which in the end went to Trevor Howard.<ref>A Brief Encounter with Carnforth Station Template:Webarchive</ref>
He toured Australia from 1956 to 1958 playing Jimmy Broadbent in The Reluctant Debutante<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and continued playing many theatrical roles during his film career until 1969.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> One of his last roles was as the Duke of St Bungay in The Pallisers television series.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His final television appearance was in the series Benjamin Franklin in 1975.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Death
Livesey died in Watford from colorectal cancer at the age of 69 on 4 February 1976. He shares a memorial plaque with his wife Ursula Jeans in the actors' church St Paul's in Covent Garden.
Livesey family
Brothers Joseph and Samuel Livesey married, respectively, sisters Margaret Ann Edwards (in 1900) and Mary Catherine Edwards (in 1905).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Following the deaths of Joseph in 1911 and Margaret Ann in 1913, Samuel Livesey married Mary Catherine.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The four children from both first marriages, in addition to the daughter born in 1915 of the second marriage, were all raised as one large family.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The family tree was further complicated when Roger Livesey married the actress Ursula Jeans, whose brother, Desmond Jeans, was already married to Roger's sister, Maggie.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Many of the family formed a touring company of actors, performing in regional theatres and from the back of an old wagon, one side of which could be dropped to form a stage. This peripatetic lifestyle meant they did not regard themselves as particularly Welsh, or English.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
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Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1921 | The Four Feathers | Harry Faversham | Child role |
| 1921 | Where the Rainbow Ends | Cubby the Lion Cub | Uncredited |
| 1923 | Married Love | Henry Burrows | |
| 1931 | East Lynne on the Western Front | Sandy | |
| 1933 | A Cuckoo in the Nest | Alfred | |
| 1933 | The Veteran of Waterloo | Sergeant MacDonald | Short film |
| 1934 | Blind Justice | Gilbert Jackson | |
| 1934 | Lorna Doone | Tom Faggus | |
| 1935 | The Price of Wisdom | Peter North | |
| 1935 | Midshipman Easy | Captain Wilson | |
| 1936 | Rembrandt | Beggar Saul | |
| 1938 | The Drum | Capt. Carruthers | |
| 1938 | The Rebel Son | Peter Bulba | |
| 1938 | Keep Smiling | Bert Wattle | |
| 1940 | Spies of the Air | Charles Houghton | |
| 1940 | The Girl in the News | Bill Mather | |
| 1943 | The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp | Clive Candy | Lead role |
| 1945 | I Know Where I'm Going! | Torquil MacNeil | Lead role |
| 1946 | A Matter of Life and Death | Doctor Frank Reeves | |
| 1948 | Vice Versa | Paul Bultitude / Dick Bultitude | Dual role |
| 1949 | That Dangerous Age | Sir Brian Brooke | |
| 1951 | Green Grow the Rushes | Capt. Cedric Biddle | |
| 1953 | The Master of Ballantrae | Col. Francis Burke | |
| 1956 | The Intimate Stranger | Ben Case | |
| 1958 | The Stowaway | Major Owens | <ref name="stow">Template:Cite magazine</ref> |
| 1958 | It Happened in Broad Daylight | Professor Manz | English version, voice |
| 1960 | The League of Gentlemen | Mycroft | |
| 1960 | Upgreen – And at Em | – | Short film |
| 1960 | The Entertainer | Billy Rice | |
| 1961 | By Invitation Only | Phillip Gordon-Davies | TV film |
| 1961 | No My Darling Daughter | General Henry Barclay | |
| 1964 | Of Human Bondage | Thorpe Athelny | |
| 1965 | The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders | Drunken Parson | |
| 1968 | Oedipus the King | Shepherd | |
| 1969 | Hamlet | First Player / Gravedigger | |
| 1970 | Futtocks End | The Artist | Short film |
| 1971 | Justice | Uncle George | Episode: "To Help an Old School Friend" |
| 1974 | The Pallisers | Duke of St Bungay | TV serial |
Vocal work
In 1958, he, Judith Furse, Terry-Thomas, Rita Webb, Avril Angers and Miles Malleson, recorded Indian Summer of an Uncle, and Jeeves Takes Charge for the Caedmon Audio record label, (Caedmon Audio TC-1137). It was re-released in stereo in 1964.
References
External links
- [https://www.imdb.com/{{#if: 0515193
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- Template:IBDB name
- Template:Screenonline name
- Performances in the University of Bristol Theatre Archive
- Collection of biography & reviews of Livesey
- From the Powell & Pressburger pages - dynasty of Roger Livesey
- other biographical notes from the same source
- Pages on Roger Livesey from Celebri
- BBC Wales Arts page. Top 10 Welsh actors: Roger Livesey
- Blockbuster page on Roger Livesey films
- Template:Playbill person (archive)
- Pages with broken file links
- 1906 births
- 1976 deaths
- 20th-century British male actors
- Actors from Barry, Vale of Glamorgan
- Alumni of the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts
- British male stage actors
- British male film actors
- British male television actors
- Deaths from colorectal cancer in England
- People educated at Westminster City School
- Male actors from the Vale of Glamorgan