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person_profile-Cyril Ritchard

Cyril Ritchard Died at age: 80

Actor | Producer

Fullname:

Cyril Ritchard

Date of Birth:

Dec 01, 1897

Country of birth:

Australia

Died:

Dec 18, 1977

Biography of

Cyril Ritchard

    Legendary for his preening, prancing, delightfully playful villain Captain Hook on the award-winning stage (as well as TV) opposite America's musical treasure Mary Martin, beloved musical star Cyril Ritchard had a vast career that would last six decades, but "Peter Pan" would become his prime legacy. Born in Australia just before the turn of the century, he was educated at St. Aloysius College and Sydney University wherein he slyly sidestepped a parental-guided career in medicine for entertainment, participating in numerous college productions that quickly got him "hooked." He began professionally in the chorus line of The Royal Comic Opera Company and quickly progressed to juvenile leads. A subsequent pairing with the already-established theatre actress Madge Elliott in 1918 proved successful, and the musical twosome eventually married in 1935. Together they would go on to become known as "The Musical Lunts" by their acting peers performing in scores of plays and revues together. Ritchard specialized in playing slick, dandified villains in musical comedy and developed a potent reputation of being a man of many talents. Not only directing and staging Broadway's finest, he became a renown performer of various operas and led many productions as such. Shortly before his wife's death of bone cancer in 1955, Ritchard ventured into TV infamy by repeating his Tony and Donaldson award-winning portrayal of Hook in Peter Pan (1955). He continued to earn acclaim and/or honors with such classic stage productions as "Visit to a Small Planet" (Tony-nominated), "The Pleasure of His Company" (Drama League award, Tony-nominated), "The Roar of the Greasepaint...the Smell of the Crowd" (Tony-nominated), "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Sugar," the musical version of the classic Billy Wilder film Some Like It Hot (1959) in which Ritchard played the Joe E. Brown role. Lesser regarded when it comes to film, he performed in the early Hitchcock classic Blackmail (1929) and made his last movie with the musical Half a Sixpence (1967) with Tommy Steele. While performing as the Narrator in a stage production of "Side by Side by Sondheim" in November 1977, Ritchard suffered a heart attack and died one month later. A one-of-a-kind talent, his nefarious, narcissistic humor was a career trademark that culminated in the role of a lifetime -- one that will certainly be enjoyed by children young and old for eons to come.

Photos of

Cyril Ritchard

Photos ( 1 Photos

Filmography of

Cyril Ritchard

Found 24 Movies in total

The Hobbit

Elrond ( Actor )

... 1977

Tubby the Tuba

The Frog (voice) ( Actor )

... 1975

... 1972

Hans Brinker

Mijnheer Kleef ( Actor )

... 1969

Half a Sixpence

Harry Chitterlow ( Actor )

... 1967

The Daydreamer

The Sandman (voice) ( Actor )

... 1966

... 1966

... 1965

Peter Pan

Mr. Darling / Captain Hook ( Actor )

... 1960

Aladdin

Sui-Generis, the Sorcerer ( Actor )

... 1958

Peter Pan

Mr. Darling / Captain Hook ( Actor )

... 1956

Dearest Enemy

Gen. Howe ( Actor )

... 1955

Peter Pan

Mr. Darling / Captain Hook ( Actor )

... 1955

Pontius Pilate

Pontius Pilate ( Actor )

... 1952

Woman Hater

Reveller (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1948

... 1948

I See Ice

Paul Martine ( Actor )

... 1938

The Show Goes On

Jimmy ( Actor )

... 1937

... 1937

Service for Ladies

Sir William Carter ( Actor )

... 1932

Symphony in Two Flats

Leo Chavasse ( Actor )

... 1930

Blackmail

The Artist ( Actor )

... 1929

Piccadilly

Victor Smiles ( Actor )

... 1929