Richard Attenborough

Richard Attenborough Headshot

Actor • Director • Entrepreneur

Birth Date: August 29, 1923

Death Date: August 24, 2014

Birth Place: Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, UK

Prior to becoming the acclaimed director of epic features, Lord Richard Attenborough was noted for being a diversified actor whose roles ranged from unrepentant misfits to respected military men in both comedies and dramas. After making his mark as the sociopathic Pinky Brown in "Brighton Rock" (1943), Attenborough settled into a long onscreen career that spanned several decades and earned him numerous awards. Up until the early 1960s, he was famous in his native England, while remaining largely unknown across the Atlantic. But that all changed with a standout performance in the ensemble epic, "The Great Escape" (1963), a large scale Hollywood blockbuster that introduced Attenborough to a wider audience. From there, he branched out into directing, helming the antiwar musical, "Oh! What A Lovely War" (1969). Socially conscious, Attenborough began focusing his creative energies on subjects about larger-than-life figures who changed the world, which culminated in directing one of the last true epics, "Gandhi" (1982). A stunning achievement in both scale and intimacy, "Gandhi" was a high watermark in Attenborough's career. Though later efforts like "Chaplin" (1992) and "Shadowlands" (1993) failed to live up to the measure of "Gandhi," Attenborough nonetheless remained a cinematic legend well into the new millennium. His death, following a lengthy illness, on August 24, 2014, brought international mourning for a major figure in British cinema

Credits

The Sand Pebbles

Actor
Show
2017

Talking Pictures

Guest
Show
2013

Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story

Actor
Show
2012

The Legends of Santa

Narrator
Show
2008

Closing the Ring

Director
Movie
2007

Life on Air: David Attenborough's 50 Years in Television

Actor
Show
2003

Reel Histories

Guest
Show
2003

The Railway Children

Actor
Show
2002

Puckoon

Actor
Writer-Director
Movie
2002

La Vraie histoire de Jacques et le haricot géant

Actor
Show
2001

Arena

Self
Show
2001

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Actor
Jacob
Show
2000

The Railway Children

Actor
The Old Gentleman
Movie
2000

Light Keeps Me Company

Self
Movie
2000

Grey Owl

Director
Movie
1999

Grey Owl

Producer
Movie
1999

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Actor
Jacob
Movie
1999

Diana

Executive Producer
Show
1998

ElizabethStream

Actor
Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley
Movie
1998
83%

Diana, Queen of Hearts

Director
Movie
1998

Diana, Queen of Hearts

Narrator
Movie
1998

The Lost World: Jurassic ParkStream

Actor
John Hammond
Movie
1997
54%

Wavelength

Actor
The Visitor
Movie
1996

HamletStream

Actor
English Ambassador
Movie
1996
95%

In Love and War

Director
Movie
1996

In Love and War

Producer
Movie
1996

Miracle on 34th StreetStream

Actor
Kris Kringle/'Santa Claus'
Movie
1994
60%

Jurassic ParkStream

Actor
John Hammond
Movie
1993
91%

ShadowlandsStream

Director
Movie
1993
97%

ShadowlandsStream

Producer
Movie
1993
97%

ChaplinStream

Director
Movie
1992
59%

ChaplinStream

Producer
Movie
1992
59%

Cry FreedomStream

Director
Movie
1987
74%

A Chorus LineStream

Director
Movie
1985
40%

The Making of Gandhi: Mr. Attenborough and Mr. Gandhi

Self
Movie
1983

GandhiStream

Director
Movie
1982
89%

The Human Factor

Actor
Colonel John Daintry
Movie
1979

MagicStream

Director
Movie
1978
86%

The Chess Players

Actor
General Outram
Movie
1977

A Bridge Too FarStream

Director
Movie
1977
63%

Brannigan

Actor
Cmdr. Swann
Movie
1975

Conduct Unbecoming

Actor
Maj. Lionel E. Roach
Movie
1975

Ten Little Indians

Actor
Judge Arthur Cannon
Movie
1975

Rosebud

Actor
Edward Sloat
Movie
1975

Young Winston

Director
Movie
1972

A Severed Head

Actor
Palmer Anderson
Movie
1971

10 Rillington Place

Actor
John Reginald Christie
Movie
1971

The Magic Christian

Actor
Oxford Coach
Movie
1970

The Last Grenade

Actor
Gen. Charles Whiteley
Movie
1970

Loot

Actor
Inspector Truscott
Movie
1970

Oh! What a Lovely War

Director
Movie
1969

Oh! What a Lovely War

Producer
Movie
1969

The Dick Cavett ShowStream

Guest
Talk
1968

The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom

Actor
Robert Blossom
Movie
1968

Only When I Larf

Actor
Silas
Movie
1968

Doctor Dolittle

Actor
Albert Blossom
Movie
1967

The Sand Pebbles

Actor
Frenchy Burgoyne
Movie
1966

The Flight of the Phoenix

Actor
Lew Moran
Movie
1965

Guns at Batasi

Actor
Regimental Sgt. Major Lauderdale
Movie
1964

Seance on a Wet Afternoon

Actor
Billy Savage
Movie
1964

Seance on a Wet Afternoon

Producer
Movie
1964

The Third Secret

Actor
Alfred Price-Gorham
Movie
1964

The Great EscapeStream

Actor
Squadron Leader Roger Bartlett 'Big X'
Movie
1963
94%

The L-Shaped Room

Producer
Movie
1963

Jim's Gift

Actor
Movie
1962

Trial and Error

Actor
Herbert Fowle
Movie
1962

Only Two Can Play

Actor
Gareth L. Probert
Movie
1962

Whistle Down the Wind

Producer
Movie
1962

All Night Long

Actor
Rod Hamilton
Movie
1962

The Dock Brief

Actor
Herbert Fowle
Movie
1962

The Angry Silence

Actor
Tom
Movie
1960

The Angry Silence

Producer
Movie
1960

I'm All Right, Jack

Actor
Sidney De Vere Cox
Movie
1960

The League of Gentlemen

Actor
Lt. Richard Lexy
Movie
1960

S.O.S. Pacific

Actor
Whitey Mullen
Movie
1960

Breakout

Actor
Capt. 'Bunter' Phillips
Movie
1959

The Man Upstairs

Actor
Peter Watson
Movie
1959

Jet Storm

Actor
Ernest Tilley
Movie
1959

Desert Patrol

Actor
Brody
Movie
1958

Dunkirk

Actor
Holden
Movie
1958

The Brothers in Law

Actor
Henry Marshall
Movie
1957

Strange Affection

Actor
Stephen Leigh
Movie
1957

The Baby and the Battleship

Actor
Knocker White
Movie
1956

Private's Progress

Actor
Pvt. Percival Henry Cox
Movie
1955

The Ship That Died of Shame

Actor
George Hoskins
Movie
1955

Eight O'Clock Walk

Actor
Tom Manning
Movie
1953

Father's Doing Fine

Actor
Dougall
Movie
1952

The Gift Horse

Actor
Dripper Daniels
Movie
1952

The Magic Box

Actor
Jack Carter
Movie
1951

Operation Disaster

Actor
Stoker Snipe
Movie
1951

Hell Is Sold Out

Actor
Pierre Bonnet
Movie
1951

The Lost People

Actor
Movie
1949

Boys in Brown

Actor
Jackie Knowles
Movie
1949

London Belongs to Me

Actor
Percy Boon
Movie
1948

The Guinea Pig

Actor
Jack Read
Movie
1948

Brighton Rock

Actor
Pinkie Brown
Movie
1947

Dancing with Crime

Actor
Ted Peters
Movie
1947

Secret Flight

Actor
Jack Arnold
Movie
1946

Stairway to Heaven

Actor
An English Pilot
Movie
1946

School for Secrets

Actor
Jack Arnold
Movie
1946

Journey Together

Actor
David Wilton
Movie
1945

Imperial War Museum

Actor
Show
1942

In Which We Serve

Actor
Midshipman
Movie
1942