Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough
, CBE is an English actor, film director,
producer and entrepreneur. He is the President
of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
As a film director and producer, he won two
Academy Awards for Gandhi in 1983. He has
also won four BAFTA Awards and three Golden
Globe Awards. As an actor he is perhaps best
known for his roles in Brighton Rock, The
Great Escape, 10 Rillington Place, Miracle
on 34th Street and Jurassic Park.
He is the older brother of Sir David Attenborough,
the naturalist and broadcaster, and John Attenborough,
who was an executive at Alfa Romeo before
his death in 2012.
Early life
Attenborough was born in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire,
England, the eldest of three sons of Mary
Attenborough a founding member of the Marriage
Guidance Council and Frederick Levi Attenborough,
a scholar and academic administrator who was
a don at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and
wrote a standard text on Anglo-Saxon law.
Attenborough was educated at Wyggeston Grammar
School for Boys in Leicester and studied at
RADA.
In September 1939, the Attenboroughs took
in two German-Jewish refugee girls, Helga
and Irene Bejach, who lived with them in College
House and were adopted by the family after
the war when it was discovered that their
parents had been killed. They moved to America
in the 1950s and lived with an uncle, where
they married and took American citizenship.
They are both now deceased.
During the Second World War, Attenborough
served in the Royal Air Force. After initial
pilot training he was seconded to the newly
formed RAF Film Unit at Pinewood Studios,
under the command of Flight Lieutenant John
Boulting where he appeared with Edward G.
Robinson in the propaganda film Journey Together.
He then volunteered to fly with the Film Unit
and after further training, where he sustained
permanent ear-damage, qualified as a sergeant,
flying on several missions over Europe filming
from the rear gunner's position to record
the outcome of Bomber Command sorties.
Acting career
Attenborough's acting career started on stage
and he appeared in shows at Leicester's Little
Theatre, Dover Street, prior to his going
to RADA, where he is still Patron. Attenborough's
film career began in 1942 in an uncredited
role as a deserting sailor in the Noël Coward/David
Lean production In Which We Serve, a role
which would help to type-cast him for many
years as spivs or cowards in films like London
Belongs to Me, Morning Departure and his breakthrough
role as Pinkie Brown in John Boulting's film
adaptation of Graham Greene's novel Brighton
Rock, a part that he had previously played
to great acclaim at the Garrick Theatre in
1942.
In 1949 exhibitors voted him the sixth most
popular British actor at the box office.
Early in his stage career, Attenborough starred
in the West End production of Agatha Christie's
The Mousetrap, which went on to become the
world's longest running stage production.
Both he and his wife were among the original
cast members of the production, which opened
in 1952 at the Ambassadors Theatre and as
of 2012 is still running at the St Martins
Theatre. They took a 10% profit-participation
in the production, which was paid for out
of their combined weekly salary
Attenborough worked prolifically in British
films for the next 30 years, including in
the 1950s, appearing in several successful
comedies for John and Roy Boulting, such as
Private's Progress and I'm All Right Jack.
In 1963, he appeared in the ensemble cast
of The Great Escape as RAF Squadron Leader
Roger Bartlett, the head of the escape committee
and based on the real-life exploits of Roger
Bushell. It was his first appearance in a
major Hollywood film blockbuster and his most
successful film up to that time. During the
1960s, he expanded his range of character
roles in films such as Séance on a Wet Afternoon
and Guns at Batasi, for which he won the BAFTA
Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of
the Regimental Sergeant Major. In 1965 he
played Lew Moran opposite James Stewart in
The Flight of the Phoenix and in 1967 and
1968, he won back-to-back Golden Globe Awards
in the category of Best Supporting Actor,
the first time for The Sand Pebbles, again
co-starring Steve McQueen and the second time
for Doctor Dolittle starring Rex Harrison.
His portrayal of the serial killer John Christie
in 10 Rillington Place garnered excellent
reviews. In 1977 he played the ruthless General
Outram, again to great acclaim, in the Indian
director Satyajit Ray's period piece The Chess
Players.
He took no acting roles following his appearance
in Otto Preminger's version of The Human Factor
until his appearance as the eccentric developer
John Hammond in Steven Spielberg's Jurassic
Park and the film's sequel, The Lost World:
Jurassic Park. He starred in the remake of
Miracle on 34th Street as Kris Kringle. Since
then he has made occasional appearances in
supporting roles, including as Sir William
Cecil in the historical drama Elizabeth, Jacob
in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
and as "The Narrator" in the film adaptation
of Spike Milligan's comedy book Puckoon.
He made his only appearance in a film adaptation
of Shakespeare when he played the British
ambassador who announces that Rosencrantz
and Guildenstern are dead at the end of Kenneth
Branagh's Hamlet.
Producer and director
In the late 1950s, Attenborough formed a production
company, Beaver Films, with Bryan Forbes and
began to build a profile as a producer on
projects including The League of Gentlemen,
The Angry Silence and Whistle Down the Wind,
also appearing in the first two of these as
an actor.
His feature film directorial debut was the
all-star screen version of the hit musical
Oh! What a Lovely War and his acting appearances
became sporadic as he concentrated more on
directing and producing. He later directed
two epic period films: Young Winston, based
on the early life of Winston Churchill and
A Bridge Too Far, an all-star account of Operation
Market Garden in World War II. He won the
1982 Academy Award for Best Director and as
the film's producer, the Academy Award for
Best Picture for his historical epic, Gandhi
and another Golden Globe, this time as Best
Director, for the same film in 1983, a project
he had been attempting to get made for 18
years. Attenborough also directed the screen
version of the musical A Chorus Line and the
anti-apartheid drama Cry Freedom, based on
the life and death of the prominent anti-apartheid
activist Steve Biko and the experiences of
Donald Woods. He was nominated for a Golden
Globe Award for Best Director for both films.
His most recent films as director and producer
include Chaplin starring Robert Downey, Jr.,
as Charlie Chaplin and Shadowlands, based
on the relationship between C. S. Lewis and
Joy Gresham, and between 2006 and 2007 Attenborough
spent time in Belfast, Northern Ireland, working
on his last film as director and producer,
Closing the Ring, a love story set in Belfast
during the Second World War and starring Shirley
MacLaine, Christopher Plummer and Pete Postlethwaite.
Later projects
After 33 years of dedicated service as President
of the Muscular Dystrophy campaign, Attenborough
became the charity's Honorary Life President
in 2004. In 2012 the charity, which leads
the fight against muscle-wasting conditions
in the UK, established the Richard Attenborough
Fellowship Fund to honour his lifelong commitment
to the charity, and to ensure the future of
clinical research and training at leading
UK neuromuscular centres.
Attenborough is also the patron of the United
World Colleges movement, whereby he contributed
to the colleges that are part of the organisation.
He was a frequent visitor to the United World
College of Southern Africa Waterford Kamhlaba.
With his wife, they founded the Richard and
Sheila Attenborough Visual Arts Centre. He
also founded the Jane Holland Creative Centre
for Learning at Waterford Kamhlaba in Swaziland
in memory of his daughter who died in the
tsunami on 26 December 2004.
He is a longtime advocate of education that
does not judge upon color, race, creed or
religion. His attachment to Waterford is his
passion for non-racial education, which were
the grounds on which Waterford Kamhlaba was
founded. Waterford was one of his inspirations
for directing the film Cry Freedom, based
on the life of Steve Biko.
He was elected to the post of Chancellor of
the University of Sussex on 20 March 1998,
replacing The Duke of Richmond and Gordon.
He stood down as Chancellor of the university
following Graduation in July 2008. There now
hangs a 42 inch by 46 inch portrait of him
in the university's library.
A lifelong supporter of Chelsea Football Club,
Attenborough served as a director of the club
from 1969–1982 and between 1993 and 2008
held the honorary position of Life Vice President.
On 30 November 2008 he was honoured with the
title of Life President at the club's stadium,
Stamford Bridge.
He was also head of the consortium Dragon
International Film Studios, which was constructing
a film and television studio complex in Llanilid,
Wales, nicknamed "Valleywood". However in
March 2008 the project was placed into administration
with debts of £15m and the site is believed
to be being considered for breaking-up with
a sale of the assets.
Personal life
Attenborough's father was the principal of
University College, Leicester, now the city's
university. This has resulted in a long association
with the university, with Attenborough becoming
a patron. The university's Embrace Arts at
the RA centre, which opened in 1997 is named
in his honour. He has two younger brothers:
naturalist and broadcaster David; and John,
who had made a career in the motor trade.
Attenborough has been married to the English
actress Sheila Sim since 1945. From 1949 until
October 2012, they lived in Beaver Lodge on
Richmond Green in London. The house was sold
in October 2012 for £11.5 million, owing
to the couple's deteriorating health.
On 26 December 2004, the couple's elder daughter,
49-year-old Jane Holland, as well as her mother-in-law,
also named Jane, and Attenborough's 15-year-old
granddaughter, Lucy, were killed when a tsunami
caused by the Indian Ocean earthquake struck
Khao Lak, Thailand where they were on holiday.
A service was held on 8 March 2005 and Attenborough
read a lesson at the national memorial service
on 11 May 2005. His grandson Samuel Holland,
who survived the tsunami uninjured, and granddaughter
Alice Holland, who suffered severe leg injuries,
also read in the service. A commemorative
plaque was placed in the floor of St. Mary
Magdalen's parish church in Richmond. Attenborough
later described the Boxing Day of 2004 as
"the worst day of my life". Attenborough has
two other children, Michael and Charlotte.
Michael is a theatre director and the former
Artistic director of the Almeida Theatre in
London and is married to actress Karen Lewis;
they have two sons. Charlotte is an actress,
and has three children.
Attenborough collected Picasso ceramics from
the 1950s. More than 100 items went on display
at the New Walk Museum and Art Gallery in
Leicester in 2007, in an exhibition dedicated
to family members lost in the tsunami.
In 2008 he published an informal autobiography
entitled Entirely Up to You, Darling in association
with his long-standing friend and colleague
Diana Hawkins.
Health
In August 2008 Attenborough entered hospital
with heart problems and was fitted with a
pacemaker. In December 2008 he suffered a
fall at his home after a stroke, and was admitted
to St George's Hospital in Tooting, southwest
London. He went into a coma, but came out
of it within a few days.
In November 2009 Attenborough, in what he
called a 'house clearance' sale, sold part
of his extensive art collection which included
works by LS Lowry, Christopher Nevinson and
Graham Sutherland, generating £4.6 million
at Sotheby's. In January 2011 he sold his
Rhubodach estate on the Isle of Bute, in Argyll,
Scotland for £1.48 million.
In May 2011, David Attenborough revealed that
his brother had been confined to a wheelchair
since his stroke in 2008, but was still capable
of holding a conversation. He added, however,
that "he won't be making any more films."
In June 2012, shortly before her 90th birthday,
Sheila Sim entered the actors' home Denville
Hall, for which she and Attenborough had helped
raise funds. In July 2012 it was announced
that Sim has been diagnosed with senile dementia.
In October 2012, it was announced that Attenborough
was putting the family home, Old Friars, together
with its attached offices, Beaver Lodge, which
come complete with a sound-proofed cinema
in the garden, on the market for £11.5 million.
His younger brother, David Attenborough, stated
"He and his wife both loved the house, but
they now need full-time care. It simply isn’t
practical to keep the house on any more."
In March 2013, in light of his deteriorating
health, Attenborough moved into a nursing
home in London to be with his wife, as confirmed
by their son Michael.
Honours
He was the subject of This Is Your Life in
December 1962 when he was surprised by Eamonn
Andrews at the Savoy Hotel, during a dinner
held to commemorate the 10th anniversary of
the Agatha Christie play The Mousetrap, in
which he had been an original cast member.
In 1967, he was made a Commander of the Order
of the British Empire. He was made a Knight
Bachelor in 1976 and in 1993 he was made a
life peer as Baron Attenborough, of Richmond
upon Thames in the London Borough of Richmond
upon Thames. Although the appointment by John
Major was 'non-political' and he would have
been a crossbencher, Attenborough chose to
accept the Labour whip and so sits on the
Labour benches. In 1992 he had been offered
a Peerage by Neil Kinnock, then head of the
Labour Party, but refused it as he felt unable
to commit to the time necessary "to do what
was required of him in the Upper Chamber,
as he always put film-making first".
In 1983, Attenborough was awarded the Padma
Bhushan, India's third highest civilian award,
and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Nonviolence
Peace Prize by the Martin Luther King, Jr.
Center for Nonviolent Social Change.
In 1992 he was awarded the Shakespeare Prize
for his life's work by the Alfred Toepfer
Foundation in Hamburg.
On 13 July 2006, Attenborough, along with
his brother David, were awarded the titles
of Distinguished Honorary Fellows of the University
of Leicester "in recognition of a record of
continuing distinguished service to the university".
On 20 November 2008, Attenborough was awarded
an Honorary Doctorate of Drama from the Royal
Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow.
Attenborough is also an Honorary Fellow of
Bangor University for his contributions to
film making.
Pinewood Studios paid tribute to his body
of work by naming a purpose-built film and
television stage after him. The Richard Attenborough
Stage has an area of 30,000 sq ft. In his
absence because of illness, Lord Puttnam and
Pinewood Chairman Lord Grade officially unveiled
the stage on 23 April 2012.
Corporate appointments
Actors Charitable Trust. Chairman 1956–88,
President 1988–
Equity. Council Member 1949–73
Royal Theatrical Fund Board of Directors.
Vice President 1985–
Muscular Dystrophy Campaign. Vice President
1962–71, President 1971–2004, Life President
2004–
Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund. Council
Member 1962–2003, Vice Patron 2003–
King George V Fund for Actors. Committee Member
1962–73, Trustee 1973–
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Member of Council
1963–73, Chairman 1973–2003, President
2003–
Combined Theatrical Charities Appeals Council.
Chairman 1964–88, President 1988–
Royal Society of Arts. Life Fellow 1965
Chelsea Football Club. Vice President 1966,
Director 1969–82, Life Vice President 1993–2008,
Life President 2008–
Cinematograph Films Council Member 1967–73
Gardner Centre for the Arts, University of
Sussex. Patron 1969–90, President 1990–
National Film and Television School. Governor
1970–81, President 1977–
University of Sussex. Pro Chancellor 1970–98,
Chancellor 1998–2008
BAFTA. Vice President 1971–94, Chairman
of David Lean BAFTA Foundation Trustees 1972–2002,
President 2002–
Capital Radio. Chairman 1972–92, Life President
1992–
The Little Theatre, Leicester. Patron 1973–92,
Honorary Life President 1992–
The Young Vic Theatre Company. Director 1974–84
"Help a London Child". Founder & Life Patron
1998–
Tate Gallery. Trustee 1976–82 & 1994–96
Waterford Kamhlaba School, Swaziland. Chairman
UK Trustees 1976–2004, Member Governing
Council 1987–, President 2004–
Duke of York's Theatre. Chairman 1979–92
Channel Four Television Corporation. Deputy
Chairman 1980–86, Chairman 1986–92
Board of Governors of the British Film Institute.
Chairman 1981–92
Goldcrest Films & Television. Chairman 1982–87
Kingsley Hall Community Centre. Patron 1982–
Committee of Enquiry into the Arts and Disabled
People: Reporting on access and inclusion.
Chairman 1983–85
The Gandhi Foundation. President 1983–
Brighton Festival. President 1984–85
British Film Year. President 1984–86
British Screen Advisory Council. Chairman
1987–96, Honorary President 1996–
UNICEF. Goodwill Ambassador 1987–
European Script Fund. Chairman 1988–96,
Honorary President 1996–
Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond, London. Patron
1988–
Arts For Health. President 1989–
European Film Academy. Co-founder 1989
Richard Attenborough Centre for Disability
and the Arts, University of Leicester. Patron
1990–
Foundation for Sport and the Arts. Trustee
1991–2003, President 2003–
Chicken Shed Theatre Company. Honorary Patron
1992–
One World Action. Patron 1992–
Satyajit Ray Foundation. Patron 1995–
Oxford University, Cameron Mackintosh Visiting
Professor of Contemporary Theatre. 1996
Sussex Centre for German-Jewish Studies. Patron
1996–
United World Colleges. Member of the International
Board 1996–2000, International Patron 2000–
Amnesty International. Patron 1997–
Mousetrap Theatre Projects. Trustee 1997–
The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund.
Trustee 1998
UK Film Council. Government Advisor 1999–
Sir John Gielgud Charitable Trust. Trustee
2001–
Themba HIV/AIDS Project in South Africa. Patron
2002–
Unicorn Theatre. Patron 2002–
Mandela Statue Fund. Chairman 2003–2007
St Edward's Oxford North Wall Arts Centre.
Patron and Steering Committee Member 2005–
CLIC Sargent. Ambassador 2006–
Greater London Fund for the Blind. Vice President
2006–
The Richard Attenborough Regional Film Critics
Award. Patron 2007–
Attenborough also heads a committee awarding
the eponymous Attenborough Prize, a £2,000
annual arts prize celebrating creativity by
emerging artists. The Attenborough Prize is
awarded to the best contemporary visual artist
among a shortlist of six artists presented
to Lord Attenborough.
Filmography
Portrayals
In early 1973, he was spoofed as "Dickie Attenborough"
in the British Showbiz Awards sketch late
in the third series of Monty Python's Flying
Circus. Attenborough is portrayed by Eric
Idle as effusive and simpering.
In 2012 Attenborough was portrayed by Simon
Callow in the BBC Four biopic The Best Possible
Taste about Kenny Everett.
Styles
Richard Attenborough, Esq.
Richard Attenborough, CBE
Sir Richard Attenborough, CBE
The Rt Hon. The Lord Attenborough, CBE
References
External links
Richard Attenborough at the Internet Movie
Database
Richard Attenborough Archive on the BAFTA
website
University of Sussex media release about Lord
Attenborough's election as Chancellor, dated
Friday, 20 March 1998
Lord Attenborough at the British Film Institute's
Screenonline
Richard Attenborough Stills & Posters Gallery
from the British Film Institute
Richard Attenborough Centre for Disability
and the Arts
Richard Attenborough in Leicester website
Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
Voting record at PublicWhip.org
Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou.com
Profile at BBC News Democracy Live
Works by or about Richard Attenborough in
libraries
Richard Attenborough at Virtual History
Richard Attenborough Fellowship – Muscular
Dystrophy Campaign
Richard Attenborough's appearance on This
Is Your Life
Photos of the shooting The Great Escape. New
book about the filming
