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1-7 of 7
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Enjoyably larger-than-life character actor Hugh Emrys Griffith was born in Marianglas, Anglesey, North Wales, to Mary (Williams) and William Griffith. Griffith left the world of banking (having been employed as a teller) after winning a scholarship to study acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Though he graduated a gold medalist, top of his class of 300, the war put the brakes on his career and he enlisted in the Army in 1940, serving with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers in India for six years. Following the war, he enjoyed a successful career on the stage, appearing in Shakespearean plays in Stratford-upon-Avon with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He was particularly noteworthy as "Falstaff" and, his favourite role, "King Lear", which he played both in English and in his native Welsh. On the other side of the Atlantic, he made his Broadway debut in 1951 and had a hit starring in "Look Homeward Angel" (1957-59) with Anthony Perkins and Jo Van Fleet. The play ran for 564 performances and earned Griffith a Tony Award nomination for the part of "W.O. Gant". He later jokingly remarked, that, when the producers asked him to play a man from the deep south, he (Griffith) had understood that to mean a man from the deep south of Wales.
Griffith started his film career proper in 1948 with films like Dulcimer Street (1948), followed by the wonderful black comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) at Ealing in 1949. A portly, thickly-bearded character with bushy eyebrows, ruddy complexion and a resonant voice, Griffith made a lasting impression for his many portrayals of eccentric, bucolic and, sometimes, raucous types. In 1959, he won the Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor for his "Sheikh Ilderim", who supplies Charlton Heston with the chariot race-winning white stallions in Ben-Hur (1959). He was equally memorable as the lecherous "Squire Western" in Tom Jones (1963), a role for which he was nominated for both an Oscar and a BAFTA Award as Best British Actor. He later appeared in the critically-acclaimed musical version of Oliver! (1968), as a hilarious "King Louis" in Start the Revolution Without Me (1970) and one of Vincent Price's many victims in Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972). On television, he was a noteworthy, rolling-eyed "Long John Silver" in a 1960 version of "Treasure Island", Treasure Island (1960), and roving-eyed funeral director "Caradog Lloyd-Evans" in the comedy Grand Slam (1978).
Griffith was a lifelong friend (and drinking companion) of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas.- Actor
- Production Manager
- Camera and Electrical Department
Xiro Papas was born on 4 October 1933 in Torre Annunziata, Campania, Italy. He was an actor and production manager. He died on 14 May 1980 in Padua, Veneto, Italy.- Leland Starnes was born on 5 February 1923 in Sanderville, Georgia, USA. He was an actor, known for Cruising (1980) and The Crazies (1973). He was married to Mary Starnes. He died on 14 May 1980 in New York City, New York, USA.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Producer
Carl Ebert was born on 20 February 1887 in Berlin, Germany. He was an actor and producer, known for Nora (1923), Wilhelm Tell (1923) and The Golem (1914). He died on 14 May 1980 in Pacific Palisades, California, USA.- Jacques Dannoville was born on 12 July 1927 in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, France. He was an actor, known for Le théâtre de la jeunesse (1960), Blanc, bleu, rouge (1981) and Au théâtre ce soir (1966). He died on 14 May 1980 in Garches, Hauts-de-Seine, France.
- Elma Bulla was born on 26 August 1913 in Selmecbánya, Austria-Hungary [now Banská Stiavnica, Slovakia]. She was an actress, known for A 2000 pengös férfi (1942), Nemes Rózsa (1943) and Fény és árnyék (1943). She was married to Endre Nagy and Ferenc Fendrik. She died on 14 May 1980 in Budapest, Hungary.
- Ethel Ullman was born on 7 November 1895 in Indiana, USA. She was an actress, known for The Gentle Intruder (1917), Whose Wife? (1917) and The Dividend (1916). She died on 14 May 1980 in Costa Mesa, California, USA.