Tony Britton (1924-2019)
East-German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 1447, 1961.
Last Sunday, 22 December 2019, British stage and screen actor Tony Britton died, aged 95. In a career spanning six decades, he went from being a leading juvenile at Stratford-upon-Avon, a film star with British Lion in the 1950s, to a West End star in the 1960s and then a TV sitcom favourite in the 1970s and 1980s. He was still touring into his mid-80s, playing Canon Chasuble in 'The Importance of Being Earnest' in 2007.
Anthony Edward Lowry Britton was born in 1924 in a room above the Trocadero pub in Temple Street, Birmingham, Doris Marguerite (née Jones) and Edward Leslie Britton. He attended Edgbaston Collegiate School, Birmingham and Thornbury Grammar School, Gloucestershire. He thought of doing nothing else except acting since childhood. On leaving school, he joined two amateur drama companies in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, while articled to an estate agent and then working in an aircraft factory. A professional debut followed in 1942 when he appeared in Esther McCracken’s 'Quiet Weekend' at the Knightstone Pavilion in the seaside town. He was called up and served during the second World War with the Royal Artillery. While doing officer training, he formed a small drama group. After the war, he reurned to the theatre, at first in the capacity of an assistant stage manager at the Manchester Library Theatre. While there he progressed to lead actor, then made his London debut in 'The Rising Wind' at the Embassy Theatre. His big break came in 1952 when he played the juvenile lead, the pharaoh Ramases, in Christopher Fry’s 'The Firstborn', about Moses leading the Jews out of Egypt, at the Winter Garden in London in 1952. His second big leading role, at the Edinburgh festival of the same year, and on tour, was opposite Cathleen Nesbitt in 'The Player King' by Christopher Hassall, a lyricist for Ivor Novello’s musicals. This experience with the two leading verse dramatists of the day led to a two-year stint in Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon (1953-1954) as Bassanio in 'The Merchant of Venice', Lysander in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', Mercutio in 'Romeo and Juliet' and Cassio to Anthony Quayle’s 'Othello'. He was now becoming established, and returned to the West End in Michael Burn’s The 'Night of the Ball' (1955) in a cast, directed by Joseph Losey, which included Wendy Hiller and Gladys Cooper; and in the Louis Jourdan role in Gigi (1956, before the film) with Leslie Caron, directed by Peter Hall.
Tony Britton's first two starring roles for British Lion – as a posh criminal in The Birthday Present (Pat Jackson, 1957) with Sylvia Syms and as a surgeon covering for a fatal mishap in Behind the Mask (Brian Desmond Hurst, 1958) with Michael Redgrave – were virtually his last as the British film industry was transformed with the new wave of working-class subjects and actors. Britton’s polish and class were suddenly surplus to requirements. Something similar happened in the theatre, but Britton could adapt more easily, playing Trigorin in The Seagull and Hotspur in Henry IV Part 1 at the Old Vic in 1961. As a slightly less irascible version of Rex Harrison, he toured for two years in 1964 as Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady. He repeated the role 10 years later in a touring revival by Cameron Mackintosh that was the first such commercial venture underpinned with money from the Arts Council. The show, in which Liz Robertson co-starred as Eliza Doolittle, settled at the Adelphi in the West End for a decent run. He was also the partner of Margaret Leighton in Abe Burrows’s Cactus Flower at the Lyric in 1967, and Margaret Lockwood in Somerset Maugham’s Lady Frederick at the Vaudeville in 1970.
Tony Britton appeared in a few, interesting films during the 1970s, including Sunday Bloody Sunday (John Schlesinger, 1971) with Peter Finch and Glenda Jackson, The Day of the Jackal (Fred Zinnemann, 1973) starring Edward Fox, and Agatha (Michael Apted, 1979) starring Dustin Hoffman and Vanessa Redgrave. He reinvented himself as a television favourite, first in Arthur Hopcraft’s comic series on Westminster politics, The Nearly Man (1975). Britton won the Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actor in 1975 for his role. Then, decisively, in Robin’s Nest (1977-1981), the first common-law marital sitcom. Britton starred as James Nicholls, business partner of Richard O’Sullivan’s aspirational chef, Robin Tripp whose “nest” was his Fulham bistro. Britton then consolidated his place in the sitcom firmament with Don’t Wait Up (1983-1990), about a tricky father-and-son relationship, with serious moral and political overtones, co-starring Nigel Havers. In the next decade, his pre-eminence on television was matched in three West End hits: starring with Cicely Courtneidge and Moira Lister in Ray Cooney and John Chapman’s mechanically ingenious farce of swapped apartments, Move Over Mrs Markham (1972); alongside Anna Neagle and Thora Hird in the musical No, No, Nanette at Drury Lane in 1973; and, in 1974, opposite a formidable Celia Johnson, as the invading Nazi commander on the Channel Islands in William Douglas Home’s The Dame of Sark at Wyndham’s. The Chichester Festival theatre was a natural habitat for him. In the 1987 season, he directed Wilde’s An Ideal Husband with Clive Francis and Joanna Lumley, and played Thomas More in Robert Bolt’s A Man For All Seasons, with Roy Kinnear as the Common Man. In 1994, he returned to Stratford as Chorus in Henry V and Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night. His last West End appearance, at the Haymarket, was in Jeffrey Archer’s The Accused (2000). His last film appearance was in the comedy Run for Your Wife (Ray Cooney, John Luton, 2012) with Danny Dyer. Tony Britton married Ruth Hawkins in 1948. They divorced, and in 1962 he married the Danish portrait sculptor Eva Birkefeldt; she died in 2008. Britton is survived by two daughters from his first marriage, Cherry, a scriptwriter, and Fern Britton, a TV presenter, and by a son, classical actor Jasper Britton, from his second marriage. His grandson is actor Peter Cant.
Sources: Michael Coveney (The Guardian), Gary Brumburgh (IMDb), Wikipedia and IMDb.
And please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Tony Britton (1924-2019)
East-German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 1447, 1961.
Last Sunday, 22 December 2019, British stage and screen actor Tony Britton died, aged 95. In a career spanning six decades, he went from being a leading juvenile at Stratford-upon-Avon, a film star with British Lion in the 1950s, to a West End star in the 1960s and then a TV sitcom favourite in the 1970s and 1980s. He was still touring into his mid-80s, playing Canon Chasuble in 'The Importance of Being Earnest' in 2007.
Anthony Edward Lowry Britton was born in 1924 in a room above the Trocadero pub in Temple Street, Birmingham, Doris Marguerite (née Jones) and Edward Leslie Britton. He attended Edgbaston Collegiate School, Birmingham and Thornbury Grammar School, Gloucestershire. He thought of doing nothing else except acting since childhood. On leaving school, he joined two amateur drama companies in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, while articled to an estate agent and then working in an aircraft factory. A professional debut followed in 1942 when he appeared in Esther McCracken’s 'Quiet Weekend' at the Knightstone Pavilion in the seaside town. He was called up and served during the second World War with the Royal Artillery. While doing officer training, he formed a small drama group. After the war, he reurned to the theatre, at first in the capacity of an assistant stage manager at the Manchester Library Theatre. While there he progressed to lead actor, then made his London debut in 'The Rising Wind' at the Embassy Theatre. His big break came in 1952 when he played the juvenile lead, the pharaoh Ramases, in Christopher Fry’s 'The Firstborn', about Moses leading the Jews out of Egypt, at the Winter Garden in London in 1952. His second big leading role, at the Edinburgh festival of the same year, and on tour, was opposite Cathleen Nesbitt in 'The Player King' by Christopher Hassall, a lyricist for Ivor Novello’s musicals. This experience with the two leading verse dramatists of the day led to a two-year stint in Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon (1953-1954) as Bassanio in 'The Merchant of Venice', Lysander in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', Mercutio in 'Romeo and Juliet' and Cassio to Anthony Quayle’s 'Othello'. He was now becoming established, and returned to the West End in Michael Burn’s The 'Night of the Ball' (1955) in a cast, directed by Joseph Losey, which included Wendy Hiller and Gladys Cooper; and in the Louis Jourdan role in Gigi (1956, before the film) with Leslie Caron, directed by Peter Hall.
Tony Britton's first two starring roles for British Lion – as a posh criminal in The Birthday Present (Pat Jackson, 1957) with Sylvia Syms and as a surgeon covering for a fatal mishap in Behind the Mask (Brian Desmond Hurst, 1958) with Michael Redgrave – were virtually his last as the British film industry was transformed with the new wave of working-class subjects and actors. Britton’s polish and class were suddenly surplus to requirements. Something similar happened in the theatre, but Britton could adapt more easily, playing Trigorin in The Seagull and Hotspur in Henry IV Part 1 at the Old Vic in 1961. As a slightly less irascible version of Rex Harrison, he toured for two years in 1964 as Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady. He repeated the role 10 years later in a touring revival by Cameron Mackintosh that was the first such commercial venture underpinned with money from the Arts Council. The show, in which Liz Robertson co-starred as Eliza Doolittle, settled at the Adelphi in the West End for a decent run. He was also the partner of Margaret Leighton in Abe Burrows’s Cactus Flower at the Lyric in 1967, and Margaret Lockwood in Somerset Maugham’s Lady Frederick at the Vaudeville in 1970.
Tony Britton appeared in a few, interesting films during the 1970s, including Sunday Bloody Sunday (John Schlesinger, 1971) with Peter Finch and Glenda Jackson, The Day of the Jackal (Fred Zinnemann, 1973) starring Edward Fox, and Agatha (Michael Apted, 1979) starring Dustin Hoffman and Vanessa Redgrave. He reinvented himself as a television favourite, first in Arthur Hopcraft’s comic series on Westminster politics, The Nearly Man (1975). Britton won the Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actor in 1975 for his role. Then, decisively, in Robin’s Nest (1977-1981), the first common-law marital sitcom. Britton starred as James Nicholls, business partner of Richard O’Sullivan’s aspirational chef, Robin Tripp whose “nest” was his Fulham bistro. Britton then consolidated his place in the sitcom firmament with Don’t Wait Up (1983-1990), about a tricky father-and-son relationship, with serious moral and political overtones, co-starring Nigel Havers. In the next decade, his pre-eminence on television was matched in three West End hits: starring with Cicely Courtneidge and Moira Lister in Ray Cooney and John Chapman’s mechanically ingenious farce of swapped apartments, Move Over Mrs Markham (1972); alongside Anna Neagle and Thora Hird in the musical No, No, Nanette at Drury Lane in 1973; and, in 1974, opposite a formidable Celia Johnson, as the invading Nazi commander on the Channel Islands in William Douglas Home’s The Dame of Sark at Wyndham’s. The Chichester Festival theatre was a natural habitat for him. In the 1987 season, he directed Wilde’s An Ideal Husband with Clive Francis and Joanna Lumley, and played Thomas More in Robert Bolt’s A Man For All Seasons, with Roy Kinnear as the Common Man. In 1994, he returned to Stratford as Chorus in Henry V and Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night. His last West End appearance, at the Haymarket, was in Jeffrey Archer’s The Accused (2000). His last film appearance was in the comedy Run for Your Wife (Ray Cooney, John Luton, 2012) with Danny Dyer. Tony Britton married Ruth Hawkins in 1948. They divorced, and in 1962 he married the Danish portrait sculptor Eva Birkefeldt; she died in 2008. Britton is survived by two daughters from his first marriage, Cherry, a scriptwriter, and Fern Britton, a TV presenter, and by a son, classical actor Jasper Britton, from his second marriage. His grandson is actor Peter Cant.
Sources: Michael Coveney (The Guardian), Gary Brumburgh (IMDb), Wikipedia and IMDb.
And please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.