Born: 14 April, 1904, London, England
Died 21 May, 2000, Wotton Underwood, England
From Gielgud’s authobiography. “My father’s grandfather, another John Gielgud, who had fought with the Polish cavalry, left his native country after the insurrection of 1831, when his brother, General Anthony Gielgud, was killed and the family estates were confiscated. Father’s parents were both Polish…I feel that I ought to apologise for this rather scrappy information about my Polish ancestors. I have never been able to follow the various ramifications of father’s family , and my mother’s theatrical relations, the Terrys, always had the stronger hold upon my interest. I gather that the Gielguds were patriots, with more enthusiasm than competence; but I was very much interested to hear that my father’s grandmother had been a very well known Polish actress, Madame Aszperger. I believe that a bust of her still stands in the foyer of the Opera House at Lvov.”
Early days. Arthur John Gielgud was born in Kensington in London to a Protestant mother, Kate Terry, and a Catholic father, Frank Gielgud , a stock exchange dealer. Frank’s parents were Polish and his grandmother Leontyna Aniela Aszperger, was a famous actress. Gielgud’s parental great-great –granduncle, Antoni Gielgud was a general of Polish Army, participant in the 1830 Uprising against Russia. The Gielgud family (coat of arms Gielgud) owned an estate Gielgud (presently Gelgaudiskis in Lithuania). John Gielgud was raised a Protestant. Gielgud had a head start in the theatrical profession, because in addition to his grandmother he was also a grand nephew of celebrated 19th century actress Dame Ellen Terry. His elder brother was Val Gielgud who was one of the most pioneering and influential leaders of BBC Radio. After Westminster School, where he gained a King's Scholarship, he trained at RADA and had his initial success as a stage actor in classical roles.
Professional career. He starred and directed in many Royal Shakespeare Company productions at Stratford-upon-Avon. His Hamlet of 1936 was particularly admired and widely acclaimed. Although he began to appear in British films as early as the 1930s, he would not make an impact in the medium until the last decades of his life. His film roles included: Benjamin Disraeli in The Prime Minister (1940), Cassius in Julius Caesar (1953) and George, Duke of Clarence to Laurence Olivier's Richard III (1955).
As he aged, Gielgud began to adapt more to changing fashions in the theatre, appearing in plays by David Storey (Home), Charles Wood (Veterans), Edward Bond (Bingo) and Harold Pinter (No Man's Land). He won an Academy Award for his supporting role as a sardonic butler in the 1981 comedy Arthur, starring Dudley Moore, and his performance in Shine (1996) was critically acclaimed. Gielgud was also one of the few people who has won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award.
He was convicted of lewd behavior in 1953. Instead of being rejected by the public, he got a standing ovation at his next stage appearance. Biographer Sheridan Morley writes that while Gielgud never denied being gay, he always tried to be discreet about it and felt humiliated by the ordeal. Some speculate that it helped to bring to public attention a crusade to decriminalize homosexuality in England and Wales. Longtime lover Martin Hensler, 30 years his junior, died just a few months before Sir John did in 2000. He only publicly acknowledged Hensler as his partner in 1988, in the program note for Best of Friends (play) which was his final stage performance. Despite going to Hollywood to appear alongside Marlon Brando in Julius Caesar in early 1950s, Gielgud would avoid Hollywood for over a decade for fear of being denied entry because of the arrest. Gielgud and Ralph Richardson were the first guest stars on Second City Television. Playing themselves, they were in Toronto during their tour of No Man's Land. Gielgud's final onscreen appearance was as Pope Paul IV in Elizabeth which was released in 1998. His final acting performance was in a film adaptation of Samuel Beckett's short play Catastrophe. Gielgud died mere weeks after production was completed at the age of 96 of natural causes.
Awards and honors
He was knighted in the 1953 coronation honors, became a Companion of Honour in 1977, and was admitted to the Order of Merit in 1996.
In 1982 he received an Evening Standard Special Award
Olivier Award 1985: Special Award
Academy Awards
1964: Nominated for Best Supporting Actor, for Becket
1981: Winner for Best Supporting Actor, for Arthur
Emmy Awards
Nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Special 1982 for Brideshead Revisited, 1984 for The Master of Ballantrae, 1985 for Romance on the Orient Express; 1989 Nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Special, for War and Remembrance; 1991 Winner for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Special, for Summer's Lease
Tony Awards
1959: Winner, Special Award, for contribution to theatre for his extraordinary insight into the writings of Shakespeare as demonstrated in his one-man play, Ages of Man
1961: Winner, Best Director (Dramatic), for Hamlet
Nominated for Best Director (Dramatic), 1963 for The School for Scandal; 1965 for Tiny Alice, 1971 for Home
Grammy Awards
Nominated for Best Documentary or Spoken Word Recording, 1959 for Ages of Man, 1960 for Hamlet , 1964 for Ages of Man, Volume 2 (One Man in His Time) Part Two - Shakespeare
1979: Winner for Best Spoken Word, Documentary or Drama Recording, for Ages of Man - Recordings from Shakespeare
Nominated for Best Spoken Word, Documentary or Drama Recording, 1982 for No Man's Land, 1983 for Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats
Nominated for Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Recording, 1986 for Gulliver, 1988 for A Christmas Carol, 1989 for Sir John Gielgud Reads Alice in Wonderland
1991: Nominated for Best Album for Children, for The Emperor's New Clothes
The Globe Theatre in London was renamed the Gielgud Theatre in 1994 in his honor
New York Film Critics Award 1977: Best Actor, for Providence
There is also the Sir John Gielgud Award for "Excellence in the Dramatic Arts" presented by the US-based Shakespeare Guild. Past winners include Ian McKellen, Kenneth Branagh, Kevin Kline and Judi Dench
Other interests Sir John Gielgud believed that animals should not be exploited. He was particularly fond of birds and joined PETA's campaign against the foie gras industry in the early 1990s, narrating PETA's video exposé of the force-feeding of geese and ducks. Many chefs and restaurateurs who saw that video dropped foie gras from their menus. Sir John received PETA’s Humanitarian of the Year Award twice, in 1994 and 1999.
He also authored several books, including his memoirs in An Actor and His Time, Early Stages and Distinguished Company. He also co-wrote, with John Miller, Acting Shakespeare.
Selected FilmographySecret Agent (1936), Julius Caesar (1953),Richard III (1955), Becket (1964), Chimes at Midnight (1965),The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968), Oh! What a Lovely War (1969), Julius Caesar (1970), Lost Horizon (1973), Frankenstein: The True Story (1973), 11 Harrowhouse (1974), Murder on the Orient Express (1974), Providence (1977), Caligula (1979), The Elephant Man (1980), The Formula (1980), Lion of the Desert (1981), Arthur (1981), Chariots of Fire (1981), Gandhi (1982), Wagner (1983), Wicked Lady (1983), The Master of Ballantrae (1984), The Far Pavilions (1984), Plenty (1985), The Whistle Blower (1986), Appointment with Death (1988), Arthur 2: On the Rocks (1988), Getting it Right (1989), Prospero's Books (1991), Shining Through (1992),Scarlett (1994), First Knight (1995),Merlin (1996), Hamlet (1996), Shine (1996), Elizabeth (1998)
This article uses, among others, material from the Wikipedia article "Sir Gielgud" licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. :
Wikipedia
Other sources:
John Gielgud “Early Stages” ,The Falcon Press, London 1948 (Authobiography)
Sejm Wielki (genealogy in Polish)
Authorized biography by Morley (excerpts)
Sejm Wielki (Genalogy- Antoni Gielgud- in Polish)
Hollywood biography
Roots Web genealogy
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