For other uses, see Robert Hardy (disambiguation).
[>>]Source: WikipediaFor other uses, see Robert Hardy (disambiguation).
Timothy Sydney Robert Hardy, CBE, FSA (born 29 October 1925) is an English actor with a long career in the theatre, film and television. He is also an acknowledged expert on the longbow.
Biography
Early life
Hardy was born in Cheltenham, England, the son of Jocelyn (née Dugdale) and Henry Harrison Hardy. His father was headmaster of Cheltenham College. He was educated at Rugby School and Magdalen College, Oxford University where he gained a BA Honours degree in English.
Career
Hardy began his career as a classical actor. In 1959 he appeared as Sicinius opposite Sir Laurence Olivier as Coriolanus at Stratford-upon-Avon, directed by Peter Hall. He then appeared in Shakespeare's Henry V on stage and in television's An Age of Kings (1960), and subsequently played Coriolanus and Sir Toby Belch for the BBC. It was while playing Henry V that Hardy developed an interest in medieval warfare, and he later wrote and presented an acclaimed television documentary on the subject of the Battle of Agincourt. He has also written two books on the subject of the longbow, Longbow: A Social and Military History and The Great War Bow with Matthew Strickland (Sutton Publishing 2005. ISBN 0750931671 ISBN 978-0750931670). He was one of the experts consulted by the archaeologist responsible for raising the Mary Rose. In 1996 he was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.
Over the years, Hardy has played a range of parts on television and film. His first continuing role in a TV series was as businessman Alec Stewart in the award-winning oil company drama The Troubleshooters for the BBC, which he played from 1966 to 1970. He won further acclaim for his portrayal of the mentally-unhinged Abwehr Sgt Gratz in LWT's 1969 war drama Manhunt. In 1975, Hardy appeared in the episode "Such a Lovely Man" in the fifth season of the series Upstairs, Downstairs.
He was seen as Siegfried Farnon in the long-running All Creatures Great and Small (1978-1990), a stylish adaptation of James Herriot's novels.
He also made an appearance in the 1986, '88 ITV comedy series Hot Metal, in which he played the dual roles of newspaper proprietor Twiggy Rathbone (who bore more than a passing resemblance to Rupert Murdoch) and his editor, Russell Spam.
In 1993 Hardy appeared in an episode of Inspector Morse, playing Andrew Baydon in "Twilight of the Gods". Hardy played the part of the successful businessman with a murky wartime past with a characteristic blend of the vulnerable and the bombast.
Hardy holds the distinction of playing both Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt, and having played both roles on more than one occasion. He played Churchill most notably in Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years (1981), for which he won a BAFTA award, but also in The Sittaford Mystery, Bomber Harris and War and Remembrance. He played Roosevelt in the BBC serial, Bertie and Elizabeth, and in the French TV mini-series, Le Grand Charles, about the life of Charles de Gaulle.
Returning to his Churchill experience at 3:50pm on 20 August 2010 he read Churchill's famous wartime address "Never was so much owed by so many to so few" at a ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of the speech.
He also played Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester in Elizabeth R, and Prince Albert in Edward the Seventh (known as Edward the King to the American audience). He took a role in the 1995 film version of Sense and Sensibility.
His big screen roles include as Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge in the Harry Potter films, and as Lord Malan in His Master's Voice.
His voice performance as Robin Hood in Tale Spinners For Children "Robin Hood", a LP from the 1960s, is considered one of the best Robin Hood renditions. His voice was also the voice of D'Artagnan in The Three Musketeers.
He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the Queen's Birthday Honours of 1981.
Personal life
His first marriage, in 1952, was to Elizabeth Fox, the daughter of Sir Lionel Fox. This marriage ended in 1956. In 1961 he married Sally Pearson, the daughter of Dame Gladys Cooper and, thus, sister-in-law of Robert Morley. This marriage ended in 1986. Robert Hardy has three children. He was a close friend of actor Richard Burton whom he met at the University of Oxford.
[<<]This text is based on a article from the open encyclopedia Wikipedia and stands under GNU license for free documentation. On Wikipedia there is List of the authors Available.
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