John Gielgud Overview:

Legendary actor, John Gielgud, was born Arthur John Gielgud on Apr 14, 1904 in South Kensington, England. Gielgud died at the age of 96 on May 21, 2000 in Wotton Underwood, England and was laid to rest in Oxford Crematorium Cemetery in Headington, England.

MINI BIO:

Tall, slim, stern-looking British actor who achieved greatest distinction in Shakespearian roles on stage. He appeared briefly as an aesthetic leading man in a few pre-war films, but most post-war parts were cameos that were unworthy both of the actor and his reedily mellifluous voice. Knighted in 1953. Won an Academy Award for Arthur. Also nominated for Becket. The longest film career in the history of the British cinema to date.

(Source: available at Amazon Quinlan's Film Stars).

HONORS and AWARDS:

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John Gielgud was nominated for two Academy Awards, winning one for Best Supporting Actor for Arthur (as Hobson) in 1981.

Academy Awards

YearAwardFilm nameRoleResult
1964Best Supporting ActorBecket (1964)King Louis VII of FranceNominated
1981Best Supporting ActorArthur (1981)HobsonWon
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John Gielgud Quotes:

Cassius: Ye gods, it doth amaze me/ A man of such a feeble temper / Should so get the start of the majestic world/And bear the palm alone.


The Elder Pope: There is a legend about you. That once you were asked to deny the faith, and they tied up seven priests and shot them, shot them before your eyes. And still you would not deny the faith. Is that story true?
Kiril Lakota: I try not to look back on that, or other days, Holiness.
The Elder Pope: God is with you, my Brother. I believe that God has sent you. Trust us to make the best use of you. But first, you must be honored.
[Hold up the red cap of a cardinal]
The Elder Pope: Kneel.
[Lakota kneels]
The Elder Pope: You are created cardinal-priest in the title of Saint Athanasius.


Cassius: [referring to Julius Caesar] And this man is now become a god.


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Best Supporting Actor Oscar 1981





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John Gielgud Facts
He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Special Award in 1986 (1985 season) for lifetime achievement to theatre.

His 1953 arrest for "soliciting homosexual acts" in a public lavatory was dramatized in 2008 as the play Plague Over England by Nicholas de Jongh.

Gielgud stated in his autobiography that he wanted desperately to be cast as The Chorus in Laurence Olivier's film Henry V (1944). He understood why Olivier did not cast him, as when the two had acted together in Shakespearean repertory in the mid-'30s, Gielgud got the better notices. Blessed with a beautiful voice, Gielgud played Shakespeare traditionally, a style Olivier thought of as too close to song as compared to his own revolutionary colloquial style. When Olivier was more secure, he did cast Gielgud as Clarence in Richard III (1955).

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