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Denholm Elliott 1922 - 1992

Denholm Elliott of Ibiza, Balearic Islands County, IB Spain was born on May 31, 1922 in Kensington, Greater London County, England United Kingdom, and died at age 70 years old on October 6, 1992 at Ibiza, Spain..

Denholm Elliott

Denholm Mitchell Elliott - at birth only.

Ibiza, Balearic Islands County, IB 07800, Spain

May 31, 1922

Kensington, Greater London County, England, United Kingdom

October 6, 1992

Ibiza, Spain.

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Denholm Elliott Denholm Elliott (1922 - 1992)

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Denholm Elliott's History: 1922 - 1992

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Introduction

He received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in A ROOM WITH A VIEW.
05/31

1922

Birthday

May 31, 1922

Birthdate

Kensington, Greater London County, England United Kingdom

Birthplace

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Early Life & Education

Early life Elliott was born 31 May 1922, in Kensington, London, the son of Nina (née Mitchell; 1893–1966) and Myles Layman Farr Elliott, MBE (1890–1933), a barrister who had read law and Arabic at Cambridge before fighting with the Gloucestershire Regiment at Gallipoli and in Mesopotamia. In 1930, Myles Elliott was appointed solicitor-general to the Mandatory Government in Palestine. Three years later, following a series of controversial government prosecutions, he was assassinated outside the King David Hotel and buried in the Protestant Cemetery on Mount Zion. Elliott's elder brother Neil Emerson Elliott (1920–2003) was a land agent to Lady Anne Cavendish-Bentinck. Elliott attended Malvern College and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London. He was asked to leave the academy after one term. As Elliott later recalled, "They wrote to my mother and said, 'Much as we like the little fellow, he's wasting your money and our time. Take him away!'"
Military Service

In the Second World War, he joined the Royal Air Force, training as a wireless operator/air gunner and serving with No. 76 Squadron RAF under the command of Leonard Cheshire. On the night of 23/24 September 1942, his Handley Page Halifax DT508 bomber took part in an air raid on the U-boat pens at Flensburg, Germany. The aircraft was hit by flak and subsequently ditched in the North Sea near Sylt, Germany. Elliott and four of his crewmen survived, and he spent the rest of the war in Stalag Luft VIIIb, a prisoner-of-war camp in Lamsdorf (now Łambinowice), Silesia. While imprisoned, he became involved in amateur dramatics. He formed a theatre group that was so successful it toured other POW camps playing Twelfth Night.
Professional Career

Denholm Elliott Denholm Mitchell Elliott - at birth only Born 31 May 1922 Kensington, Middlesex, England Died 6 October 1992 (aged 70) Santa Eulària des Riu, Ibiza, Spain Education Malvern College Alma mater Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Occupation Actor Years active 1949–1992 Spouses Virginia McKenna (m. 1954; div. 1957) Susan Robinson (m. 1962) Children 2 Denholm Mitchell Elliott CBE (31 May 1922 – 6 October 1992) was an English actor. He appeared in numerous productions on stage and screen, receiving BAFTA awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Trading Places (1983), A Private Function (1984) and Defence of the Realm (1986), and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Mr. Emerson in A Room with a View (1985). He is also known for his performances in Alfie (1966), A Doll's House (1973), A Bridge Too Far (1977), Maurice (1987), September (1987), and Noises Off (1992). He portrayed Marcus Brody in the Steven Spielberg and George Lucas films Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). The American film critic Roger Ebert described him as "the most dependable of all British character actors." The New York Times called him "a star among supporting players" and "an accomplished scene-stealer." He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in 1988. Career After making his film debut in Dear Mr. Prohack (1949) he went on to play a wide range of parts, including an officer in The Cruel Sea and often ineffectual and occasionally seedy characters, such as the drunken journalist Bayliss in Defence of the Realm, the criminal abortionist in Alfie, and the washed-up film director in The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz. Elliott and Natasha Parry played the main roles in the 1955 television play The Apollo of Bellac. He took over for an ill Michael Aldridge for one season of The Man in Room 17 (1966) Elliott made many television appearances, which included plays by Dennis Potter such as Follow the Yellow Brick Road (1972), Brimstone and Treacle, (1976) and Blade on the Feather (1980). He starred in the BBC's adaptation of Charles Dickens's short story The Signalman (1976). He also co-starred in the made-for-TV film The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, starring Jack Palance, produced by Dan Curtis, music composed and conducted by Bob Cobert (Curtis and Cobert were also, at that time, working on the famed Gothic horror soap opera Dark Shadows (1966–1971). In the 1980s he won three consecutive British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards: Best Supporting Actor for Trading Places as Dan Aykroyd's kindly butler, A Private Function, and Defence of the Realm. He received an Academy Award nomination for A Room with a View. He became familiar to a wider audience as the well-meaning but confused Dr. Marcus Brody in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. A photograph of his character appears in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and a reference is made to Brody's death. Also, a statue was dedicated to Marcus outside Marshall College, the school where Indy teaches. In 1988 Elliott was the Russian mole Povin, around whom the entire plot revolves, in the television miniseries Codename: Kyril. Having filmed Michael Winner's The Wicked Lady (1983), Elliott was quoted in a BBC Radio interview as saying that Marc Sinden and he "are the only two British actors I am aware of who have ever worked with Winner more than once, and it certainly wasn't for love. But curiously, I never, ever saw any of the same crew twice." (Elliott in You Must Be Joking! (1965) and The Wicked Lady and Sinden in The Wicked Lady and Decadence). Elliott had worked with Sinden's father, Sir Donald Sinden, in the film The Cruel Sea (1953). He co-starred with Katharine Hepburn and Harold Gould in the television film Mrs. Delafield Wants to Marry (1986) and with Nicole Kidman in Bangkok Hilton (1989). In 1988 Elliott was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to acting. His career included many stage performances, including with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and a well-acclaimed turn as the twin brothers in Jean Anouilh's Ring Round the Moon. His scene-stealing abilities led Gabriel Byrne, his co-star in Defence of the Realm, to say, "Never act with children, dogs, or Denholm Elliott." Despite being described by the British Film Institute's Screenonline as an actor of "versatile understanding and immaculate technique," Elliott described himself as an instinctive actor and was a critic of Stanislavski's system of acting, saying, "I mistrust and am rather bored with actors who are of the Stanislavski school who think about detail." Personal life and death Secretly bisexual, Elliott was married twice: first to actress Virginia McKenna for a few months in 1954, and later in an open marriage to American actress Susan Robinson, with whom he had two children, Mark and Jennifer, the latter of whom died by suicide in 2003. Elliott was diagnosed with HIV in 1987 and died of AIDS-related tuberculosis at his home in Santa Eulària des Riu on Ibiza, Spain, on 6 October 1992 at the age of 70. Tributes were paid by actors Sir Donald Sinden and Sir Peter Ustinov, playwright Dennis Potter and former wife Virginia McKenna. Sinden said, "He was one of the finest screen actors and a very special actor at that. He was one of the last stars who was a real gentleman. It is a very sad loss." Ustinov said, "He was a wonderful actor and a very good friend on the occasions that life brought us together." Potter commented, "He was a complicated, sensitive, and slightly disturbing actor. Not only was he a very accomplished actor, he was a dry, witty, and slightly menacing individual. As a man, I always found him very open, very straightforward and very much to the point." McKenna added, "It is absolutely dreadful, but the person I am thinking of at the moment more than anybody is his wife. It must be terrible for her." Ismail Merchant described Elliott as "an all-giving person, full of life ... He had an affection and feeling for other actors, which is very unusual in our business." His widow set up a charity, the Denholm Elliott Project, and collaborated on his biography. She worked closely with the UK Coalition of People Living with HIV and AIDS. Susan Elliott died on 12 April 2007, aged 65, in a fire in her flat in London. Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes Ref. 1949 Dear Mr. Prohack Oswald Morfrey 1952 The Sound Barrier Christopher Ridgefield Breaking the Sound Barrier in USA The Holly and the Ivy Michael Gregory The Ringer John Lemley 1953 The Cruel Sea Morell The Heart of the Matter Wilson 1954 Lease of Life Martin Blake They Who Dare Sgt. Corcoran 1955 The Man Who Loved Redheads Denis The Night My Number Came Up Mackenzie 1956 Pacific Destiny Arthur Grimble 1960 Scent of Mystery Oliver Larker 1963 Station Six-Sahara Macey 1964 Nothing But the Best Charlie Prince 1965 The High Bright Sun Baker King Rat Larkin 1966 Alfie The Abortionist 1967 Maroc 7 Inspector Barrada 1968 The Night They Raided Minsky's Vance Fowler The Sea Gull Dorn, a doctor 1970 Too Late the Hero Captain Hornsby The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer Peter Niss 1971 Percy Emmanuel Whitbread The House That Dripped Blood Charles Hillyer Segment 1: Method for Murder Quest for Love Tom Lewis 1972 Madame Sin Malcolm De Vere 1973 The Vault of Horror Diltant Segment 5: Drawn and Quartered A Doll's House Krogstad 1974 The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz Friar 1975 Russian Roulette Commander Petapiece 1976 Robin and Marian Will Scarlet To the Devil a Daughter Henry Beddows Partners John Grey Voyage of the Damned Admiral Canaris 1977 A Bridge Too Far R.A.F. Met. Officer 1978 The Hound of the Baskervilles Stapleton Watership Down Cowslip (voice) The Boys From Brazil Sidney Beynon Sweeney 2 Det. Chief Super. Jupp 1979 Zulu Dawn Colonel Pulleine Saint Jack William Leigh Cuba Donald Skinner 1980 Bad Timing Stefan Vognic Rising Damp Charles Seymour Sunday Lovers Parker Segment: An Englishman's Home 1981 Raiders of the Lost Ark Dr. Marcus Brody 1982 Brimstone and Treacle Mr. Tom Bates 1983 The Wicked Lady Sir Ralph Skelton Trading Places Coleman 1984 The Razor's Edge Elliott Templeton A Private Function Dr. Charles Swaby 1985 A Room with a View Mr Emerson Underworld Dr. Savary 1986 Defence of the Realm Vernon Bayliss The Whoopee Boys Col. Phelps 1987 September Howard Maurice Dr. Barry 1988 Stealing Heaven Fulbert 1989 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Dr. Marcus Brody 1989 Killing Dad Nathy 1991 Toy Soldiers Headmaster Scorchers Howler 1992 Noises Off Selsdon Mowbray Final film role
Personal Life & Family

Spouses Virginia McKenna (m. 1954; div. 1957) Susan Robinson (m. 1962) Children 2
10/6

1992

Death

October 6, 1992

Death date

Tuberculosis caused by AIDS.

Cause of death

Ibiza, Spain.
Death location

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Obituary

NY Times Obituary Denholm Elliott, Actor, 70, Dies; A Star Among Supporting Players By Bruce Lambert Oct. 7, 1992 Denholm Elliott, Actor, 70, Dies; A Star Among Supporting Players The New York Times Archives Denholm Elliott, an award-winning supporting actor who gained a reputation as an accomplished scene-stealer in the course of his 47-year career in theater, films, and television, died on Tuesday at his home in Ibiza, Spain. He was 70 years old. He died of AIDS-related tuberculosis, said his agent, Jean Diamond. She did not say how he became infected with the AIDS virus. Arching an eyebrow or curling a lip at just the right moment, Mr. Elliott established himself as a memorable character actor. His talent inspired an affectionate adage in British theater: "Never act with children, dogs, or Denholm Elliott." Although he lamented his failure to land more leading roles, he relished the ones he had. "I'm often given parts that aren't as big as they are colorful, but people remember them," he once said. "When it's a minor or supporting role, you learn to make the most of what you're given. I can make two lines seem like 'Hamlet'." Mr. Elliott won the British Academy Awards for his parts in the films "A Private Function" in 1984 and "Trading Places" in 1982. He was nominated for an Oscar for his role as an emotive father in the popular and critically acclaimed film adaptation of E. M. Forster's "Room With a View" in 1986. He also won honors on the stage and on television. He was named a Commander of the British Empire in 1988. His work ranged from Shakespearean classics to modern comedy. In "Trading Places," he played the ever-proper valet to the comic co-stars, Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd. His directors included David Lean, Laurence Olivier, Steven Spielberg, James Ivory, and Woody Allen. Among Mr. Elliott's approximately 80 films were "Breaking the Sound Barrier," "The Cruel Sea," "King Rat," "Defense of the Realm," "Nothing but the Best," "Maurice," "The Night They Raided Minsky's," "The Boys From Brazil," "Voyage of the Damned" and "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade." His last film was "Noises Off," released this year. His career flourished with age. Many of his characters were alcoholics, mirroring his own bouts with drinking. He played a dissolute director in "The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz" in 1974 and a back-alley abortionist in "Alfie" in 1966. Mr. Elliott was born in London and was educated at Malvern College in England. He began studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London but dropped out. World War II proved a blessing in disguise to his career as he honed his acting skills for three years in a German prisoner-of-war camp. A radio operator and gunner in the Royal Air Force, he was captured after his plane crashed into the sea in 1942. To pass the time, he organized fellow prisoners as the No Name Players, built a makeshift stage, and produced plays, using scripts supplied by the Red Cross. Within days of being freed and discharged at the end of the war, he joined a stock theater company and got a part in a play. Soon he caught the eye of Laurence Olivier, and before long, he made his debut on the London and New York stages, winning critical praise and prizes on both sides of the Atlantic. Mr. Elliott's first marriage, to Virginia McKenna, an actress, ended in divorce. He is survived by his wife of 30 years, Susan Robinson, an actress; a son, Mark, and a daughter, Jennifer.

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