Jonathan Rigby is an English actor and film historian who has written several books. ''

Video Watchdog ''Video Watchdog'' was a bimonthly, digest size film magazine published from 1990 to 2017 by publisher/editor Tim Lucas and his wife, art director and co-publisher Donna Lucas. Although devoted chiefly to the horror, science fiction, and fantas ...

'' magazine described him as occupying "a proud place in the advance guard of film researchers, writers and critics," and in 2020 he was inducted into the

Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards The Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award, often called the Rondo Award, is an annual award founded in 2002 that honors journalism, scholarship and film preservation in the horror genre, particularly of classic horror film and their modern-day counterp ...

Hall of Fame.

Biography

As an actor, Rigby trained at the

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...

from 1986 to 1989. Among his earliest roles on graduating was that of

Mr Rochester Edward Fairfax Rochester (often referred to as Mr Rochester) is a character in Charlotte Brontë's 1847 novel ''Jane Eyre''. The brooding master of Thornfield Hall, Rochester is the employer and eventual husband of the novel's titular protagonist ...

in an adaptation of ''Jane Eyre'' at the Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh in 1991.Jonathan Rigby
at Theatricalia. His stage play, ''Bram Stoker's Dracula'', was produced at London's

Pentameters Theatre The Pentameters Theatre was founded in 1968 and is still run by artistic director Leonie Scott-Matthews, a well known Hampstead resident. It is a 60-seat venue and is a fringe theatre in the London Borough of Camden, located above the Three Hors ...

in 1997, marking the original novel's centenary, and subsequently went on tour. He then made a speciality of playing

Kenneth Horne Charles Kenneth Horne, generally known as Kenneth Horne, (27 February 1907 – 14 February 1969) was an English comedian and businessman. He is perhaps best remembered for his work on three BBC Radio series: ''Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh ...

in a series of stage shows based on the 1960s radio comedy ''

Round the Horne ''Round the Horne'' is a BBC Radio comedy programme starring Kenneth Horne, first transmitted in four series of weekly episodes from 1965 until 1968. The show was created by Barry Took and Marty Feldman, who wrote the first three series. The ...

'', beginning with ''Round the Horne ... Revisited'', which transferred to The Venue in

Leicester Square Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leicester House, itself named after Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicest ...

and ran from 2003 to 2005. The production was adapted for

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

and also featured in the 2004

Royal Variety Performance The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal ...

. In 2008-09 he was in a regional tour of ''Round the Horne - Unseen and Uncut'' and the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...

special ''Twice Ken is Plenty'', then in 2017 he appeared in a new stage show called ''Horne A'Plenty''. As a stage director, Rigby's revival of Sylvia Rayman's 1951 play ''

Women of Twilight ''Women of Twilight'' is a 1951 play by Sylvia Rayman that became a 1952 film directed by Gordon Parry. The latter stars Freda Jackson, Rene Ray and Lois Maxwell, with a screenplay by Anatole de Grunwald. It was the first British film to receiv ...

'' opened at London's

White Bear Theatre The White Bear Theatre is a fringe theatre founded in 1988 at the White Bear pub in Kennington, London, and run by Artistic Director and founder Michael Kingsbury. It is one of London's leading pub theatres, as well as one of the longest establis ...

in 2013 and transferred to

Pleasance Islington Pleasance Islington (also known as Pleasance London or the Pleasance Theatre) is a fringe theatre in Islington, London, opened in 1995. It is run by the Pleasance Theatre Trust and is the sister venue of the original Pleasance Edinburgh. It ...

the following year. He is also an Associate Research Fellow of the Cinema and Television History Research Centre at Leicester's

De Montfort University De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is a public university in the city of Leicester, England. It was established in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act in 1992 as a degree awarding body. The name De Montfort University was tak ...

, and has contributed audio and/or video commentaries to the DVD/Blu-ray releases of numerous horror films. In 2010 he was series consultant on the three-part

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

documentary ''

A History of Horror ''A History of Horror'' (also known as ''A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss'') is a 2010 three-part documentary series made for the BBC by British writer and actor Mark Gatiss. It is a personal exploration of the history of horror film, inspire ...

'', also making a brief appearance as Dracula in the opening episode. Two years later he was programme consultant on the feature-length follow-up, ''

Horror Europa ''A History of Horror'' (also known as ''A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss'') is a 2010 three-part documentary series made for the BBC by British writer and actor Mark Gatiss. It is a personal exploration of the history of horror film, inspir ...

''. Also on screen, he played psychic researcher

Harry Price Harry Price (17 January 1881 – 29 March 1948) was a British psychic researcher and author, who gained public prominence for his investigations into psychical phenomena and exposing fraudulent spiritualist mediums. He is best known for ...

in the part-animated 2017 feature film ''Borley Rectory: The Most Haunted House in England''.

Bibliography

* :* Expanded version of the original. * * * :* Expanded version of the original. * *

References

External links

*
Jonathan Rigby
at

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rigby, Jonathan Living people English film critics English male journalists English male stage actors Male actors from Salford English male non-fiction writers 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors Year of birth missing (living people)