John Richard Easton (March 22, 1933 – December 2, 2019) was a Canadian actor, best known for his portrayal of Brian Hammond in the 1970s BBC serial '' The Brothers''.

Life and career

Easton was born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada, the son of Mary Louise (née Withington) and Leonard Idell Easton, a civil engineer. He started acting in a children's theatre group before moving, at the age of seventeen, to Ottawa to work in a weekly repertory theatre. Easton has performed in a number of stage productions, as well as various film roles. He also had television guest appearances on '' Doctor Who'', '' L.A. Law'', ''

Frasier ''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons. It premiered on September 16, 1993, and ended on May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee (as Grub ...

'', and '' Ed''. In 2002, Easton starred in the title role in a three-part documentary, ''Benjamin Franklin'', on PBS. Between 2005 and 2011, Easton appeared as Benjamin Franklin in a series of commercials and videos about Freemasonry, produced for the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts A.F. & A.M. On October 18, 2006, while performing Tom Stoppard's ''

The Coast of Utopia ''The Coast of Utopia'' is a 2002 trilogy of plays: ''Voyage'', ''Shipwreck'', and ''Salvage'', written by Tom Stoppard with focus on the philosophical debates in pre-revolution Russia between 1833 and 1866. It was the recipient of the 2007 Ton ...

'' on stage during the show's second preview at the Lincoln Center Theater's

Vivian Beaumont Theater The Vivian Beaumont Theater is a Broadway theater in the Lincoln Center complex at 150 West 65th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Operated by the nonprofit Lincoln Center Theater (LCT), the Beaumont is the only Bro ...

, Easton suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

and collapsed. His heart stopped beating, but after co-star Martha Plimpton realised that Easton's fall was serious and asked the audience if a doctor was present, a

stagehand A stagehand is a person who works backstage or behind the scenes in theatres, film, television, or location performance. Their work include setting up the scenery, lights, sound, props, rigging, and special effects for a production. General S ...

stepped up to perform CPR. An ambulance was called and Easton was revived with defibrillation. He underwent a procedure to correct a

heart arrhythmia Arrhythmias, also known as cardiac arrhythmias, heart arrhythmias, or dysrhythmias, are irregularities in the heartbeat, including when it is too fast or too slow. A resting heart rate that is too fast – above 100 beats per minute in adult ...

, briefly delaying the opening of the play, in which he played a central role. He made a full recovery and returned to the play soon after the incident. In 2008, Easton was inducted into the

American Theater Hall of Fame The American Theater Hall of Fame in New York City was founded in 1972. Earl Blackwell was the first head of the organization's Executive Committee. In an announcement in 1972, he said that the new ''Theater Hall of Fame'' would be located in the ...

. In 2011, Easton made a guest appearance in the second season of '' Boardwalk Empire'', appearing as Jackson Parkhurst in the episode, " Gimcrack & Bunkum". One of his last notable appearances in media was as the voice of Nigel, the eccentric movie fanatic in the game Grand Theft Auto V. Easton died on December 2, 2019 at the age of 86.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

* ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' - Claudius (1969 Lyceum Theatre production) * '' The Invention of Love'' - A. E. Housman, aged 77 (2001) * ''

Noises Off ''Noises Off'' is a 1982 play by the English playwright Michael Frayn. Frayn conceived the idea in 1970 while watching from the wings a performance of '' The Two of Us'', a farce that he had written for Lynn Redgrave. He said, "It was funnier ...

'' - Selsdon Mowbray (2001 Royal National Theatre production) * ''Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2'' - Henry IV (2003

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...

production) * ''

'' - Alexander Bakunin/Leonty Ibayev/Stanislaw Worcell (2006

production) * '' Elling'' - Alfons (2010 Broadway production)

Video Games

Awards

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Easton, Richard 1933 births 2019 deaths Canadian male film actors Canadian male Shakespearean actors Canadian male stage actors Canadian male television actors Drama Desk Award winners Male actors from Montreal Tony Award winners Canadian expatriates in the United Kingdom