Bruce Belfrage (30 October 1900 – August 1974) was an English

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

radio newsreader.Obituary in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', ''Mr Bruce Belfrage'', 17 August 1974, p.14 He was casting director at the

between 1936 and 1939, and founded the BBC Repertory Company in 1939.

Early life

Bruce Belfrage was born in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

, London, the son of Sydney Henning Belfrage and Frances Grace (née Powley). His younger brother was the author and journalist

Cedric Belfrage Cedric Henning Belfrage (8 November 1904 – 21 June 1990) was an English film critic, journalist, writer and political activist. He is best remembered as a co-founder of the radical US weekly ''National Guardian''. Later Belfrage was referenced ...

. He was educated at

Gresham's School Gresham's School is a private school (English fee-charging boarding and day school) in Holt, Norfolk, England, one of the top thirty International Baccalaureate schools in England. The school was founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham as a f ...

before taking an honours degree in modern languages at

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its foun ...

Career

Belfrage is reported as performing on stage in London with The Strolling Players in February 1923. He played in a notable triumph—'' A Sleeping Clergyman''—with

Robert Donat Friedrich Robert Donat ( ; 18 March 1905 – 9 June 1958) was an English actor. Making his breakthrough film role in Alexander Korda's ''The Private Life of Henry VIII'' (1933), today he is best remembered for his roles in ''The Count of Monte C ...

in 1933 and in BBC radio plays in 1934. He appeared in his first film in 1932. He was a broadcaster in the early days of 2LO at

Savoy Hill Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Valley i ...

, and in 1935 joined the BBC as a casting director and later became a news reader and announcer. In a famous incident on 15 October 1940, the

Broadcasting House London Broadcasting House is the headquarters of the BBC, in Portland Place and Langham Place, London. The first radio broadcast from the building was made on 15 March 1932, and the building was officially opened two months later, on 15 May. T ...

took a direct hit from a delayed-action German bomb, which eventually exploded during the nine o'clock radio news read by Belfrage. Seven people were killed, and Belfrage, covered with plaster and soot, carried on reading the news as if nothing had happened. Listeners at home heard just a dull thud. He enlisted in the

Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original ...

in 1942, and was demobilized with the rank of lieutenant-commander. Belfrage was an unsuccessful Liberal candidate for the South Buckinghamshire division at the 1950 general election. He polled 16.5%, and never contested another election.

Migration to Australia

In September 1958, for health reasons, Belfrage migrated to Australia with his second wife Joyce, a TV producer. They lived in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

for seven months and transferred to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

in 1959. Joyce Belfrage quit the ABC in 1962 to work in the advertising industry and initiate a programme of media studies at

Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a Public university, public research university in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the Sydney metropolitan area. ...

Death

Bruce Belfrage died in Sydney at the age of 73. He was married to the actress Joan Henley, with whom he had a son, Julian Rochfort Belfrage. After his divorce from Henley, Belfrage married Joyce Belfrage.

Filmography

*'' C.O.D.''. (1932) - Philip *''

The Scarlet Pimpernel ''The Scarlet Pimpernel'' is the first novel in a series of historical fiction by Baroness Orczy, published in 1905. It was written after her stage play of the same title (co-authored with her husband Montague Barstow) enjoyed a long run in Lo ...

'' (1934) - Pitt *'' Too Many Millions'' (1934) *'' Full Circle'' (1935) - Clyde Warren *''War Front'' (1941) - Newspaper editor *''

Hue and Cry In common law, a hue and cry is a process by which bystanders are summoned to assist in the apprehension of a criminal who has been witnessed in the act of committing a crime. History By the Statute of Winchester of 1285, 13 Edw. 1. St. 2. c. ...

'' (1947) - BBC announcer *''

Man on the Run ''Man on the Run'' is a 1949 British film noir directed, written and produced by Lawrence Huntington and starring Derek Farr, Joan Hopkins, Edward Chapman, Kenneth More and Laurence Harvey. Plot An army deserter, still a fugitive in post ...

'' (1948) - BBC Newscaster *''

I Killed the Count ''I Killed the Count'' is a 1937 play by Alec Coppel. Its success launched Coppel's career. 1937 London production Cast *Eric Maturin as Count Victor Mattoni *Athole Stewart as Viscount Sorrington *Alec Clunes as Detective Raines * Anthony Hol ...

'' (1948) - Viscount Sorrington *''

Corridor of Mirrors ''Corridor of Mirrors'' is Prometheus's ( Benji Vaughan) second album. Track listing # Arcadia Magik (8:51) # One Cell Short of a Brain (6:50) # Drug Sock (7:37) # The Logic of the Polyphonic (8:19) # 9th (The Man Who Swam Through a Speaker) ...

'' (1948) - Sir David Conway *''

Black Magic Black magic (Middle English: ''nigromancy''), sometimes dark magic, traditionally refers to the use of Magic (paranormal), magic or supernatural powers for evil and selfish purposes. The links and interaction between black magic and religi ...

'' (1949) - Crown Prosecutor *'' Warning to Wantons'' (1949) - Archimandrite *'' Ten Little Niggers'' (1949) - Sir Lawrence Wargrave *'' The Case of Charles Peace'' (1949) - Prosecution Counsel *''

Miss Pilgrim's Progress ''Miss Pilgrim's Progress'' is a 1949 black-and-white British comedy film by producer Nat Cohen and director Val Guest. Plot Laramie Pilgrim is an American exchange factory worker who trades places with an upper class British girl. After much ad ...

'' (1950) - Manager *''

Mister Drake's Duck ''Mister Drake's Duck'' is a 1951 British science-fiction comedy film directed by Val Guest and starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Yolande Donlan, Jon Pertwee, Wilfrid Hyde-White and Reginald Beckwith. The screenplay concerns a farmer who discove ...

'' (1951) - Air Vice Marshal *''

Home to Danger ''Home to Danger'' is a 1951 British second feature film noir crime film directed by Terence Fisher starring Guy Rolfe, Rona Anderson and Stanley Baker. It was written by Written for Francis Edge and John Temple-Smith from a scenario by Ian ...

'' (1951) - Solicitor *'' The Galloping Major'' (1951) - Himself/Radio Commentator * '' Never Look Back'' (1952) - Judge

Publication

''One Man In His Time'', by Bruce Belfrage. Published by

Hodder & Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.H ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, 1951

References

External links

Bruce Belfrage at the National Portrait Gallery
*
Audio of Bruce Belfrage reading the news
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belfrage, Bruce 1900 births 1974 deaths Male actors from London English male stage actors English male film actors People educated at Gresham's School Alumni of St John's College, Oxford Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates 20th-century English male actors Royal Navy officers of World War II Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Royal Naval Reserve personnel