Nicholas Selby (born James Ivor Selby, 13 September 1925 – 14 September 2010) was a British film, television and theatre actor. He appeared in more than one hundred

television drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional te ...

s on the

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 ...

and ITV during the course of his career, including '' Our Friends in the North'', '' Poldark'' and '' House of Cards''. Selby was also a long-standing member of the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

. Selby was born in

Holborn Holborn ( or ), an area in central London, covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part (St Andrew Holborn (parish), St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Wards of the City of London, Ward of Farringdon Without i ...

, London on 13 September 1925. He served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, making his stage debut in '' Dangerous Corner'' at Preston, Lancashire, for the forces' entertainment organisation ENSA. In 1948 he enrolled at the Central School of Speech and Drama, receiving commendation for his student performance in Mary Hayley Bell's ''Men in Shadow''. There then followed seasons in

repertory A repertory theatre, also called repertory, rep, true rep or stock, which are also called producing theatres, is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom ...

at Liverpool, Birmingham, Coventry, York, Hornchurch and Cambridge. His first professional West End appearance was in 1959, in William Douglas-Home's ''

Aunt Edwina ''Aunt Edwina'' is a 1959 comedy play by the British writer William Douglas Home. It premiered at Devonshire Park Theatre in Eastbourne, before beginning a run of 101 performances in London between 3 November 1959 and 6 February 1960.The product ...

'', followed by his creation of the hit-man Ben in the London premiere of Harold Pinter's ''

The Dumb Waiter ''The Dumb Waiter'' is a one-act play by Harold Pinter written in 1957. Plot Two Hitman, hit-men, Ben and Gus, are waiting in a basement room for their assignment. As the play begins, Ben, the senior member of the team, is reading a newspaper ...

'' at the Hampstead Theatre Club in January 1960. In 1963 Selby made his first appearances for the Royal Shakespeare Company, as Casca in ''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

'', the Bishop of Winchester in ''

The Wars of The Roses The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought over control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was f ...

'' and Antonio in ''

The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...

''. His association with the company lasted for ten years, until he followed Peter Hall to the new National Theatre in London in 1976. In his first season there he appeared as Menander in ''

Tamburlaine ''Tamburlaine the Great'' is a play in two parts by Christopher Marlowe. It is loosely based on the life of the Central Asian emperor Timur (Tamerlane/Timur the Lame, d. 1405). Written in 1587 or 1588, the play is a milestone in English liter ...

'' and the Captain in '' Tales from the Vienna Woods''. He was van Swieten in the inaugural production '' Amadeus'' and the parliamentary Speaker in '' The Madness of George III''. His last stage role was as

Dilly Knox Alfred Dillwyn "Dilly" Knox, CMG (23 July 1884 – 27 February 1943) was an English classics scholar and papyrologist at King's College, Cambridge and a codebreaker. As a member of the Room 40 codebreaking unit he helped decrypt the Zimme ...

in '' Breaking the Code'' in 1987. Selby died in London on 14 September 2010, at the age of 85."Although he died in September 2010, the news of his death emerged only last month." Coveney (2011:39) He was predeceased by his wife, Kathleen Rayner, for whom he had been caring during her ill-health for many years, and was survived by their daughter, Alison, and two grandchildren.

Filmography

References

External links

* 1925 births 2010 deaths English male soap opera actors English male stage actors English male film actors Actors from the London Borough of Camden Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama British Army personnel of World War II Male actors from London Royal Shakespeare Company members People from Holborn {{UK-tv-actor-1920s-stub