Paul Rogers (22 March 1917 – 6 October 2013) was an English actor of film, stage and television. He was the first winner of the BAFTA TV Award Best Actor in 1955 and won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play for '' The Homecoming'' in 1967.

Early life and career

Paul Rogers was born in

Plympton Plympton is a suburb of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England. It is in origin an ancient Stannary, stannary town. It was an important trading centre for locally mined tin, and a seaport before the River Plym silted up and trade moved down riv ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, and attended

Newton Abbot Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Teign in the Teignbridge, Teignbridge District of Devon, England. Its population was 24,029 in 2011, and was estimated at 26,655 in 2019. It grew rapidly in ...

Grammar School. He later trained at the Michael Chekhov Theatre Studio at Dartington Hall. From 1940 to 1946 he served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

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 ...

, before returning to acting at the

Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a fin ...

. He went on to appear in many West End and Broadway productions, and won the Tony for Best Actor for his role in

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A List of Nobel laureates in Literature, Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramat ...

's play '' The Homecoming'' in 1967. He played the role of Sir in the first Broadway production of

Ronald Harwood Sir Ronald Harwood ( né Horwitz; 9 November 1934 – 8 September 2020) was a South African-born British author, playwright, and screenwriter, best known for his plays for the British stage as well as the screenplays for '' The Dresser'' (for ...

's play ''

The Dresser ''The Dresser'' is a 1980 West End and Broadway play by Ronald Harwood, which tells the story of an aging actor's personal assistant, who struggles to keep his charge's life together. Plot Harwood based the play on his experiences as dress ...

''.

Later career

Rogers was a long-serving 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 ...

. His most notable performances with the Company included Nick Bottom in ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

'' and Sir John Falstaff in ''Henry IV'' parts 1 and 2. His film appearances include '' Beau Brummel'' (1954), '' Our Man in Havana'' (1959), ''

The Trials of Oscar Wilde ''The Trials of Oscar Wilde'', also known as ''The Man with the Green Carnation'' and ''The Green Carnation'', is a 1960 British drama film based on the libel and subsequent criminal cases involving Oscar Wilde and the Marquess of Queensberry. I ...

'' (1960), '' Billy Budd'' (1962), '' The Third Secret'' (1964), ''

The Shoes of the Fisherman The Shoes of the Fisherman may refer to: * ''The Shoes of the Fisherman'' (novel), a 1963 novel by the writer Morris West * ''The Shoes of the Fisherman'' (film), a 1968 film based on the novel {{disambiguation ...

'' (1968), ''

'' (1968), '' Three Into Two Won't Go'' (1969), '' The Looking Glass War'' (1970), '' The Homecoming'' (1973) and '' Oscar and Lucinda'' (1997). He also appeared frequently on television, in productions such as ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'' on '' Producers' Showcase and Public Eye.''

Personal life

Paul Rogers was married to Muriel Jocelyn Maire Wynne, by whom he had two children. His second marriage was to Rosalind Boxall, by whom he also had two children. He and Rosalind remained married until her death in 2004. He died in

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 ...

in 2013, aged 96.

Selected filmography

* '' Murder in the Cathedral'' (1951) * '' The Beachcomber'' (1954) - Rev. Owen Jones * '' Beau Brummel'' (1954) - William Pitt * ''

Svengali Svengali () is a character in the novel ''Trilby'' which was first published in 1894 by George du Maurier. Svengali is a Jewish man who seduces, dominates and exploits Trilby, a young half-Irish girl, and makes her into a famous singer. Defini ...

'' (1954) - Taffy * '' Our Man in Havana'' (1959) - Hubert Carter * ''

'' (1960) - Frank Harris * '' A Circle of Deception'' (1960) - Maj. William Spence * '' No Love for Johnnie'' (1961) - Sydney Johnson * '' The Mark'' (1961) - Roy Milne * '' The Pot Carriers'' (1962) - Governor * '' Life for Ruth'' (1962) - Counsel Hart Jacobs * '' The Wild and the Willing'' (1962) - Prof. George Chown * '' Billy Budd'' (1962) - Philip Seymour - First Lieutenant * '' Stolen Hours'' (1963) - Dr. Eric McKenzie * '' The Third Secret'' (1964) - Dr. Milton Gillen * '' He Who Rides a Tiger'' (1965) - Supt. Taylor * '' Decline and Fall... of a Birdwatcher'' (1968) - Chief Warder * ''

'' (1968) - Augustinian * ''

'' (1968) - Bottom * '' Three Into Two Won't Go'' (1969) - Jack Roberts * '' The Looking Glass War'' (1970) - Haldane * '' The Reckoning'' (1970) - John Hazlitt * '' I Want What I Want'' (1972) - Mr. Waites * '' The Homecoming'' (1973) - Max * ''

Lost in the Stars ''Lost in the Stars'' is a musical theatre, musical with book and lyrics by Maxwell Anderson and music by Kurt Weill, based on the novel ''Cry, the Beloved Country'' (1948) by Alan Paton. The musical premiered on Broadway theatre, Broadway in 19 ...

'' (1974) - James Jarvis * '' The Abdication'' (1974) - Altieri * '' Mister Quilp'' (1975) - Single Gent / Henry Trent * '' Nothing Lasts Forever'' (1984) - Hugo * '' Oscar and Lucinda'' (1997) - Gambling Steward (final film role)

References

External links

*
Notice of Paul Rogers' death

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Paul (actor) 1917 births 2013 deaths Best Actor BAFTA Award (television) winners English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors People from Plympton Royal Navy personnel of World War II 20th-century English male actors Royal Shakespeare Company members English male Shakespearean actors Tony Award winners Male actors from Devon