Richard Ainley (22 December 1910 – 18 May 1967) was a stage and film

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...

. He was born in Middlesex, England, the son of Henry Ainley and a half-brother of Anthony Ainley. Ainley made his stage debut in 1928, initially using the stage name Richard Riddle, taking his mother's maiden name. His American debut came in ''Foreigners'' at the Belasco Theater in 1939. His first motion picture appearance was in 1936 as Sylvius in ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has ...

'', in which his father also appeared. Other roles included Ferdinand in the television movie of '' The Tempest'' (1939), Dr. Hale in '' Shining Victory'' (1941), and a

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United S ...

official in the thriller '' Above Suspicion'' (1943). Ainley married three times, firstly to actress

Ethel Glendinning Ethel (also '' æthel'') is an Old English word meaning "noble", today often used as a feminine given name. Etymology and historic usage The word means ''æthel'' "noble". It is frequently attested as the first element in Anglo-Saxon names, ...

. He was divorced from his first two wives; his third wife Rowena Woolf died in 1968. He retired from film work following a disabling wound received while he was serving in the army during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

to return to the stage. He was briefly principal of the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in the early 1960s.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Richard Ainley (1910-1967), Actor
from the

National Portrait Gallery (United Kingdom) The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...

1910 births 1967 deaths English male stage actors English male film actors Male actors from London English male television actors People from Stanmore British Army personnel of World War II 20th-century English male actors Military personnel from Middlesex {{England-actor-stub