Brian Bedford (16 February 1935 – 13 January 2016) was an English actor. Known for his work on stage and screen, he was an actor and director in various Shakespearian productions. Bedford was nominated for seven Tony Awards for his theatrical work, winning once.
He served as the voice of Disney's Robin Hood from the 1973 animated film of the same name.
Early life Brian Bedford was born in Morley, West Riding of Yorkshire, on 16 February 1935, the son of Ellen (née O'Donnell) and Arthur Bedford, a postman.Brian Bedford profile, FilmReference.com; accessed 25 August 2011. He attended St Bede's Grammar School in Bradford, leaving at the age of 15. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London from 1952 to 1955.RADA Student and Graduate Profiles: – Brian Bedford, rada.ac.uk; accessed 15 January 2016. At RADA, he was in the same class as Albert Finney, Alan Bates and Peter O'Toole.
Career Primarily a stage actor, he appeared in English-speaking interpretations of the French playwright Molière, including Tony Award nominated performances in Tartuffe, The Molière Comedies (a double bill of the short plays The School for Husbands and The Imaginary Cuckold) and The School for Wives, for which he received the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play.Brian Bedford profile, kino-teatr.ru; accessed 15 January 2016.
He performed Shakespearean work, such as Ariel in The Tempest opposite John Gielgud's Prospero in 1958, and at the Stratford Festival in Ontario, Canada including Angelo in Measure for Measure, Malvolio in Twelfth Night and the title role in Richard III directed by Robin Phillips, and The Public Theater's New York Shakespeare Festival Shakespeare in the Park productions of As You Like It (as Jacques), and Timon of Athens (as Timon) on Broadway, with the National Actors Theatre in 1993. Bedford's additional Broadway credits include The Seven Descents of Myrtle, Private Lives, Two Shakespearean Actors, London Assurance and Jumpers.
Bedford appeared with James Garner in the 1966 film Grand Prix, and in 1967 he was a regular on the CBS series Coronet Blue. He provided the voice of the title character in the 1973 Disney film Robin Hood, which director Byron Howard credits as a major inspiration for the Academy Award-winning animated film, Zootopia. In 1988, he appeared as Mr. Stone, the head of the consortium that owns Cheers, and would later appear (as a different character) in its spin-off, Frasier, in 2000. In 1997 Bedford was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame. Other honours include the Obie Award, the Outer Circle Critics Award, the Drama Desk Award, and the L.A. Drama Critics Award.
In 2009, Bedford starred as Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest, marking 27 seasons of acting and/or directing, at the Stratford Festival in Canada.
He repeated the role in 2010 (in a double role as both actor and director) for the Roundabout Theatre in New York, which earned him a 2011 Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play.
Personal life Bedford shared homes in Stratford, Ontario, and in Santa Barbara, California, with fellow actor Tim MacDonald, his partner from 1985 and husband from 2013 until his death.
Death Bedford died of cancer on January 13, 2016, in Santa Barbara, California, at the age of 80; his remains were cremated.
Stratford Shakespeare Festival Actor
Twelfth Night (1975) by William Shakespeare – Malvolio Measure for Measure (1975) by William Shakespeare – Angelo Richard III (1977) by William Shakespeare – Richard III The Guardsman (1977) by Ferenc Molnár – The Actor As You Like It (1977,1978) by William Shakespeare – Jacques Private Lives (1978) by Noël Coward – Elyot The Winter's Tale (1978) by William Shakespeare – Leontes Uncle Vanya (1978) by Anton Chekhov – Dr Astrov Much Ado About Nothing (1980) by William Shakespeare – Benedick Twelfth Night (1980) by William Shakespeare – Malvolio The Seagull (1980) by Anton Chekhov – Trigorin The Misanthrope (1981) by Molière – Alceste Arms and the Man (1982) by George Bernard Shaw – Bluntschli Blithe Spirit (1982) by Noël Coward – Charles Richard II (1983) by William Shakespeare – Richard II Tartuffe (1983, 1984) by Molière – Tartuffe A Midsummer Night's Dream (1984) by William Shakespeare – Bottom Waiting for Godot (1984) by Samuel Beckett – Vladimir The Relapse (1989) by John Vanbrugh – Lord Foppington The Merchant of Venice (1989) by William Shakespeare – Shylock The Lunatic, the Lover & the Poet (1989) by Brian Bedford – adapted Shakespeare texts Macbeth (1990) by William Shakespeare – Macbeth Julius Caesar (1990) by William Shakespeare – Brutus The Lunatic, the Lover & the Poet (1990) by Brian Bedford – adapted Shakespeare texts Timon of Athens (1991) by William Shakespeare – Timon Much Ado About Nothing (1991) by William Shakespeare – Dogberry The School for Wives (1991) by Molière – Arnolphe Measure for Measure (1992) by William Shakespeare – Duke Twelfth Night (1994) by William Shakespeare – Feste The School for Husbands & The Imaginary Cuckold (1994) by Molière – Sganarelle Amadeus (1995, 1996) by Peter Shaffer – Salieri The Little Foxes (1996) by Lillian Hellman – Horace Equus (1997) by Peter Shaffer – Dysart Much Ado About Nothing (1998) by William Shakespeare – Benedick A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999) by William Shakespeare – Bottom The School for Scandal (1999) by Richard Brinsley Sheridan – Sir Peter Teazle Tartuffe (2000) by Molière – Tartuffe Private Lives (2001) by Noël Coward – Elyot The Seagull (2001) by Anton Chekhov – Sorin The Lunatic, the Lover & the Poet (2002) by Brian Bedford – adapted Shakespeare texts Present Laughter (2003) by Noël Coward – Garry Essendine Love's Labour's Lost (2003) by William Shakespeare – Don Armado London Assurance (2006) by Dion Boucicault – Sir Harcourt Courtly Twelfth Night (2006) by William Shakespeare – Malvolio King Lear (2007) by William Shakespeare – King Lear The Importance of Being Earnest (2009) by Oscar Wilde – Lady Bracknell
Director
Titus Andronicus (1978, 1980) by William Shakespeare Coriolanus (1981) by William Shakespeare The Rivals (1981) by Richard Brinsley Sheridan Blithe Spirit (1982) by Noël Coward The Lunatic, the Lover & the Poet (1989, 1990, 2002) by Brian Bedford Phaedra (1990) by Racine Othello (1994) by William Shakespeare Waiting for Godot (1996, 1998) by Samuel Beckett Equus (1997) by Peter Shaffer The Winter's Tale (1998) by William Shakespeare Private Lives (2001) by Noël Coward Present Laughter (2003) by Noël Coward Noises Off (2004) by Michael Frayn Fallen Angels (2005) by Noël Coward London Assurance (2006) by Dion Boucicault King Lear (2007) by William Shakespeare The Importance of Being Earnest (2009) by Oscar Wilde Blithe Spirit (2013) by Noël Coward
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1955 Man of the Moment Clapper boy Uncredited 1957 Miracle in Soho Johnny 1960 The Angry Silence Eddie Barrett 1962 Number Six Jimmy Gale 1963 The Punch and Judy Man First Escort1966 The Pad and How to Use It Bob Handman Grand Prix Scott Stoddard 1973 Robin Hood Robin Hood Voice role 1995 Nixon Clyde Tolson 2011 The Importance of Being Earnest Lady Bracknell Also director
Television
Year Title Role Notes 1955 Madeleine Maxime TV movie1958ITV Play of the Week Miolands the Herald Episode: "Winterset"ITV Play of the Week Victor Episode: "Squaring the Circle"ITV Play of the Week Chris Episode: "As the Twig is Bent"1961 ITV Television Playhouse Ralph Whitlock Episode: "The Bad One" BBC Sunday-Night Play Lieutenant Chanz Episode: "The Judge and His Hangman" Traitor in a Steel Helmet Trooper Jupp TV movie1962 Edgar Wallace Mysteries Jimmy Gale Episode: "Number Six" Sir Francis Drake Estaban Episode: "Escape" The Secret Thread Tony TV movie1965 Ben Casey Pat Jordan Episode: "Then I, and You, and All of Us Fell Down" The Holy Terror Billy Sims TV movie 1966 New York Television Theatre Episode: "The Dark Lady of the Sonnets"1967 Androcles and the Lion Lentulus TV movie Coronet Blue Brother Anthony Recurring role1969 Judd, for the Defense Eric Wright Episode: "The Crystal Maze" The Name of the Game Anthony Malcolm Episode: "An Agent of the Plaintiff" 1971 Nanny and the Professor Cholmondeley Featherstonehaugh Episode: "Cholmondeley Featherstonehaugh"1985 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Stewart Dean Episode: "Wake Me When I'm Dead"The Equalizer W. Donald Polk Episode: "Bump and Run" 1987The Equalizer Paul Coble Episode: "Beyond Control"1988 Murder, She Wrote Alastair Andrews Episode: "Benedict Arnold Slipped Here" Cheers Greg Stone Episode: "How to Recede in Business"1989 The Equalizer Emil Kostov Episode: "Time Present, Time Past" Alfred Hitchcock Presents Sherlock Holmes Episode: "My Dear Watson" 1990 The Last Best Year Dr. Castle TV movie 1993 Bob Dr. Edward Mars Jones Episode: "The Man Who Killed Mad Dog" 1994 Scarlett Sir John Morland Miniseries 1998 More Tales of the City Henry Callaway Kent 1 episode 2000 Frasier Edward Episode: "Out with Dad" 2002 Mr. St. Nick Jasper TV movie2004 A Christmas Carol: The Musical Mr. Fezzwing TV movie Great Performances Degas Episode: "Degas and the Dance" 2014 Black Jesus Episode: "I Gave at the Playground"
Awards and nominations Tony Awards 1971 Best Leading Actor in Play – The School for Wives (winner) 1992 Best Leading Actor in Play – Two Shakespearean Actors (nominee) 1994 Best Leading Actor in Play – Timon of Athens (nominee) 1995 Best Leading Actor in Play – The Molière Comedies (nominee) 1997 Best Leading Actor in Play – London Assurance (nominee) 2003 Best Leading Actor in Play – Tartuffe (nominee) 2011 Best Leading Actor in Play – The Importance of Being Earnest (nominee)
Drama Desk Awards 1969 Outstanding Performance – The Misanthrope (winner) 1970 Outstanding Performance – Private Lives (winner) 1971 Outstanding Performance – The School for Wives (winner) 1974 Outstanding Performance – Jumpers (winner) 1992 Outstanding Actor in a Play – Two Shakespearean Actors (winner) 1994 Outstanding Actor in a Play – Timon of Athens (nominee) 2011 Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play – The Importance of Being Earnest (winner)
Obie Awards 1965 Outstanding Performance – The Knack (winner)
References
External links
Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia entry