John Gielgud
On the 14th of April 1904, Sir Arthur John Gielgud was born in a house on Cromwell Road in South Kensington. He entered the world as the third child of Frank Henry Gielgud and Kate Terry-Gielgud. His father worked as a stockbroker in the City of London while his mother came from the famous Terry family of actors. This lineage included Ellen Terry, Fred Terry, and Marion Terry, all names that echoed through Victorian theatre history. The surname itself traces back to Gelgaudiškis, a village in Lithuania where the Counts Gielgud once owned manor land before their estates were confiscated during an uprising against Russian rule in 1830. Jan Gielgud fled to England with his family, establishing the branch that would eventually produce this future star.
Gielgud attended Hillside preparatory school in Surrey at the age of eight. He had no interest in sports yet managed cricket and rugby reasonably well for a boy who preferred books. In class he hated mathematics but excelled at English and divinity. The school encouraged his dramatic interests by letting him play Mark Antony in Julius Caesar and Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. After leaving Hillside, he failed to secure scholarships like his brothers Lewis and Val did. Instead he went to Westminster School as a day boy. There he gained access to the West End to see Sarah Bernhardt act and hear music hall stars like Marie Lloyd perform. The school choir sang services at Westminster Abbey which appealed to his fondness for ritual. His father took him to concerts and galleries though he found museums boring. Both parents were keen theatregoers but they did not encourage their children to follow an acting career.
In November 1921 Gielgud made his professional debut playing the Herald in Henry V at the Old Vic. He spoke one line badly and was kept on for walk-on parts without lines. His first substantial engagement came through family connections when cousin Phyllis Neilson-Terry invited him to tour in J.B. Fagan's The Wheel. A colleague recommended him to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art where he trained under Kenneth Barnes and Claude Rains throughout 1923. Nigel Playfair cast him as Felix in The Insect Play though critics thought it poor. He played Trofimov in The Cherry Orchard at Oxford Playhouse in January 1924 and felt he could really be an actor.
Barry Jackson cast him as Romeo opposite Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies at Regent's Theatre in May 1924. The production failed but the two became close friends. He made his screen debut in Who Is the Man? that same year. In October 1925 he impressed Russian director Theodore Komisarjevsky with his performance as Tusenbach in Three Sisters. This role enhanced his reputation as a potential star. Basil Dean offered him the lead in The Constant Nymph but gave it to Noël Coward instead. When Coward suffered a nervous collapse three weeks after opening, Gielgud took over the part and played it for nearly a year. By 1928 he was earning enough to leave home and take a small flat in the West End. He lived with John Perry who remained a lifelong friend after their affair ended.
Harcourt Williams invited Gielgud to join the Old Vic company in 1929. The theatre ran by Lilian Baylis offered plays to working-class audiences at low prices. During his first season he played Richard II and Hamlet. Critics recognized him as a Shakespearean actor of undoubted authority. Ivor Brown called his Hamlet tremendous while James Agate said it was the high water-mark of English acting. The production gained such popularity that the cast moved to the Queen's Theatre where they shortened the text slightly. After finishing Hamlet he turned to playing John Worthing in The Importance of Being Earnest opposite his aunt Mabel Terry-Lewis.
In 1934 he returned to Hamlet directing and starring in the title role. Junior members like Alec Guinness gathered in the wings every night to watch what seemed intuitively already known to be the Hamlet of their time. Charles Morgan wrote in The New York Times that he had never heard rhythm and verse so gently combined. The following year he staged Romeo and Juliet co-starring with Peggy Ashcroft and Laurence Olivier. He gave Olivier a major step up in his career by letting him play Romeo after initially playing Mercutio. The production broke box-office records running for 189 performances though Olivier remained prickly about the notices praising Gielgud's verse speaking. From September 1936 to February 1937 he played Hamlet in North America opening at the Empire Theatre in October.
On the evening of the 20th of October 1953 Gielgud was arrested in Chelsea for cottaging while cruising for sex in a public lavatory. Sexual activity between men remained illegal in Britain until the 1960s. Home Secretary David Maxwell Fyfe urged police to arrest anyone contravening Victorian laws against homosexuality. Gielgud was fined and when the press reported the story he thought his disgrace would end his career. He was in Liverpool on tour for A Day by the Sea when news broke. Fellow players led by Sybil Thorndike encouraged him to go onstage despite being paralyzed by nerves.
His career survived but the episode affected his health causing a nervous breakdown months later. He never spoke publicly about the incident which was quickly sidelined by the press. Privately he made donations to gay campaign groups but did not endorse them in public. Between December 1953 and June 1955 he concentrated on directing without appearing on stage. His return came with King Lear hampered by costumes and scenery by Isamu Noguchi that critics found ludicrous. He directed productions ranging from Charley's Aunt to Twelfth Night during this period. In 1955 he made his second film appearance as Clarence in Olivier's Richard III.
Gielgud finally began taking cinema seriously in his sixties after decades of indifference. He told his agent to accept any reasonable film offers. His first major Hollywood role came in 1964 playing Louis VII of France in Becket opposite Richard Burton. This minor but flashy role earned him an Academy Award nomination. He appeared in more than sixty films between Becket and Elizabeth in 1998. Tony Richardson's The Loved One failed while Orson Welles's Chimes at Midnight has since been recognized as one of the best Shakespearean movies.
In 1970 he joined Ralph Richardson at Royal Court in David Storey's Home which transferred to Broadway. Clive Barnes wrote in The New York Times that they gave two of the greatest performances of their careers. During the 1980s he appeared in over twenty films including The Elephant Man, Chariots of Fire, and Gandhi. His most successful performance was Steve Gordon's Arthur where he played Hobson Moore's butler. He turned the part down twice before accepting it due to nervousness about strong language used by the acerbic character. He won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor placing little value on awards while avoiding presentation ceremonies.
Gielgud received state honours including Knight Bachelor in 1953 and Legion of Honour from France in 1960. He became Member of the Order of Merit in 1996. From 1977 to 1989 he served as president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. In 1994 the Globe Theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue was renamed the Gielgud Theatre though he had not acted on stage for six years. He commented that at last there was a name in lights on the Avenue which he actually recognized even if it was his own.
He possessed the rare distinction of winning an Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy, and a Tony Award. He broadcast more than one hundred radio and television dramas between 1929 and 1994 making commercial recordings of many plays including ten Shakespearean works. His dedication to art left little scope for leisure activities despite listing music and painting as hobbies. Together with Richardson and Olivier he dominated the British stage for over fifty years during the middle and later decades of the twentieth century. He died at home on the 21st of May 2000 at age ninety-six following the death of his partner Martin Hensler in 1999.
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Common questions
When was John Gielgud born and where did he grow up?
John Gielgud was born on the 14th of April 1904 in a house on Cromwell Road in South Kensington. He grew up as the third child of Frank Henry Gielgud and Kate Terry-Gielgud.
What were the early career highlights for John Gielgud before his first major role?
John Gielgud made his professional debut playing the Herald in Henry V at the Old Vic in November 1921. His training continued at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art under Kenneth Barnes and Claude Rains throughout 1923, leading to roles like Felix in The Insect Play.
How did John Gielgud influence Laurence Olivier's career during their collaboration?
John Gielgud gave Laurence Olivier a major step up by letting him play Romeo after initially playing Mercutio in their production of Romeo and Juliet. This decision helped launch Olivier into stardom despite Olivier remaining prickly about notices praising Gielgud's verse speaking.
What legal trouble affected John Gielgud's life in the 1950s and how did it impact his work?
John Gielgud was arrested in Chelsea on the evening of the 20th of October 1953 for cottaging while cruising for sex in a public lavatory. He was fined and suffered a nervous breakdown months later, which caused him to concentrate on directing without appearing on stage between December 1953 and June 1955.
Which awards did John Gielgud win and what were some of his notable film performances?
John Gielgud won an Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy, and a Tony Award, making him one of the few artists with this distinction. His most successful performance was as Hobson Moore's butler in Steve Gordon's Arthur, for which he won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.