Ian Ogilvy
Encyclopedia
Ian Raymond Ogilvy is an English
film
and television
actor
.
, Surrey
, England
, the son of advertising executive Francis Ogilvy (the brother of advertising legend David Ogilvy) and actress Aileen Raymond
(who had previously been married to John Mills
).
He was educated at Sunningdale School
, Eton College
and at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
, in which he assumed the role of Simon Templar
, which Roger Moore
played from 1962 to 1969. The role led to his being considered a leading contender for taking over the role of James Bond
in the early 1980s, when Moore announced his intention to leave the role. Ultimately, Ogilvy never played the part (in part due to Moore's reconsidering his resignation on several occasions), although he did play a Bond-like character in a series of North American TV commercials broadcast in the early 1990s. At least once, in an Episode of Kung Fu: The Legend Continues
, "Dragon's Wing II", he played a Bond-like British agent, complete with white dinner jacket.
He did, in addition, record a series of readings of Ian Fleming
's James Bond novels in the early 1980s, which were released on audio cassette by the Listen for Pleasure label.
, Happy Family, Three Sisters
, Rookery Nook by Ben Travers
, Run for Your Wife, The Millionairess by Shaw
, The Waltz of the Toreadors
and others. He has also worked widely in the American theater. Among his films, Ogilvy had a major part in the 1970 epic film Waterloo, playing the role of the Duke of Wellington's chief of staff, William de Lancey
, starring alongside Christopher Plummer
, Jack Hawkins
Rod Steiger and Orson Welles
. He co-starred with Boris Karloff
in The Sorcerers, with James Mason
, Bobby Darin
and Geraldine Chaplin
in Stranger In The House
(1967), with Vincent Price
in Witchfinder General
, with Tom Courtenay
and Candice Bergen
in The Day the Fish Came Out
, with Meryl Streep
and Goldie Hawn
in Death Becomes Her
, with Peter Cushing
in two films for horror specialists Amicus
and with Richard Dreyfuss and Nia Vardalos in My Life In Ruins - among others.
He was a friend of the film-maker Michael Reeves
, and starred in all three of the director's films: Revenge Of The Blood Beast
, The Sorcerers and Witchfinder General
(also known as The Conqueror Worm). He also had a role in the short-lived 1990s American
soap opera
, Malibu Shores
.
He has had roles in over 100 television shows, often appearing as a guest star. He appeared in the television series Upstairs, Downstairs
(as Lawrence Kirbridge), and is best known to American audiences for this role.
He guest-starred in The Avengers
, in the 1968 episode "They Keep Killing Steed". In 1976, he featured in the pilot episode of the television comedy series Ripping Yarns
, co-produced by former Monty Python
members Michael Palin
and Terry Jones
. He also appeared in I, Claudius
(as Drusus), and guest-starred in 6 episodes of Murder, She Wrote
and 5 episodes of Diagnosis Murder. He appeared as Edgar Linton in the 1970 film version of Wuthering Heights
and as Owen Gereth in the 1970 BBC dramatization of The Spoils of Poynton
.
In the 1990s, he guest-starred in the American television series Babylon 5
, in the 1998 episode "In the Kingdom of the Blind
". Coincidentally, that series' star Bruce Boxleitner
is the former husband of Ogilvy's second wife Kathryn Holcomb.
, Measle and the Dragodon
, Measle and the Mallockee, Measle and the Slitherghoul, and Measle and the Doompit. The books have been translated into at least 15 languages, and there are plans to produce a film based upon Measle and the Wrathmonk. He has written and published two novels - Loose Chippings and The Polkerton Giant - and two plays - A Slight Hangover (published by Samuel French) and Swap! which is currently running in Poland in its third successful year.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Early life
He was born in WokingWoking
Woking is a large town and civil parish that shares its name with the surrounding local government district, located in the west of Surrey, UK. It is part of the Greater London Urban Area and the London commuter belt, with frequent trains and a journey time of 24 minutes to Waterloo station....
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, the son of advertising executive Francis Ogilvy (the brother of advertising legend David Ogilvy) and actress Aileen Raymond
Aileen Raymond
Aileen Cynthia Raymond was an English television/stage actress.She was born on the Isle of Wight in 1910, and she died five days after her first husband .She appeared occasionally on British television....
(who had previously been married to John Mills
John Mills
Sir John Mills CBE , born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills, was an English actor who made more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades.-Life and career:...
).
He was educated at Sunningdale School
Sunningdale School
Sunningdale School is a family-run boys' preparatory independent school of around 100 pupils, situated in Sunningdale in Berkshire, close to London, England.-Introduction:...
, Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
Return of the Saint
He is best known as the star of the 1978–1979 television series Return of the SaintReturn of the Saint
Return of the Saint was a British action-adventure television series that aired for one season in 1978 and 1979 in Britain on ITV, and was also broadcast on CBS in the United States...
, in which he assumed the role of Simon Templar
Simon Templar
Simon Templar is a British fictional character known as The Saint featured in a long-running series of books by Leslie Charteris published between 1928 and 1963. After that date, other authors collaborated with Charteris on books until 1983; two additional works produced without Charteris’s...
, which Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Sir Roger George Moore KBE , is an English actor, perhaps best known for portraying British secret agent James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985. He also portrayed Simon Templar in the long-running British television series The Saint.-Early life:Moore was born in Stockwell, London...
played from 1962 to 1969. The role led to his being considered a leading contender for taking over the role of James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
in the early 1980s, when Moore announced his intention to leave the role. Ultimately, Ogilvy never played the part (in part due to Moore's reconsidering his resignation on several occasions), although he did play a Bond-like character in a series of North American TV commercials broadcast in the early 1990s. At least once, in an Episode of Kung Fu: The Legend Continues
Kung Fu: The Legend Continues
Kung Fu: The Legend Continues is a spin-off of the 1972-1975 television series Kung Fu. David Carradine and Chris Potter starred as a father and son trained in kung fu - Carradine playing a Shaolin monk, Potter a police detective. This series aired in syndication for four seasons, from January 27,...
, "Dragon's Wing II", he played a Bond-like British agent, complete with white dinner jacket.
He did, in addition, record a series of readings of Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
's James Bond novels in the early 1980s, which were released on audio cassette by the Listen for Pleasure label.
Other notable roles
Ogilvy has had an extensive career in the theatre playing leading roles in many London West End productions, including Design for LivingDesign for Living
Design for Living is a comedy play written by Noël Coward in 1932. It concerns a trio of artistic characters, Gilda, Otto and Leo, and their complicated three-way relationship. Originally written to star Lynn Fontanne, Alfred Lunt and Coward, it was premiered on Broadway, partly because its risqué...
, Happy Family, Three Sisters
Three Sisters (play)
Three Sisters is a play by Russian author and playwright Anton Chekhov, perhaps partially inspired by the situation of the three Brontë sisters, but most probably by the three Zimmermann sisters in Perm...
, Rookery Nook by Ben Travers
Ben Travers
Ben Travers AFC CBE in London) was a British playwright best remembered for his farces.Born in the London borough of Hendon, Travers was educated at Charterhouse, where today there is a theatre named for him...
, Run for Your Wife, The Millionairess by Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
, The Waltz of the Toreadors
The Waltz of the Toreadors
The Waltz of the Toreadors [La Valse des toréadors] is a play by Jean Anouilh.Written in 1951, this farce is set in 1910 France and focuses on General Léon Saint-Pé and his infatuation with Ghislaine, a woman with whom he danced at a garrison ball some 17 years earlier. Because of the General's...
and others. He has also worked widely in the American theater. Among his films, Ogilvy had a major part in the 1970 epic film Waterloo, playing the role of the Duke of Wellington's chief of staff, William de Lancey
William Howe DeLancey
Colonel Sir William Howe DeLancey KCB was an officer in the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars. He died of wounds he received during the Battle of Waterloo.-Early life:Born in New York City...
, starring alongside Christopher Plummer
Christopher Plummer
Arthur Christopher Orne Plummer, CC is a Canadian theatre, film and television actor. He made his film debut in 1957's Stage Struck, and notable early film performances include Night of the Generals, The Return of the Pink Panther and The Man Who Would Be King.In a career that spans over five...
, Jack Hawkins
Jack Hawkins
Colonel John Edward "Jack" Hawkins CBE was an English actor of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s.-Career:Hawkins was born at Lyndhurst Road, Wood Green, Middlesex, the son of master builder Thomas George Hawkins and his wife, Phoebe née Goodman. The youngest of four children in a close-knit family,...
Rod Steiger and Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
. He co-starred with Boris Karloff
Boris Karloff
William Henry Pratt , better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor.Karloff is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein , Bride of Frankenstein , and Son of Frankenstein...
in The Sorcerers, with James Mason
James Mason
James Neville Mason was an English actor who attained stardom in both British and American films. Mason remained a powerful figure in the industry throughout his career and was nominated for three Academy Awards as well as three Golden Globes .- Early life :Mason was born in Huddersfield, in the...
, Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin , born Walden Robert Cassotto, was an American singer, actor and musician.Darin performed in a range of music genres, including pop, rock, jazz, folk and country...
and Geraldine Chaplin
Geraldine Chaplin
Geraldine Leigh Chaplin is an English-American actress and the daughter of Charlie Chaplin.Chaplin first came to prominence for her Golden Globe-nominated role of Tonya in David Lean's Doctor Zhivago . She received her second Golden Globe nomination for Robert Altman's Nashville...
in Stranger In The House
Stranger in the House (1967 film)
Stranger In The House is a 1967 crime drama directed and written by Pierre Rouve , produced by Anatole de Grunwald, and starring James Mason, Geraldine Chaplin, and Bobby Darin. The movie is also known as Cop-Out and is a remake of the 1942 French film Strangers in the House...
(1967), with Vincent Price
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...
in Witchfinder General
Witchfinder General (film)
Witchfinder General is a 1968 British horror film directed by Michael Reeves and starring Vincent Price, Ian Ogilvy, and Hilary Dwyer. The screenplay was by Reeves and Tom Baker based on Ronald Bassett's novel of the same name. Made on a low budget of under £100,000, the movie was coproduced by...
, with Tom Courtenay
Tom Courtenay
Sir Thomas Daniel "Tom" Courtenay is an English actor who came to prominence in the early 1960s with a succession of films including The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner , Billy Liar , and Dr. Zhivago . Since the mid-1960s he has been known primarily for his work in the theatre...
and Candice Bergen
Candice Bergen
Candice Patricia Bergen is an American actress and former fashion model.She is known for starring in two TV series, as the title character on the situation comedy Murphy Brown , for which she won five Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards; and as Shirley Schmidt on the comedy-drama Boston Legal...
in The Day the Fish Came Out
The Day the Fish Came Out
The Day the Fish Came Out is a 1967 Greek- British comedy film directed and written by Michael Cacoyannis who also designed the film's costumes...
, with Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep
Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film.Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, before her screen debut in the television movie The Deadliest Season in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with...
and Goldie Hawn
Goldie Hawn
Goldie Jeanne Hawn is an American actress, film director, producer, and occasional singer. Hawn is known for her roles in Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, Private Benjamin, Foul Play, Overboard, Bird on a Wire, Death Becomes Her, The First Wives Club, and Cactus Flower, for which she won the 1969...
in Death Becomes Her
Death Becomes Her
Death Becomes Her is a 1992 American dark slapstick screwball comedy fantasy film directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Goldie Hawn, Meryl Streep, and Bruce Willis...
, with Peter Cushing
Peter Cushing
Peter Wilton Cushing, OBE was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played the handsome but sinister scientist Baron Frankenstein and the vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite Christopher Lee, and occasionally...
in two films for horror specialists Amicus
Amicus Productions
Amicus Productions is a British film production company, based at Shepperton Studios, England. It was founded by American producer and screenwriter Milton Subotsky and Max Rosenberg.-Horror:...
and with Richard Dreyfuss and Nia Vardalos in My Life In Ruins - among others.
He was a friend of the film-maker Michael Reeves
Michael Reeves
Michael Reeves was an English film director and screenwriter. He is best known for the 1968 American International Pictures/Tigon motion picture Witchfinder General...
, and starred in all three of the director's films: Revenge Of The Blood Beast
The She Beast
The She Beast is a 1966 British-Italian horror film written and directed by Michael Reeves. The film stars Barbara Steele and Ian Ogilvy...
, The Sorcerers and Witchfinder General
Witchfinder General (film)
Witchfinder General is a 1968 British horror film directed by Michael Reeves and starring Vincent Price, Ian Ogilvy, and Hilary Dwyer. The screenplay was by Reeves and Tom Baker based on Ronald Bassett's novel of the same name. Made on a low budget of under £100,000, the movie was coproduced by...
(also known as The Conqueror Worm). He also had a role in the short-lived 1990s American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
, Malibu Shores
Malibu Shores
Malibu Shores is an American primetime teen drama/soap opera that aired from March to June 1996 for ten episodes on NBC. Created by Aaron Spelling and starring Keri Russell and Tony Lucca, the program followed the exploits of Southern California teens....
.
He has had roles in over 100 television shows, often appearing as a guest star. He appeared in the television series Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs is a British drama television series originally produced by London Weekend Television and revived by the BBC. It ran on ITV in 68 episodes divided into five series from 1971 to 1975, and a sixth series shown on the BBC on three consecutive nights, 26–28 December 2010.Set in a...
(as Lawrence Kirbridge), and is best known to American audiences for this role.
He guest-starred in The Avengers
The Avengers (TV series)
The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...
, in the 1968 episode "They Keep Killing Steed". In 1976, he featured in the pilot episode of the television comedy series Ripping Yarns
Ripping Yarns
Ripping Yarns is a British television comedy series, shown on BBC 2 from 1976 to 1979. It was written by Michael Palin and Terry Jones of Monty Python fame...
, co-produced by former Monty Python
Monty Python
Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
members Michael Palin
Michael Palin
Michael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries....
and Terry Jones
Terry Jones
Terence Graham Parry Jones is a Welsh comedian, screenwriter, actor, film director, children's author, popular historian, political commentator, and TV documentary host. He is best known as a member of the Monty Python comedy team....
. He also appeared in I, Claudius
I, Claudius (TV series)
I, Claudius is a 1976 BBC Television adaptation of Robert Graves' I, Claudius and Claudius the God. Written by Jack Pulman, it proved one of the corporation's most successful drama serials of all time...
(as Drusus), and guest-starred in 6 episodes of Murder, She Wrote
Murder, She Wrote
Murder, She Wrote is an American television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. The series aired for 12 seasons from 1984 to 1996 on the CBS network, with 264 episodes transmitted. It was followed by four TV films and a spin-off series,...
and 5 episodes of Diagnosis Murder. He appeared as Edgar Linton in the 1970 film version of Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights (1970 film)
Wuthering Heights is a 1970 film directed by Robert Fuest. It is based on the classic Emily Bronte novel of the same name. Like the 1939 version, this film depicts only the first sixteen chapters concluding with Catherine Earnshaw Linton's death and omits the trials of her daughter, Hindley's son,...
and as Owen Gereth in the 1970 BBC dramatization of The Spoils of Poynton
The Spoils of Poynton
The Spoils of Poynton is a novel by Henry James, first published under the title The Old Things as a serial in The Atlantic Monthly in 1896 and then as a book in 1897. This half-length novel describes the struggle between Mrs. Gereth, a widow of impeccable taste and iron will, and her son Owen over...
.
In the 1990s, he guest-starred in the American television series Babylon 5
Babylon 5
Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...
, in the 1998 episode "In the Kingdom of the Blind
In the Kingdom of the Blind
"In the Kingdom of the Blind" is an episode from the fifth season of the science fiction television series Babylon 5. The title alludes to a Latin proverb quoted by Erasmus: "In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king".-Synopsis:...
". Coincidentally, that series' star Bruce Boxleitner
Bruce Boxleitner
Bruce William Boxleitner is an American actor, and science fiction and suspense writer. He is known for his leading roles in the television series How the West Was Won, Bring 'Em Back Alive, Scarecrow and Mrs. King , and Babylon 5...
is the former husband of Ogilvy's second wife Kathryn Holcomb.
Writing career
Ogilvy is also a playwright and novelist, currently working on a series of children's books – Measle and the WrathmonkMeasle and the Wrathmonk
Measle and the Wrathmonk is a children's fantasy novel written by Ian Ogilvy and illustrated by Chris Mould. It was released in 2004 by OUP in the UK and by HarperCollins in the US. It received the Georgia Children's Book Award...
, Measle and the Dragodon
Measle And The Dragodon
Measle and the Dragodon is a children's novel written by Ian Ogilvy and illustrated by Chris Mould. It is the second book in the Measle Stubbs series. The novel was first published in 2004 by OUP in the UK and Harper Collins in the US...
, Measle and the Mallockee, Measle and the Slitherghoul, and Measle and the Doompit. The books have been translated into at least 15 languages, and there are plans to produce a film based upon Measle and the Wrathmonk. He has written and published two novels - Loose Chippings and The Polkerton Giant - and two plays - A Slight Hangover (published by Samuel French) and Swap! which is currently running in Poland in its third successful year.
Selected filmography
- La sorella di Satana (1966)
- Stranger in the HouseStranger in the House (1967 film)Stranger In The House is a 1967 crime drama directed and written by Pierre Rouve , produced by Anatole de Grunwald, and starring James Mason, Geraldine Chaplin, and Bobby Darin. The movie is also known as Cop-Out and is a remake of the 1942 French film Strangers in the House...
(1967) - The Sorcerers (1967)
- The Day the Fish Came OutThe Day the Fish Came OutThe Day the Fish Came Out is a 1967 Greek- British comedy film directed and written by Michael Cacoyannis who also designed the film's costumes...
(1967) - Witchfinder GeneralWitchfinder General (film)Witchfinder General is a 1968 British horror film directed by Michael Reeves and starring Vincent Price, Ian Ogilvy, and Hilary Dwyer. The screenplay was by Reeves and Tom Baker based on Ronald Bassett's novel of the same name. Made on a low budget of under £100,000, the movie was coproduced by...
(1968) - Wuthering HeightsWuthering Heights (1970 film)Wuthering Heights is a 1970 film directed by Robert Fuest. It is based on the classic Emily Bronte novel of the same name. Like the 1939 version, this film depicts only the first sixteen chapters concluding with Catherine Earnshaw Linton's death and omits the trials of her daughter, Hindley's son,...
(1970) - The Invincible SixThe Invincible SixThe Invincible Six is a 1970 American-Iranian adventure film directed by Jean Negulesco and starring Stuart Whitman, Elke Sommer, Curd Jürgens and Ian Ogilvy...
(1970) - Waterloo (1970)
- No Sex Please, We're BritishNo Sex Please, We're British (film)No Sex Please, We're British is a 1973 British comedy film directed by Cliff Owen and starring Ronnie Corbett, Ian Ogilvy, Susan Penhaligon and Arthur Lowe...
(1973) - From Beyond the GraveFrom Beyond the GraveFrom Beyond the Grave is a 1974 British anthology horror film from Amicus Productions, directed by horror director Kevin Connor, produced by Milton Subotsky and based on stories by R. Chetwynd-Hayes...
(1973) - And Now the Screaming Starts!And Now the Screaming Starts!And Now the Screaming Starts! is a 1973 British gothic horror film. It is one of the few feature-length horror stories by Amicus, a company best-known for anthology or "portmanteau" films....
(1973)