Oliver Reed
Encyclopedia
Oliver Reed was an English actor known for his burly screen presence. Reed exemplified his real-life macho image in "tough guy" roles. His films include The Trap
, Oliver!
, Women in Love
, Hannibal Brooks
, The Triple Echo
, The Devils
, The Three Musketeers
, Tommy
, Castaway, Lion of the Desert
and Gladiator
.
, to sports journalist Peter Reed and his wife Marcia (née Andrews). He was the nephew
of film director
Sir Carol Reed
, and grandson of the actor-manager
Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree
by his alleged mistress May Pinney Reed. He was alleged to have been a descendant (through an illegitimate step) of Tsar Peter the Great
of Russia. Reed attended Ewell Castle School
in Surrey.
, Reed commenced his thespian career as an extra in films in the late 1950s. He had no acting training or theatrical
experience.
Oliver Reed appeared uncredited in an early Norman Wisdom
film, The Square Peg
in 1958, and in another Wisdom comedy, The Bulldog Breed
in 1960, where Reed played the leader of a gang of Teddy Boys
roughing up Wisdom in a cinema. Uncredited television includes episodes of The Invisible Man
(1958) and The Four Just Men (1959). Reed got his first notable roles in Hammer Films'
Sword of Sherwood Forest
(1960), The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll
(1960), Captain Clegg (1962), Pirates of Blood River
(1962), and The Curse of the Werewolf
(1961). Reed also starred in Paranoiac
, and The Damned
. In 1964 he starred in the first of six films directed by Michael Winner
, The System
, (known as The Girl-Getters in the U.S.). More Hammer Films productions followed, such as The Brigand Of Kandahar (1965). He first collaborated with director Ken Russell
in a TV biopic of Claude Debussy
in 1965, and later played Dante Gabriel Rossetti
in Russell's subsequent TV biopic Dante's Inferno
(1967).
In 1966 Reed played a mountain fur trapper, with co-star Rita Tushingham
, in an action-adventure film The Trap
with a soundtrack by British film composer Ron Goodwin
. Reed's presence could be seen in The Shuttered Room
(1967), after which came another performance in the film Women in Love
(1969), in which he wrestled nude with Alan Bates
in front of a log fire. The controversial 1971 film The Devils
was followed in the summer of 1975 by the musical film Tommy
, based on The Who
's 1969 concept album Tommy and starring its lead singer Roger Daltrey
: all three films were directed by Ken Russell. Reed made another contribution to the horror genre in 1976, acting alongside Karen Black
, Bette Davis
, and Burgess Meredith
in the Dan Curtis
film Burnt Offerings
.
In between those films for Russell, Reed played the role of Bill Sikes
, alongside Ron Moody
, Shani Wallis
, Mark Lester
, Jack Wild
and Harry Secombe
, in his uncle Carol Reed
's 1968 screen version of the hit musical Oliver!
. In 1969 Reed played the title role in Michael Winner's WWII action-comedy Hannibal Brooks
, alongside an elephant named Lucy.
An anecdote holds that Reed could have been chosen to play James Bond
. In 1969, Bond franchise producers Albert R. Broccoli
and Harry Saltzman
were looking for a replacement for Sean Connery
and Reed (who had recently played a resourceful killer in The Assassination Bureau
) was mentioned as a possible choice for the role. Whatever the reason, Reed was never to play Bond. After Reed's death, the Guardian Unlimited
called the casting decision, "One of the great missed opportunities of post-war British movie history".
Reed starred as Athos the musketeer in three films based on Alexandre Dumas
's novels. First in The Three Musketeers
(1973), followed by The Four Musketeers
(1974), and The Return of the Musketeers
(1989). He starred in a similarly historical themed film, Crossed Swords
(1977), as Miles Hendon alongside Raquel Welch
and a grown up Mark Lester, who had worked with Reed in Oliver!. Reed returned to horror as Dr. Hal Raglan in David Cronenberg
's 1979 film The Brood
.
From the 1980s onwards Reed's films had less success, his more notable roles being General Rodolfo Graziani
in the 1981 film Lion of the Desert
, which co-starred Anthony Quinn
and chronicled the resistance to Italy's occupation of Libya; and in Castaway
(1986) as the middle aged Gerald Kingsland
, who advertises for a "wife" (played by Amanda Donohoe
) to live on a desert island with him for a year.
He also starred as Lt-Col Gerard Leachman
in the Iraqi historical film Al-Mas' Ala Al-Kubra
(a.k.a. Clash of Loyalties) in 1982, which dealt with Leachman's exploits during the 1920 revolution in Mesopotamia
(modern-day Iraq).
By the late 1980s, he was largely appearing in exploitation films produced by the infamous impresario Harry Alan Towers
, most of which were filmed in South Africa at the time of apartheid and released straight to video in the US and UK. These included Skeleton Coast
(1987), Gor
(1987) Dragonard (1987) and its filmed-back-to-back sequel Master Of Dragonard Hill, Hold My Hand I'm Dying (aka Blind Justice) (1988), House Of Usher (1988), Captive Rage (1988)and The Revenger (1989).
His last major successes were Terry Gilliam
's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
(1988) (as the god Vulcan
), Treasure Island
(1990) (as Captain Billy Bones), and Peter Chelsom
's Funny Bones
(1995).
His final role was the elderly slave dealer Proximo in Gladiator
, in which he played alongside Richard Harris
, an actor whom Reed admired greatly both on and off the screen. The film was released after his death in 2000 with some footage filmed with a double, digitally mixed with outtake footage. The film was dedicated to him. He was posthumously nominated for a British Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in this film, and also for the Screen Actors Guild Award, along with the rest of the principal players for Best Ensemble Cast.
in Oliver!
, he met one of the dancers hired for the film, the classically trained Jacquie Daryl. By the end of the film they were lovers, and subsequently had a daughter named Sarah. In 1985, he married Josephine Burge, to whom he was still married at the time of his death. In his last years, Reed lived with Josephine in Churchtown, County Cork, Republic of Ireland.
When the UK government raised taxes on personal income, Reed initially declined to join the exodus of major British film stars to Hollywood and other more tax-friendly locales. Reed claimed to have turned down major roles in two hugely successful Hollywood movies: The Sting
(1973) (although he did appear in the sequel) and Jaws
(1975). In the late 1970s Reed finally relocated to Guernsey
as a tax exile
. He had sold his large house, 'Broome Hall', between the villages of Coldharbour
and Ockley
some years earlier.
, which fitted in with the "social" attitude of many rugby teams
in the 1960s and 1970s, and there are numerous anecdotes such as Reed and 36 friends drinking in an evening, 60 gallons of beer, 32 bottles of Scotch, 17 bottles of gin, four crates of wine, and one bottle of Babycham
. He subsequently revised the story, claiming he drank 106 pints of beer on a two-day binge before marrying Josephine; "The event that was reported actually took place during an arm-wrestling competition in Guernsey
about 15 years ago, it was highly exaggerated." Steve McQueen told the story that in 1973 he flew to the UK to discuss a film project with Reed and suggested the pair go to a nightclub in London. They ended up on a marathon pub crawl
during which Reed vomited on McQueen. Reed's face had been scarred 10 years previously during a 1963 bar fight after which he received 63 stitches and was in danger of having his film career terminated in his 20s.
Reed was often irritated that his appearances on TV chat shows concentrated on his drinking feats rather than his latest film. David Letterman
cut to a commercial when it appeared Reed might get violent after being asked too many questions about his drinking. In September 1975, in front of a speechless Johnny Carson
, the bellicose Reed famously had a glass of whiskey poured over his head on-camera by an enraged Shelley Winters
on The Tonight Show
(Winters had been upset by Reed's seemingly derogatory comments toward women). He was held partly responsible for the demise of BBC1's Sin on Saturday
after some typically forthright comments on the subject of lust
, the sin featured on the first programme. The show had many other problems and a fellow guest revealed that Reed recognised this when he arrived and virtually had to be dragged in front of the cameras. Near the end of his life, he was brought onto some TV shows specifically for his drinking; for example The Word
put bottles of liquor in his dressing room so he could be secretly filmed getting drunk. He was forced to leave the set of the Channel 4
television discussion programme After Dark
after arriving drunk and attempting to kiss feminist writer Kate Millett
, uttering the memorable phrase, "Give us a kiss, big tits." He was seemingly very drunk on the Michael Aspel
chat show, to many highly entertaining, to others a waste of a great acting talent. However, author Cliff Goodwin, in his biography of Reed titled Evil Spirits, offers the theory that Reed was not always as drunk on chat shows as he appeared to be, but rather was acting the part of an uncontrollably sodden former star to liven things up, at the producers' behests.
In December 1987, Reed became seriously ill with kidney problems as a result of his alcoholism and had to abstain from drinking for a year.
In later years, Reed could often be seen quietly drinking with his wife, Josephine Burge, at the bar of the White Horse Hotel in the High Street in Dorking
, Surrey
, not far from his home in Oakwoodhill. When working in London, he was often found at The Duke of Hamilton pub in Hampstead, an area and pub he often frequented earlier in his career with Peter O'Toole
and Richard Burton
.
during a break from filming Gladiator
in Valletta
, Malta
on 2 May 1999. The heart attack was a result of a night of hard drinking, which included three bottles of downed rum and arm wrestling victories over five sailors. He was 61 years old.
Several of his scenes in Gladiator had to be completed using CGI
techniques and, in one place, a mannequin. His funeral was held in Churchtown
, County Cork
, Republic Of Ireland. The song "Consider Yourself
" from his classic film Oliver!
was played at Oliver Reed's funeral. Reed's remains were buried in the 13th-century cemetery in the heart of Churchtown village, and his grave was seeded with Irish wildflowers.
The Trap (1966 film)
The Trap is an adventure/romance film released in 1966 starring Rita Tushingham and Oliver Reed, written by David D. Osborn and directed by Sidney Hayers....
, Oliver!
Oliver! (film)
Oliver! is a 1968 British musical film directed by Carol Reed. The film is based on the stage musical Oliver!, with book, music and lyrics written by Lionel Bart. The screenplay was written by Vernon Harris....
, Women in Love
Women in Love (film)
Women in Love is a 1969 British film directed by Ken Russell. It stars Alan Bates , Oliver Reed, Glenda Jackson and Jennie Linden. The film was adapted by Larry Kramer from the novel of the same name by D. H. Lawrence....
, Hannibal Brooks
Hannibal Brooks
Hannibal Brooks is a 1969 British war film about a Prisoner of war attempt to escape from Nazi Germany to Switzerland during World War II, accompanied by an Asian Elephant. It stars Oliver Reed, Michael J. Pollard and Wolfgang Preiss...
, The Triple Echo
The Triple Echo
The Triple Echo is a 1972 British drama film directed by Michael Apted starring Glenda Jackson, Brian Deacon and Oliver Reed, and based on a novel by H. E...
, The Devils
The Devils (film)
The Devils is a 1971 British historical drama directed by Ken Russell and starring Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave. It is based partially on the 1952 book The Devils of Loudun by Aldous Huxley, and partially on the 1960 play The Devils by John Whiting, also based on Huxley's book...
, The Three Musketeers
The Three Musketeers (1973 film)
The Three Musketeers is a 1973 film based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas, père. It was directed by Richard Lester and written by George MacDonald Fraser . It was originally proposed in the 1960s as a vehicle for The Beatles, whom Lester had directed in two other films...
, Tommy
Tommy (film)
Tommy is a 1975 British musical film based upon The Who's 1969 rock opera album musical Tommy. It was directed by Ken Russell and featured a star-studded cast, including the band members themselves...
, Castaway, Lion of the Desert
Lion of the Desert
Lion of the Desert is a 1981 Libyan historical action film starring Anthony Quinn as Libyan tribal leader Omar Mukhtar, a Bedouin leader fighting the Italian army in the years leading up to World War II and Oliver Reed as Italian General Rodolfo Graziani, who attempted to defeat Mukhtar. It was...
and Gladiator
Gladiator (2000 film)
Gladiator is a 2000 historical epic film directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Ralf Möller, Oliver Reed, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, John Shrapnel and Richard Harris. Crowe portrays the loyal Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius, who is betrayed...
.
Early life
Reed was born Robert Oliver Reed in Wimbledon, LondonWimbledon, London
Wimbledon is a district in the south west area of London, England, located south of Wandsworth, and east of Kingston upon Thames. It is situated within Greater London. It is home to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and New Wimbledon Theatre, and contains Wimbledon Common, one of the largest areas...
, to sports journalist Peter Reed and his wife Marcia (née Andrews). He was the nephew
Nephew
Nephew is a son of one's sibling or sibling-in-law, and niece is a daughter of one's sibling or a sibling-in-law. Sons and daughters of siblings-in-law are also informally referred to as nephews and nieces respectively, even though there is no blood relation...
of film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Sir Carol Reed
Carol Reed
Sir Carol Reed was an English film director best known for Odd Man Out , The Fallen Idol , The Third Man and Oliver!...
, and grandson of the actor-manager
Theatre direction
A theatre director or stage director is a practitioner in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production by unifying various endeavours and aspects of production...
Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree
Herbert Beerbohm Tree
Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree was an English actor and theatre manager.Tree began performing in the 1870s. By 1887, he was managing the Haymarket Theatre, winning praise for adventurous programming and lavish productions, and starring in many of its productions. In 1899, he helped fund the...
by his alleged mistress May Pinney Reed. He was alleged to have been a descendant (through an illegitimate step) of Tsar Peter the Great
Peter I of Russia
Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...
of Russia. Reed attended Ewell Castle School
Ewell Castle School
Ewell Castle School is a British independent day school for boys aged 3 to 18 and girls aged 3 – 11.Founded in 1926 by Mr H Budgell originally as a boarding school, it is located in Ewell, Surrey...
in Surrey.
Career
After time in the British Army, serving in the Royal Army Medical CorpsRoyal Army Medical Corps
The Royal Army Medical Corps is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace...
, Reed commenced his thespian career as an extra in films in the late 1950s. He had no acting training or theatrical
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
experience.
Oliver Reed appeared uncredited in an early Norman Wisdom
Norman Wisdom
Sir Norman Joseph Wisdom, OBE was an English actor, comedian and singer-songwriter best known for a series of comedy films produced between 1953 and 1966 featuring his hapless onscreen character Norman Pitkin...
film, The Square Peg
The Square Peg
The Square Peg is a 1958 British comedy film starring Norman Wisdom and directed by John Paddy Carstairs. Norman Wisdom plays two different characters: a man who digs and repairs roads and a Nazi General.-Cast:...
in 1958, and in another Wisdom comedy, The Bulldog Breed
The Bulldog Breed
The Bulldog Breed is a 1960 British comedy film starring Norman Wisdom and directed by Robert Asher.-Plot:Norman Puckle , a well-meaning but clumsy grocer's assistant, can't seem to do anything right. After being rejected by Marlene, the love of his life, he attempts suicide, but can't even do that...
in 1960, where Reed played the leader of a gang of Teddy Boys
Teddy Boy
The British Teddy Boy subculture is typified by young men wearing clothes that were partly inspired by the styles worn by dandies in the Edwardian period, styles which Savile Row tailors had attempted to re-introduce in Britain after World War II...
roughing up Wisdom in a cinema. Uncredited television includes episodes of The Invisible Man
The Invisible Man (1958 TV series)
The Invisible Man was a 1958 ITP Production/Official Films Inc. presentation for Associated TeleVision. The series was networked on CBS in the United States. It ran for 26 half-hour monochrome episodes across two seasons and was nominally based on the novel by H.G...
(1958) and The Four Just Men (1959). Reed got his first notable roles in Hammer Films'
Hammer Film Productions
Hammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic "Hammer Horror" films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers, film noir and comedies and in later...
Sword of Sherwood Forest
Sword of Sherwood Forest
Sword of Sherwood Forest is a 1960 British adventure film directed by Terence Fisher for Hammer Film Productions. Richard Greene reprises the role of Robin Hood, which he played in The Adventures of Robin Hood on TV from 1955 to 1960....
(1960), The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll
The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll
The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll is a 1960 horror film by Hammer Film Productions. It was directed by Terence Fisher, and stars Paul Massie as Dr. Jekyll, and co-stars Dawn Addams, Christopher Lee and David Kossoff. It was written by Wolf Mankowitz, based on the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr...
(1960), Captain Clegg (1962), Pirates of Blood River
Pirates of Blood River
Pirates of Blood River is a 1962 Hammer Film Productions pirate film starring Christopher Lee and Kerwin Matthews.While in a penal colony, Huguenot Jonathan Standish is captured by pirates led by Capt...
(1962), and The Curse of the Werewolf
The Curse of the Werewolf
The Curse of the Werewolf is a British film based on the novel The Werewolf of Paris by Guy Endore. The film was made by the British film studio Hammer Film Productions and was shot at Bray Studios.-Plot:...
(1961). Reed also starred in Paranoiac
Paranoiac (1963 film)
Paranoiac is a 1963 suspense film from Hammer Films directed by Freddie Francis and starring Janette Scott, Oliver Reed, Sheila Burrell, and Alexander Davion...
, and The Damned
The Damned (1963 film)
The Damned is a 1963 British science fiction film starring Macdonald Carey, Shirley Anne Field and Oliver Reed. It was a Hammer Film production directed by Joseph Losey and based on H.L...
. In 1964 he starred in the first of six films directed by Michael Winner
Michael Winner
Michael Robert Winner is a British film director and producer, active in both Europe and the United States, also known as a food critic for the Sunday Times.-Early life and early career :...
, The System
The System (film)
The System is a 1964 British drama film directed by Michael Winner and starring Oliver Reed, Jane Merrow and Barbara Ferris...
, (known as The Girl-Getters in the U.S.). More Hammer Films productions followed, such as The Brigand Of Kandahar (1965). He first collaborated with director Ken Russell
Ken Russell
Henry Kenneth Alfred "Ken" Russell was an English film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. He attracted criticism as being obsessed with sexuality and the church...
in a TV biopic of Claude Debussy
Claude Debussy
Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
in 1965, and later played Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti was an English poet, illustrator, painter and translator. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848 with William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais, and was later to be the main inspiration for a second generation of artists and writers influenced by the movement,...
in Russell's subsequent TV biopic Dante's Inferno
Dante's Inferno (1967 film)
Dante's Inferno: The Private Life of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Poet and Painter is a feature-length 35mm film directed by Ken Russell and first screened on the BBC on 22 December 1967. It quickly became a staple in cinemas in retrospectives of Russell's work...
(1967).
In 1966 Reed played a mountain fur trapper, with co-star Rita Tushingham
Rita Tushingham
-Career:Born in Liverpool, Tushingham began her career as a stage actress at the Liverpool Playhouse. Her screen debut was in A Taste of Honey...
, in an action-adventure film The Trap
The Trap (1966 film)
The Trap is an adventure/romance film released in 1966 starring Rita Tushingham and Oliver Reed, written by David D. Osborn and directed by Sidney Hayers....
with a soundtrack by British film composer Ron Goodwin
Ron Goodwin
Ronald Alfred Goodwin was a British composer and conductor known for his film music. He scored over 70 films in a career lasting over fifty years....
. Reed's presence could be seen in The Shuttered Room
The Shuttered Room
The Shuttered Room is a 1967 British horror film starring Gig Young and Carol Lynley as a couple who move into a house with dark secrets. It is based on the short story of the same name by August Derleth and H. P...
(1967), after which came another performance in the film Women in Love
Women in Love (film)
Women in Love is a 1969 British film directed by Ken Russell. It stars Alan Bates , Oliver Reed, Glenda Jackson and Jennie Linden. The film was adapted by Larry Kramer from the novel of the same name by D. H. Lawrence....
(1969), in which he wrestled nude with Alan Bates
Alan Bates
Sir Alan Arthur Bates CBE was an English actor, who came to prominence in the 1960s, a time of high creativity in British cinema, when he demonstrated his versatility in films ranging from the popular children’s story Whistle Down the Wind to the "kitchen sink" drama A Kind of Loving...
in front of a log fire. The controversial 1971 film The Devils
The Devils (film)
The Devils is a 1971 British historical drama directed by Ken Russell and starring Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave. It is based partially on the 1952 book The Devils of Loudun by Aldous Huxley, and partially on the 1960 play The Devils by John Whiting, also based on Huxley's book...
was followed in the summer of 1975 by the musical film Tommy
Tommy (film)
Tommy is a 1975 British musical film based upon The Who's 1969 rock opera album musical Tommy. It was directed by Ken Russell and featured a star-studded cast, including the band members themselves...
, based on The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
's 1969 concept album Tommy and starring its lead singer Roger Daltrey
Roger Daltrey
Roger Harry Daltrey, CBE , is an English singer and actor, best known as the founder and lead singer of English rock band The Who. He has maintained a musical career as a solo artist and has also worked in the film industry, acting in a large number of films, theatre and television roles and also...
: all three films were directed by Ken Russell. Reed made another contribution to the horror genre in 1976, acting alongside Karen Black
Karen Black
Karen Black is an American actress, screenwriter, singer, and songwriter. She is noted for appearing in such films as Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, The Great Gatsby, Rhinoceros, The Day of the Locust, Nashville, Airport 1975, and Alfred Hitchcock's final film, Family Plot...
, Bette Davis
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
, and Burgess Meredith
Burgess Meredith
Oliver Burgess Meredith , known professionally as Burgess Meredith, was an American actor in theatre, film, and television, who also worked as a director...
in the Dan Curtis
Dan Curtis
Dan Curtis was an American director and producer of television and film, probably best known for his miniseries The Winds of War and War and Remembrance, his afternoon TV series Dark Shadows, and the made for TV movie, . Dark Shadows originally aired from 1966 to 1971 and has aired in syndication...
film Burnt Offerings
Burnt Offerings (film)
Burnt Offerings is a 1976 horror film based on the 1973 novel of the same name by Robert Marasco. It is about a family who moves into a haunted house that rejuvenates itself with each injury and death that occurs inside of it...
.
In between those films for Russell, Reed played the role of Bill Sikes
Bill Sikes
William "Bill" Sikes is a fictional character in the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.He is one of Dickens's most vicious characters and a very strong force in the novel when it comes to having control over somebody or harming others. He is portrayed as a rough and barbaric man. He is a career...
, alongside Ron Moody
Ron Moody
Ron Moody is an English actor.- Personal life :Moody was born in Tottenham, North London, England, the son of Kate and Bernard Moodnick, a studio executive. His father was of Russian Jewish descent and his mother was a Lithuanian Jew. He is a cousin of director Laurence Moody and actress Clare...
, Shani Wallis
Shani Wallis
Shani Wallis is an English actress and singer.Wallis was born in Tottenham, London. Making her first stage appearance at the age of four, she later studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art on a scholarship...
, Mark Lester
Mark Lester
Mark Lester is an English former child actor known for playing the title role in the 1968 musical film version of Oliver! and starring in a number of other British and European films of the 1960s and 70s and in a number of television series.-Early life and film career:Lester was born in Oxford,...
, Jack Wild
Jack Wild
Jack Wild was a British actor who is best remembered for his performances in both stage and screen productions of the Lionel Bart musical Oliver! with Ron Moody, Shani Wallis, and Oliver Reed. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the age of 16 for the role of the...
and Harry Secombe
Harry Secombe
Sir Harry Donald Secombe CBE was a Welsh entertainer with a talent for comedy and a noted fine tenor singing voice. He is best known for playing Neddie Seagoon, the central character in the BBC radio comedy series The Goon Show...
, in his uncle Carol Reed
Carol Reed
Sir Carol Reed was an English film director best known for Odd Man Out , The Fallen Idol , The Third Man and Oliver!...
's 1968 screen version of the hit musical Oliver!
Oliver! (film)
Oliver! is a 1968 British musical film directed by Carol Reed. The film is based on the stage musical Oliver!, with book, music and lyrics written by Lionel Bart. The screenplay was written by Vernon Harris....
. In 1969 Reed played the title role in Michael Winner's WWII action-comedy Hannibal Brooks
Hannibal Brooks
Hannibal Brooks is a 1969 British war film about a Prisoner of war attempt to escape from Nazi Germany to Switzerland during World War II, accompanied by an Asian Elephant. It stars Oliver Reed, Michael J. Pollard and Wolfgang Preiss...
, alongside an elephant named Lucy.
An anecdote holds that Reed could have been chosen to play 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 1969, Bond franchise producers Albert R. Broccoli
Albert R. Broccoli
Albert Romolo Broccoli, CBE , nicknamed "Cubby", was an American film producer, who made more than 40 motion pictures throughout his career, most of them in the United Kingdom, and often filmed at Pinewood Studios. Co-founder of Danjaq, LLC and EON Productions, Broccoli is most notable as the...
and Harry Saltzman
Harry Saltzman
Harry Saltzman was a Canadian theatre and film producer best known for his mega-gamble which resulted in his co-producing the James Bond film series with Albert R...
were looking for a replacement for Sean Connery
Sean Connery
Sir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
and Reed (who had recently played a resourceful killer in The Assassination Bureau
The Assassination Bureau
The Assassination Bureau Limited is a black comedy film made in 1969 based on an unfinished novel, The Assassination Bureau, Ltd by Jack London...
) was mentioned as a possible choice for the role. Whatever the reason, Reed was never to play Bond. After Reed's death, the Guardian Unlimited
Guardian Unlimited
guardian.co.uk, formerly known as Guardian Unlimited, is a British website owned by the Guardian Media Group. Georgina Henry is the editor...
called the casting decision, "One of the great missed opportunities of post-war British movie history".
Reed starred as Athos the musketeer in three films based on Alexandre Dumas
Alexandre Dumas, père
Alexandre Dumas, , born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie was a French writer, best known for his historical novels of high adventure which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world...
's novels. First in The Three Musketeers
The Three Musketeers (1973 film)
The Three Musketeers is a 1973 film based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas, père. It was directed by Richard Lester and written by George MacDonald Fraser . It was originally proposed in the 1960s as a vehicle for The Beatles, whom Lester had directed in two other films...
(1973), followed by The Four Musketeers
The Four Musketeers (film)
The Four Musketeers is a 1974 Richard Lester film that follows upon his film of the year before, The Three Musketeers, and covers the second half of Dumas' novel The Three Musketeers...
(1974), and The Return of the Musketeers
The Return of the Musketeers
The Return of the Musketeers is a 1989 film adaptation loosely based on the novel Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas, père. It is the third Musketeers film directed by Richard Lester, following 1973's The Three Musketeers and 1974's The Four Musketeers...
(1989). He starred in a similarly historical themed film, Crossed Swords
Crossed Swords (film)
Crossed Swords is a 1977 action adventure film directed by Richard Fleischer, based on The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain...
(1977), as Miles Hendon alongside Raquel Welch
Raquel Welch
Jo Raquel Tejada , better known as Raquel Welch, is an American actress, author and sex symbol. Welch came to attention as a "new-star" on the 20th Century-Fox lot in the mid-1960s. She posed iconically in a animal skin bikini for the British-release One Million Years B.C. , for which she may be...
and a grown up Mark Lester, who had worked with Reed in Oliver!. Reed returned to horror as Dr. Hal Raglan in David Cronenberg
David Cronenberg
David Paul Cronenberg, OC, FRSC is a Canadian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror or venereal horror genre. This style of filmmaking explores people's fears of bodily transformation and infection. In his films, the...
's 1979 film The Brood
The Brood
The Brood is a 1979 Canadian horror film written and directed by David Cronenberg, starring Oliver Reed, Samantha Eggar and Art Hindle.The film depicts a series of murders committed by what seems at first to be a group of children...
.
From the 1980s onwards Reed's films had less success, his more notable roles being General Rodolfo Graziani
Rodolfo Graziani
Rodolfo Graziani, 1st Marquis of Neghelli , was an officer in the Italian Regio Esercito who led military expeditions in Africa before and during World War II.-Rise to prominence:...
in the 1981 film Lion of the Desert
Lion of the Desert
Lion of the Desert is a 1981 Libyan historical action film starring Anthony Quinn as Libyan tribal leader Omar Mukhtar, a Bedouin leader fighting the Italian army in the years leading up to World War II and Oliver Reed as Italian General Rodolfo Graziani, who attempted to defeat Mukhtar. It was...
, which co-starred Anthony Quinn
Anthony Quinn
Antonio Rodolfo Quinn-Oaxaca , more commonly known as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican American actor, as well as a painter and writer...
and chronicled the resistance to Italy's occupation of Libya; and in Castaway
Castaway (film)
Castaway is a 1986 film starring Amanda Donohoe and Oliver Reed, and directed by Nicolas Roeg. It was adapted from the 1984 book of the same name by Lucy Irvine, telling of her experiences of staying for a year with writer Gerald Kingsland on the isolated island of Tuin, between New Guinea and...
(1986) as the middle aged Gerald Kingsland
Gerald Kingsland
Gerald W. Kingsland was a journalist, adventurer and writer, born and raised in Whitchurch, Buckinghamshire, England. He was five times married. He had five sons and two daughters from the total marriages...
, who advertises for a "wife" (played by Amanda Donohoe
Amanda Donohoe
Amanda Donohoe is an English film and television actress. She is known for her 1980s relationship with popstar Adam Ant and her later work on television — including L.A. Law and Emmerdale — and her roles in successful movies including Liar, Liar.-Early life:Donohoe was born in London, the daughter...
) to live on a desert island with him for a year.
He also starred as Lt-Col Gerard Leachman
Gerard Leachman
Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Gerard Evelyn Leachman CIE DSO , was a British soldier and intelligence officer who travelled extensively in Arabia.Leachman was commissioned into the Royal Sussex Regiment and served in India and in the Boer War...
in the Iraqi historical film Al-Mas' Ala Al-Kubra
Al-Mas' Ala Al-Kubra
Al-Mas'ala Al-Kubra is a 1983 Iraqi movie focusing on the formation of Iraq out of Mesopotamia in the aftermath of the First World War....
(a.k.a. Clash of Loyalties) in 1982, which dealt with Leachman's exploits during the 1920 revolution in Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
(modern-day Iraq).
By the late 1980s, he was largely appearing in exploitation films produced by the infamous impresario Harry Alan Towers
Harry Alan Towers
Harry Alan Towers was a British-born radio and film producer and screenwriter, regularly using the pseudonym Peter Welbeck. He produced over a hundred feature films and continued to write and produce well into his eighties...
, most of which were filmed in South Africa at the time of apartheid and released straight to video in the US and UK. These included Skeleton Coast
Skeleton Coast
The Skeleton Coast is the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean coast of Namibia and south of Angola from the Kunene River south to the Swakop River, although the name is sometimes used to describe the entire Namib Desert coast...
(1987), Gor
Gor
Gor , the Counter-Earth, is the alternate-world setting for a series of 30 novels by John Norman that combine philosophy, erotica and science fiction...
(1987) Dragonard (1987) and its filmed-back-to-back sequel Master Of Dragonard Hill, Hold My Hand I'm Dying (aka Blind Justice) (1988), House Of Usher (1988), Captive Rage (1988)and The Revenger (1989).
His last major successes were Terry Gilliam
Terry Gilliam
Terrence Vance "Terry" Gilliam is an American-born British screenwriter, film director, animator, actor and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam is also known for directing several films, including Brazil , The Adventures of Baron Munchausen , The Fisher King , and 12 Monkeys...
's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen is a 1988 British adventure comedy film directed by Terry Gilliam, starring John Neville, Sarah Polley, Eric Idle, Jonathan Pryce, Oliver Reed, Uma Thurman, and Robin Williams.-Plot:...
(1988) (as the god Vulcan
Vulcan (mythology)
Vulcan , aka Mulciber, is the god of beneficial and hindering fire, including the fire of volcanoes in ancient Roman religion and Roman Neopaganism. Vulcan is usually depicted with a thunderbolt. He is known as Sethlans in Etruscan mythology...
), Treasure Island
Treasure Island (1990 film)
Treasure Island is a 1990 film adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s famous 1883 novel Treasure Island. It was filmed in 1989 on location in Cornwall, England, and in Jamaica, and also at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, England....
(1990) (as Captain Billy Bones), and Peter Chelsom
Peter Chelsom
Peter Chelsom is a British actor and film director. He has directed among others such films as Shall We Dance? and Hannah Montana: The Movie...
's Funny Bones
Funny Bones
Funny Bones is a 1995 comedy-drama film from Disney's Hollywood Pictures. It was written, directed and produced by Peter Chelsom, co-produced by Simon Fields, and co-written by Peter Flannery. The music score was by John Altman and the cinematography by Eduardo Serra...
(1995).
His final role was the elderly slave dealer Proximo in Gladiator
Gladiator (2000 film)
Gladiator is a 2000 historical epic film directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Ralf Möller, Oliver Reed, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, John Shrapnel and Richard Harris. Crowe portrays the loyal Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius, who is betrayed...
, in which he played alongside Richard Harris
Richard Harris
Richard St John Harris was an Irish actor, singer-songwriter, theatrical producer, film director and writer....
, an actor whom Reed admired greatly both on and off the screen. The film was released after his death in 2000 with some footage filmed with a double, digitally mixed with outtake footage. The film was dedicated to him. He was posthumously nominated for a British Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in this film, and also for the Screen Actors Guild Award, along with the rest of the principal players for Best Ensemble Cast.
Personal life
In 1959, Reed wed Kate Byrne. They had one son, Mark, before their divorce in 1969. While filming his part of Bill SikesBill Sikes
William "Bill" Sikes is a fictional character in the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.He is one of Dickens's most vicious characters and a very strong force in the novel when it comes to having control over somebody or harming others. He is portrayed as a rough and barbaric man. He is a career...
in Oliver!
Oliver! (film)
Oliver! is a 1968 British musical film directed by Carol Reed. The film is based on the stage musical Oliver!, with book, music and lyrics written by Lionel Bart. The screenplay was written by Vernon Harris....
, he met one of the dancers hired for the film, the classically trained Jacquie Daryl. By the end of the film they were lovers, and subsequently had a daughter named Sarah. In 1985, he married Josephine Burge, to whom he was still married at the time of his death. In his last years, Reed lived with Josephine in Churchtown, County Cork, Republic of Ireland.
When the UK government raised taxes on personal income, Reed initially declined to join the exodus of major British film stars to Hollywood and other more tax-friendly locales. Reed claimed to have turned down major roles in two hugely successful Hollywood movies: The Sting
The Sting
The Sting is a 1973 American caper film set in September 1936 that involves a complicated plot by two professional grifters to con a mob boss . The film was directed by George Roy Hill, who previously directed Newman and Redford in the western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.Created by...
(1973) (although he did appear in the sequel) and Jaws
Jaws (film)
Jaws is a 1975 American horror-thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name. In the story, the police chief of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, tries to protect beachgoers from a giant man-eating great white shark by closing the beach,...
(1975). In the late 1970s Reed finally relocated to Guernsey
Guernsey
Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...
as a tax exile
Tax exile
A tax exile is one who chooses to leave a country with a high tax burden and instead to reside in a foreign nation or jurisdiction which takes a lower portion of earnings. Going into tax exile is a means of tax mitigation or avoidance.-Legal status:...
. He had sold his large house, 'Broome Hall', between the villages of Coldharbour
Coldharbour, Surrey
Coldharbour is a village in Surrey UK. It is situated on Leith Hill in the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.Europa Oil & Gas has submitted a planning application to Surrey County Council to explore for oil and gas in Coldharbour....
and Ockley
Ockley
Ockley is a historic village in Surrey, built on Stane Street, a Roman Road stretching from Chichester to London. Situated between Dorking and Horsham, close to the Sussex/Surrey border, Ockley nestles in the shadows of Leith Hill, the highest point in South east England. Neighbouring villages...
some years earlier.
Alcoholism
Reed was famous for his excessive drinkingAlcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
, which fitted in with the "social" attitude of many rugby teams
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
in the 1960s and 1970s, and there are numerous anecdotes such as Reed and 36 friends drinking in an evening, 60 gallons of beer, 32 bottles of Scotch, 17 bottles of gin, four crates of wine, and one bottle of Babycham
Babycham
Babycham is the trade name of a light, sparkling perry invented by Francis Edwin Showering , a brewer in Shepton Mallet in Somerset, England; the name is now owned by Constellation Europe Limited. Launched in the United Kingdom in 1953, the drink was marketed with pioneering television...
. He subsequently revised the story, claiming he drank 106 pints of beer on a two-day binge before marrying Josephine; "The event that was reported actually took place during an arm-wrestling competition in Guernsey
Guernsey
Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...
about 15 years ago, it was highly exaggerated." Steve McQueen told the story that in 1973 he flew to the UK to discuss a film project with Reed and suggested the pair go to a nightclub in London. They ended up on a marathon pub crawl
Pub crawl
A pub crawl is the act of one or more people drinking in multiple pubs or bars in a single night, normally walking or busing to each one between drinking.-Origin of the term:...
during which Reed vomited on McQueen. Reed's face had been scarred 10 years previously during a 1963 bar fight after which he received 63 stitches and was in danger of having his film career terminated in his 20s.
Reed was often irritated that his appearances on TV chat shows concentrated on his drinking feats rather than his latest film. David Letterman
David Letterman
David Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...
cut to a commercial when it appeared Reed might get violent after being asked too many questions about his drinking. In September 1975, in front of a speechless Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
, the bellicose Reed famously had a glass of whiskey poured over his head on-camera by an enraged Shelley Winters
Shelley Winters
Shelley Winters was an American actress who appeared in dozens of films, as well as on stage and television; her career spanned over 50 years until her death in 2006...
on The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
(Winters had been upset by Reed's seemingly derogatory comments toward women). He was held partly responsible for the demise of BBC1's Sin on Saturday
Sin on Saturday
Sin on Saturday was a British live late night chat show based on the theme of the seven deadly sins that was produced by BBC Scotland. It was pulled from the schedules after only three broadcasts out of an intended eight...
after some typically forthright comments on the subject of lust
Lust
Lust is an emotional force that is directly associated with the thinking or fantasizing about one's desire, usually in a sexual way.-Etymology:The word lust is phonetically similar to the ancient Roman lustrum, which literally meant "purification"...
, the sin featured on the first programme. The show had many other problems and a fellow guest revealed that Reed recognised this when he arrived and virtually had to be dragged in front of the cameras. Near the end of his life, he was brought onto some TV shows specifically for his drinking; for example The Word
The Word (TV series)
The Word was a 1990s Channel 4 television programme in the United Kingdom.-Format:Its presenters included Mancunian radio presenter Terry Christian, comedian Mark Lamarr, Dani Behr, Katie Puckrik, Jasmine Dotiwala, Alan Connor, Amanda de Cadenet and "Huffty"...
put bottles of liquor in his dressing room so he could be secretly filmed getting drunk. He was forced to leave the set of the Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
television discussion programme After Dark
After Dark (Channel 4)
After Dark was a British late night live discussion programme which ran off and on Channel 4 television between 1987 and 1997, and on the BBC in 2003...
after arriving drunk and attempting to kiss feminist writer Kate Millett
Kate Millett
Kate Millett is an American lesbian feminist writer and activist. A seminal influence on second-wave feminism, Millet is best known for her 1970 book Sexual Politics.-Career:...
, uttering the memorable phrase, "Give us a kiss, big tits." He was seemingly very drunk on the Michael Aspel
Michael Aspel
Michael Terence Aspel, OBE is an English television presenter, known for his reserved demeanour and rich speaking voice. He has been a high-profile TV personality in the United Kingdom since the 1960s, presenting programmes such as Crackerjack, Aspel and Company, This is Your Life, Strange But...
chat show, to many highly entertaining, to others a waste of a great acting talent. However, author Cliff Goodwin, in his biography of Reed titled Evil Spirits, offers the theory that Reed was not always as drunk on chat shows as he appeared to be, but rather was acting the part of an uncontrollably sodden former star to liven things up, at the producers' behests.
In December 1987, Reed became seriously ill with kidney problems as a result of his alcoholism and had to abstain from drinking for a year.
In later years, Reed could often be seen quietly drinking with his wife, Josephine Burge, at the bar of the White Horse Hotel in the High Street in Dorking
Dorking
Dorking is a historic market town at the foot of the North Downs approximately south of London, in Surrey, England.- History and development :...
, 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...
, not far from his home in Oakwoodhill. When working in London, he was often found at The Duke of Hamilton pub in Hampstead, an area and pub he often frequented earlier in his career with Peter O'Toole
Peter O'Toole
Peter Seamus Lorcan O'Toole is an Irish actor of stage and screen. O'Toole achieved stardom in 1962 playing T. E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia, and then went on to become a highly-honoured film and stage actor. He has been nominated for eight Academy Awards, and holds the record for most...
and Richard Burton
Richard Burton
Richard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...
.
Death
Reed died of a sudden heart attackMyocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
during a break from filming Gladiator
Gladiator (2000 film)
Gladiator is a 2000 historical epic film directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Ralf Möller, Oliver Reed, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, John Shrapnel and Richard Harris. Crowe portrays the loyal Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius, who is betrayed...
in Valletta
Valletta
Valletta is the capital of Malta, colloquially known as Il-Belt in Maltese. It is located in the central-eastern portion of the island of Malta, and the historical city has a population of 6,098. The name "Valletta" is traditionally reserved for the historic walled citadel that serves as Malta's...
, Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
on 2 May 1999. The heart attack was a result of a night of hard drinking, which included three bottles of downed rum and arm wrestling victories over five sailors. He was 61 years old.
Several of his scenes in Gladiator had to be completed using CGI
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
techniques and, in one place, a mannequin. His funeral was held in Churchtown
Churchtown, County Cork
Churchtown is a village and townland near Buttevant in County Cork, Province of Munster, Ireland.Churchtown underwent a huge expansion during the Celtic Tiger years with the population increasing from about 100 to almost 700 people...
, County Cork
County Cork
County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Republic Of Ireland. The song "Consider Yourself
Consider Yourself
"Consider Yourself" is a song from the 1960s original West End and Broadway musical Oliver! and the 1968 film of the same name. In the 1968 Oliver! film, it is performed in the market.-In popular culture:...
" from his classic film Oliver!
Oliver! (film)
Oliver! is a 1968 British musical film directed by Carol Reed. The film is based on the stage musical Oliver!, with book, music and lyrics written by Lionel Bart. The screenplay was written by Vernon Harris....
was played at Oliver Reed's funeral. Reed's remains were buried in the 13th-century cemetery in the heart of Churchtown village, and his grave was seeded with Irish wildflowers.
External links
- Interview from PlaymenPlaymenPlaymen was an Italian adult entertainment magazine. It was founded in 1967 by a mother of three, Adelina Tattilo, reaching fame as Italy's Playboy magazine....
, by Michael Pergolani, 8 August 2000
- Obituary in The Daily Telegraph
- (Friday 7 May 1999). "Devil of an actor". Retrieved 24 February 2006