Richard Bird (actor)
Encyclopedia
Richard Bird was an actor
and director
of stage and screen.
He was born George Bird and took the stage name Richard Bird as during his early acting career he was knicknamed "Dickie" by his colleagues.
He worked one year in a newspaper office and made his stage debut as a member of the Liverpool Repertory Company in 1917. He played on stage in London and America. Bird made his film debut in some silent shorts in 1919. He appeared in films throughout the 1930s and 1940s, mostly in comedic roles. His most memorable film performances were as Richard French in the supernatural Ealing
drama Halfway House
and as Arthur the ghost in the comedy Don't Take It to Heart (both 1944). He made his last film in 1949 but carried on acting in television until the 1960s.
He directed the 1938 film version of Edgar Wallace
's The Terror
, as well as the 1943 stage adaptation of Graham Greene
's Brighton Rock at the Garrick Theatre
, London
.
He died in Regina, Saskatchewan
, Canada
.
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and 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:...
of stage and screen.
He was born George Bird and took the stage name Richard Bird as during his early acting career he was knicknamed "Dickie" by his colleagues.
He worked one year in a newspaper office and made his stage debut as a member of the Liverpool Repertory Company in 1917. He played on stage in London and America. Bird made his film debut in some silent shorts in 1919. He appeared in films throughout the 1930s and 1940s, mostly in comedic roles. His most memorable film performances were as Richard French in the supernatural Ealing
Ealing
Ealing is a suburban area of west London, England and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Ealing. It is located west of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically a rural village...
drama Halfway House
Halfway house
The purpose of a halfway house, also called a recovery house or sober house, is generally to allow people to begin the process of reintegration with society, while still providing monitoring and support; this is generally believed to reduce the risk of recidivism or relapse when compared to a...
and as Arthur the ghost in the comedy Don't Take It to Heart (both 1944). He made his last film in 1949 but carried on acting in television until the 1960s.
He directed the 1938 film version of Edgar Wallace
Edgar Wallace
Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace was an English crime writer, journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and playwright, who wrote 175 novels, 24 plays, and numerous articles in newspapers and journals....
's The Terror
The Terror (1938 film)
The Terror is a 1938 British crime film directed by Richard Bird and starring Wilfrid Lawson, Linden Travers and Bernard Lee. It was based on a play by Edgar Wallace.The film is also known as Edgar Wallace's The Terror ....
, as well as the 1943 stage adaptation of Graham Greene
Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene, OM, CH was an English author, playwright and literary critic. His works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world...
's Brighton Rock at the Garrick Theatre
Garrick Theatre
The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster. It opened on 24 April 1889 with The Profligate, a play by Arthur Wing Pinero. In its early years, it appears to have specialised in the performance of melodrama, and today the theatre is a...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
He died in Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Short Filmography
- Impromptu (1932)
- The Crouching BeastThe Crouching BeastThe Crouching Beast is a 1935 British drama film directed by Victor Hanbury and starring Fritz Kortner, Wynne Gibson and Richard Bird.-Plot:...
(1935) - SensationSensation (film)Sensation is a 1936 British crime film directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring John Lodge, Diana Churchill, Francis Lister and Felix Aylmer...
(1936) - ForbiddenForbidden (1949 film)Forbidden is a British thriller film, directed by George King in Technicolor, and starring Ronald Shiner, Hazel Court, and Douglass Montgomery...
(1949)