Richard Pearson (actor)
Encyclopedia
Richard de Pearsall Pearson (1 August 1918 – 2 August 2011) was a Welsh actor. Notable films of his career included Brian Desmond Hurst
's Scrooge
(1951) as well as a brief appearance in John Schlesinger
's Sunday Bloody Sunday
(1971) and cameo roles in three films by Roman Polanski
: Macbeth
(1971), Tess
(1979) and Pirates (1986). Pearson made his stage debut at age 18 at London
's Collins's Music Hall, but didn't make his film debut until 32 when he played a Sergeant in the motion picture The Girl is Mine (1950) which was followed a year later by his performance as Mr. Tupper in Scrooge.
In later years, he is perhaps best known for his role as Mole in Cosgrove Hall's The Wind in the Willows
(1983), its subsequent television series, The Wind in the Willows
which led on from the original film and its spin-off
programme Oh, Mr. Toad both of which he starred alongside David Jason
, Peter Sallis
and Michael Hordern
. He has also has appeared in episodes of One Foot in the Grave
as Victor Meldrew's absent-minded brother, Alfred and the Men Behaving Badly
episode "Three Girlfriends" as Gary's father Mr Strang. He played Mr. Pye in the 1985 TV movie Marple: The Moving Finger. Pearson died on August 2, 2011, one day after his 93rd birthday. .
Richard Pearson married the actress Patricia Dickson in 1949. She and their two sons, one of whom, Patrick, is also an actor, survive him.
Brian Desmond Hurst
thumb|right|200px|Portrait by [[Allan Warren]]Brian Desmond Hurst was a Belfast-born film director. Responsible for over 30 movies as director, Hurst was Ireland's most prolific movie director during the 20th century.-Early life:Hurst was born Hans Hurst in Ribble Street, East Belfast"". into a...
's Scrooge
Scrooge (1951 film)
Scrooge, released as A Christmas Carol in the United States, is a 1951 film adaptation of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. It starred Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge and was directed by Brian Desmond Hurst, with a screenplay by Noel Langley.The film also features Kathleen Harrison in an...
(1951) as well as a brief appearance in John Schlesinger
John Schlesinger
John Richard Schlesinger, CBE was an English film and stage director and actor.-Early life:Schlesinger was born in London into a middle-class Jewish family, the son of Winifred Henrietta and Bernard Edward Schlesinger, a physician...
's Sunday Bloody Sunday
Sunday Bloody Sunday (film)
Sunday Bloody Sunday is a 1971 British drama film directed by John Schlesinger and starring Murray Head, Glenda Jackson and Peter Finch. It tells the story of a free-spirited young bisexual artist and his simultaneous relationships with a female recruitment consultant and a male Jewish doctor...
(1971) and cameo roles in three films by Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...
: Macbeth
Macbeth (1971 film)
Macbeth is a 1971 British-American drama film directed by Roman Polanski, based on William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Macbeth, about the Highland lord who becomes King of Scotland through treachery and murder. It features Jon Finch as Macbeth and Francesca Annis as Lady Macbeth...
(1971), Tess
Tess (film)
Tess is a 1980 romance film directed by Roman Polanski, an adaptation of Thomas Hardy's 1891 novel Tess of the d'Urbervilles. It tells the story of a strong-willed, young peasant girl who finds out she has title connections by way of her old aristocratic surname and who is raped by her wealthy...
(1979) and Pirates (1986). Pearson made his stage debut at age 18 at 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...
's Collins's Music Hall, but didn't make his film debut until 32 when he played a Sergeant in the motion picture The Girl is Mine (1950) which was followed a year later by his performance as Mr. Tupper in Scrooge.
In later years, he is perhaps best known for his role as Mole in Cosgrove Hall's The Wind in the Willows
The Wind in the Willows (1983 film)
The Wind in the Willows is a 1983 79-minute film by the studio Cosgrove Hall for Thames Television and aired on the ITV network. The movie is based on Kenneth Grahame's classic story The Wind in the Willows. It won a BAFTA award and an international Emmy award...
(1983), its subsequent television series, The Wind in the Willows
The Wind in the Willows (TV series)
The Wind in the Willows is a 52-episode TV series that was originally broadcast between 1984 and 1987, based on characters from Kenneth Grahame's classic story The Wind in the Willows and following the 1983 film The Wind in the Willows. It was made by animation company Cosgrove Hall for Thames...
which led on from the original film and its spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
programme Oh, Mr. Toad both of which he starred alongside David Jason
David Jason
Sir David John White, OBE , better known by his stage name David Jason, is an English BAFTA award-winning actor. He is best known as the main character Derek "Del Boy" Trotter on the BBC sit-com Only Fools and Horses from 1981, the voice of Mr Toad in The Wind In The Willows and as detective Jack...
, Peter Sallis
Peter Sallis
Peter Sallis, OBE is an English actor and entertainer, well-known for his work on British television. Although he was born and brought up in London, his two most notable roles require him to adopt the accents and mannerisms of a Northerner.Sallis is best known for his role as the main character...
and Michael Hordern
Michael Hordern
Sir Michael Murray Hordern was an English actor, knighted in 1983 for his services to the theatre, which stretched back to before the Second World War.-Personal life:...
. He has also has appeared in episodes of One Foot in the Grave
One Foot in the Grave
One Foot in the Grave is a BBC television sitcom series written by David Renwick. The show ran for six series, including seven Christmas specials, two Comic Relief specials, over an eleven year period, from early 1990 to late 2000...
as Victor Meldrew's absent-minded brother, Alfred and the Men Behaving Badly
Men Behaving Badly
Men Behaving Badly is a British comedy that was created and written by Simon Nye. It follows the lives of Gary Strang and his flatmates, Dermot Povey and Tony Smart It was first broadcast on ITV in 1992...
episode "Three Girlfriends" as Gary's father Mr Strang. He played Mr. Pye in the 1985 TV movie Marple: The Moving Finger. Pearson died on August 2, 2011, one day after his 93rd birthday. .
Richard Pearson married the actress Patricia Dickson in 1949. She and their two sons, one of whom, Patrick, is also an actor, survive him.
Selected filmography
- The Girl is MineThe Girl Is Mine"The Girl Is Mine" is a song by Michael Jackson featuring Paul McCartney. It is the first single from Jackson's sixth solo album, Thriller. It is one of the three songs that Jackson and McCartney recorded together. McCartney is the only featured guest on the album. The track was written and...
(1950) - The Woman in QuestionThe Woman in QuestionThe Woman in Question is 1950 British mystery film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Jean Kent, Dirk Bogarde and John McCallum...
(1950) - The Clouded YellowThe Clouded YellowThe Clouded Yellow is a 1951 British mystery film directed by Ralph Thomas and produced by Betty E. Box for Carillon Films.-Plot synopsis:...
(1950) - ScroogeScrooge (1951 film)Scrooge, released as A Christmas Carol in the United States, is a 1951 film adaptation of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. It starred Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge and was directed by Brian Desmond Hurst, with a screenplay by Noel Langley.The film also features Kathleen Harrison in an...
(1951) - The Blue ParrotThe Blue ParrotThe Blue Parrot is a 1953 British crime film directed by John Harlow and starring Dermot Walsh, Jacqueline Hill, Ballard Berkeley, Richard Pearson and John Le Mesurier.British crime reporter Percy Hoskins provided the story.-Cast:...
(1953) - Fabian of the YardFabian of the YardFabian of the Yard was a British police procedural television series based on the real-life memoirs of Scotland Yard detective Robert Fabian, made by the BBC and broadcast between November 1954 and February 1956. It is considered the earliest police procedural to be made for British TV, sharing...
(1954) - Dangerous CargoDangerous CargoDangerous Cargo is a 1954 British crime film directed by John Harlow starring Jack Watling, Susan Stephen, Richard Pearson, Terence Alexander and John Le Mesurier.British crime reporter Percy Hoskins provided the story.-Cast:...
(1954) - SvengaliSvengali (1954 film)Svengali is a 1954 British drama film directed by Noel Langley and starring Hildegard Knef, Donald Wolfit and Terence Morgan. A svengali hypnotises an artist's model into becoming a great opera singer, but she struggles to escape from his powers. It was based on a novel by George Du Maurier.-Cast:*...
(1954) - Sea FurySea Fury (film)Sea Fury is a 1958 British action film directed by Cy Endfield and starring Stanley Baker, Victor McLaglen, Luciana Paluzzi and Grégoire Aslan...
(1958) - Life in Danger (1959)
- Model for MurderModel for MurderModel for Murder is a 1959 British crime film directed by Terry Bishop and starring Keith Andes, Hazel Court and Jean Aubrey.-Plot:American sailor David Martens, on shore leave in England, visits his brother Jack's grave...
(1959) - The Crowning TouchThe Crowning TouchThe Crowning Touch is a 1959 British comedy film directed by David Eady and starring Ted Ray, Irene Handl and Greta Gynt.-Cast:* Ted Ray as Bert* Greta Gynt as Rosie* Griffith Jones as Mark* Sydney Tafler as Joe* Dermot Walsh as Aubrey Drake...
(1959) - LibelLibel (film)Libel is a 1959 British drama film. It stars Olivia de Havilland, Dirk Bogarde, Paul Massie, Wilfrid Hyde-White and Robert Morley. The film's screenplay was written by Anatole de Grunwald and Karl Tunberg from a 1935 play of the same name by Edward Wooll, and it was directed by Anthony Asquith.The...
(1959) - Man in the MoonMan in the Moon (film)Man in the Moon is a 1960 comedy film directed by Basil Dearden. It stars Kenneth More and Shirley Anne Field.-Plot:William Blood is a man who appears to be immune to all known diseases, and possesses extraordinary resistance to heat and cold - a fact he puts down to his carefree, single life,...
(1960) - Guns of DarknessGuns of DarknessGuns of Darkness is a 1962 British drama film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring David Niven, Leslie Caron and James Robertson Justice...
(1962) - The King's BreakfastThe King's Breakfast (film)The King's Breakfast is a 1963 British family film directed by Wendy Toye and starring Maurice Denham, Mischa Auer and Reginald Beckwith. It was based on the poem The King's Breakfast by A.A. Milne.-Cast:* Maurice Denham ... The King...
(1963) - The Comedy ManThe Comedy ManThe Comedy Man is a 1964 British drama film directed by Alvin Rakoff and starring Kenneth More, Cecil Parker, Dennis Price and Billie Whitelaw...
(1964) - The Yellow Rolls-RoyceThe Yellow Rolls-Royce-External links:, a promotional short subject for the film...
(1964) - The Caramel CrisisThe Caramel CrisisThe Caramel Crisis was a one-off BBC television drama by Simon Gray, produced as part of the BBC's Thirty-Minute Theatre series. It was Simon Gray's first dramatic work, adapted from his own short story, and was first broadcast live on 25 April 1966 starring George Cole, Richard Pearson, John Le...
(1966) - Charlie BubblesCharlie BubblesCharlie Bubbles is a British film of 1967 starring Billie Whitelaw and Albert Finney, and also featuring a young Liza Minnelli. It was listed to compete at the 1968 Cannes Film Festival, but the festival was cancelled due to the events of May 1968 in France.The film made great play of its...
(1967) - How I Won the WarHow I Won the WarHow I Won the War is a black comedy film directed by Richard Lester, released in 1967. The film stars Michael Crawford as bungling British Army Officer Lieutenant Earnest Goodbody, with John Lennon , Jack MacGowran , Roy Kinnear and Lee Montague as soldiers under his command...
(1967) - The Strange AffairThe Strange AffairThe Strange Affair is a 1968 British crime film directed by David Greene.-Cast:* Michael York - Peter Strange* Jeremy Kemp - Peirce* Susan George - Frederika 'Fred' March* Jack Watson - Quince* George A. Cooper - Kingsley...
(1968) - Inspector Clouseau (1968)
- The Rise and Rise of Michael RimmerThe Rise and Rise of Michael RimmerThe Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer is a British 1970 cult satire film written by and starring Peter Cook, John Cleese and Graham Chapman, and directed by Kevin Billington .-Synopsis:...
(1970) - Sunday Bloody SundaySunday Bloody Sunday (film)Sunday Bloody Sunday is a 1971 British drama film directed by John Schlesinger and starring Murray Head, Glenda Jackson and Peter Finch. It tells the story of a free-spirited young bisexual artist and his simultaneous relationships with a female recruitment consultant and a male Jewish doctor...
(1971) - To Catch a SpyTo Catch a SpyTo Catch a Spy is a 1971 comedy spy film directed by Dick Clement and starring Kirk Douglas, Marlène Jobert, Trevor Howard, Richard Pearson, Garfield Morgan, Angharad Rees and Robert Raglan. It was written by Clement and Ian La Frenais. It was a co-production been Britain, the United States and...
(1971) - The Tragedy of Macbeth (1971)
- Pope JoanPope JoanPope Joan is a legendary female Pope who, it is purported, reigned for a few years some time in the Middle Ages. The story first appeared in the writings of 13th-century chroniclers, and subsequently spread through Europe...
(1972) - It Shouldn't Happen to a VetIt Shouldn't Happen to a Vet (film)It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet , was a sequel to the 1975 film All Creatures Great and Small....
(1975) - One of Our Dinosaurs Is MissingOne of Our Dinosaurs is MissingOne of Our Dinosaurs is Missing is a 1975 British comedy film, which is set in the early 1920s, about the theft of a dinosaur skeleton from the Natural History Museum. The film was produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution Company. The title is a parody of the...
(1975) - Royal FlashRoyal Flash (film)Royal Flash is a 1975 film based on George MacDonald Fraser's second Flashman novel, Royal Flash. It starred Malcolm McDowell as Flashman. Oliver Reed appeared in the role of Otto von Bismarck, Alan Bates as Rudi von Sternberg, and Florinda Bolkan played Lola Montez...
(1975) - The Blue BirdThe Blue Bird (1976 film)The Blue Bird is a 1976 American/Soviet fantasy film directed by George Cukor. The screenplay by Hugh Whitemore, Alfred Hayes, and Aleksei Kapler is based on L'Oiseau bleu by Maurice Maeterlinck. It was the fifth screen adaptation of the play, following two silent films, the studio's 1940 version...
(1976) - TessTess (film)Tess is a 1980 romance film directed by Roman Polanski, an adaptation of Thomas Hardy's 1891 novel Tess of the d'Urbervilles. It tells the story of a strong-willed, young peasant girl who finds out she has title connections by way of her old aristocratic surname and who is raped by her wealthy...
(1979) - The Mirror Crack'dThe Mirror Crack'dThe Mirror Crack'd is a 1980 film British mystery film based on Agatha Christie's Miss Marple novel The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side...
(1980) - The Wind in the WillowsThe Wind in the Willows (1983 film)The Wind in the Willows is a 1983 79-minute film by the studio Cosgrove Hall for Thames Television and aired on the ITV network. The movie is based on Kenneth Grahame's classic story The Wind in the Willows. It won a BAFTA award and an international Emmy award...
(1983) - WaterWater (1985 film)Water is a 1985 comedy film scripted by Dick Clement and Ian Le Frenais, directed by Clement, and starring Michael Caine. This HandMade Films production was released in U.S. theatres in April 1986 by Atlantic Releasing.-Plot summary:...
(1985) - Whoops Apocalypse (1986)
- Pirates (1986)
- Men in Black IIMen in Black IIMen in Black II is a 2002 science fiction action comedy starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. The film also stars Lara Flynn Boyle, Johnny Knoxville, Rosario Dawson and Rip Torn...
(2002)