Eric Porter
A highly respected Shakespearean for five decades until his death of colon cancer in 1995, classical actor Eric Porter's claim to international fame would, ironically, be outside of that realm, with one superb portrayal in one superb miniseries, The Forsyte Saga(1967), in which he won the BAFTA award. The son of Richard John Porter and Phoebe Elizabeth Spall, Porter first attended Wimbledon Technical College before stepping onto the stage as a walk-on in a production of William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" in February 1945 at the Arts Theatre in Cambridge. He continued in repertory until joining the National Service with the RAF during the war years. Early post-war credits would include touring with Sir Donald Wolfit and Sir Barry Jackson in their prestigious companies. Favorite roles in his repertoire would eventually include "Macbeth", "King Lear" and "Uncle Vanya". He won London's Evening Standard Award for "Rosmersholm" in 1959. Joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1960, he became a prime, esteemed resident for decades. Porter made his film debut in mid-career with The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) at age 36, but it was the BBC that made him an international favorite as the ever-proper but intensely emotional and unhinged "Soames Forsyte". Taboos were broken on that series with a violent rape scene that had people talking for months. Along with the newly acquired fame came leads in lesser films such as The Lost Continent(1968) and Hands of the Ripper (1971), adding class to both those atmospheric horrors. On the plus side, Porter engaged himself frequently in quality TV miniseries fare includingAnna Karenina (1977), The Jewel in the Crown (1984) and Oliver Twist (1985) (as Fagin), while transferring many classics to TV as well, with "Cyrano de Bergerac", "Man and Superman" and "Macbeth" being but a few.
Fotos
Películas (38)
Morecambe & Wise: Christmas Specials
2007
The Heroes of Telemark: Location report from Norway
2003
The Best of Morecambe and Wise
2001 · Self (archive footage)
Message for Posterity
1994 · James Player
Oliver Twist
1985 · Fagin
A Shilling Life
1982 · Petersham
The Crucible
1981 · Deputy Governor Danforth
The Sin Bin
1981 · Stanley Wilkinson
Little Lord Fauntleroy
1980 · Mr. Havisham
Hamlet
1980 · Polonius
Why Didn't They Ask Evans?
1980 · Dr. Nicholson
Churchill and the Generals
1979 · Gen. Sir Alan Brooke
The Thirty Nine Steps
1978 · Chief Superintendent Lomas
The Winslow Boy
1977 · Arthur Winslow
The Shetland Experience
1977 · Narrator (voice)
Hitler’s Germany - A World at War Special Presentation
1976 · Narrator
Hennessy
1975 · Tobin
The Statue and the Rose
1975 · Parnell
The Two Deaths of Adolf Hitler
1975 · Narrator
The Final Solution
1975 · Narrator
Callan
1974 · Hunter
From War to Peace
1974 · Narrator
Warrior - World at War Special Presentation
1974 · Narrator
The Day of the Jackal
1973 · Colonel Rodin
Hitler: The Last Ten Days
1973 · Generalfeldmarschall Robert Ritter von Greim
The Belstone Fox
1973 · Asher Smith
Antony and Cleopatra
1972 · Enobarbus
Nicholas and Alexandra
1971 · Stolypin
Hands of the Ripper
1971 · Dr. John Pritchard
Macbeth
1970 · Macbeth
Separate Tables
1970 · Major Pollock / John Malcolm
The Lost Continent
1968 · Lansen
The Last Invasion
1966 · Harold
Kaleidoscope
1966 · Harry Dominion
The Heroes of Telemark
1965 · Terboven
The Wars of the Roses
1965 · Henry VII
The Fall of the Roman Empire
1964 · Julianus
Emma
1948
Series (21)
The World of Hammer
1994 · Self (archive footage)
Performance
1991 · James Player
The Return of Sherlock Holmes
1986 · Professor Moriarty
Oliver Twist
1985 · Fagin
Sherlock Holmes
1984 · Professor Moriarty
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
1984 · Professor Moriarty
The Jewel in the Crown
1984 · Dimitri Bronowsky
Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years
1981 · Neville Chamberlain
Anna Karenina
1977 · Karenin
The Final Solution
1975 · Self - Narrator
Private Affairs
1975 · Charles Stewart Parnell
Playhouse
1974 · Petersham
Play for Today
1970 · Stanley Wilkinson
Solo
1970
Morecambe & Wise: Christmas Specials
1969 · Himself
Civilisation
1969 · Macbeth (voice)
The Forsyte Saga
1967 · Soames Forsyte
BBC Play of the Month
1965 · Cyrano de Bergerac, Arthur Winslow, Councillor Albert Parker, Jack Tanner, Maj. Pollock / John Malcolm, Macbeth
Knock on Any Door
1965 · Johnny Isaacs
Theatre 625
1964 · 'Newton'
Theatre Night
1957 · Vadim Romanoff