Ian Raymond Ogilvy (born 30 September 1943) is an English actor, playwright, and novelist.

Early life

Ogilvy was born in Woking,

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, England, to Francis Fairfield Ogilvy, brother of advertising executive

David Ogilvy David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, and actress Aileen Raymond (who had previously been married to actor

John Mills Sir John Mills (born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills; 22 February 190823 April 2005) was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portra ...

). His grandfather, Francis John Longley Ogilvy, was born in Argentina and a self-taught Gaelic-speaker who was a classics scholar and a failed financial broker. He was educated at

Sunningdale School Sunningdale School is a family-run boys' preparatory independent boarding school of around 100 pupils, situated in Sunningdale in Berkshire, close to London, England. Introduction Sunningdale School is a small school that seeks to educate its ...

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

, and the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Sen ...

Career

''Return of the Saint''

He is best known as the star of the television series ''

Return of the Saint ''Return of the Saint'' is a British action-adventure television series that aired for one series in 1978 and 1979 in Britain on ITV, and was also broadcast on CBS in the United States. It was co-produced by ITC Entertainment and the Italian b ...

'' (1978–79), in which he assumed the role of

Simon Templar ''The Saint'' is the nickname of the fictional character Simon Templar, featured in a series of novels and short stories by Leslie Charteris published between 1928 and 1963. After that date, other authors collaborated with Charteris on books un ...

from Roger Moore (1962–69). The role led to his being considered a leading contender for the role of

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

in the early 1980s, when Moore announced his intention to leave the role. He 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 recorded a series of readings of

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., a ...

's James Bond novels in the early 1980s, which were released on

audio cassette The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the tape cassette, cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Otten ...

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 The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buil ...

productions, including ''

Design 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 Cowa ...

'', ''Happy Family'', '' Three Sisters'', '' Rookery Nook'' by

Ben Travers Ben Travers (12 November 188618 December 1980) was an English writer. His output includes more than 20 plays, 30 screenplays, 5 novels, and 3 volumes of memoirs. He is best remembered for his long-running Aldwych farce, series of farces first ...

, '' Run for Your Wife'', ''The Millionairess'' by Shaw, ''

The Waltz of the Toreadors ''The Waltz of the Toreadors'' (''La Valse des toréadors'') is a 1951 play by Jean Anouilh. Plot This bitter 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 g ...

'', and others. He has also worked widely in the American theatre. Among his films, Ogilvy had a major part in the 1970 epic film ''Waterloo''. He co-starred with

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established h ...

in ''

The Sorcerers ''The Sorcerers'' is a 1967 British science fiction/horror film directed by Michael Reeves, starring Boris Karloff, Catherine Lacey, Ian Ogilvy, and Susan George. The original story and screenplay was conceived and written by John Burke. ...

'' (1967); with James Mason,

Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American musician and actor. He performed jazz, Pop music, pop, rock and roll, Folk music, folk, Swing music, swing, and country music. He started his car ...

, and

Geraldine Chaplin Geraldine Leigh Chaplin (born July 31, 1944) is an American actress. She is the daughter of Charlie Chaplin, the first of eight children with his fourth wife, Oona O'Neill. After beginnings in dance and modeling, she turned her attention to act ...

in '' Stranger in the House'' (also 1967); with

Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...

in ''

Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins ( 1620 – 12 August 1647) was an English witch-hunter whose career flourished during the English Civil War. He claimed to hold the office of Witchfinder General, although that title was never bestowed by Parliament, a ...

'' (also known as ''The Conqueror Worm'', 1968); with

Tom Courtenay Sir Thomas Daniel Courtenay (; born 25 February 1937) is an English actor. After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Courtenay achieved prominence in the 1960s with a series of acclaimed film roles, including ''The Loneliness of ...

and

Candice Bergen Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an American actress. She won five Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards for her portrayal of the title character on the CBS sitcom ''Murphy Brown'' (1988–1998, 2018). She is also kno ...

in ''

The Day the Fish Came Out ''The Day the Fish Came Out'' (Greece: Otan ta psaria vgikan sti steria) is a 1967 DeLuxe Color Greek–British comedy film directed and written by Michael Cacoyannis who also designed the film's futuristic costumes. The film stars Tom Courte ...

'' (1967): with

Meryl Streep Mary Louise Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Often described as "the best actress of her generation", Streep is particularly known for her versatility and accent adaptability. She has received numerous accolades throu ...

and

Goldie Hawn Goldie Jeanne Hawn (born November 21, 1945) is an American actress, dancer, producer, and singer. She rose to fame on the NBC sketch comedy program ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (1968–1970), before going on to receive the Academy Award and Go ...

in ''

Death Becomes Her ''Death Becomes Her'' is a 1992 American satirical black comedy fantasy film directed and produced by Robert Zemeckis. Written by David Koepp and Martin Donovan, it stars Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn as rivals who fight for the affections of ...

'' (1992); with

Peter Cushing Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage, and radio roles. He achieved recognition ...

in two films for horror specialists Amicus and with Richard Dreyfuss and

Nia Vardalos Antonia Eugenia Vardalos (born September 24, 1962) is a Canadian actress, director, producer and screenwriter. She is best known for starring in and writing the romantic comedy film ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding'' (2002), which garnered her nominati ...

in ''

My Life in Ruins ''My Life in Ruins'' (released as ''Driving Aphrodite'' in the United Kingdom) is a 2009 romantic comedy film directed by Donald Petrie and starring Nia Vardalos, Richard Dreyfuss, Alexis Georgoulis, Rachel Dratch, Harland Williams and Alista ...

'' (2009) – among others. He was a friend of the film-maker

Michael Reeves Michael Reeves (17 October 1943 – 11 February 1969) was an English film director and screenwriter. He is best remembered for the 1968 film ''Witchfinder General'' (known in the US as ''Conqueror Worm''). A few months after the film's rel ...

and starred in all three of Reeves's films: '' Revenge of the Blood Beast'' (1966), ''The Sorcerers'' and ''Witchfinder General''. He also had a role in the short-lived 1990s American soap opera, ''

Malibu Shores ''Malibu Shores'' is an American primetime teen drama/soap opera that aired on Saturday Night at 8:00PM EST from March to June 1996 for ten episodes on NBC. Created by Aaron Spelling and starring Keri Russell and Tony Lucca, the program followe ...

''. He has had roles in over one hundred television shows, often appearing as a guest star. He appeared in the television series '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' (as Lawrence Kirbridge). He guest-starred in '' The Avengers'' in the 1968 episode "They Keep Killing Steed" as Baron Von Curt, and on the BBC in

Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...

's ''The Door of Opportunity'', opposite

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer and actress. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single " As Tears Go By" and became one of the lead female artists during the British I ...

. In 1976, he featured in the pilot episode of the television comedy series ''

Ripping Yarns ''Ripping Yarns'' is a British television adventure comedy anthology series. It was written by Michael Palin and Terry Jones of Monty Python fame. It was transmitted on BBC 2. Following an initial pilot episode in January 1976, it ran for two ser ...

'', co-produced by former ''

Monty Python Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) were a British comedy troupe who created the sketch comedy television show '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'', which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four ...

'' members

Michael Palin Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, television presenter, and public speaker. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. Since 1980, he has made a number of travel documentaries. Palin w ...

and

Terry Jones Terence Graham Parry Jones (1 February 1942 – 21 January 2020) was a Welsh comedian, director, historian, actor, writer and member of the Monty Python comedy team. After graduating from Oxford University with a degree in English, Jones and ...

. He also appeared in ''

I, Claudius ''I, Claudius'' is a historical novel by English writer Robert Graves, published in 1934. Written in the form of an autobiography of the Roman Emperor Claudius, it tells the history of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and the early years of the Ro ...

'' (1976, as

Drusus Drusus may refer to: * Claudius (Tiberius Claudius Drusus) (10 BC–AD 54), Roman emperor from 41 to 54 * Drusus Caesar (AD 8–33), adoptive grandson of Roman emperor Tiberius * Drusus Julius Caesar (14 BC–AD 23), son of Roman emperor Tiberiu ...

), and guest-starred in 6 episodes of ''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...

'' and 4 episodes of ''

Diagnosis Murder ''Diagnosis: Murder'' is an American action-comedy-mystery-medical crime drama television series starring Dick Van Dyke as Dr. Mark Sloan, a medical doctor who solves crimes with the help of his son Steve, a homicide detective played by Van Dyk ...

''. He appeared as Edgar Linton in a film version of ''

Wuthering Heights ''Wuthering Heights'' is an 1847 novel by Emily Brontë, initially published under her pen name Ellis Bell. It concerns two families of the landed gentry living on the West Yorkshire moorland, moors, the Earnshaws and the Lintons, and their tur ...

'' (1970) and as Owen Gereth in BBC dramatisation of ''

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 novel traces the shifting relations among three people and ...

'' (also 1970). In the 1990s, he guest-starred in the American television series ''

Babylon 5 ''Babylon 5'' is an American space opera television series created by writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski, under the Babylonian Productions label, in association with Straczynski's Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Warner Bros. Domestic Tele ...

'', in the episode "

In the Kingdom of the Blind ''Babylon 5'' is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on the Babylon 5 space station: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the ...

" (1998). The series' star,

Bruce Boxleitner Bruce William Boxleitner (born May 12, 1950) 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 ...

, is the former husband of Ogilvy's second wife, actress Kathryn Holcomb. In 2000 he guest starred in Dharma and Greg series, Season 3 Episode 15, "The trouble with troubadours", as the sarcastic British hotel night manager. He was the subject of '' This Is Your Life'' in 1979 when he was surprised by

Eamonn Andrews Eamonn Andrews, (19 December 1922 – 5 November 1987) was an Irish radio and television presenter, employed primarily in the United Kingdom from the 1950s to the 1980s. From 1960 to 1964 he chaired the Radio Éireann Authority (now the RTÉ ...

Writing career

Ogilvy is also a playwright and novelist, currently working on a series of children's books: ''

Measle 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'' 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 HarperCollins HarperCollins P ...

'', ''

Measle and the Mallockee ''Measle and the Mallockee '' is a children's novel written by Ian Ogilvy and illustrated by Chris Mould. It is the third book in the Measle Stubbs series. The novel was first published in 2005 by Oxford University Press in the UK and HarperColli ...

'', ''Measle and the Slitherghoul'', and ''Measle and the Doompit''. The books have been translated into at least 15 languages. He has written and published two novels – ''Loose Chippings'' and ''The Polkerton Giant'' – and two plays: ''A Slight Hangover'' and ''Swap!'', currently running in Poland in its third successful year. His memoir, ''Once a Saint'', was published by Little Brown/Constable, in May 2016. His book of film reviews 'Withering Slights', based on his Facebook page, was published by Spiteful Puppet in 2020

Personal life

Ogilvy was married to Diane Hart from 1968–83; they had one child. He married Kathryn Holcomb in 1992, and later became a naturalised United States citizen.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ogilvy, Ian 1943 births Living people 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors 21st-century English novelists Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art English children's writers English emigrants to the United States English male film actors English male dramatists and playwrights English male stage actors English male television actors English people of Scottish descent English screenwriters English male screenwriters People educated at Eton College People educated at Sunningdale School People from Woking 21st-century British screenwriters 21st-century English male writers