Nicholas Selby (born James Ivor Selby, 13 September 1925 – 14 September 2010) was a British film, television and theatre actor. He appeared in more than one hundred

television drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms t ...

s on the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

and

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

during the course of his career, including '' Our Friends in the North'', '' Poldark'' and '' House of Cards''. Selby was also a long-standing member of the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

. Selby was born in

Holborn Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. The area has its roots ...

, London on 13 September 1925. He served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, making his stage debut in '' Dangerous Corner'' at Preston, Lancashire, for the forces' entertainment organisation ENSA. In 1948 he enrolled at the Central School of Speech and Drama, receiving commendation for his student performance in Mary Hayley Bell's ''Men in Shadow''. There then followed seasons in repertory at Liverpool, Birmingham, Coventry, York, Hornchurch and Cambridge. His first professional West End appearance was in 1959, in William Douglas-Home's ''

Aunt Edwina ''Aunt Edwina'' is a 1959 comedy play by the British writer William Douglas Home. It premiered at Devonshire Park Theatre in Eastbourne before beginning a run of 101 performances in London between 3 November 1959 and 6 February 1960 initially at ...

'', followed by his creation of the hit-man Ben in the London premiere of Harold Pinter's '' The Dumb Waiter'' at the Hampstead Theatre Club in January 1960. In 1963 Selby made his first appearances for the Royal Shakespeare Company, as Casca in ''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

'', the Bishop of Winchester in ''

The Wars of The Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the throne of England, English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These w ...

'' and Antonio in '' The Tempest''. His association with the company lasted for ten years, until he followed Peter Hall to the new National Theatre in London in 1976. In his first season there he appeared as Menander in ''

Tamburlaine ''Tamburlaine the Great'' is a play in two parts by Christopher Marlowe. It is loosely based on the life of the Central Asian emperor Timur (Tamerlane/Timur the Lame, d. 1405). Written in 1587 or 1588, the play is a milestone in Elizabethan p ...

'' and the Captain in ''

Tales from the Vienna Woods "Tales from the Vienna Woods" (german: "Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald", links=no, italic=no, occasionally ) is a waltz by Johann Strauss II. Composed in 1868 in music, 1868, , Opus number, Op. 325, was one of six Viennese waltzes by Johann Stra ...

''. He was van Swieten in the inaugural production ''

Amadeus Amadeus may refer to: *Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), prolific and influential composer of classical music *Amadeus (name), a given name and people with the name * ''Amadeus'' (play), 1979 stage play by Peter Shaffer * ''Amadeus'' (film), ...

'' and the parliamentary

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

in ''

The Madness of George III ''The Madness of George III'' is a 1991 play by Alan Bennett. It is a fictionalised biographical study of the latter half of the reign of George III of the United Kingdom, his battle with mental illness, and the inability of his court to handle h ...

''. His last stage role was as Dilly Knox in '' Breaking the Code'' in 1987. Selby died in London on 14 September 2010, at the age of 85."Although he died in September 2010, the news of his death emerged only last month." Coveney (2011:39) He was predeceased by his wife, Kathleen Rayner, for whom he had been caring during her ill-health for many years, and was survived by their daughter, Alison, and two grandchildren.

Filmography

References

External links

* 1925 births 2010 deaths English male soap opera actors English male stage actors English male film actors People from Holborn Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama British Army personnel of World War II Male actors from London Royal Shakespeare Company members {{UK-tv-actor-1920s-stub