Robert Alastair Addie (10 February 1960 – 20 November 2003) was an English film and theatre actor, who came to prominence playing the role of Sir Guy of Gisburne in the 1980s British television drama series ''

Robin of Sherwood ''Robin of Sherwood'' is a British television series, based on the legend of Robin Hood. Created by Richard Carpenter, it was produced by HTV in association with Goldcrest, and ran from 28 April 1984 to 28 June 1986 on the ITV network. In the ...

''.

Early life

Addie was born in

Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the Five ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, the son of a stable owner, and was educated at

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church ...

."Robert Addie: Action-man actor who tended to be typecast"
''The Independent'', 2 January 2004. After initially being employed as a trainee estate agent on a ranch in Argentina, he returned to England and joined the

National Youth Theatre The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain (NYT) is a youth theatre and registered charity in London. Its aim is to develop and nurture young people through creative arts and theatrical productions. Founded in 1956 as the world's first youth th ...

in London in 1976 at the age of 16. Subsequently he trained in acting at 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 ...

, which he left after a year after successfully auditioning for the role of

Mordred Mordred or Modred (; Welsh: ''Medraut'' or ''Medrawt'') is a figure who is variously portrayed in the legend of King Arthur. The earliest known mention of a possibly historical Medraut is in the Welsh chronicle ''Annales Cambriae'', wherein he ...

in the 1981 film ''Excalibur''.

Career

Addie was a professional

polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...

player; his skills as a horseman and also with sword and bow led to his frequently appearing in historical dramas set in the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

era. At the beginning of his career in the early 1980s he appeared on British television in a number of advertisements for products ranging from Polycell

plastering Plasterwork is construction or ornamentation done with plaster, such as a layer of plaster on an interior or exterior wall structure, or plaster decorative moldings on ceilings or walls. This is also sometimes called pargeting. The process of ...

repair wall filler to

Mr Kipling Mr Kipling is a brand of cakes, pies and baked goods made in Carlton, South Yorkshire and Stoke-on-Trent, and marketed in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and North America. It was introduced in May 1967 (at a time when cakes were more of ...

cakes. In the early 1980s he also appeared in a variety of theatrical productions, including ''

Journey's End ''Journey's End'' is a 1928 dramatic play by English playwright R. C. Sherriff, set in the trenches near Saint-Quentin, Aisne, towards the end of the First World War. The story plays out in the officers' dugout of a British Army infantry comp ...

'' in 1981 at the

Churchill Theatre The Churchill Theatre in Bromley, southeast London was built by the London Borough of Bromley to designs by its borough architect's department. The Churchill is an example of a repertory theatre built in the style of European opera houses, wit ...

in Bromley, and ''

Conduct Unbecoming Conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman (or conduct unbecoming for short) is an offense that is subject to court martial in the armed forces of some nations. Use in the United Kingdom The phrase was used as a charge in courts martial of ...

'' in 1982 at the

Yvonne Arnaud Theatre The Yvonne Arnaud Theatre is a theatre located in Guildford, Surrey, England. Named after the actress Yvonne Arnaud, it presents a series of locally produced and national touring productions, including opera, ballet and pantomime. The theatre h ...

in Guildford. His most prominent film role was Prince Mordred in John Boorman's ''Excalibur'' (1981). Other films included '' Another Country'' (1984), as Delahay. On television, Addie starred as ''Stalky'' in a 1982 BBC television mini-series of

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

's '' Stalky & Co.''. In 1987, he played Sir Charles Kirkgordon in the CBS mini-series ''

I'll Take Manhattan ''I'll Take Manhattan'' is a 1986 bonkbuster novel by American author Judith Krantz. It has been cited as her best novel because it is the one most closely rooted in her own experience as a writer and socialite. The book was adapted into a CBS ...

'' and Lord Peter Gillingham in ''

A Hazard of Hearts ''A Hazard of Hearts'' is a 1987 made-for-television romantic drama film starring Helena Bonham Carter in one of her first major roles. It is based on a 1949 novel by Barbara Cartland. Plot Sir Giles Staverley, a compulsive gambler, is tricked i ...

''. His role as Sir Guy of Gisburne in the 1984–1986 English television series ''

'' brought his career national exposure. In 1989, he abandoned acting and spent several years living in Spain and the United States. Returning to his career in 1995, he initially performed in touring

fringe theatre Fringe theatre is theatre that is produced outside of the main theatre institutions, and that is often small-scale and non-traditional in style or subject matter. The term comes from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.Kemp, Robert, ''More that is Fre ...

original productions with the Chichester-based Exiled Theatre Company. In 1995 he appeared with the company in ''Shades in Time - Martyrs'', involving a promenading performance within

Gloucester Cathedral Gloucester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the River Severn. It originated with the establishment of a minster dedicated to S ...

, and as the character of a mouse in the play ''Shades in Time - The Docks'' set at Gloucester Docks as a part of the 1995 Gloucester Festival. In late 1995, he performed with the company in Cheltenham in a theatrical monologue he wrote about a

Mohammedan ''Mohammedan'' (also spelled ''Muhammadan'', ''Mahommedan'', ''Mahomedan'' or ''Mahometan'') is a term for a follower of Muhammad, the Islamic prophet. It is used as both a noun and an adjective, meaning belonging or relating to, either Muham ...

jihadist Jihadism is a neologism which is used in reference to "militant Islamic movements that are perceived as existentially threatening to the West" and "rooted in political Islam."Compare: Appearing earlier in the Pakistani and Indian media, Wes ...

suicide bomber entitled ''Acts of Revenge'', and in 1996 he appeared in the new plays by the company: ''Edmund, Son of Gloucester'' (a prequel to Shakespeare's

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...

) and ''Into the Mist'' – a play set in early medieval Scotland with Addie playing

St Columba Columba or Colmcille; gd, Calum Cille; gv, Colum Keeilley; non, Kolban or at least partly reinterpreted as (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is toda ...

. After this Addie resumed a film and television career, also acting in a number of television commercials in 1998 for designer kitchens, whisky, and habit-breaking products for cigarettes.'Other Works'
list in Robert Addie's entry in

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

Personal life and death

Addie was married three times and had three children. His marriages all ended in divorce.Biography
Jo's Robert Addie Fansite . He died on 20 November 2003 at age 43 in

Cheltenham General Hospital Cheltenham General Hospital is an NHS district general hospital in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, run by Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It provides general hospital services including Accident and Emergency. History The Cheltenh ...

from the effects of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

, less than three weeks after the disease was diagnosed. On the tenth anniversary of his death, fans planted a cherry tree bearing a commemorative plaque in his memory in the Jack Gardner Memorial Garden in

Cirencester Cirencester (, ; see below for more variations) is a market town in Gloucestershire, England, west of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswolds. It is the home of ...

.Information on the tree planting ceremony
24 November 2013, Jo's Robert Addie Fansite .

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

* ''Journey's End'' (1981) * ''Conduct Unbecoming'' (1982) * ''Shades in Time'' (1995) * ''The Tell-Tale Heart'' (1995) * ''Acts of Revenge'' (Co-written by Robert Addie) (1995) * ''Edmund Son of Gloucester'' (1996) * ''Into the Mist'' (1996)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Addie, Robert 1960 births 2003 deaths Alumni of RADA English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors British expatriates in Argentina National Youth Theatre members People educated at Marlborough College Deaths from lung cancer in England 20th-century English male actors Male actors from Gloucestershire People from Cotswold District