Richard Briers

Richard David Briers (14 January 1934 – 17 February 2013) was an English actor whose five-decade career encompassed film, radio, stage and television.

Briers first came to prominence as George Starling in ''Marriage Lines'' (1961–66), but it was a few years later, when he narrated ''Roobarb'' (1974–76) and '' Noah and Nelly in... SkylArk'' (1976–77) and played Tom Good in the BBC sitcom '' The Good Life'' (1975–78), that he became a household name. He starred as Martin in ''Ever Decreasing Circles'' (1984–89), and had a leading role as Hector in '' Monarch of the Glen'' (2000–05). From the late 1980s, with Kenneth Branagh as director, he performed Shakespearean roles in ''Henry V'' (1989), ''Much Ado About Nothing'' (1993), ''Hamlet'' (1996) and ''As You Like It'' (2006).

Early life

Briers was born on 14 January 1934 in Raynes Park, Surrey, the son of Joseph Benjamin Briers and his second wife Morna Phyllis, daughter of Frederick Richardson, of the Indian Civil Service. He was the first cousin once removed of actor Terry-Thomas (Terry-Thomas was his father's cousin). He spent his childhood at Raynes Park in a flat, Number 2 Pepys Court, behind the now demolished Rialto cinema, and later at Guildford. His father, Joseph Briers, was the son of a stockbroker, of a family of Middlesex tenant farmers; a gregarious and popular man, he contended with a nervous disposition, and drifted between jobs, spending most of his life as a bookmaker but also working as, amongst other things, an estate agent's clerk and a factory worker for an air filter manufacturer, as well as a gifted amateur singer who attended classes at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. His mother, Morna Briers was a concert pianist and a drama and music teacher, and a member of Equity, who wished for a showbusiness career, having acted in her youth. The couple had met when Joseph Briers asked Morna to stand in for his regular pianist for a performance; by this time his first marriage had collapsed and six months later they had entered a relationship. The family occasionally received money from a wealthy relation, and Briers' maternal grandparents paid for his education, despite not being particularly well-off, and having lived in slightly reduced circumstances in India before returning to England and coming to live at Wimbledon.

Briers attended Rokeby School in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, and, having failed the examination for King's College School, the Ridgeway School in Wimbledon, which he left at the age of 16 without any formal qualifications.

Early career

Briers' first job was a clerical post with a London cable manufacturer, and for a short time he went to evening classes to qualify in electrical engineering, but soon left and became a filing clerk.

Aged 18, he was called up for two years' national service in the RAF, during which he was a filing clerk at RAF Northwood, where he met future '' George and Mildred'' actor Brian Murphy. Murphy introduced Briers, who had been interested in acting since the age of 14, to the Dramatic Society at the Borough Polytechnic Institute, now London South Bank University, where he performed in several productions.

When he left the RAF he studied at RADA, which he attended from 1954 to 1956. Placed in a class with both Peter O'Toole and Albert Finney, Briers later credited academy director John Fernald with nurturing his talent. Graduating from RADA with a silver medal, he won a scholarship with the Liverpool Repertory Company, and after 15 months moved to the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry for 6 months. He made his West End debut in the Duke of York's Theatre 1959 production of ''Gilt And Gingerbread'' by Lionel Hale.

Television career

In 1961, Briers was cast in the leading role in ''Marriage Lines'' (1961–66) with Prunella Scales playing the role of his wife. In between the pilot and the series itself, Briers appeared in '' Brothers in Law'' (from the book by Henry Cecil) as callow barrister Roger Thursby in 1962. He was cast in this role by adaptors Frank Muir and Denis Norden, who had seen him in the West End.

His other early appearances included '' The Seven Faces of Jim'' (1961) with Jimmy Edwards, '' Dixon of Dock Green'' (1962), a production of Noël Coward's ''Hay Fever'' (1968) and the storyteller in several episodes of ''Jackanory'' (1969). In 1970, he starred in the Ben Travers Farce "Rookery Nook", shown on the BBC. In the 1980s he played several Shakespearean roles, including ''Twelfth Night''.

Briers was a subject of ''This Is Your Life'' on two occasions, in May 1972 and March 1994.

In a role specifically written for him by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey, Briers was cast in the lead role in '' The Good Life'' (1975–78), playing Tom Good, a draughtsman who decides, on his 40th birthday, to give up his job and try his hand at self-sufficiency, with the support of his wife Barbara, played by Felicity Kendal. Briers persuaded the producers to cast his friend Paul Eddington, a fellow council member of Equity, in the role of Jerry. An enormously successful series, the last episode in 1978 was performed in front of Queen Elizabeth II. In 1977, he starred with his ''The Good Life'' co-star Penelope Keith in the televised version of Alan Ayckbourn's trilogy '' The Norman Conquests''. He also starred as Ralph in 13 episodes of ''The Other One'' (1977–79) with Michael Gambon.

During the 1980s and 1990s, Briers had leading roles in several television shows. including '' Goodbye, Mr Kent'' (1982), a rare failure also featuring Hannah Gordon, the lead role of Martin Bryce in ''Ever Decreasing Circles'' (1984–89), and as Godfrey Spry in the BBC comedy drama ''If You See God, Tell Him'' (1993). He also starred in ''All in Good Faith'' (1985), '' Tales of the Unexpected'' as Albert Dobson (in episode 9/4 "The Verger" – 1988), and the first episode of '' Mr. Bean'' (1990) as Mr. Sprout. In 1987, he appeared as the principal villain in the ''Doctor Who'' serial ''Paradise Towers'', a performance which was described by ''Radio Times'' writer Patrick Mulkern as Briers' "career low". In 1995, he played the character Tony Fairfax in the BBC comedy '' Down to Earth''. In the '' Inspector Morse'' episode " Death is Now My Neighbour", he played the evil master of Lonsdale College, Sir Clixby Bream.

During the 2000s, Briers was the curmudgeonly and extravagant father Hector MacDonald in the BBC television programme '' Monarch of the Glen'' (2000–05), appearing in series 1, 2, 3 and 7. Also in the 2000's, specifically 2006, he appeared in an episode of New Tricks entitled Old Dogs playing a character called James Farlow.

Stage work

Briers spent much of his career in the theatre, including appearances in plays by Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw. In 1967, one of his earliest successes was playing alongside Michael Hordern and Celia Johnson in the London production of Alan Ayckbourn's '' Relatively Speaking''.

After a long career in television sitcom, and looking to expand his career, his daughter Lucy took him to Stratford-upon-Avon to watch Kenneth Branagh in ''Henry V''. After meeting Branagh backstage after the performance, Branagh offered Briers the role of Malvolio in the Renaissance Theatre Company production of ''Twelfth Night''. Briers joined the company, and went on to play title parts in ''King Lear'' and ''Uncle Vanya''. Briers also appeared in many of Branagh's films, including ''Henry V'' (1989, as Bardolph), ''Much Ado About Nothing'' (1993, as Signor Leonato) and ''Hamlet'' (1996, as Polonius). The theatre production of ''Twelfth Night'' (1988) was adapted for television, with Briers reprising his role as Malvolio.

In 2010, Briers played in the Royal National Theatre revival of Dion Boucicault's '' London Assurance'', alongside Simon Russell Beale and Fiona Shaw. A performance of this was broadcast live to cinemas round the world as part of the ''NT Live!'' programme. He also played the character of Captain Bluntschli, in George Bernard Shaw's play ''Arms and the Man''.

Film

Briers made his film début in the British feature film '' Bottoms Up'' (1960). He then took parts in ''Murder She Said'' (1961), ''The Girl on the Boat'' (1962), ''A Matter of WHO'' (1962), '' The V.I.P.s'' (1963); and Raquel Welch's spy spoof ''Fathom'' (1967).

He latterly appeared in Michael Winner's '' A Chorus of Disapproval'' (1988) and the film '' Unconditional Love'' (2002) as well as the Kenneth Branagh adaptation of ''Much Ado About Nothing'' (1993) in which he played the role of Leonato. In 1997 he played a minor role in the film '' Spice World'' as the Archbishop of Canterbury. His last film was '' Cockneys vs Zombies'' (2012).

Radio and voice work

He was a familiar voice actor. Briers narrated the animated children's TV programme ''Roobarb'' (1974). Originally shown on BBC1 just before the evening news, each five-minute cartoon was written by Grange Calveley and produced by Bob Godfrey

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