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 th ...

''.

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. Sited below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

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

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English private boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. It was founded as Marlborough School in 1843 by the Dean of Manchester, George ...

."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 charity in London, created with the aim of developing young people's artistic skills via theatrical productions and other creative endeavours. Founded in 1956 as the world ...

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, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...

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

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

in the 1981 film ''Excalibur''.

Career

Addie was a professional

polo Polo is a stick and ball game that is played on horseback as a traditional field sport. It is one of the world's oldest known team sports, having been adopted in the Western world from the game of Chovgan (), which originated in ancient ...

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 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

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 Molding (decorative), decorative moldings on ceilings or walls. This is also sometimes called parge ...

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 o ...

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 com ...

'' in 1981 at the

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

in Bromley, and '' Conduct Unbecoming'' in 1982 at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre 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 journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...

's '' Stalky & Co.''. In 1987, he played Sir Charles Kirkgordon in the CBS mini-series '' I'll Take Manhattan'' and Lord Peter Gillingham in '' A Hazard of Hearts''. 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 Fr ...

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 and formerly St Peter's Abbey, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the River Severn. It originated with the establishme ...

, 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 Muhamm ...

jihadist Jihadism is a neologism for modern, armed militant Political aspects of Islam, Islamic movements that seek to Islamic state, establish states based on Islamic principles. In a narrower sense, it refers to the belief that armed confrontation ...

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 ''The Tragedy of King Lear'', often shortened to ''King Lear'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his ...

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

St Columba Columba () or Colmcille (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is today Scotland at the start of the Hiberno-Scottish mission. He founded the important abbey ...

. 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, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

Personal life and death

Addie was married three times and had three children; Alex, Alastair, and Caitlin. 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. The Trust headquart ...

from the effects of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

, 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 #Pronunciation, below for more variations) is a market town and civil parish in the Cotswold District of Gloucestershire, England. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames. It is the List 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 the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art 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 Actors from Stroud