Stephen John Greif (; 26 August 1944 – 23 December 2022) was an English actor known for his roles as Travis in ''

Blake's 7 ''Blake's 7'' is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. Four series of thirteen 50-minute episodes were broadcast on BBC1 between 1978 and 1981. It was created by Terry Nation, who also wrote the first series, prod ...

'', Harry Fenning in three series of '' Citizen Smith'', Signor Donato in '' Casanova'' and Commander John Shepherd in '' Shoot on Sight''.

Early life

Greif was born in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, England, in a building originally belonging to

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...

as a gift from

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagreement w ...

. Greif was the son of Pauline (née Rubinstein) and Franz Greif. He was of Polish, Russian and Hungarian Jewish descent. He was educated at Sloane Grammar School, where he was school champion in athletics and swimming, and represented the school and the county in athletics at the White City Stadium amongst other venues. He briefly attended the Regent Street Polytechnic before entering a variety of jobs, including troubleshooter at a TV and radiogram manufacturer and as a negotiator in a boutique West End estate agency, before applying for drama school.

Career

Greif was an honours graduate of 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 ...

, where he won numerous awards including Best Actor and Most Promising Actor, and was an Associate Member and served on the audition panel. He was a member of the National Theatre Company both at the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

's company and on the South Bank for Peter Hall's company. Among the productions he appeared in were ''

Danton's Death ''Danton's Death'' (''Dantons Tod'') was the first play written by Georg Büchner, set during the French Revolution. History Georg Büchner wrote his works in the period between Romanticism and Literary realism, Realism in the so-called Vormär ...

'', ''A Woman Killed with Kindness'', '' The Merchant of Venice'' (with Olivier), '' Long Day's Journey into Night'' (again with Olivier), '' The School for Scandal'', '' Richard II'', ''The Front Page'' and ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

''. Greif was invited back to appear with them at Queen's Theatre in the West End in the Italian comedy ''Saturday, Sunday, Monday'', directed by Franco Zeffirelli and

, where he won a Best Actor nomination in the Critics' Circle Theatre Award. Later, he was invited to join the National again on the South Bank under Peter Hall in the revival of ''

Death of a Salesman ''Death of a Salesman'' is a 1949 stage play written by the American playwright Arthur Miller. The play premiered on Broadway in February 1949, running for 742 performances. It is a two-act tragedy set in late 1940s Brooklyn told through a ...

'', directed by Michael Rudman and with Warren Mitchell winning himself another Best Actor nomination in the

Olivier Awards The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in West End theatre, professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of We ...

. Grief was back again at the invitation of Nicholas Hytner to join his inaugural season appearing in ''His Girl Friday'', ''Edmund'' and the Christmas production ''His Dark Materials''. He acted alongside Elaine Stritch in ''The Gingerbread Lady'', Denholm Elliott in ''The Paranormalist'',

Frank Langella Frank A. Langella Jr. (; born January 1, 1938) is an American actor. He eschewed the career of a traditional film star by making the stage the focal point of his career, appearing frequently on Broadway. He has received four Tony Awards (out of ...

in ''Abracadaver'', Albert Finney in

Ronald Harwood Sir Ronald Harwood ( né Horwitz; 9 November 1934 – 8 September 2020) was a South African-born British author, playwright, and screenwriter, best known for his plays for the British stage as well as the screenplays for '' The Dresser'' (for ...

's ''Reflected Glory'',

Felicity Kendal Felicity Ann Kendal (born 25 September 1946) is an English actress, working principally in television and theatre. She has appeared in numerous stage and screen roles over a more than 70-year career, including as Barbara Good in the television ...

and Frances de la Tour in ''Fallen Angels'', Joseph Fiennes in ''George Dillon'' and Lesley Manville in '' Six Degrees of Separation''. He appeared in three plays by his friend Bernard Kops, an East End playwright and poet, at the

Jewish Museum A Jewish museum is a museum which focuses upon Jews and may refer seek to explore and share the Jewish experience in a given area. Notable Jewish museums include: Albania * Solomon Museum, Berat Australia * Jewish Museum of Australia, Melbourn ...

, the JW3 and the National Portrait Gallery to celebrate the author's 85th and 90th birthdays. From 2016 to 2018, together with

Fenella Fielding Fenella Fielding (born Fenella Marion Feldman; 17 November 1927 – 11 September 2018) was an English stage, film and television actress who rose to prominence in the 1950s and 1960s, and was often referred to as "England's first lady of t ...

, Greif appeared at Crazy Coqs at Zedel's Brasserie on multiple occasions, and various other venues in David Stuttard's adaptation of drama and comedy from famous ancient Greek literature called ''Tears, Treachery..and Just a little Murder'' produced by Simon McKay. The production was revived in 2020/21, with Dame Sian Phillips replacing Fielding, and retitled ''Savage Beauty'', playing again at Crazy Coqs with further shows to come, this time entitled ''Lovers, Traitors...and bloody Greeks''. Greif appears in many films including ''Gerry'', '' Risen'', '' Woman in Gold'', ''Bill'', ''D is for Detroit'',

Lasse Hallström Lars Sven "Lasse" Hallström (; born 2 June 1946) is a Swedish film director. He first became known for directing almost all the music videos by the pop music, pop group ABBA, but came to international attention with his 1985 feature film ''My L ...

's '' Casanova'', ''Shoot on Sight'', ''Eichmann'', ''Spartan'', ''The Upside of Anger'', '' Boogie Woogie'' and ''Fakers''. His many television appearances include '' Only When I Laugh'', '' Thriller'' (1 episode, 1976)'', Howard's Way'', '' Spooks'', '' Mistresses'', '' He Kills Coppers'', '' Silent Witness'', the last story of '' Waking the Dead'', ''

The Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

'', '' The Alienist: Angel of Darkness'', '' Doctors'' and ''

New Tricks ''New Tricks'' is a British television police procedural comedy drama, created by Nigel McCrery and Roy Mitchell, produced primarily by Wall to Wall (until its final year, when it was handled by Headstrong Pictures), and broadcast on BBC On ...

''. Greif reprised his ''

'' role of Travis from season 1 of the TV series in eleven new audio stories for

Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and radio drama, audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'' ...

. He voiced Raymond Maarloeve in the video game '' The Witcher''. He voiced and was nominated for best narrator for

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...

Video game ''

Puppeteer A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object called a puppet to create the illusion that the puppet is alive. The puppet is often shaped like a human, animal, or legendary creature. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the ...

'' in addition to many more games and cartoon series including '' Elliott from Earth'' for the Cartoon Network. Greif won the BBC audio books of America award for narrating ''The Boy with the Magic Numbers'' by Sally Gardner. He also narrated various documentaries on Channel 5, and in 2021 contributed to and participated in the documentary

tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of lands which the state con ...

Alfred Burke is Frank Marker.
'

Personal life and death

Greif enjoyed golf, and was a member and past President of the Stage Golfing Society. He married in 1980; the marriage produced twin sons in 1982. He resided near Richmond in London. Greif died on 23 December 2022, aged 78.

Filmography

Film and television

Theatre

Radio and audiobooks

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Greif, Stephen 1944 births 2022 deaths Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art English male film actors English male radio actors English male television actors English people of Hungarian-Jewish descent English people of Polish-Jewish descent English people of Russian-Jewish descent Jewish English male actors Male actors from Hertfordshire People from Sawbridgeworth 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors Actors from East Hertfordshire District