Brian Bedford
Brian Bedford was an English actor. He appeared in film and on stage, and was an actor-director of Shakespeare productions. Bedford was nominated for seven Tony Awards for his theatrical work, winning once.
He served as the voice of Disney's Robin Hood from the 1973 animated film of the same name.
Early life
Brian Bedford was born in Morley, West Riding of Yorkshire, on 16 February 1935, the son of Ellen and Arthur Bedford, a postman. He attended St Bede's Grammar School in Bradford, leaving at the age of 15. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London from 1952 to 1955. At RADA, he was in the same class as Albert Finney, Alan Bates and Peter O'Toole.Career
Primarily a stage actor, he appeared in English-speaking interpretations of the French playwright Molière, including Tony Award nominated performances in Tartuffe, The Molière Comedies and The School for Wives, for which he received the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play.He performed Shakespearean work, such as Ariel in The Tempest opposite John Gielgud's Prospero in 1958, and at the Stratford Festival in Ontario, Canada including Angelo in Measure for Measure, Malvolio in Twelfth Night and the title role in Richard III directed by Robin Phillips, and The Public Theater's New York Shakespeare Festival Shakespeare in the Park productions of As You Like It, and Timon of Athens on Broadway, with the National Actors Theatre in 1993. Bedford's additional Broadway credits include The Seven Descents of Myrtle, Private Lives, Two Shakespearean Actors, London Assurance and Jumpers.
Bedford appeared with James Garner in the 1966 film Grand Prix, and in 1967 he was a regular on the CBS series Coronet Blue. He provided the voice of the title character in the 1973 Disney film Robin Hood, which director Byron Howard credits as a major inspiration for the Academy Award-winning animated film, Zootopia. In 1988, he appeared as Mr. Stone, the head of the consortium that owns Cheers, and would later appear in its spin-off, Frasier, in 2000. In 1997 Bedford was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame. Other honours include the Obie Award, the Outer Circle Critics Award, the Drama Desk Award, and the L.A. Drama Critics Award.
In 2009, Bedford starred as Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest, marking 27 seasons of acting and/or directing, at the Stratford Festival in Canada.
He repeated the role in 2010 for the Roundabout Theatre in New York, which earned him a 2011 Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play.
Personal life
Bedford shared homes in Stratford, Ontario, and in Santa Barbara, California, with fellow actor Tim MacDonald, his partner since 1985 and husband since 2013.Death
Bedford died of cancer on January 13, 2016, in Santa Barbara, California, at the age of 80; his remains were cremated.Stratford Shakespeare Festival
Actor
Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare – MalvolioMeasure for Measure by William Shakespeare – AngeloRichard III by William Shakespeare – Richard IIIThe Guardsman by Ferenc Molnár – The ActorAs You Like It by William Shakespeare – JacquesPrivate Lives by Noël Coward – ElyotThe Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare – LeontesUncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov – Dr AstrovMuch Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare – BenedickTwelfth Night by William Shakespeare – MalvolioThe Seagull by Anton Chekhov – TrigorinThe Misanthrope by Molière – AlcesteArms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw – BluntschliBlithe Spirit by Noël Coward – CharlesRichard II by William Shakespeare – Richard IITartuffe by Molière – TartuffeA Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare – BottomWaiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett – VladimirThe Relapse by John Vanbrugh – Lord FoppingtonThe Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare – ShylockThe Lunatic, the Lover & the Poet by Brian Bedford – adapted Shakespeare textsMacbeth by William Shakespeare – MacbethJulius Caesar by William Shakespeare – BrutusThe Lunatic, the Lover & the Poet by Brian Bedford – adapted Shakespeare textsTimon of Athens by William Shakespeare – TimonMuch Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare – DogberryThe School for Wives by Molière – ArnolpheMeasure for Measure by William Shakespeare – DukeTwelfth Night by William Shakespeare – FesteThe School for Husbands & The Imaginary Cuckold by Molière – SganarelleAmadeus by Peter Shaffer – SalieriThe Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman – HoraceEquus by Peter Shaffer – DysartMuch Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare – BenedickA Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare – BottomThe School for Scandal by Richard Brinsley Sheridan – Sir Peter TeazleTartuffe by Molière – TartuffePrivate Lives by Noël Coward – ElyotThe Seagull by Anton Chekhov – SorinThe Lunatic, the Lover & the Poet by Brian Bedford – adapted Shakespeare textsPresent Laughter by Noël Coward – Garry EssendineLove's Labour's Lost by William Shakespeare – Don ArmadoLondon Assurance by Dion Boucicault – Sir Harcourt CourtlyTwelfth Night by William Shakespeare – MalvolioKing Lear by William Shakespeare – King LearThe Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde – Lady BracknellDirector
Titus Andronicus by William ShakespeareCoriolanus by William ShakespeareThe Rivals by Richard Brinsley SheridanBlithe Spirit by Noël CowardThe Lunatic, the Lover & the Poet by Brian BedfordPhaedra by RacineOthello by William ShakespeareWaiting for Godot by Samuel BeckettEquus by Peter ShafferThe Winter's Tale by William ShakespearePrivate Lives by Noël CowardPresent Laughter by Noël CowardNoises Off by Michael FraynFallen Angels by Noël CowardLondon Assurance by Dion BoucicaultKing Lear by William ShakespeareThe Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar WildeBlithe Spirit by Noël CowardFilmography
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1955 | Madeleine | Maxime | TV movie |
| 1958 | ITV Play of the Week | Miolands the Herald | Episode: "Winterset" |
| 1958 | ITV Play of the Week | Victor | Episode: "Squaring the Circle" |
| 1958 | ITV Play of the Week | Chris | Episode: "As the Twig is Bent" |
| 1961 | ITV Television Playhouse | Ralph Whitlock | Episode: "The Bad One" |
| 1961 | BBC Sunday-Night Play | Lieutenant Chanz | Episode: "The Judge and His Hangman" |
| 1961 | Traitor in a Steel Helmet | Trooper Jupp | TV movie |
| 1962 | Edgar Wallace Mysteries | Jimmy Gale | Episode: "Number Six" |
| 1962 | Sir Francis Drake | Estaban | Episode: "Escape" |
| 1962 | The Secret Thread | Tony | TV movie |
| 1965 | Ben Casey | Pat Jordan | Episode: "Then I, and You, and All of Us Fell Down" |
| 1965 | The Holy Terror | Billy Sims | TV movie |
| 1966 | New York Television Theatre | Episode: "The Dark Lady of the Sonnets" | |
| 1967 | Androcles and the Lion | Lentulus | TV movie |
| 1967 | Coronet Blue | Brother Anthony | Recurring role |
| 1969 | Judd, for the Defense | Eric Wright | Episode: "The Crystal Maze" |
| 1969 | The Name of the Game | Anthony Malcolm | Episode: "An Agent of the Plaintiff" |
| 1971 | Nanny and the Professor | Cholmondeley Featherstonehaugh | Episode: "Cholmondeley Featherstonehaugh" |
| 1985 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Stewart Dean | Episode: "Wake Me When I'm Dead" |
| 1985 | The Equalizer | W. Donald Polk | Episode: "Bump and Run" |
| 1987 | The Equalizer | Paul Coble | Episode: "Beyond Control" |
| 1988 | Murder, She Wrote | Alastair Andrews | Episode: "Benedict Arnold Slipped Here" |
| 1988 | Cheers | Greg Stone | Episode: "How to Recede in Business" |
| 1989 | The Equalizer | Emil Kostov | Episode: "Time Present, Time Past" |
| 1989 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Sherlock Holmes | Episode: "My Dear Watson" |
| 1990 | The Last Best Year | Dr. Castle | TV movie |
| 1993 | Bob | Dr. Edward Mars Jones | Episode: "The Man Who Killed Mad Dog" |
| 1994 | Scarlett | Sir John Morland | Miniseries |
| 1998 | More Tales of the City | Henry Callaway Kent | 1 episode |
| 2000 | Frasier | Edward | Episode: "Out with Dad" |
| 2002 | Mr. St. Nick | Jasper | TV movie |
| 2004 | A Christmas Carol: The Musical | Mr. Fezzwing | TV movie |
| 2004 | Great Performances | Degas | Episode: "Degas and the Dance" |
| 2014 | Black Jesus | Episode: "I Gave at the Playground" |
Awards and nominations
;Tony Awards- 1971 Best Leading Actor in Play – The School for Wives
- 1992 Best Leading Actor in Play – Two Shakespearean Actors
- 1994 Best Leading Actor in Play – Timon of Athens
- 1995 Best Leading Actor in Play – The Molière Comedies
- 1997 Best Leading Actor in Play – London Assurance
- 2003 Best Leading Actor in Play – Tartuffe
- 2011 Best Leading Actor in Play – The Importance of Being Earnest
- 1969 Outstanding Performance – The Misanthrope
- 1970 Outstanding Performance – Private Lives
- 1971 Outstanding Performance – The School for Wives
- 1974 Outstanding Performance – Jumpers
- 1992 Outstanding Actor in a Play – Two Shakespearean Actors
- 1994 Outstanding Actor in a Play – Timon of Athens
- 2011 Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play – The Importance of Being Earnest
- 1965 Outstanding Performance – ''The Knack''