Hugh Burden


Hugh Archibald Nairn Burden was a British actor and playwright.

Early life

Hugh Archibald Nairn Burden was born as the eldest son of Harry Archibald Burden, a colonial official, and Caro Cecil née Jackson, on 3 April 1913 in Colombo, Ceylon. He was educated at Beaumont College in Berkshire, England, and trained in London at the Central School of Speech and Drama and RADA. He appeared on stage in repertory theatre in Croydon and in London's West End before military service in the Hampshire Regiment and the Indian Army from 1939 to 1942.

Career

Burden made appearances in many UK television plays and series including Doctor Who: Spearhead from Space, The Crezz, Sykes, Strange Report and The Avengers. He played the title role in The Mind of Mr. J.G. Reeder. His many film appearances include One of Our Aircraft Is Missing, The Way Ahead, Fame Is the Spur, Malta Story, Funeral in Berlin, Blood from the Mummy's Tomb and The Ruling Class.
Burden acted in radio plays and was known for readings of the works of T. S. Eliot and Evelyn Waugh. He also wrote several television and stage plays and was an Equity council member.

Personal life

Burden married actress Joy Hodgkinson in 1950, and had a daughter with her, but the marriage was dissolved in 1955 on the grounds of her desertion. A subsequent marriage to Margaret de Lobera in 1957 was dissolved in 1962 on the grounds of his desertion.

Selected filmography

Death Croons the Blues as Viscount BrentShips with Wings as Sub.Lt. WeatherbyOne of Our Aircraft Is Missing as John Glyn Haggard—Pilot in B for BertieThe Way Ahead as Pvt. Bill ParsonsFame Is the Spur as Arnold RyersonSleeping Car to Trieste as MillsGhost Ship as Dr. FawcettMalta Story as Eden, SecurityNo Love for Johnnie as Tim MaxwellThe Secret Partner as Charles StandishFuneral in Berlin as HallamThe Inn Way Out as Husband, and Bastard Son, with John le MesurierThe Best House in London as Lord TennysonThe Statue as Sir GeoffreyBlood from the Mummy's Tomb as Geoffrey DandridgeThe Ruling Class as Matthew PeakeThe House in Nightmare Park as Reggie HendersonOne of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing as Haines