Cyril Ritchard, Acting - KorPlix:Korean Person Archives

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Cyril Ritchard
Acting

Cyril Ritchard
Known For
Acting
Birthday
1897-12-01,
Gender
Male
Biography
Legendary for his preening, prancing, delightfully playful villain Captain Hook on the award-winning stage (as well as TV) opposite America's musical treasure Mary Martin, beloved musical star Cyril Ritchard had a vast career that would last six decades, but "Peter Pan" would become his prime legacy. Born in Australia just before the turn of the century, he was educated at St. Aloysius College and Sydney University wherein he slyly sidestepped a parental-guided career in medicine for entertainment, participating in numerous college productions that quickly got him "hooked." He began professionally in the chorus line of The Royal Comic Opera Company and quickly progressed to juvenile leads. A subsequent pairing with the already-established theatre actress Madge Elliott in 1918 proved successful, and the musical twosome eventually married in 1935. Together they would go on to become known as "The Musical Lunts" by their acting peers performing in scores of plays and revues together. Ritchard specialized in playing slick, dandified villains in musical comedy and developed a potent reputation of being a man of many talents. Not only directing and staging Broadway's finest, he became a renown performer of various operas and led many productions as such. Shortly before his wife's death of bone cancer in 1955, Ritchard ventured into TV infamy by repeating his Tony and Donaldson award-winning portrayal of Hook in Peter Pan (1955). He continued to earn acclaim and/or honors with such classic stage productions as "Visit to a Small Planet" (Tony-nominated), "The Pleasure of His Company" (Drama League award, Tony-nominated), "The Roar of the Greasepaint...the Smell of the Crowd" (Tony-nominated), "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Sugar," the musical version of the classic Billy Wilder film Some Like It Hot (1959) in which Ritchard played the Joe E. Brown role. Lesser regarded when it comes to film, he performed in the early Hitchcock classic Blackmail (1929) and made his last movie with the musical Half a Sixpence (1967) with Tommy Steele. While performing as the Narrator in a stage production of "Side by Side by Sondheim" in November 1977, Ritchard suffered a heart attack and died one month later. A one-of-a-kind talent, his nefarious, narcissistic humor was a career trademark that culminated in the role of a lifetime -- one that will certainly be enjoyed by children young and old for eons to come.

Filmography

6.547

Blackmail
1929-07-28

6.594

The Hobbit
1977-11-27

6.529

Piccadilly
1929-02-01

6.729

Peter Pan
1960-12-08

The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow

5.405

The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow
1975-12-19

The Emperor's New Clothes

6.5

The Emperor's New Clothes
1972-02-21

6.917

Hans Brinker
1969-12-14

The Show Goes On

6.5

The Show Goes On
1937-03-31

5.083

The Daydreamer
1966-06-01

The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood

10

The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood
1965-11-28

Half a Sixpence

6

Half a Sixpence
1967-12-21

The Owl and the Pussycat

0

The Owl and the Pussycat
1962-01-01

8

Tubby the Tuba
1975-04-30

6.5

I See Ice
1938-02-10

6.167

Peter Pan
1955-03-07

The Winslow Boy

7.018

The Winslow Boy
1948-09-24

Dangerous Medicine

8

Dangerous Medicine
1938-07-23

9.6

Mr. Scrooge
1964-01-01

Just for a Song

10

Just for a Song
1930-03-11

Symphony in Two Flats

7

Symphony in Two Flats
1930-07-16

The Lyrics of Alan Jay Lerner

0

The Lyrics of Alan Jay Lerner
1966-02-21

0

Pontius Pilate
1952-04-07

The Christmas Tree

0

The Christmas Tree
1958-12-14

1

Peter Pan
1956-01-09

It's a Grand Old World

9

It's a Grand Old World
1937-01-01

10

Aladdin
1958-02-21

10

Dearest Enemy
1955-11-26

7.667

Woman Hater
1948-10-13

Service for Ladies

7.625

Service for Ladies
1932-01-14

Television Demonstration Film

0

Television Demonstration Film
1937-01-01

6.333

Omnibus
1952-11-09

The Merv Griffin Show

6.6

The Merv Griffin Show
1962-10-01

5.385

Studio One
1948-11-07

Hallmark Hall of Fame

8.75

Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951-12-24

Lux Video Theatre

6.714

Lux Video Theatre
1950-10-02

The Philco Television Playhouse

6.625

The Philco Television Playhouse
1948-10-03

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show

6.4

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
1956-10-05

Producers' Showcase

6.8

Producers' Showcase
1954-10-18

Playwrights '56

6.25

Playwrights '56
1955-10-04

The Steve Allen Show

6.167

The Steve Allen Show
1956-06-24

5.711

Dr. Kildare
1961-09-27

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

7.533

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962-10-01

Tonight Starring Jack Paar

7.5

Tonight Starring Jack Paar
1957-07-29

The Ed Sullivan Show

6.848

The Ed Sullivan Show
1948-06-20

What's My Line?

7.034

What's My Line?
1950-02-02

5.385

Studio One
1948-11-07

5.385

Studio One
1948-11-07

DuPont Show of the Month

7.4

DuPont Show of the Month
1957-09-29

The Mike Douglas Show

5.8

The Mike Douglas Show
1961-12-11

The Steve Allen Show

6.167

The Steve Allen Show
1956-06-24

The Steve Allen Show

6.167

The Steve Allen Show
1956-06-24

The Snoop Sisters

7.5

The Snoop Sisters
1973-12-19

The Danny Kaye Show

7

The Danny Kaye Show
1963-09-25

Kraft Music Hall

5.429

Kraft Music Hall
1958-10-08

0

Tony Awards
1956-04-01