Richard Johnson obit

Actor Richard Johnson dies, aged 87

He was not on the list.

Johnson made his film debut in the 1950s and featured in numerous films, alongside stars such as Frank Sinatra, Laurence Olivier and Charlton Heston.

A founder member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Johnson played several lead roles including Romeo and Mark Anthony in Julius Caesar.

He also appeared in several TV dramas such as Lewis and Silent Witness.

Johnson died after a short illness at the Royal Marsden Hospital in Chelsea, London. He is survived by his wife Lynne, who he married in 2004, and his four children.

He had been married several times and he met his second wife, American actress Kim Novak, when the pair starred in the 1965 film The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders.

Johnson was born in Upminster, Essex, and he left his training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) to join Sir John Gielgud's company.

He joined the Royal Navy during World War Two and then made his film debut in 1959, when he appeared in the MGM film Never So Few, starring Frank Sinatra and Gina Lollobrigida.

He also appeared in The Haunting (1963) and Khartoum (1966), opposite Laurence Olivier and Charlton Heston.

His family said he was offered and turned down the role of James Bond after playing British spy Bulldog Drummond in Deadlier Than the Male (1967) and its sequel Some Girls Do (1969).

Recent film credits include The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008), Scoop (2006) and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001).

Selected filmography

Film

Year       Title       Role       Notes    Ref.

1951      Captain Horatio Hornblower        Macrae                                 Uncredited

Calling Bulldog Drummond           Control Tower Operator                                Uncredited

1952      Lady in the Fog Danny McMara - Hit-and-Run Victim                       

1953      Saadia   Lieutenant Girard                            

1959      Never So Few     Captain Danny De Mortimer                       

1963      Cairo      Ali                          

80,000 Suspects                Dr Steven Monks                             

The Haunting     Dr. John Markway                           

1964      The Pumpkin Eater          Giles                     

L'autre femme Daniel                  

1965      Operation Crossbow       Duncan Sandys                 

The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders            Jemmy                 

1966      Khartoum            Col. John Stewart                            

La strega in amore           Sergio Logan                     

1967      Deadlier Than the Male Hugh Drummond                            

The Rover            Real                      

Danger Route     Jonas Wilde                       

1968      Oedipus the King              Creon                   

A Twist of Sand Geoffrey Peace                

The Column        Tiberius                               

Emma Hamilton                Horatio Nelson                 

1969      Some Girls Do    Hugh Drummond                            

1970      Julius Caesar       Caius Cassius                     

The Fifth Day of Peace   Captain Miller                   

1971      The Beloved       Orestes                               

1972      Antony and Cleopatra    Lepidus / Alexas / Ventidias         Voice, Uncredited           

1974      Beyond the Door              Dimitri                 

1975      The Cursed Medallion    Michael Williams                             

Hennessy            Inspector Hollis                

1976      Aces High            Major Lyle                          

The Message     Narrator                              

Take All of Me   Richard Lasky                    

1978      The Comeback Macauley                            

1979      Island of the Fishmen     Edmund Rackham                           

Zombi 2                Dr. Menard                        

The Great Alligator River               Prophet Jameson                            

A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square    Inspector Watford                          

1981      The Monster Club            Busotsky's Father             (segment "Vampire Story")         

1984      What Waits Below           Ben Gannon                      

1985      Turtle Diary        Mr Johnson                       

1986      Lady Jane             The Earl of Arundel                         

1990      Diving In               Richard Anthony                              

1999      Milk       John                      

2001      Lara Croft: Tomb Raider                Distinguished Gentleman                            

2006      Scoop    Mr. Quincy                         

2007      Two Families      Don Cataldo                      

Jump!    Judge Larcher                   

2008      The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas Grandpa                              

2014      Radiator               Leonard                               

2015      The Man Who Knew Infinity        Vice Master Trinity College          (final film role)

Television

Year       Title       Role       Notes    Ref.

1952      Pride and Prejudice         Mr Wickham      3 episodes         

1953      The Heir of Skipton          John Lord Clifford / Henry Clifford             3 episodes         

1973-1974          Moses the Lawgiver        Narrator               Voice    

1974      Antony and Cleopatra    Mark Antony      TV movie            

1975      Churchill's People            Claudius               Episode: The Lost Island               

Space: 1999        Lee Russell          Episode: Matter of Life and Death            

1978      The Four Feathers            Abou Fatma        TV movie

1979      Hart to Hart        Alex Constantine              Episode: With This Gun, I Thee Wed        

1980      Tales of the Unexpected               Dr James Carpenter         Episode: Back for Christmas        

1981      Tales of the Unexpected               Archaeologist, Tanner    Episode: Would you believe it?  

Magnum, P.I.     Alistair Ffolkes   Episode: No need to know           

1981-82               The Kenny Everett Television Show          Various                 3 episodes         

1988      A Man for All Seasons    Duke of Norfolk                TV movie            

1992      The Camomile Lawn        Oliver (older)     one episode      

1999      Midsomer Murders - Death of a Stranger               James Fitzroy     1 episode           

2005      The Robinsons   Hector Robinson               6 episodes         

2007      Midsomer Murders - The Animal Within                 Rex Masters       1 episode           

2008      Spooks Bernard Qualtrough        4 episodes, released as MI-5 in USA        

2013      Silent Witness    Sir William Embleton      Episodes: The Legacy Pts. 1 & 2