Graham crowden bio
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Wangel, The Lady from the Sea, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, England, 1978
This was followed by repertory experience in Dundee, Glasgow, Nottingham and with the Bristol Old Vic. A prolific actor at the Royal Court from the mid-1950's, and later with the Royal Shakespeare Company and Laurence Olivier's National Theatre. His first job was in a tannery in Edinburgh. He was the third of four children of a Scottish Presbyterian classics teacher.
Millar, Professor Stewart, and meths drinker, O Lucky Man!, Warner Bros., 1973
Brian McFarlane, Encyclopedia of British Film
He continued to act until shortly before his death.
Born in Edinburgh on 30 November 1922, Graham Crowden is a dominant character player of mad-eyed eccentrics, shambling scholars, since the '60s in film, on stage since '40s walk-ons at Stratford, with National, RSC and Chichester seasons, and eight years at the Royal Court (1957-65).
Here he met Lindsay Anderson in whose films, If... (1968), O, Lucky Man! (1973) and Britannia Hospital (1982, as a Frankenstein-type surgeon), he appeared.
He continued to act until shortly before his death.
Graham Crowden
The imposing Scottish character actor Graham Crowden was one of the most recognizable and reliable British screen actors who worked for over half a century. After studies at Edinburgh Academy, he worked for the stage in 1944 as student assistant stage manager at the Memorial Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.
Jock McCannon, A Very Peculiar Practice, 1986
Bolton, The Night Digger (also known as The Road Builder), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1971
His first job was in a tannery in Edinburgh. He married actress Phyllida Hewat. Smiles, The Last Days of Man on Earth (also known as The Final Programme), New World Pictures, 1975
Clutterbug, The Amazing Mr. Bluden, 1972
He has also done masses of excellent TV work, including A Very Peculiar Practice (BBC, 1986/88), as the boozing head of an odd medical centre, and as the maverick inmate of a retirement home in Waiting for God (BBC, 1990-94).
After studies at Edinburgh Academy, he worked for the stage in 1944 as student assistant stage manager at the Memorial Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. Wangel, The Lady from the Sea, Roundhouse Theatre, London, 1979
cities, 1976
In television, he turned down the role of Doctor Who (1963) in 1974 but later appeared in it opposite Tom Baker, who had been cast as the Doctor instead, to give the series one of its most memorably over-the-top villains.
Graham Crowden Biography (1922-)
Born November 30, 1922, in Edinburgh, Scotland; son of Harry Graham and AnneMargaret (maiden name, Paterson) Crowden; married Phylida Hewat.
- Nationality
- Scottish
- Gender
- Male
- Occupation
- Actor
- Birth Details
- November 30, 1922
- Edinburgh, Scotland
Famous Works
- CREDITS
- Stage Appearances
- (London debut) Charles Lomax, Major Barbara, Old Vic Theatre, 1956
- Bernard, Quartet for Five, Arts Theatre, London, 1959
- Prosecuting Counsel, One Way Pendulum, Royal Court Theatre, London, 1959, then Criterion Theatre, London, 1960
- Wing Commander Howard, Nil Carborundum, Arts Theatre, 1962
- Doctor, Exit the King, Royal Court Theatre, then Criterion Theatre, later Edinburgh Festival, Edinburgh, Scotland, all 1963
- Casca, Julius Caesar, Royal Court Theatre, then Criterion Theatre,later Edinburgh Festival, all 1964
- Augustus Colpous, Trelawny of the Wells, National Theatre Company,Old Vic Theatre, 1965
- Berlebeyo, A Bond Honoured, National Theatre Company, Old Vic Theatre, 1966
- Colonel Melkett, Black Comedy, 1966
- Player, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, National Theatre Company, Old Vic Theatre, 1967
- Foresight, Love for Love, National Theatre Company, Old Vic Theatre, 1967
- Augustin Feraillon, A Flea in Her Ear, National Theatre Company, Old Vic Theatre, 1967
- Sir Politik Would-be, Volpone, National Theatre Company, Old Vic Theatre, 1968
- Archbishop of Winchester, and Lightborn, Edward the Second, National Theatre Company, Old Vic Theatre, 1968
- Devil, The Soldiers Tale, Bath Festival, Bath, England, 1968
- Pantalone, The Servant of Two Masters, Queen's Theatre, London, 1968
- Title role, Henry IV, Part One and Part Two, Mermaid Theatre Shakespeare Festival, Mermaid Theatre, London, 1970
- Prospero, The Tempest, Mermaid Theatre Shakespeare Festival, Mermaid Theatre, 1970
- Archie, Jumpers, National Theatre Company, Old Vic Theatre, 1972
- James, The Freeway, National Theatre Company, Old Vic Theatre, 1974
- Hector Hushabye, Heartbreak House, National Theatre Company, Old Vic Theatre, 1975
- Rogues and Vagabonds (recital), Edinburgh Festival, 1976
- Dead-Eyed Dicks, Dublin Festival, Dublin, Ireland, 1976
- Dr.
He also achieved success in later life in television comedies such as A Very Peculiar Practice (1986) and opposite Stephanie Cole in Waiting for God (1990). Tall and possessed of an incisive manner, resonant voice and larger-than-life personality, Crowden was at his best in eccentric portrayals as mad scientists or flawed men-of-the-cloth.
One of his most memorable film appearances was as the maniacal chief surgeon in Lindsay Anderson's Britannia Hospital (1982).