Nigel Davenport
Davenport as Abraham Van Helsing in Bram Stoker's Dracula
Born
Arthur Nigel Davenport

(1928-05-23)23 May 1928
Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire, England
Died25 October 2013(2013-10-25) (aged 85)
Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England
Years active1953–2003
Spouses
Helena White
​
​
(m. 1951; div. 1960)​
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1972; div. 1981)​
    Children3, including Jack Davenport

    Arthur Nigel Davenport (23 May 1928 – 25 October 2013) was an English stage, television and film actor,[1] best known as the Duke of Norfolk and Lord Birkenhead in the Academy Award-winning films A Man for All Seasons and Chariots of Fire, respectively.

    Early life and education

    Davenport was born in Great Shelford,[2] Cambridgeshire, son of Arthur Henry Davenport and Katherine Lucy (née Meiklejohn).[3] His father was an engineer, educated at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge before being employed as an engineer for the Midland Railway, and was later a lecturer in engineering, a Fellow, and the bursar at his alma mater, Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge;[1][4] Arthur Davenport had served for four years in the Royal Engineers during World War I, and was awarded a Military Cross. Nigel's great-uncle, Major Matthew Fontaine Maury Meiklejohn, was awarded a Victoria Cross during the Second Boer War.[5]

    He grew up in an academic family and was educated at St Peter's School, Seaford, Cheltenham College and Trinity College, Oxford.[1] Originally he chose to study Philosophy, Politics and Economics but switched to English on the advice of one of his tutors.[6]

    In the 1950s Davenport undertook National Service with the Royal Army Service Corps as a disc jockey on the British Forces Broadcasting Service in Hamburg.[5]

    Career

    Davenport first appeared on stage at the Savoy Theatre and then with the Shakespeare Memorial Company, before joining the English Stage Company, one of its earliest members, at the Royal Court Theatre in 1956.[7] He began appearing in British film and television productions in supporting roles, including a walk-on in Tony Richardson's film, Look Back in Anger (1959). Subsequent roles included a theatre manager opposite Laurence Olivier in the film version of The Entertainer and a policeman in Michael Powell's Peeping Tom (both 1960).[7]

    Davenport as Peter with Angela Lansbury as Helen in A Taste of Honey on Broadway, in 1960

    In the 1962 last episode of the first season of the TV series The Saint, titled "The Charitable Countess", with Roger Moore as Simon Templar and Patricia Donahue as Countess Rovagna, Davenport played a supporting role as the Countess's confidant, Aldo Petri. Davenport appeared again in The Saint in season 3, episode 16 (titled "The Rhine Maiden") as Charles Voyson.

    He made an impression as Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk in A Man for All Seasons (1966),[8] co-starred with Michael Caine in the war movie Play Dirty,[6] and had a major role as Lord Bothwell in Mary, Queen of Scots.[8] In 1972, he appeared as George Adamson, opposite Susan Hampshire in Living Free,[6] the sequel to Born Free.

    During the production of Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, Davenport read the lines of HAL 9000 off-camera during the computer's dialogues with actors Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood. However, Kubrick thought that Davenport's English accent was too distracting, and after a few weeks he dismissed him, so Canadian actor Douglas Rain was ultimately chosen for the role.[9] Davenport took the leading role in the off-beat Phase IV (1974), which failed to find an audience. In 1979, he portrayed King George III in Prince Regent.[1]

    He appeared as Ebenezer Scrooge's grudging father Silas in the George C. Scott version of A Christmas Carol (1984), and played opposite Michael Caine again in the 1988 Sherlock Holmes spoof Without A Clue, which was Davenport's second-to-last feature film.

    He portrayed The Duke of Holdernesse in a 1993 BBC Radio dramatisation of the Sherlock Holmes story "The Adventure of the Priory School".[10]

    In February 1997, Davenport was the subject of This Is Your Life when he was surprised by Michael Aspel at David Nicholson's stables near Cheltenham.

    He was president of Equity from 1986 to 1992.[1][8]

    Personal life

    Davenport was married twice, first to Helena Margaret White[1] whom he met while he was studying at Oxford University. They married in 1951 and had a daughter, Laura, and a son, Hugo.[1] His second wife was actress Maria Aitken[1] with whom he had a second son, Jack, also an actor, best known for appearing in Pirates of the Caribbean.[11] According to Jerry Bruckheimer, producer of the Pirates of the Caribbean films, Jack was cast as the James Norrington character, partly because of Nigel's involvement in A High Wind in Jamaica.

    Filmography

    Film

    Year Title Role Ref.
    1959 Look Back in Anger 1st Commercial Traveller [7]
    1960 Peeping Tom Det. Sgt. Miller [7]
    The Entertainer Theatre Manager [6]
    1962 Mix Me a Person Juke's Stepfather
    1963 Ladies Who Do Mr Strang
    Bitter Harvest Police Inspector
    1964 The Third Secret Lew Harding
    1965 A High Wind in Jamaica Mr Thornton [1]
    Sands of the Kalahari Sturdevan
    1966 A Man for All Seasons Duke of Norfolk [1]
    Where the Spies Are Parkington
    1968 Play Dirty Captain Cyril Leech [7]
    1969 The Virgin Soldiers Sergeant Driscoll [7]
    Sinful Davey Richardson
    The Royal Hunt of the Sun Hernando de Soto
    1970 No Blade of Grass John Custance
    The Mind of Mr. Soames Dr Maitland
    1971 Villain Bob Matthews
    Mary, Queen of Scots Lord Bothwell [6]
    The Last Valley Gruber
    1972 Living Free George Adamson [6]
    1973 The Picture of Dorian Gray Sir Harry Wotton [8]
    1974 Bram Stoker's Dracula Van Helsing [8]
    Phase IV Dr Ernest D. Hubbs
    1975 The Regent's Wife Álvaro Mesía
    1976 Death of a Snowman Lt. Ben Deel
    1977 The Island of Dr. Moreau Montgomery
    Stand Up, Virgin Soldiers Sgt. Driscoll [6]
    1979 The London Connection / The Omega Connection Arthur Minton
    Zulu Dawn Colonel Hamilton-Brown [12]
    1980 Cry of the Innocent Gray Harrison Hunt
    1981 Chariots of Fire Lord Birkenhead [1]
    Nighthawks Peter Hartman
    1984 A Christmas Carol Silas Scrooge
    Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes Major Jack Downing [1]
    1986 Caravaggio Giustiniani
    1988 Without a Clue Lord Smithwick
    1997 The Opium War [7]

    Television

    Year Title Role Notes Ref.
    1957–1958 The Adventures of Robin Hood St Peter Marston, Claude the Seneschal, Barty and others 7 episodes [11]
    1957 Mister Charlesworth Sergeant Spence 6 episodes
    1958 Big Guns Sergeant Spence 6 episodes
    1962 Sir Francis Drake Miguel Cervantes 1 episode
    1962 The Saint Aldo Petri Season 1 episode 12
    1963 The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre Dino Stefano/Larry Mason 2 episodes: NB: The Verdict
    1964 Espionage Frank Marston 1 episode
    1965 The Saint Charles Voyson Season 3 episode 16
    1966–68 The Avengers Lord Barnes / Robertson [11]
    1969 The Name of the Game David Windom 1 episode
    1972 The Edwardians Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 1 episode
    1974 South Riding Robert Carne 11 episodes [7]
    1975 Oil Strike North Jim Fraser 13 episodes [7]
    1979 Prince Regent King George III 8 episodes, TV mini-series [7]
    1981 Masada Sen. Mucianus Part 1
    A Midsummer Night's Dream Theseus
    1982 Minder Ray
    1982 Bird of Prey Charles Bridgnorth [6]
    1982–83 Don't Rock The Boat Jack Hoxton 12 episodes, TV mini-series [6]
    1985–1990 Howards' Way Sir Edward Frere 29 episodes [11]
    1986 Ladies in Charge Count Litvinoff 1 episode
    Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy Lord Ismay
    1991 Trainer James Brant 13 episodes [13]
    1993 Keeping Up Appearances ("The Commodore") The Commodore 1 episode [11]
    1994 Woof! Mr. Wellesby 1 episode [14]
    1996 The Treasure Seekers Lord Blackstock [7]
    2000 The Adventures of Captain Pugwash Narrator 26 episodes
    2000 David Copperfield Dan Peggotty TV movie [11]
    Midsomer Murders William Smithers 1 episode [11]
    Longitude Sir Charles Pelham TV movie

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Coveney, Michael (29 October 2013). "Nigel Davenport obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
    2. ↑ "Cambridge-born actor Nigel Davenport, star of Chariots of Fire and Howards' Way, dies aged 85". cambridge-news.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
    3. ↑ Who's Who in the Theatre, 17th ed., vol. 1, part 2, ed. Ian Herbert, Pitman, 1981, p. 167
    4. ↑ List of Members of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Institution of Civil Engineers of Great Britain, 1933, p. 143
    5. 1 2 "Nigel Davenport: There's a glare in there - tough guy actor had 'the look'". The Sydney Morning Herald. 1 November 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
    6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Hayward, Anthony. "Obituary: Nigel Davenport, character actor sought by directors in all mediums for nearly half a century", The Independent, 30 October 2013
    7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Obituary: Nigel Davenport, telegraph.co.uk, 29 October 2013
    8. 1 2 3 4 5 "Actor Nigel Davenport dies at 85". BBC News. 30 October 2013.
    9. ↑ Dowd, Vincent (30 November 2014). "2001: A Space Odyssey revisited". BBC News. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
    10. ↑ "The BBC audio complete Sherlock Holmes". merrisonholmes.com.
    11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Actor Nigel Davenport dies at 85". BBC News. 30 October 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
    12. ↑ "Zulu Dawn". radiotimes.com. Radio Times. Archived from the original on 19 August 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
    13. ↑ "In pictures: Nigel Davenport". BBC News. 30 October 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
    14. ↑ "Goodbye Mrs. Chips". IMDb.
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