Sir Ralph Richardson's first job was as an office boy in an insurance company.
This career was, fortunately for the British theatre, a short one. He received an
inheritance of #500 which enabled him to enroll at Brighton school to study art.
His interest soon changed to acting and by 1920 he had joined the St. Nicholas
Players. Some biographies have his first stage appearance as Lorenzo in 'The
Merchant of Venice' at the Marina theatre, Lowestoft in 1921. Whichever is his
correct theatrical debut he gained considerable experience in repertory, the training
ground of all great actors of his time.

Six years later he made his West End debut in 'Yellow Sands'. In 1930 he joined
the Old Vic Company, soon becoming a well-established stage actor including roles
in Henry IV; Peer Gynt; Arms and the Man; Uncle Vanya; An Inspector Calls; and
Richard III. It was during this time (1933) that he embarked on his film career,
appearing in 'The Ghoul'. His wonderful, rich baritone voice proved capable of a
wide range of motional expression, he played such diverse characters as the jealous
brother of a sea captain in 'Java Head', The straight-laced, school teacher fiance of
a chorus girl in 'Friday the Thirteenth'; Anna Karenina; Things To Come;Dr Zhivago;
and the peppery old colonel in 'The Man Who Could Work Miracles' that had his
whiskey turned to water. Perhaps one of his finest film performances was as the
embassy butler going through his own personal crisis in the 1948 film 'The Fallen
Idol'. He creates a fantasy world for the ambassador's lonely son, who idolizes him,
while his own life is crumbling around him amid accusations of murdering his shrewish
wife. Richardson's film career peaked during the 30's and 40's, with a break during the
second world war when he was with the Fleet Air Arm.

His enormous reputation as a stage actor remained unchanged to the end of his life.
He was knighted in 1947 for his services to the theatre.

I was very fortunate in 1975, to work with Ralph Richardson during the National
Theatre Production of Harold Pinter's 'No Man's Land' in which he appeared with
Sir John Gielgud at Wyndham's Theatre, London. Sir Ralph was one of the most
charming, wonderful actors I ever had the good fortune to work with. Although very
ill with Parkinsons Disease, he gave the most stunning performance as an elderly,
confused, alcoholic man being bamboozled by an ingratiatingly smarmy John Gielgud.
The terrifying thing was, after every performance, this venerable gentleman would
put on the white crash helmet he'd had since the 50's and climb aboard his 1000cc,
Gold Wing motor bike to make his journey home. One night Sir Ralph saw me sitting
on the stage steps dressed in my motor cycle gear, he just smiled and said "Hiedy Ho,
lady motorcyclists." and patted me on the back. Every Sunday afternoon, he would
take his wife for a 'spin' on that bike around Regent's Parks Inner Circle, where they
lived .

He also had a daily habit of doing the Times crossword. He would arrive at the theatre
early in the evening and sit in a seat in one of the front rows of the stalls. It never took
him very long either, he would wander up to his dressing room with the paper tucked
under his arm, crossword finished, which we found rather impressive. One evening, he
left the paper behind, a member of the stage crew retrieved it for him and at this point
we discovered how he managed to do it so fast. Every blank was filled in, but none of
the words had anything to do with the clues!

Right up to his death Sir Ralph remained the gentleman he had always been, even
apologizing to the nursing staff caring for him in case he was being a nuisance. This
could not have been farther from the truth, many tears were shed at his passing.