John Neville, CM, OBE was an English theatre and film actor who moved to Canada in 1972 died from Alzheimer's disease he was 86.. He enjoyed a resurgence of international attention in the 1980s as a result of his starring role in Terry Gilliam's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988).(2 May 1925 – 19 November 2011)[1]
Early life
Neville was born in Willesden, London, the son of Mabel Lillian (née Fry) and Reginald Daniel Neville, a lorry driver.[2] He was educated at Willesden and Chiswick County Schools for Boys, and after war service in the Royal Navy trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art,[3] before starting his professional career as a member of the Trent Players.Career in the UK
Neville was a West End idol of the 1950s, hailed as "one of the most potent classical actors of the Burton-O'Toole generation".[4] A leading member of London's Old Vic Company, he played many classical leading roles, including Romeo in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (a role he repeated on American television for the anthology series Producers' Showcase), and an acclaimed Richard in Richard II, with Virginia McKenna as Queen Anne. He also alternated with Richard Burton the parts of Othello and Iago in Othello.[5] He was a frequent visiting player at the Bristol Old Vic. He received good reviews in the musical adaptation of Lolita, called Lolita, My Love, which closed in Boston en route to Broadway.Noted for his classical good looks and mellifluous voice, the young Neville was frequently described as the young John Gielgud's natural successor. For a while, he took over the leading role of Nestor Le Fripé from Keith Michell in the original West End production of the musical Irma La Douce, playing opposite Elizabeth Seal as Irma. For a brief period in 1963, he returning to the London stage, playing Alfie in the stage version of the play by Bill Naughton,[3] but by then his theatrical commitment laid outside London.
In 1961, his weekly pay declining from £200 to £50,[3] he joined the Nottingham Playhouse, becoming joint artistic director with Frank Dunlop and Peter Ustinov when the current building in Nottingham opened in 1963.[3] It became one of Britain's leading provincial repertory theatres.[4] Though Dunlop and Ustinov soon left, Neville remained at the theatre until 1967.[5] He resigned over funding disputes with the local authority[5] and the Arts Council.[3][6]
Neville starred as the Duke of Marlborough in the 1969 BBC2 serial The First Churchills, a major television role which also maintained his international profile when the show was broadcast as the very first Masterpiece Theatre series in the United States in 1971.[7][8][9]
Career in Canada
With his family, he left Britain in 1972 and devoted his later career to the Canadian theatre, taking up the post of artistic director at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton, Alberta (1973–78).[6] He later took similar positions with the Neptune Theatre in Halifax, Nova Scotia (1978–83)[6] and other Canadian theatre companies, including as artistic director of the Stratford Festival of Canada from 1985–89,[6] as well as continuing his acting career. On top of his artistic decisions, Neville distinguished himself such as when he helped eliminate the Neptune's deficit with canny promotions such as giving free tickets to the local taxi drivers and their families, correctly anticipating the recipients to enthusiastically discuss the theatre to passengers and tourists.[10]From 1995-98, Neville had a prominent recurring role in The X-Files television series as the Well-Manicured Man, and in 1998, he reprised his role in the feature film The X-Files: Fight The Future. Although he made numerous other television appearances and occasional film roles, the main focus of Neville's career was always the theatre.
He was cast as Baron Münchhausen by Terry Gilliam. In the film, Neville plays the character at three different stages of his life; in his 30s, his 50s and his 70s. In his later years, Neville had numerous cameo appearances in films, including Primate of the Anglican Church in Australia in The Man Who Sued God and an Admiral in the Earth Space Navy in The Fifth Element. He had a small role as "Terrence" in David Cronenberg's 2002 Spider. In the same year he also appeared alongside Vanessa Redgrave in the 2002 film adaptation of Crime and Punishment.
In 2003, Neville did a stage reading of John Milton's Samson Agonistes, opposite Claire Bloom at Bryn Mawr College at the behest of poet Karl Kirchwey.[11]
He was appointed to the Order of Canada, that nation's highest civilian honour, in 2006.[12]
Death
According to publicists at Canada's Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Neville died "peacefully surrounded by family" on 19 November 2011, aged 86.[13] Neville suffered with Alzheimer's disease in his latter years.[14] He is survived by his wife, Caroline (née Hopper), and their six children. His grandson is actor Joe Dinicol. He was added in In Memoriam at the 18th Screen Actors Guild Awards.Selected filmography
- A Study in Terror (1965): Neville played Sherlock Holmes
- The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988)
- Stark (1993)
- Little Women (1994)
- The Road to Wellville (1994)
- Regeneration (1997)
- The Fifth Element (1997)
- The X-Files: Fight the Future (1998)
- Time of the Wolf (2002)
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