ROBERT MORLEY
Name: Robert Adolph Wilton Morley
Born: 26 May 1908 Semley, Wiltshire, England
Died: 3 June 1992 Reading, Berkshire, England
Robert Morley CBE (May 26, 1908 - June 3, 1992) was an Oscar-nominated English
actor who, often in supporting roles, was usually cast as a pompous English
gentleman representing the Establishment. In Movie Encyclopedia, film critic
Leonard Maltin describes Morley as "recognizable by his ungainly bulk, bushy
eyebrows, thick lips, and double chin, particularly effective when cast as a
pompous windbag". More politely, Ephraim Kurtz in his International Film
Encyclopaedia describes Morley as a "a rotund, triple-chinned, delightful
character player of the British and American stage and screen."
He was born Robert Adolph Wilton Morley in Semley, Wiltshire, England. Morley
attended Elizabeth College, Guernsey, RADA and made his West End stage debut in
1929 in Treasure Island at the Strand Theatre and his Broadway debut in 1938 in
the title role of Oscar Wilde at the Fulton Theatre. Although soon won over to
the big screen, Morley remained both a busy West End star and successful author,
as well as tirelessly touring.
A versatile actor, especially in his younger years, he played roles as divergent
as those of Louis XVI, for which he received an Academy Award Nomination as Best
Supporting Actor (Marie Antoinette 1938). He gave Oscar-worthy performances in
Oscar Wilde (1960) and as a missionary in The African Queen (1951).
As a playwright he co-wrote and adapted several plays for the stage, having
outstanding success in London and New York with Edward, My Son, a gripping
family drama written in 1947 (with Noel Langley) in which he played the central
role of Arnold Holt. But the disappointing film version, directed by George
Cukor at MGM Elstree in 1949, instead starred the miscast Spencer Tracy, who
turned Holt, an unscrupulous English businessman, into a blustering Canadian
expatriate.
Morley also personified the conservative Englishman in many comedy and caper
films. Later in his career, he received critical accolades for Who Is Killing
the Great Chefs of Europe?. Renowned for repartee and for being an eloquent
conversationalist, Morley gained the epitheton of being a "wit".
Morley was honoured by being the first King of Moomba appointed by the Melbourne
Moomba festival committee and, in typical humility, he accepted the crown in
bare feet! Morley was in Australia touring his one-man show, The Sound of
Morley.
He married Joan Buckmaster (1910-2005), a daughter of Dame Gladys Cooper. Their
elder son, Sheridan Morley was a well-known writer and critic. They also had a
daughter Annabel and another son Wilton. He was appointed a Commander of the
Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1957. He was also offered a Knighthood
during the Wilson government but declined it. He died in Reading, Berkshire from
a stroke, aged 84.
Name: Robert Adolph Wilton Morley
Born: 26 May 1908 Semley, Wiltshire, England
Died: 3 June 1992 Reading, Berkshire, England
Robert Morley CBE (May 26, 1908 - June 3, 1992) was an Oscar-nominated English
actor who, often in supporting roles, was usually cast as a pompous English
gentleman representing the Establishment. In Movie Encyclopedia, film critic
Leonard Maltin describes Morley as "recognizable by his ungainly bulk, bushy
eyebrows, thick lips, and double chin, particularly effective when cast as a
pompous windbag". More politely, Ephraim Kurtz in his International Film
Encyclopaedia describes Morley as a "a rotund, triple-chinned, delightful
character player of the British and American stage and screen."
He was born Robert Adolph Wilton Morley in Semley, Wiltshire, England. Morley
attended Elizabeth College, Guernsey, RADA and made his West End stage debut in
1929 in Treasure Island at the Strand Theatre and his Broadway debut in 1938 in
the title role of Oscar Wilde at the Fulton Theatre. Although soon won over to
the big screen, Morley remained both a busy West End star and successful author,
as well as tirelessly touring.
A versatile actor, especially in his younger years, he played roles as divergent
as those of Louis XVI, for which he received an Academy Award Nomination as Best
Supporting Actor (Marie Antoinette 1938). He gave Oscar-worthy performances in
Oscar Wilde (1960) and as a missionary in The African Queen (1951).
As a playwright he co-wrote and adapted several plays for the stage, having
outstanding success in London and New York with Edward, My Son, a gripping
family drama written in 1947 (with Noel Langley) in which he played the central
role of Arnold Holt. But the disappointing film version, directed by George
Cukor at MGM Elstree in 1949, instead starred the miscast Spencer Tracy, who
turned Holt, an unscrupulous English businessman, into a blustering Canadian
expatriate.
Morley also personified the conservative Englishman in many comedy and caper
films. Later in his career, he received critical accolades for Who Is Killing
the Great Chefs of Europe?. Renowned for repartee and for being an eloquent
conversationalist, Morley gained the epitheton of being a "wit".
Morley was honoured by being the first King of Moomba appointed by the Melbourne
Moomba festival committee and, in typical humility, he accepted the crown in
bare feet! Morley was in Australia touring his one-man show, The Sound of
Morley.
He married Joan Buckmaster (1910-2005), a daughter of Dame Gladys Cooper. Their
elder son, Sheridan Morley was a well-known writer and critic. They also had a
daughter Annabel and another son Wilton. He was appointed a Commander of the
Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1957. He was also offered a Knighthood
during the Wilson government but declined it. He died in Reading, Berkshire from
a stroke, aged 84.