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Cyril Ritchard

Cyril Ritchard

Legendary for his preening, prancing, delightfully playful villain Captain Hook on the award-winning stage (as well as TV) opposite America's musical treasure Mary Martin, beloved musical star Cyril Ritchard had a vast career that would last six decades, but "Peter Pan" would become his prime legacy. Born in Australia just before the turn of the century, he was educated at St. Aloysius College and Sydney University wherein he slyly sidestepped a parental-guided career in medicine for entertainment, participating in numerous college productions that quickly got him "hooked." He began professionally in the chorus line of The Royal Comic Opera Company and quickly progressed to juvenile leads. A subsequent pairing with the already-established theatre actress Madge Elliott in 1918 proved successful, and the musical twosome eventually married in 1935. Together they would go on to become known as "The Musical Lunts" by their acting peers performing in scores of plays and revues together. Ritchard specialized in playing slick, dandified villains in musical comedy and developed a potent reputation of being a man of many talents. Not only directing and staging Broadway's finest, he became a renown performer of various operas and led many productions as such. Shortly before his wife's death of bone cancer in 1955, Ritchard ventured into TV infamy by repeating his Tony and Donaldson award-winning portrayal of Hook in Peter Pan (1955). He continued to earn acclaim and/or honors with such classic stage productions as "Visit to a Small Planet" (Tony-nominated), "The Pleasure of His Company" (Drama League award, Tony-nominated), "The Roar of the Greasepaint...the Smell of the Crowd" (Tony-nominated), "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Sugar," the musical version of the classic Billy Wilder film Some Like It Hot (1959) in which Ritchard played the Joe E. Brown role. Lesser regarded when it comes to film, he performed in the early Hitchcock classic Blackmail (1929) and made his last movie with the musical Half a Sixpence (1967) with Tommy Steele. While performing as the Narrator in a stage production of "Side by Side by Sondheim" in November 1977, Ritchard suffered a heart attack and died one month later. A one-of-a-kind talent, his nefarious, narcissistic humor was a career trademark that culminated in the role of a lifetime -- one that will certainly be enjoyed by children young and old for eons to come.

Personal information

Birthday

1897-12-01

Movies and TV shows :

Aladdin

Aladdin

1958

0.0

Movie
poster

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

1955

7.7

TV
Blackmail

Blackmail

1929

6.5

Movie
Dangerous Medicine

Dangerous Medicine

1938

0.0

Movie
Dearest Enemy

Dearest Enemy

1955

0.0

Movie
poster

Dr. Kildare

1961

5.4

TV
poster

DuPont Show of the Month

1957

6.7

TV
Half a Sixpence

Half a Sixpence

1967

6.0

Movie
poster

Hallmark Hall of Fame

1951

8.7

TV
Hans Brinker

Hans Brinker

1969

6.5

Movie
Hans Christian Andersen's The Emperor's New Clothes

Hans Christian Andersen's The Emperor's New Clothes

1972

5.0

Movie
I See Ice

I See Ice

1938

8.1

Movie
It's a Grand Old World

It's a Grand Old World

1937

0.0

Movie
Just for a Song

Just for a Song

1930

0.0

Movie
poster

Kraft Music Hall

1958

4.4

TV
poster

Lux Video Theatre

1950

6.0

TV
Mr. Scrooge

Mr. Scrooge

1964

10.0

Movie
poster

Omnibus

1952

6.0

TV
Peter Pan

Peter Pan

1960

6.7

Movie
Peter Pan

Peter Pan

1955

6.1

Movie
Peter Pan

Peter Pan

1956

1.0

Movie
Piccadilly

Piccadilly

1929

6.4

Movie
poster

Playwrights '56

1955

6.0

TV
Pontius Pilate

Pontius Pilate

1952

0.0

Movie
poster

Producers' Showcase

1954

6.3

TV
Service for Ladies

Service for Ladies

1932

6.8

Movie
poster

Studio One

1948

4.7

TV
Symphony in Two Flats

Symphony in Two Flats

1930

0.0

Movie
The Christmas Tree

The Christmas Tree

1958

0.0

Movie
The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood

The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood

1965

0.0

Movie
poster

The Danny Kaye Show

1963

6.3

TV
The Daydreamer

The Daydreamer

1966

4.8

Movie
poster

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show

1956

5.3

TV
poster

The Ed Sullivan Show

1948

6.6

TV
The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow

The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow

1975

5.3

Movie
The Hobbit

The Hobbit

1977

6.5

Movie
The Lyrics of Alan Jay Lerner

The Lyrics of Alan Jay Lerner

1966

0.0

Movie
poster

The Merv Griffin Show

1962

5.6

TV
poster

The Mike Douglas Show

1961

5.1

TV
The Owl and the Pussycat

The Owl and the Pussycat

1962

0.0

Movie
poster

The Philco Television Playhouse

1948

6.0

TV
The Show Goes On

The Show Goes On

1937

5.0

Movie
poster

The Snoop Sisters

1973

7.2

TV
poster

The Steve Allen Show

1956

5.0

TV
poster

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

1962

7.4

TV
The Winslow Boy

The Winslow Boy

1948

6.9

Movie
poster

Tonight Starring Jack Paar

1957

6.5

TV
poster

Tony Awards

1956

5.0

TV
Tubby the Tuba

Tubby the Tuba

1975

0.0

Movie
poster

What's My Line?

1950

6.7

TV
Woman Hater

Woman Hater

1948

7.0

Movie