Paul Scofield, RIP

[GA Russell]

Paul Scofield died yesterday. Here is his AP obituary:

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-...1,7630021.story

British actor Paul Scofield dies at 86

ReutersBritish actor Paul Scofield won an Academy Award for the 1966 film "A Man for All Seasons." From the Associated Press

6:41 AM PDT, March 20, 2008 London -- Paul Scofield, the towering British stage actor who won international fame and an Academy Award for the film "A Man for All Seasons," has died. He was 86.

Scofield died Wednesday in a hospital near his home in southern England, agent Rosalind Chatto said. He had been suffering from leukemia.

Paul Scofield click to enlarge

Photo Gallery Paul Scofield | 1922-2008

Scofield made few films even after the Oscar for his 1966 portrayal of Sir Thomas More, the Tudor statesman executed for treason in 1535 after clashing with King Henry VIII. He was a stage actor by inclination and by his gifts -- a dramatic, craggy face and an unforgettable voice that was likened to a Rolls-Royce starting up or the rumbling sound of low organ pipes.

Even his greatest screen role was a follow up to a play -- the London stage production of "A Man for All Seasons," in which he starred for nine months. Scofield also turned in a performance in the 1961 New York production that won him extraordinary reviews and a Tony Award.

"With a kind of weary magnificence, Scofield sinks himself into the part, studiously underplays it, and somehow displays the inner mind of a man destined for sainthood," Time magazine said.

Scofield's huge success with "A Man for All Seasons" was followed in 1979 by another great historical stage role, as composer Antonio Salieri in "Amadeus."

Actor Richard Burton, once regarded as the natural heir to Laurence Olivier and John Gielgud at the summit of British theater, said it was Scofield who deserved that place. "Of the 10 greatest moments in the theater, eight are Scofield's," he said.

Scofield's rare films included Edward Albee's "A Delicate Balance" in 1974; Kenneth Branagh's 1989 production of "Henry V," in which he played the king of France; "Quiz Show," Robert Redford's film about the 1950s TV scandal in which Scofield played poet Mark Van Doren; and the 1996 adaptation of Arthur Miller's play "The Crucible."

Scofield was an unusual star -- a family man who lived almost his entire life within a few miles of his birthplace and hurried home after work to his wife and children. He didn't seek the spotlight, gave interviews sparingly, and at times seemed to need coaxing to venture out, even onto the stage he loved.

But, he insisted in The Sunday Times in 1992, "my reclusiveness is a myth. ... Yes, I've turned down quite a lot of parts. At my age you need to weed things out, but the idea that I can't be bothered anymore with acting -- that's quite absurd. Acting is all I can do. An actor: That's what I am."

Scofield reportedly had been offered a knighthood, but declined.

"It is just not an aspect of life that I would want," he once said. "If you want a title, what's wrong with Mr.?"

In 2001, however, he was named a Companion of Honor, one of the country's top honors, limited to 65 living people.

His temperament, too, was unexpected in an actor who remained at the very top of his profession.

"It is hard not to be Polyanna-ish about Paul because he is such a manifestly good man, so humane and decent, and curiously void of ego," said director Richard Eyre, former artistic director of Britain's National Theatre. "All the pride he has is channeled through the thing that he does brilliantly."

David Paul Scofield was born Jan. 21, 1922, son of the village schoolmaster in Hurstpierpoint, 8 miles from the south coast of England. When he married actress Joy Parker in 1943, they settled only 10 miles north, in the country village of Balcombe, where they reared their son and daughter and where Scofield was in easy striking distance of London's West End theaters.

Scofield trained at the Croydon Repertory Theater School and London's Mask Theater School before World War II. Barred from service for medical reasons, he toured in plays, entertaining troops and acting in repertory in factory towns around the country.

Throughout the 1940s, he worked repertory and in London and Stratford in plays ranging from Shakespeare and Shaw to Steinbeck and Chekhov.

In his 20s, he worked with director Peter Brook, touring as Hamlet in 1955. The collaboration included the stage adaptation of Graham Greene's "The Power and the Glory" in 1956, which Gielgud regarded as Scofield's greatest performance.

His later stage appearances included "Heartbreak House" in 1992 and the 1996 National Theatre production of Ibsen's "John Gabriel Borkman."

He is survived by his wife and children.

[ValerieB]

we shall not see his kind again. a treasure for the ages.

[AllenLowe]

saw him in London in a Christopher Hampton play, maybe 1971 - brilliant actor -

[Christiern]

I wonder if Russell and Valerie also keep a black outfit handy and attend funerals.

Many years ago, I used to read the NYT obits every day, but there came a time when too many of the departed were close to my age--so I stuck my head in the sand.

Then came Obitissimo and blew the sand away!

Edited March 21, 2008 by Christiern

[BruceH]

By strange coincidence TCM showed A Man For All Seasons just a few weeks ago. RIP

[ValerieB]

I wonder if Russell and Valerie also keep a black outfit handy and attend funerals.

Many years ago, I used to read the NYT obits every day, but there came a time when too many of the departed were close to my age--so I stuck my head in the sand.

Then came Obitissimo and blew the sand away!

it's beyond my understanding, Chris, why you keep hitting me up on this! you have made this comment, in various forms, time and again about me. i am a bit younger than you but i happen to have lost many, many close personal friends through the years and of course it is accelerating in recent years. and because of my years and my life activities, i am affected often by the passings of public figures as well. and i do read the obits in the l.a. times on a daily basis. and, quite unfortunately, there's hardly a week that goes by when i don't know, or know of, the names i read. this week it's been wilfred middlebrooks and ivan dixon. why must you continuously make fun of me for this? i do not choose to stick my head in the sand. must i be open to ridicule by you for this? you and i happen to have a mutual friend who has been going through some serious medical issues lately. is that amusing to you as well? your behavior is extremely perplexing to me.

Edited March 21, 2008 by ValerieB

[Christiern]

Valerie, a bit of humor never hurts. You take things too personally--relax a little.

BTW, how is our friend? I offered to help if there was anything I could do, but haven't heard anything since. I hope all went well and that our friend is on the mend.

[ValerieB]

Valerie, a bit of humor never hurts. You take things too personally--relax a little.

BTW, how is our friend? I offered to help if there was anything I could do, but haven't heard anything since. I hope all went well and that our friend is on the mend.

your humor (as you call it) usually is accompanied by a knife when it comes to your comments about or to me, Chris. makes it a bit difficult to laugh at. and, interestingly, i've never been accused of not having a real good sense of humor or being too serious.

i suggest you call our mutual friend and find out how he's doing for yourself. he's been through a lot.

[AllenLowe]

well, to paraphrase someone else, I read the obits every morning - and if I'm not in 'em I go to work -

[Christiern]

Watch it, Allen, that's not a funny quote and you are just taking advantage of the fact that my cyber knife is no match for your sharp reparté.