Person Details

Birthday: 1928-04-08 22:14:42

Death: 1995-05-15 22:14:42

Aliases: No known aliases

Gender: Male

Place of birth: Shepard's Bush, London, UK

Homepage:

Movie Involvements: 26

TV Involvements: 9


Most Famous Work

Biography

A highly respected Shakespearean for five decades until his death of colon cancer in 1995, classical actor Eric Porter's claim to international fame would, ironically, be outside of that realm, with one superb portrayal in one superb miniseries, The Forsyte Saga(1967), in which he won the BAFTA award. The son of Richard John Porter and Phoebe Elizabeth Spall, Porter first attended Wimbledon Technical College before stepping onto the stage as a walk-on in a production of William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" in February 1945 at the Arts Theatre in Cambridge. He continued in repertory until joining the National Service with the RAF during the war years. Early post-war credits would include touring with Sir Donald Wolfit and Sir Barry Jackson in their prestigious companies. Favorite roles in his repertoire would eventually include "Macbeth", "King Lear" and "Uncle Vanya". He won London's Evening Standard Award for "Rosmersholm" in 1959. Joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1960, he became a prime, esteemed resident for decades. Porter made his film debut in mid-career with The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) at age 36, but it was the BBC that made him an international favorite as the ever-proper but intensely emotional and unhinged "Soames Forsyte". Taboos were broken on that series with a violent rape scene that had people talking for months. Along with the newly acquired fame came leads in lesser films such as The Lost Continent(1968) and Hands of the Ripper (1971), adding class to both those atmospheric horrors. On the plus side, Porter engaged himself frequently in quality TV miniseries fare includingAnna Karenina (1977), The Jewel in the Crown (1984) and Oliver Twist (1985) (as Fagin), while transferring many classics to TV as well, with "Cyrano de Bergerac", "Man and Superman" and "Macbeth" being but a few.

Most Famous Work

Sherlock Holmes
Average
8

Sherlock Holmes

(1984) Professor Moriarty
The Day of the Jackal
Average
8

The Day of the Jackal

(1973) Colonel Rodin
Play of the Month
Average
5

Play of the Month

(1965) Arthur Winslow
The Fall of the Roman Empire
Average
7
The Heroes of Telemark
Average
7

The Heroes of Telemark

(1965) Terboven
Little Lord Fauntleroy
Average
7

Little Lord Fauntleroy

(1980) Mr. Havisham
Nicholas and Alexandra
Average
7

Nicholas and Alexandra

(1971) Stolypin
The Forsyte Saga
Average
8

The Forsyte Saga

(1967) Soames Forsyte

Acting

Year Character Movie/Tv
2007 N/A
2003 N/A
1994 James Player
1985 N/A
Professor Moriarty
Fagin
1984 Professor Moriarty
Dimitri Bronowsky
1981 N/A
Stanley Wilkinson
1980 Mr. Havisham
Polonius
Dr. Nicholson
Deputy Governor Danforth
1979 Gen. Sir Alan Brooke
1978 N/A
Chief Superintendent Lomas
1977 Karenin
Arthur Winslow
Narrator (voice)
1975 Tobin
1974 Hunter
1973 Colonel Rodin
Generalfeldmarschall Robert Ritter von Greim
Asher Smith
1972 Enobarbus
1971 Stolypin
Dr. John Pritchard
1970 N/A
Major Pollock / John Malcolm
1969 Himself
Macbeth (voice)
1968 Lansen
1967 Soames Forsyte
1966 Harold
Harry Dominion
1965 Terboven
Cyrano De Bergerac
Macbeth
Councillor Albert Parker
Arthur Winslow
Henry VII
1964 Julianus
1948 N/A
Himself
Year Character Movie/Tv

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