John Neville | |
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Neville as Hamlet (1959)
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Born |
John Reginald Neville 2 May 1925 Willesden, London, England, UK |
Died | 19 November 2011 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
(aged 86)
Nationality | British |
Education | Chiswick County School for Boys |
Alma mater | Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1949 – 2006 |
Spouse(s) | Caroline Hopper (m. 1949–2011; his death) |
Children | 6 |
Family | Joe Dinicol (grandson) |
John Reginald Neville, CM, OBE (2 May 1925 – 19 November 2011) was an English theatre and film actor who moved to Canada in 1972. 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).
Neville was born in Willesden, London, the son of Mabel Lillian (née Fry) and Reginald Daniel Neville, a lorry driver. He was educated at Willesden and Chiswick County Schools for Boys, and after World War II service in the Royal Navy trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, before starting his professional career as a member of the Trent Players.
Neville was a West End idol of the 1950s, hailed as "one of the most potent classical actors of the Burton-O'Toole generation". 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. 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.