David Uri
2013-02-18 13:18:33 UTC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-21498077
Richard Briers, The Good Life star, dies aged 79
Actor Richard Briers, best known for his role in TV's The Good Life,
has died at the age of 79, his agent has said.
The star, who was also an accomplished stage actor, had been battling
a serious lung condition for several years.
Briers died "peacefully" at his London home on Sunday, his agent said.
Briers recently said years of smoking had been to blame for his
emphysema.
Famed for his role as the hapless Tom Good in the 1970s BBC sitcom The
Good Life, Briers also starred in shows such as Ever Decreasing
Circles, Monarch Of The Glen and Doctor Who.
He also appeared in many films, most recently in British comedy film
Cockneys versus Zombies, plus a cameo role in Run For Your Wife, based
on Ray Cooney's 1980s stage farce.
Briers also provided the voice for the character of Fiver in the
animated feature Watership Down (1978).
After a long career in popular television, Briers joined Kenneth
Branagh's Renaissance Theatre Company in 1987, and his career moved on
to major classical roles.
He said at the time: "Ken offered me Malvolio in his production of
Twelfth Night at the very time I had decided to expand my career when
I realised I had gone as far as I could doing sitcoms. As soon as I
worked with him, I thought he was truly exceptional."
After playing Malvolio, Briers took on the acting challenge of King
Lear, followed by the title role in Uncle Vanya and Menenius in
Coriolanus.
On film Branagh cast him as Bardolph in Henry V (1989), as Stephen
Fry's father in the comedy Peter's Friends (1992), Don Leonato in Much
Ado About Nothing (1993), the blind grandfather in Mary Shelley's
Frankenstein (1994).
Briers was born in London on 14 January, 1934 and was inspired to be
an actor by his mother, a music and drama teacher.
He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and won a scholarship
to Liverpool Playhouse in 1956. Two years later he made his first West
End appearance in Gilt And Gingerbread.
His big screen career began with the British features Bottoms Up
(1960), Murder She Said (1961), The Girl On The Boat and A Matter of
Who (both 1962) and the multi-national The VIPs (1963), followed by
Raquel Welch's spy spoof Fathom (1967).
He was awarded the OBE in 1989 for services to the arts. Briers
married the actress Anne Davies in 1956. They had two daughters.
Richard Briers, The Good Life star, dies aged 79
Actor Richard Briers, best known for his role in TV's The Good Life,
has died at the age of 79, his agent has said.
The star, who was also an accomplished stage actor, had been battling
a serious lung condition for several years.
Briers died "peacefully" at his London home on Sunday, his agent said.
Briers recently said years of smoking had been to blame for his
emphysema.
Famed for his role as the hapless Tom Good in the 1970s BBC sitcom The
Good Life, Briers also starred in shows such as Ever Decreasing
Circles, Monarch Of The Glen and Doctor Who.
He also appeared in many films, most recently in British comedy film
Cockneys versus Zombies, plus a cameo role in Run For Your Wife, based
on Ray Cooney's 1980s stage farce.
Briers also provided the voice for the character of Fiver in the
animated feature Watership Down (1978).
After a long career in popular television, Briers joined Kenneth
Branagh's Renaissance Theatre Company in 1987, and his career moved on
to major classical roles.
He said at the time: "Ken offered me Malvolio in his production of
Twelfth Night at the very time I had decided to expand my career when
I realised I had gone as far as I could doing sitcoms. As soon as I
worked with him, I thought he was truly exceptional."
After playing Malvolio, Briers took on the acting challenge of King
Lear, followed by the title role in Uncle Vanya and Menenius in
Coriolanus.
On film Branagh cast him as Bardolph in Henry V (1989), as Stephen
Fry's father in the comedy Peter's Friends (1992), Don Leonato in Much
Ado About Nothing (1993), the blind grandfather in Mary Shelley's
Frankenstein (1994).
Briers was born in London on 14 January, 1934 and was inspired to be
an actor by his mother, a music and drama teacher.
He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and won a scholarship
to Liverpool Playhouse in 1956. Two years later he made his first West
End appearance in Gilt And Gingerbread.
His big screen career began with the British features Bottoms Up
(1960), Murder She Said (1961), The Girl On The Boat and A Matter of
Who (both 1962) and the multi-national The VIPs (1963), followed by
Raquel Welch's spy spoof Fathom (1967).
He was awarded the OBE in 1989 for services to the arts. Briers
married the actress Anne Davies in 1956. They had two daughters.
--
David Uri.
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David Uri.
Please visit my town - http://allezblancs.miniville.fr
Every visitor increases the population by one.
Email: ***@bigfoot.com (remove VEST to reply)
Facebook: http://facebook.com/daviduri