Griffith Jones (actor)

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Griffith Jones
Notting Hill, London
, England
Died30 January 2007(2007-01-30) (aged 97)
London, England
OccupationActor
Years active1929–2000
Spouse
Irene Isaac
(m. 1932; died 1985)
ChildrenGemma Jones
Nicholas Jones

Griffith Jones (born Harold Jones; 19 November 1909 – 30 January 2007) was an Anglo-Welsh film, stage and television actor.

Early life

Born in

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, noticed him in a student performance and offered him a career as an actor. His first professional engagement was in Carpet Slippers at the Embassy Theatre, Swiss Cottage, in 1930, while still at RADA. He won the annual RADA Gold Medal in 1932.[1]

Career

His first

Elizabeth Bergner, and also starred with her in the 1935 film version.[1]

In 1940, he joined the

Second World War in a touring concert party, returning to the West End in 1945 to star in Lady Windermere's Fan.[1] He then became a fairly big star of the British cinema in the late 1940s, showing a particular talent for comedies. He was the leading man in a number of films, including Miranda (1948), opposite Glynis Johns and Googie Withers, and Once Upon a Dream (1949), opposite Withers again. He was mainly seen in supporting roles from the mid-1950s onwards, among the most prominent being in the film The Sea Shall Not Have Them (1954). He still played occasional lead roles, notably as a man who is framed for murder in The Scarlet Web (1954) and as a husband who tries to have his wife murdered in the crime thriller Kill Her Gently (1957).[citation needed
]

Royal Shakespeare Company

He was a stalwart of the Royal Shakespeare Company, appearing in 50 productions with the company between 1975 and 1999.[2]

His first season was in director

The Comedy of Errors, Chebutiken and Ferrapont in separate productions of Chekhov's Three Sisters and Tim Linkinwater and Fluggers in Nicholas Nickleby
.

His last role, at the age of 90, was Tubal in The Merchant of Venice.

Personal life and death

Jones was married to actress Irene Isaac (known as "Robin") from 1932 until her death in 1985.[3] They had two children, who both became actors: Gemma Jones (who was named after the main character in Escape Me Never) and Nicholas Jones.[1]

Jones died in his sleep from natural causes at his home in London, England, on 30 January 2007, aged 97.

Selected filmography

Selected stage credits

References

  1. ^ a b c d Shorter, Eric (15 February 2007). "Obituary: Griffith Jones". the Guardian.
  2. .
  3. Independent.co.uk
    . 7 February 2007.

Sources

External links