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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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John Gielgud
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(1904-2000, kt 1953) The great survivor from a generation of great British actors; he made his name sooner than his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, and was working long after them. Theatre was in his family (Ellen Terry was his great aunt), and by 1929 he had established himself as a magnificent Shakespearean actor. In that year he played for the first time, at the *Old Vic, his most famous role of all, Hamlet; he is known for his mellifluous voice and classical style of verse-speaking. He also has a drily effective way with comedy; Jack Worthing in The Importance of Being Earnest became one of his best-known parts in the theatre, and he delighted the much larger TV audience with his performance in Brideshead Revisited.
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In his later years he played many leading roles in new British plays, such as David Storey's Home (1970) and Harold Pinter's No Man's Land (1975) – in both cases with Ralph Richardson. His numerous films include an Oscar-winning performance in Arthur (1981) and a leading role as recently as 1991 in Prospero's Books.
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