Harry Andrews

Harry Andrews, born Henry Stewart Fleetwood Andrews on 10 November 1911 in Tonbridge, Kent, was an English actor whose career spanned stage, film, and television across more than five decades. The son of Henry Arthur Andrews, a General Practitioner, and Amy Diana Frances Andrews, née Horner, he attended Yardley Court school in Tonbridge before continuing his education at Wrekin College in Wellington, Shropshire. He died on 6 March 1989 at his home in Salehurst, East Sussex, at the age of 77.

Andrews began his stage career in September 1933 at the Liverpool Playhouse, where he played John in The Long Christmas Dinner. His London debut followed in March 1935 at the St James's Theatre, where he appeared as John in Worse Things Happen at Sea. The following month in March 1936, he was part of a cast that included Paul Robeson, Orlando Martins, and Robert Adams in C. L. R. James's Toussaint Louverture: The Story of the Only Successful Slave Revolt in History at the Westminster Theatre. His New York City debut came in October 1936, when he played Horatio in Hamlet at the Empire Theatre, marking the beginning of a Broadway career that would extend through 1951. From September 1937 to April 1938, Andrews worked with John Gielgud's company at the Queen's Theatre in London, appearing in Richard II, The School for Scandal, and The Merchant of Venice. In 1939, he took on the role of Laertes in a production of Hamlet at the Lyceum Theatre, which proved to be the final production staged there before the theatre closed.

Andrews served in the British military during the Second World War, enlisting in October 1939 and receiving a commission into the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment from 162 OCTU on 21 September 1940. He transferred to the Royal Artillery in August 1942 and served in Europe during the D-Day Landings and the subsequent advance into Germany. On 4 April 1946, he was mentioned in dispatches for gallant and distinguished service in North West Europe, and he was demobilised holding the rank of Major.

Returning to the stage after the war, Andrews appeared in December 1945 with the Old Vic company at the New Theatre, where he succeeded George Curzon in the roles of Sir Walter Blunt in Henry IV, Part 1, Scroop in Henry IV, Part 2, Creon in Oedipus, and Sneer in The Critic. The Old Vic company toured to New York City in the summer of 1946, performing at venues including the Century Theatre. Andrews continued with the Old Vic through the end of the 1948–1949 season upon returning to Britain. In 1949, he joined the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre company in Stratford-upon-Avon, performing Shakespearean roles including Macduff, Don Pedro, and Cardinal Wolsey, and touring with the company through Australia that same year. He remained with the company through the 1951 season, playing Henry IV across three consecutive productions. Andrews then traveled to New York with Laurence Olivier's company, appearing in Caesar and Cleopatra and Antony and Cleopatra at the Ziegfeld Theatre. He also toured with the Old Vic company in a production of Henry VIII, performing in Paris, Antwerp, and Brussels. In 1971, Andrews played the title role in Edward Bond's Lear at the Royal Court Theatre in London.

Andrews made his screen debut in The Red Beret in 1953, the first of more than 80 film appearances. His early film work included The Black Knight (1954), Alexander the Great (1956), Moby Dick (1956), Ice Cold in Alex (1958), and Solomon and Sheba (1959). He became particularly associated with portrayals of tough military figures, playing such roles as Sergeant Payne in A Hill in Korea (1956), Major Henry in I Accuse! (1958), Major Swindon in the 1959 adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's The Devil's Disciple, the 3rd Earl of Lucan in The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968), Colonel Thompson in Too Late the Hero (1970), and Grand Duke Nicholas in Nicholas and Alexandra (1971). His performance in The Hill (1965) alongside Sean Connery earned him the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor as well as a nomination for the 1966 BAFTA Award for Best British Actor, an award ultimately won by Dirk Bogarde for Darling. The National Board of Review also recognized Andrews for his work in The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965), in which he played Donato Bramante opposite Charlton Heston. Additional film credits include The Jokers (1967), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968), the 1970 adaptation of Wuthering Heights, Entertaining Mr. Sloane (1970), The Ruling Class (1972), Man of La Mancha (1972), Theatre of Blood (1973), The Blue Bird (1976), and The Big Sleep (1978), in which he portrayed Norris the butler in Michael Winner's adaptation of Raymond Chandler's novel. He also appeared as one of the Kryptonian elders in Superman (1978).

On television, Andrews appeared in two episodes of Armchair Theatre in the early 1960s, portrayed Colonel Bruce in Edward the Seventh (1975), and played Darius Clayhanger in a 1976 series based on The Clayhanger Family novels. He appeared as Lord Bellinger, the Prime Minister, in a 1986 adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes story The Second Stain, and was the subject of an episode of This Is Your Life in 1985. Andrews was awarded the CBE in 1966. His partner of more than 30 years was fellow actor Basil Hoskins, with whom he had worked on Ice Cold in Alex; Hoskins survived Andrews until 2005, and the two are buried together at St Mary the Virgin in Salehurst, East Sussex.