Jeffery Dench

Jeffery Danny Dench (29 April 1928 – 25 March 2014) was an English actor known for his extensive work with the Royal Shakespeare Company and his appearances on Broadway between 1981 and 1984. He was the older brother of actress Dame Judi Dench.

Dench was born in Tyldesley, Lancashire, to Reginald Arthur Dench, a physician, and Eleanora Olave Dench (née Jones), who was a native of Dublin. His parents had met while Reginald was studying medicine at Trinity College Dublin. Dench spent his early years in Tyldesley alongside his brother Peter before the family relocated to York, where his sister Judith was born. He received his education at St Peter's School in York, where he took his first acting role, playing Cleopatra in George Bernard Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra.

Following his schooling, Dench completed national service at an army theatre in Catterick before enrolling at the Central School of Speech and Drama. There he met Betty, who was working as a speech therapist and would become his first wife. The couple had three daughters together, including Emma, a Roman historian. Dench joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1963 after moving to Clifford Chambers, and he remained associated with the company for many years.

His Broadway career brought him to New York on three productions: Cyrano de Bergerac, Much Ado About Everything, and The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, with his stage appearances spanning 1981 to 1984. He is listed in the database as originally from Manchester, England.

Betty Dench died of a heart attack on 11 January 2002. Dench subsequently married Ann Curtis, a costume designer for the RSC who had been a longtime family friend. The couple lived in Stratford-upon-Avon, where in 2012 Dench became President of the Stratford-upon-Avon Choral Society.

Dench died on 25 March 2014. Following his death, RSC artistic director Gregory Doran described him as the kind of actor who made the RSC what it is, noting that while he did not always occupy leading roles, his presence demonstrated that the company's vitality lay in its strength in depth.