Julian Curry

Julian Burnlee Curry (8 December 1937 – 27 June 2020) was an English actor born in Devon, England. The son of William Burnlee Curry, headmaster of Dartington Hall School from 1930 to 1957, and Marjorie Graham, Curry was educated at Dartington Hall School and King's College, Cambridge. He became widely recognized for his recurring role as Claude Erskine-Browne in the ITV legal comedy-drama Rumpole of the Bailey, a part he held from 1977 to 1992.

Curry made his Broadway debut in 1962, appearing in productions of Saint Joan, Romeo + Juliet, and Macbeth. His first television appearance came in 1965 in an episode of For Whom the Bell Tolls, the same year he also appeared in Z-Cars, a series he returned to in 1975. His television work across subsequent decades was extensive, encompassing Pride and Prejudice (1967), Softly, Softly (1968), Nicholas Nickleby (1968), The Glittering Prizes (1976), the BBC Television Shakespeare production of King Lear (1982), The New Statesman (1984), Inspector Morse (1993), Midsomer Murders (2004), and The Queen's Sister (2005), among many others.

On stage, Curry built a substantial body of work with major British theatrical institutions. His appearances with the Royal Shakespeare Company spanned several decades and included Doctor Faustus (1969), Much Ado About Nothing (1969), The Winter's Tale (1984), The Crucible (1984), King John (1989), Henry VI (1989), The Merchant of Venice (1997), and Women Beware Women (2006). At the National Theatre he appeared in Measure for Measure (1973), The Bacchae (1973), and The Alchemist (2006). He also toured with the Old Vic Company, the RSC, and Prospect Theatre Company. Additional stage credits included Hamlet (1971), The Duchess of Malfi (1981), Cyrano de Bergerac (1992), and Timon of Athens (1991).

His film career included roles in The Mini-Affair (1968), Escape to Victory (1981), in which he played Shurlock, The Missionary (1982), Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend (1985), Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny (1996), in which he portrayed Dr. Lazovert, and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004), where he appeared as Dr. Vargas.

Beyond performance, Curry held a diploma from the Wine and Spirit Education Trust and worked for a period as a freelance member of the Circle of Wine Writers. He performed his one-man show Hic! or The Entire History of Wine (abridged) more than 150 times across multiple countries and wrote and recorded the Naxos audiobook A Guide to Wine. He also authored Shakespeare on Stage, a collection of interviews with thirteen leading actors on specific Shakespearean roles, featuring conversations with Brian Cox, Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes, Rebecca Hall, Derek Jacobi, Jude Law, Adrian Lester, Ian McKellen, Helen Mirren, Tim Pigott-Smith, Kevin Spacey, Patrick Stewart, and Penelope Wilton. The book was nominated as 2011 Theatre Book of the Year, and a second volume followed in 2017.

Curry was married three times: first to actress Sheila Reid, then to Josephine Edmunds, with whom he had two sons, Finn and Patrick, and finally to actress and writer Mary Chater, who survived him at the time of his death on 27 June 2020.