Robert Morley

Robert Adolph Wilton Morley (26 May 1908 – 3 June 1992) was an English actor, playwright, and book writer whose career spanned decades on both the British and American stage and screen. Born in Semley, Wiltshire, he was the son of Gertrude Emily Morley and Robert Wilton Morley, a major in the British Army. His mother came from a German family that had emigrated to South Africa. Morley attended Wellington College, Berkshire, an experience he recalled with open contempt, before training at RADA.

Morley made his West End debut in 1929 in Treasure Island at the Strand Theatre. His Broadway career began in 1938 when he appeared in the title role of Oscar Wilde at the Fulton Theatre, and he continued to work on Broadway through 1948. Among his most significant stage achievements was Edward, My Son, a family drama he co-wrote in 1947 with Noel Langley, in which he also played the central role of Arnold Holt. The production earned him success in both London and New York. In his autobiography, Responsible Gentleman, Morley noted that early in his career, managements cast him in roles suited to his appearance — doctors, lawyers, accountants, and other professional figures he described as "substantial gentlemen."

His film career began in earnest with Marie Antoinette (1938), in which he portrayed King Louis XVI, a performance that earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He went on to appear in The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan (1953), playing W. S. Gilbert, and in The African Queen (1951) as a missionary. Edward, My Son was adapted for film in 1949 by director George Cukor for MGM-British. His 1937 play Goodness, How Sad was also brought to the screen as Return to Yesterday (1940), directed by Robert Stevenson for Ealing Studios. Later in his career, Morley received critical recognition for his work in Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe, and he appeared among an international ensemble cast in Ken Annakin's Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines.

On television, Morley hosted the 14-episode Granada Television anthology series Ladykillers in 1980, for which he provided introductory commentary to each episode. During the 1980s he hosted a celebrity cooking program on cable television called Celebrity Chefs. He also served as the television spokesman for BOAC, later British Airways, during the 1970s. In 1959 he appeared in an Alfred Hitchcock Presents adaptation of a Stanley Ellin short story, "Specialty of the House," and in 1974 he was the subject of This Is Your Life, surprised on air by host Eamonn Andrews.

In January 1957, Morley entered into a business partnership with Robin Fox, forming a production company called the Robin Fox Partnership Ltd, based at 24 Old Burlington Street. That same year he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire. In 1975 he was offered a knighthood, which he declined. He was also named the first King of Moomba by the Melbourne Moomba festival committee, accepting the honor in bare feet while touring Australia with his one-man show, The Sound of Morley.

Morley married Joan Buckmaster, a daughter of Dame Gladys Cooper. The couple had three children: a son, Sheridan Morley, who became a writer and critic; a daughter, Annabel; and another son, Wilton. Morley was a member of the Labour Party and lived for many years in Wargrave, Berkshire. He died in Reading, England, on 3 June 1992, following a stroke, at the age of 84.