Tony Church

James Anthony Church, born on 11 May 1930 in London, England, and died on 25 March 2008, was an English actor whose career spanned stage, film, and television over more than five decades. Educated at Hurstpierpoint College and Clare College, Cambridge, Church began his professional stage work in 1953 when fellow Cambridge alumnus Peter Hall directed his first professional production, a staging of Pirandello's Henry IV at the Arts Theatre in London, with Church among the performers.

When Hall founded the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1960, Church was part of the original cohort of members. He remained a regular presence with the RSC for nearly three decades, continuing until 1987. In 1988 he returned to work under Hall's direction once more, taking leading roles in Cymbeline, The Winter's Tale, and The Tempest at London's National Theatre. His final appearance on the Stratford stage came on 31 March 2007, as part of a special programme marking the closure of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

Church's Broadway career brought him to New York in 1968, when he appeared in Soldiers. His screen work during that same period included a role in the film Work Is a Four-Letter Word, also released in 1968. Among his other film credits were On Giant's Shoulders and Tess, both from 1979, and Krull in 1983. On television, he portrayed Duke Frederick in the 1963 BBC production of As You Like It, then returned to the same play in the 1978 BBC Television Shakespeare series to play Duke Senior, the banished brother of his earlier character. He also appeared in smaller roles in the television productions Lillie, as Squire Bancroft, and Edward and Mrs. Simpson, as Samuel Hoare.

In addition to his performing career, Church held significant positions in drama education. He was appointed Director of Drama at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1982. In 1989 he left that post to become Dean of the National Theatre Conservatory, the educational division of the Denver Center Theatre Company in Denver, Colorado, a role he assumed the same year.