Denholm Elliott

British actor (1922–1992)

Denholm Mitchell Elliott, CBE (31 May 1922 – 6 October 1992) was an English film, television and theatre actor. He was in more than 120 movies and television programmes.[1] In the 1981, he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.[2]

Denholm Elliott

Born
Denholm Mitchell Elliott

(1922-05-31)31 May 1922
Died6 October 1992(1992-10-06) (aged 70)
Cause of deathTuberculosis complicated by AIDS
NationalityBritish
EducationMalvern College
Alma materRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art
OccupationActor
Years active1949–1992
Spouse(s)Virginia McKenna
(m. 1954; divorced)
Susan Robinson
(m. 1962–1992; his death)

Early life change

Elliott was born in London, England. He was the son of Nina (née Mitchell) and Myles Laymen Farr Elliott.[3] He attended Malvern College and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.

Career change

In the 1980s, he won three consecutive British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards – Best Supporting Actor for Trading Places as Dan Aykroyd's kindly butler, A Private Function, and Defence of the Realm – as well as an Academy Award nomination for A Room with a View. He also became familiar to a wider audience as the well-meaning but addlepated Dr. Marcus Brody in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. A photograph of his character appears in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and a reference is made to Brody's death. In 1988, Elliott played the Russian mole Povin in the television miniseries Codename: Kyril.

Death change

Elliott was diagnosed with HIV in 1987. He died of AIDS-related tuberculosis at his home on Ibiza, Spain, in 1992.[4] His widow set up a charity, the Denholm Elliott Project, in his honour and collaborated on his biography.[5]

Movies change

References change

  1. McFarlane, Brian. "Elliott, Denholm (1922-1992)". BFI Screenonline. Retrieved 24 September 2007.
  2. "Television Actor in 1981". BAFTA. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  3. Gaita, Paul. "Denholm Elliott". hollywood.com. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  4. Shipman, David. "Obituary: Denholm Elliott". Independent. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  5. Elliott, Susan; Turner, Barry (1994). Denholm Elliott: Quest for Love.

Other websites change