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Brian Bedford
Born	16 February 1935 (1935-02-16) (age 74) Morley, West Yorkshire, England, UK
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1957–present

Brian Bedford (born 16 February 1935) is an English actor.

Contents 1 Life and career 2 Awards and nominations 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Life and career

Bedford was born in Morley, West Yorkshire, the son of Ellen (née O'Donnell) and Arthur Bedford, a postman.^[1] Bedford attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London from 1952–1954 and was in the same class as Albert Finney, Alan Bates and Peter O'Toole.

Primarily a stage actor, he is known for his English-speaking interpretations of the French playwright Molière, including Tony Award nominated performances in Tartuffe, The Molière Comedies (a double bill of the short plays The School for Husbands and The Imaginary Cuckold) and The School for Wives, for which he received the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play. He has done a great deal of Shakespearean work, notably as Ariel in The Tempest opposite John Gielgud's Prospero in 1958, Angelo in Measure for Measure at the Stratford Festival of Canada in 1973, and The Public Theater's New York Shakespeare Festival Shakespeare in the Park productions of As You Like It (as Orlando), and Timon of Athens (as Timon), the latter based on a production he originated with the National Actors Theatre in 1993 and which he eventually played on Broadway.

Bedford's additional Broadway credits include The Seven Descents of Myrtle, Private Lives, Two Shakespearean Actors, London Assurance, and Jumpers.

Bedford appeared with James Garner in the 1966 film Grand Prix, and in 1967 he was a regular on the short-lived CBS television series Coronet Blue. He provided the voice of Robin Hood in the 1973 Disney movie of the same name.

In 1997 Bedford was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame. Other honors include the Obie, the Outer Circle Critics Award, the Drama Desk Award, and the LA Drama Critics Award.

As of 2009, Bedford has acted and/or directed in 27 seasons of productions at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Canada, most recently directing and starring in The Importance of Being Earnest.^[2] Bedford shares a renovated home in Stratford with fellow actor Tim MacDonald.^[3]

[edit] Awards and nominations

Tony Awards

• 1971 Best Actor in Play - The School for Wives (winner)
• 1992 Best Actor in Play - Two Shakespearean Actors (nominee)
• 1994 Best Actor in Play - Timon of Athens (nominee)
• 1995 Best Actor in Play - The Molière Comedies (nominee)
• 1997 Best Actor in Play - London Assurance (nominee)
• 2003 Best Actor in Play - Tartuffe (nominee)

Drama Desk Awards

• 1969 Outstanding Performance - The Misanthrope (winner)
• 1970 Outstanding Performance - Private Lives (winner)
• 1971 Outstanding Performance - The School for Wives (winner)
• 1974 Outstanding Performance - Jumpers (winner)
• 1992 Outstanding Actor in a Play - Two Shakespearean Actors (winner)
• 1994 Outstanding Actor in a Play - Timon of Athens (nominee)

Obie Awards

• 1965 Outstanding Performance - The Knack (winner)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Brian Bedford at the Internet Broadway Database
• Brian Bedford at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Brian Bedford at the Internet Movie Database
• Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia entry

v • d • e Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play José Ferrer / Fredric March (1947) · Henry Fonda / Paul Kelly / Basil Rathbone (1948) · Rex Harrison (1949) · Sidney Blackmer (1950) · Claude Rains (1951) · José Ferrer (1952) · Tom Ewell (1953) · David Wayne (1954) · Alfred Lunt (1955) · Paul Muni (1956) · Fredric March (1957) · Ralph Bellamy (1958) · Jason Robards, Jr. (1959) · Melvyn Douglas (1960) · Zero Mostel (1961) · Paul Scofield (1962) · Arthur Hill (1963) · Alec Guinness (1964) · Walter Matthau (1965) · Hal Holbrook (1966) · Paul Rogers (1967) · Martin Balsam (1968) · James Earl Jones (1969) · Fritz Weaver (1970) · Brian Bedford (1971) · Cliff Gorman (1972) · Alan Bates (1973) · Michael Moriarty (1974) · John Kani / Winston Ntshona (1975) Complete list: (1947-1975) · (1976-2000) · (2001-present)