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Brian Blessed Biography (1937-)

Born October 9, 1937, in Mexborough, Yorkshire, England; son of William (a coal miner) and Hilda (maiden name, Wall) Blessed; married Ann Bomann (divorced); married Hildegarde Neil (an actress), December 28, 1978; children: (firstmarriage) Catherine; (second marriage) Rosalind. Addresses: Manager: Derek Webster, Associated International Management, 5 Denmark St., London WC2H8LP, England.

Nationality

British

Gender

Male

Occupation

Actor, director

Birth Details

October 9, 1937

Mexborough, Yorkshire, United Kingdom

Famous Works

• CREDITS
• Film Appearances
• Policeman, The Christmas Tree, CFF, 1966
• Sergeant, Alf 'n' Family (also known as Till Death Do Us Part), Sherpix, 1968
• Jock Baird, Brotherly Love (also known as Country Dance andThe Same Skin), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1970
• Korski, The Last Valley, Cinerama, 1971
• Tathybius, The Trojan Women, Cinerama, 1971
• Suffolk, Henry VIII and His Six Wives, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/EMI, 1972
• Pedro, Man of La Mancha (also known as L'uomo della Mancha), United Artists, 1972
• Barry Lyndon, Warner Bros., 1975
• King Arthur, the Young Warlord, 1975
• Vargas, The Beginning, 1978
• Prince Vultan, Flash Gordon, Universal, 1980
• Suleiman Khan, High Road to China, Warner Bros., 1983
• Geoffrey Lyons, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Weintraub, 1983
• Exeter, Henry V, Samuel Goldwyn, 1989
• Voice of Caous (English version), Asterix et le coup du menhir (animated; also known as Asterix and the Big Fight and Asterix and theStone's Blow), Gaumont/Palace, 1989
• Galahad of Everest, 1991
• Lord Locksley, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Warner Bros., 1991
• Pozzo, Waiting for Godot, 1991
• Chazov, Back in the U.S.S.R., FoxVideo, 1992
• Voice of El Supremo, Freddie as F.R.O.7 (animated; also known as Freddie the Frog), Miramax, 1992
• Antonio, Much Ado about Nothing, Samuel Goldwyn, 1993
• Major Elliot, Chasing the Deer, 1994
• The Doctors, 30 Years of Time Travel and Beyond, 1995
• Ghost, Hamlet (also known as William Shakespeare's Hamlet),Columbia, 1996
• Edward I, The Bruce, Cromwell Productions, 1996
• Edward the Confessor, Macbeth, 1997
• Teiresias, The Bacchae, 1999
• Boss Nass, Star Wars: Episode I--The Phantom Menace (also known asThe Phantom Menace and Sar Wars I: The Phantom Menace), 1999
• Voice of Clayton, Tarzan (animated), 1999
• Title role, King Lear, Lamancha, 1999
• Bounder, The Mumbo Jumbo, Vine International, 2000
• Father Gabriel Norton, Devil's Harvest, Equator, 2003
• Film Work
• Special director, "Witches Scene," Macbeth, 1997
• Director, King Lear, 1999
• Television Appearances
• Series
• Constable Fancy Smith, Z Cars, BBC, 1962-1965
• Mark of Cornwall, Arthur of the Britons, 1972
• William Woodcock, Boy Dominic, 1976
• King Richard IV, Blackadder (also known as The Black Adder), BBC, then Arts and Entertainment, 1983
• Spiro, My Family and Other Animals, BBC, then Arts and Entertainment, 1987
• William `Bill' Sticker, Johnny and the Dead, 1995
• Voice of Sir Morris, The Big Knights, 1999
• Miniseries
• Porthos, The Three Musketeers, 1966
• Euben Starkadder, Cold Comfort Farm, BBC, then televised in the United States on Masterpiece Theatre, PBS, 1971
• Notorious Woman, BBC, then televised in the United States on Masterpiece Theatre, PBS, 1975
• Augustus, I, Claudius, BBC, then televised in the United States onMasterpiece Theatre, PBS, 1977
• Basileos, The Aphrodite Inheritance, 1979
• Porfiry, Crime and Punishment, 1979
• Olinthus, The Last Days of Pompeii, ABC, 1984
• General Yevlenko, War and Remembrance, ABC, 1988
• Long John Silver, Return to Treasure Island, The Disney Channel, 1989
• Cluny, Kidnapped, The Family Channel, 1995
• Squire Western, Henry Fielding's Tom Jones (also known as The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling), Arts and Entertainment, 1998
• Movies
• Peter, Son of Man (also known as Wednesday Play: Son of Man), 1969
• Whom God Hath Joined, 1970
• Sergeant Kita, The Recruiting Officer (also known as Play of the Month: The Recruiting Officer), 1973
• The Great Alfred, 1975
• Abner, The Story of David, ABC, 1976
• Mentor, Cosmic Princess, 1976
• Captain Teach, The Master of Ballantrae, CBS, 1984
• Sam, The Castle of Adventure, 1990
• General Gonse, Prisoner of Honor, HBO, 1991
• Petty officer, Lady Chatterley, 1992
• Atticus, MacGyver: Lost Treasure of Atlantis, ABC, 1994
• Bestuzhev, Katharina die Grosse (also known as Catherine the Great), 1995
• Mr. Scottley, The Greatest Store in the World, BBC, 1999
• King Henry VIII, The Nearly Complete and Utter History of Everything, BBC, 1999
• (In archive footage) PC `Fancy' Smith, Total Cops, 2003
• Episodic
• Mark Dayton, "The Superlative Seven," The Avengers, 1967
• Sgt. Hearn, "The Morning After," The Avengers, 1969
• Jim Lawsey, "The Ghost Who Saved the Bank at Monte Carlo," Randall andHopkirk (Deceased), 1969
• Reverend William Pratt, "Egg & Cress Sandwiches," Public Eye,1973
• Frank Kemble, "Ringer," The Sweeney, 1975
• George Briggs, "Appointment with a Killer" (also known as "A Midsummer Nightmare"), Thriller, ABC, 1975
• Dr. Cabot Rowland, "Death's Other Dominion," Space 1999, syndicated, 1975
• Mentor, "The Metamorph," Space 1999, syndicated, 1976
• Jackanory, BBC, 1976
• Brod, "Law of the Jungle," Survivors, 1977
• Vargas, "Cygnus Alpha," Blake's 7, BBC, 1978
• Detective Sergeant Jack Nolan, "Lamb to the Slaughter," Tales of the Unexpected, syndicated, 1979
• Yrcanos, "Mindwarp," Doctor Who, syndicated, 1986
• "Dingley Dell," Roland Rat, the Series, 1986
• (Uncredited; in archive footage) Yrcanos, "The Ultimate Foe," Doctor Who, 1986
• Lambert Sampson, "Banbury Blue," Boon, Central-TV, 1988
• "The Last Video Show," Minder, 1989
• Harry Catapodis, "Black Virgin of Vladimir," Lovejoy Mysteries, Arts and Entertainment, 1991
• Harry Catapodis, "Riding in Rollers," Lovejoy Mysteries, Arts andEntertainment, 1991
• Himself, Television's Greatest Hits, 1992
• "The Mountains of Doom," Fun at the Funeral Parlour, BBC, 2001
• "Z Cars," After They Were Famous, 2000
• Richard and Judy, Channel 4, 2003
• Also appeared as Santa Claus, Sooty & Co.; in Celebrity Ready, Steady, Cook; Turning Points.
• Specials
• Will, Wine of India (also known as Wednesday Play: Wine of India), BBC, 1970
• Tom Bowen, Into Infinity (also known as The Day after Tomorrow), 1976
• The Little World of Don Camillo, 1980
• Rudolf Kammerling, Once in a Lifetime, BBC, then Great Performances, PBS, 1988
• Voice characterization, Pyramid (animated), PBS, 1988
• Voice of General Gaius Valerius, City (animated documentary), PBS,1994
• Hey, Mr. Producer! The Musical World of Cameron Mackintosh, PBS, 1998
• Night of a Thousand Shows, 2000
• Father Christmas, host, I Love Christmas, 2001
• Presenter, The Laurence Olivier Awards 2002, 2002
• Also appeared as host, narrator, and Johann Sebastian Bach, The Joy ofBach, PBS; narrator, The Natural World, BBC; William the Conqueror, Lorna and Ted, Justice, Hadleigh, Public Eye, Brahms, Son of a Man, and Churchill's People.
• Stage Appearances
• Edmund, The Exorcism, Comedy Theatre, London, 1975
• Maxim Gorky, State of Revolution, National Theatre Company, Lyttelton Theatre, London, 1977
• Old Deuteronomy, Cats, New London Theatre, London, 1981
• John Freeman, Metropolis, Piccadilly Theatre, London, 1989
• An Evening with Brian Blessed (one-man show), 1992-1993 then 1995-96.
• Hard Times, London, 2000
• Sir Tunbelly Clumsey, The Relapse, Royal National Theatre, London,2001
• Baron Bomburst, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, London Palladium, 2002
• Also appeared as Claudius, Hamlet, Hastings, Richard III, and Exeter, Henry V, all Royal Shakespeare Company; as Henry II, TheLion in Winter; in Incident at Vichy and Oedipus, both inLondon; and in repertory at Nottingham, England, and Birmingham, England.
• RECORDINGS
• Video Games
• Voice of Uncle Kashumai, Privateer 2: The Darkening, 1996
• Voice of Clayton, Tarzan, 1999
• Voice of Clayton, Kingdom Hearts, Square Electronic Arts, 2002
• WRITINGS
• Books
• Author of The Turquoise Mountain, The Dynamite Kid, Nothing's Impossible, and Blessed Everest.