Eric Porter
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- April 8, 1928
- Died
- May 15, 1995 (aged 67)
- Birthplace
- Shepard's Bush, London, UK
Biography
A highly respected Shakespearean for five decades until his death of colon cancer in 1995, classical actor Eric Porter's claim to international fame would, ironically, be outside of that realm, with one superb portrayal in one superb miniseries, The Forsyte Saga(1967), in which he won the BAFTA award. The son of Richard John Porter and Phoebe Elizabeth Spall, Porter first attended Wimbledon Technical College before stepping onto the stage as a walk-on in a production of William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" in February 1945 at the Arts Theatre in Cambridge. He continued in repertory until joining the National Service with the RAF during the war years. Early post-war credits would include touring with Sir Donald Wolfit and Sir Barry Jackson in their prestigious companies. Favorite roles in his repertoire would eventually include "Macbeth", "King Lear" and "Uncle Vanya". He won London's Evening Standard Award for "Rosmersholm" in 1959. Joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1960, he became a prime, esteemed resident for decades. Porter made his film debut in mid-career with The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) at age 36, but it was the BBC that made him an international favorite as the ever-proper but intensely emotional and unhinged "Soames Forsyte". Taboos were broken on that series with a violent rape scene that had people talking for months. Along with the newly acquired fame came leads in lesser films such as The Lost Continent(1968) and Hands of the Ripper (1971), adding class to both those atmospheric horrors. On the plus side, Porter engaged himself frequently in quality TV miniseries fare includingAnna Karenina (1977), The Jewel in the Crown (1984) and Oliver Twist (1985) (as Fagin), while transferring many classics to TV as well, with "Cyrano de Bergerac", "Man and Superman" and "Macbeth" being but a few.
Known For
Filmography
Dinosaur Drive-In
Movie · as Self - (archive footage)
Morecambe & Wise: Christmas Specials
Movie
The Heroes of Telemark: Location report from Norway
Movie
The Best of Morecambe and Wise
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Message for Posterity
Movie · as James Player
The World of Hammer
TV · as Self (archive footage) · 1 ep
Performance
TV · as James Player · 1 ep
The Return of Sherlock Holmes
TV · as Professor Moriarty · 1 ep
Oliver Twist
Movie · as Fagin
Oliver Twist
TV · as Fagin · 10 eps
Sherlock Holmes
TV · as Professor Moriarty · 3 eps
The Jewel in the Crown
TV · as Dimitri Bronowsky · 6 eps
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
TV · as Professor Moriarty · 2 eps
A Shilling Life
Movie · as Petersham
The Crucible
Movie · as Deputy Governor Danforth
The Sin Bin
Movie · as Stanley Wilkinson
Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years
TV · as Neville Chamberlain · 8 eps
Why Didn't They Ask Evans?
Movie · as Dr. Nicholson
Little Lord Fauntleroy
Movie · as Mr. Havisham
Hamlet
Movie · as Polonius
Churchill and the Generals
Movie · as Gen. Sir Alan Brooke
The Thirty Nine Steps
Movie · as Chief Superintendent Lomas
The Shetland Experience
Movie · as Narrator (voice)
The Winslow Boy
Movie · as Arthur Winslow
Anna Karenina
TV · as Karenin · 10 eps
Hitler’s Germany - A World at War Special Presentation
Movie · as Narrator
Hennessy
Movie · as Tobin
The Final Solution
Movie · as Narrator
The Two Deaths of Adolf Hitler
Movie · as Narrator
The Statue and the Rose
Movie · as Parnell
Private Affairs
TV · as Charles Stewart Parnell · 1 ep
The Final Solution
TV · as Self - Narrator · 2 eps
Callan
Movie · as Hunter
From War to Peace
Movie · as Narrator
Warrior - World at War Special Presentation
Movie · as Narrator
Playhouse
TV · as Petersham · 1 ep
The Day of the Jackal
Movie · as Colonel Rodin
The Belstone Fox
Movie · as Asher Smith
Hitler: The Last Ten Days
Movie · as Generalfeldmarschall Robert Ritter von Greim
Antony and Cleopatra
Movie · as Enobarbus
Hands of the Ripper
Movie · as Dr. John Pritchard
Nicholas and Alexandra
Movie · as Stolypin
Macbeth
Movie · as Macbeth
Separate Tables
Movie · as Major Pollock / John Malcolm
Play for Today
TV · as Stanley Wilkinson · 1 ep
Solo
TV · 1 ep
Civilisation
TV · as Macbeth (voice) · 1 ep
Morecambe & Wise: Christmas Specials
TV · as Himself · 8 eps
The Lost Continent
Movie · as Lansen
The Forsyte Saga
TV · as Soames Forsyte · 26 eps
Kaleidoscope
Movie · as Harry Dominion
The Last Invasion
Movie · as Harold
The Heroes of Telemark
Movie · as Terboven
The Wars of the Roses
Movie · as Henry VII
BBC Play of the Month
TV · as Cyrano de Bergerac, Councillor Albert Parker, Arthur Winslow, Jack Tanner, Maj. Pollock / John Malcolm, Macbeth · 1 ep
Knock on Any Door
TV · as Johnny Isaacs · 1 ep
The Fall of the Roman Empire
Movie · as Julianus
Theatre 625
TV · as 'Newton' · 1 ep
Theatre Night
TV · as Vadim Romanoff · 1 ep
Emma
Movie