Richard Todd - In Memoriam

Several news oulets mourn the death of British (but Irish born) actor Richard Todd (1919-2009), who died yesterday December 3rd aged 90. He is probably best remembered for his portrait of Jonathan Cooper in Alfred Hitchcock's Stage Fright (but The Dam Busters or A Man Called Peter probably were most successful in its day). But he was also Heathcliff in a 1953 BBC production.

The Telegraph tells an anecdote full of charisma:

Todd had made his television debut in 1953, as Heathcliff in a BBC adaptation of Wuthering Heights. Nigel Kneale, who scripted the adaptation, recalled that the production came about because the actor had turned up at the BBC and announced that he would like to play the role. Such was Todd's celebrity at the time that Kneale was told to get the script prepared in a week as the broadcast was rushed into production.

The Independent and The Guardian - sans anecdote - also connects him to Wuthering Heights.

EDIT: More obituaries: The Age.

Categories: In the News