Blessed, Brian 1937–

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BLESSED, Brian 1937–

PERSONAL

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: (first marriage) Catherine; (second marriage) Rosalind. Education: Trained for the stage at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Avocational Interests: Judo (black belt) and mountaineering.

Addresses: Manager— Derek Webster, Associated International Management, 5 Denmark St., London WC2H 8LP, England.

Career: Actor and director. Member, Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford–upon–Avon, England, 1985. Military service: Royal Air Force, parachute regiment.

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 and The 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 the Stone'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 as The 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.

Television Appearances; 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 on Masterpiece 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.

Television Appearances; 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.

Television Appearances; 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 and Hopkirk (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 and Entertainment, 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.

Television Appearances; 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 of Bach, 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, The Lion in Winter; in Incident at Vichy and Oedipus, both in London; and in repertory at Nottingham, England, and Birmingham, England.