John Gielgud
(1904-2000), Actor and theatre directorSir John Gielgud
Sitter in 123 portraits
Born into a theatrical tradition - Ellen Terry was his great aunt and his father's Polish grandmother was also an actress. He made his professional debut in 1921 at the Old Vic and it was there that his performances in Richard II and Hamlet in 1929 propelled him to fame. Gielgud's fame before the War was as a Shakespearean actor and director, skills he re-deployed in the triumphant one-man Shakespeare recital, Ages of Man, with which he toured the world in 1959. A versatile talent, he directed and played in Christopher Fry's The Lady's Not for Burning in 1949. He won an Oscar for his film role in Arthur (1981). As late as 1998 he starred in The Titchborne Claimant.
by Howard Coster
half-plate film negative, 1937
NPG x14536
by Howard Coster
half-plate film negative, 1945
NPG x14520
by Dorothy Wilding
chlorobromide print on card mount, early 1950s
NPG x30466
by Howard Coster
bromide print, 1953
NPG x1852
by Howard Coster
bromide print, 1953
NPG x1855
by Howard Coster
bromide print, 1953
NPG x1856
by Howard Coster
bromide print, 1953
NPG x1857
by Howard Coster
bromide print, 1953
NPG x2160
by Howard Coster
half-plate film negative, 1953
NPG x25852
by Howard Coster
half-plate film negative, 1953
NPG x25855
by Cecil Beaton
bromide print on white card mount, published 1953
NPG x14084
John Gielgud; Orson Welles; Sir Ralph Richardson
by Central Press
vintage print, 1 October 1954
NPG x194272
by Unknown photographer
vintage press print, 1966
NPG x139812
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