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John Gielgud

(1904-2000), Actor and theatre director

Sir 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.

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John Gielgud, by Cyril Arapoff - NPG x16871

John Gielgud

by Cyril Arapoff
film negative, 1930s
NPG x16871

John Gielgud, by Paul Tanqueray - NPG x15485

John Gielgud

by Paul Tanqueray
bromide print, 1932
NPG x15485

John Gielgud as Richard II in 'Richard of Bordeaux', by Yvonne Gregory - NPG x132018

John Gielgud as Richard II in 'Richard of Bordeaux'

by Yvonne Gregory
half-plate glass negative, 20 January 1933
NPG x132018

John Gielgud as Richard II in 'Richard of Bordeaux', by Yvonne Gregory - NPG x132019

John Gielgud as Richard II in 'Richard of Bordeaux'

by Yvonne Gregory
half-plate glass negative, 20 January 1933
NPG x132019

John Gielgud as Richard II in 'Richard of Bordeaux', by Yvonne Gregory - NPG x132020

John Gielgud as Richard II in 'Richard of Bordeaux'

by Yvonne Gregory
half-plate glass negative, 20 January 1933
NPG x132020

John Gielgud as Richard II in 'Richard of Bordeaux', by Yvonne Gregory - NPG x132021

John Gielgud as Richard II in 'Richard of Bordeaux'

by Yvonne Gregory
half-plate glass negative, 20 January 1933
NPG x132021

John Gielgud as Richard II in 'Richard of Bordeaux', by Yvonne Gregory - NPG x132022

John Gielgud as Richard II in 'Richard of Bordeaux'

by Yvonne Gregory
half-plate glass negative, 20 January 1933
NPG x132022

John Gielgud as Richard II in 'Richard of Bordeaux', by Yvonne Gregory - NPG x132023

John Gielgud as Richard II in 'Richard of Bordeaux'

by Yvonne Gregory
half-plate glass negative, 20 January 1933
NPG x132023

John Gielgud as Richard II in 'Richard of Bordeaux', by Yvonne Gregory - NPG x132024

John Gielgud as Richard II in 'Richard of Bordeaux'

by Yvonne Gregory
half-plate glass negative, 20 January 1933
NPG x132024

John Gielgud as Richard II in 'Richard of Bordeaux', by Yvonne Gregory - NPG x132025

John Gielgud as Richard II in 'Richard of Bordeaux'

by Yvonne Gregory
half-plate glass negative, 20 January 1933
NPG x132025

John Gielgud, by Howard Coster - NPG x14493

John Gielgud

by Howard Coster
half-plate film negative, 1933
NPG x14493

John Gielgud, by Howard Coster - NPG x14494

John Gielgud

by Howard Coster
half-plate film negative, 1933
NPG x14494

John Gielgud, by Howard Coster - NPG x14495

John Gielgud

by Howard Coster
half-plate film negative, 1933
NPG x14495

John Gielgud, by Yvonne Gregory - NPG x199948

John Gielgud

by Yvonne Gregory
gelatin silver print, 1934
NPG x199948

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