Alan Webb (actor)
| Alan Webb | |
|---|---|
 in Lease of Life (1954) | |
| Born |
Alan Norton Fletcher Webb 2 July 1906 York, England, UK |
| Died |
22 June 1982 (aged 75) Chichester, Sussex, England, UK |
| Years active | 1938–1982 |
Alan Webb (2 July 1906 – 22 June 1982) was an English stage and film actor.[1]
Biography and career
Educated at Bramcote School, Scarborough, North Riding of Yorkshire and RN Colleges Osborne and Dartmouth. He served in the Royal Navy.
Webb's early days were spent performing with the Lena Ashwell Players (1924–26), J.B. Fagan's Oxford Players (1926–28), the Croydon Repertory Company (1932–33) and the Old Vic-Sadler's Wells Company (1934–35).[2] In 1936 he starred in Noël Coward's Tonight at 8:30 and directed Coward's Peace In Our Time in 1947.[3] In 1960 he appeared in the role of "Dudard" in Eugène Ionesco's Rhinoceros, directed by Orson Welles and co-starring Laurence Olivier, at the Royal Court Theatre.[4]
He appeared in many plays on Broadway, starting with the aforementioned Tonight at 8:30 in 1936 through his final production, I Never Sang for My Father in 1968, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award, Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play.[5]
He made his film debut in Challenge to Lassie (1949), and went on to appear in such films as The Pumpkin Eater (1964), King Rat (1965); Chimes at Midnight (1965), The Taming of the Shrew (1967), Women in Love (1969), Entertaining Mr. Sloane (1970), The Canterbury Tales (1972) and The Duellists (1977).[6]
He appeared several times on the BBC Play of the Month, Hallmark Hall of Fame and Play for Today, as well as popular television series Z-Cars, The Protectors, and Public Eye. In 1963, he was offered the role of the First Doctor in the BBC's new science fiction series Doctor Who but declined.[7] Webb was also cast as Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars Return of the Jedi but bowed out due to illness.[8]
Selected filmography
- Challenge to Lassie (1949) - James Brown
- The Astonished Heart (1950) - Sir Reginald
- The Cruel Sea (1953) - Admiral Murray-Forbes (uncredited)
- West of Zanzibar (1954) - Alan, Bob's Boss (uncredited)
- Lease of Life (1954) - Dr. Pembury
- The Night My Number Came Up (1955) - Governor (uncredited)
- The Silent Enemy (1958) - British Consul
- The Scapegoat (1959) - Inspector
- The Third Secret (1964) - Alden Hoving
- The Pumpkin Eater (1964) - Mr. Armitage - Jake's father
- King Rat (1965) - Brant
- Chimes at Midnight (1965) - Shallow
- The Taming of the Shrew (1967) - Gremio
- Interlude (1968) - Andrew
- Women in Love (1969) - Thomas Crich
- Entertaining Mr Sloane (1970) - Kemp ('Dadda')
- King Lear (1971) - Gloucester
- The Horsemen (1971) - Gardi Gay (uncredited)
- Nicholas and Alexandra (1971) - Yurovsky
- The Canterbury Tales (1972) - Old Man
- The Duellists (1977) - Chevalier
- The First Great Train Robbery (1979) - Trent
- Rough Cut (1980) - Sir Samuel Sacks
- Deadly Game (1982) - Joseph Pillet (final film role)
Radio appearances
| Year | Program | Episode/source |
|---|---|---|
| 1952 | Theatre Guild on the Air | The Pickwick Papers[9] |
| 1952 | Theatre Guild on the Air | The Winslow Boy[10] |
References
- ↑ "Alan Webb".
- ↑ "Alan Webb - Theatricalia".
- ↑ "Production of Tonight at 8.30 - Theatricalia".
- ↑ "Wellesnet Theater: Rhinoceros".
- ↑ League, The Broadway. "Alan Webb - IBDB: The official source for Broadway Information".
- ↑ "Alan Webb - Movies and Filmography - AllMovie".
- ↑ Idato, Michael (2013-08-14). "The who's who of the almost Doctor Whos". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ↑ "Return of the Jedi: behind the scenes".
- ↑ Kirby, Walter (21 December 1952). "Better Radio Programs for the Week". The Decatur Daily Review. p. 44. Retrieved 8 June 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Kirby, Walter (23 November 1952). "Better Radio Programs for the Week". The Decatur Daily Review. p. 48. Retrieved 16 June 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
