Stratford actor Richard Curnock dies at 84
Last Updated: Thursday, February 8, 2007 | 10:59 AM ET
CBC Arts
Actor Richard Curnock, a stalwart of the Stratford Shakespearean Festival who also acted for film and television, has died at age 84.
He died at Stratford General Hospital on Tuesday night, according to a release from the Stratford Festival. He had been ill for several years and most recently resided at Cedarcroft Nursing Home in Stratford, Ont.
Actor Richard Curnock began acting at eight and strode Stratford stages for 22 years.
(Stratford Shakespearean Festival)
Curnock joined the festival in 1970 and spent 22 seasons on its stages, in role such as La Fleche in The Miser, Gremio in The Taming of the Shrew and Colonel Pickering in My Fair Lady.
Born in London, England, on May 9, 1922, Curnock studied for the stage with Italia Conti and had his first stage role at age eight.
As a 13-year-old he appeared at the London Palladium in Peter Pan and he later played Pip in an adaptation of Great Expectations written by Ethyl Dickens, granddaughter of the novelist.
During the Second World War he performed before thousands of American and Canadian soldiers on the London stage in a five-year run of the legendary Sweet and Low revues.
He performed for 20 years in London's West End, including the premiere of Under Milk Wood and Irma La Douce, and then went to New York with the British production of Oh, What a Lovely War!
Curnock appeared in theatres throughout North America, including Tarragon Theatre and Young People's Theatre in Toronto, The Grand Theatre in London, Ont., and the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.
He was nominated for a Dora Mavor Moore award for his role in Quartermaine's Terms at Theatre Plus in Toronto and a Joseph Jefferson Award for best supporting actor in Twelfth Night at Goodman Theatre in Chicago.
Among his many character roles at Stratford were Quince in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Crabtree in The School for Scandal, Polonius in Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and Alonso in The Tempest. In his last season on the Stratford stage in 1998, he played Old Shepherd and Archidamus in The Winter's Tale.
The versatile actor also appeared on television and in films including The Avengers, The Wars, Relic Hunter, Amazon, TekWar, Street Legal and Goodbye, Mr. Chips.
Curnock is survived by a daughter in Ohio and a son in Florida.
