Sir Cedric Hardwicke, one of the great character actors in the first
decades of the talking picture, was born in Lye, England on February
19, 1893. Hardwicke attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and made
his stage debut in 1912. His career was interrupted by military service
in World War I, but he returned to the stage in 1922 with the
Birmingham Repertory Theatre, distinguishing himself as Caesar in
George Bernard Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra,
which was his ticket to the London stage. For his distinguished work on
the stage and in films, he was knighted by
King George V in 1934, a time when very
few actors received such an honor.
Hardwicke first performed on the American stage in 1936 and emigrated
to the United States permanently after spending the 1948 season with
the Old Vic. Hardwicke's success on stage and in films and television
was abetted by his resonant voice and aristocratic bearing. Among the
major films he appeared in were
Les MisƩrables (1935),
Stanley and Livingstone (1939),
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939),
Suspicion (1941),
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1949),
and
The Ten Commandments (1956).
His last film was
The Pumpkin Eater (1964) in
1964. Cedric Hardwicke died on August 6, 1964 in New York City, New
York.
ABC Album(1953)
Forever and a Day(1943)
The Pumpkin Eater(1964)as Jo's Father
The Outer Limits(1963)as Colus
The Unknown(1964)as Colas
The Twilight Zone(1959)as Uncle Simon Polk
Burke's Law(1963)as John Busch
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court(1949)
The War to End All Wars(1964)as Self
Pantomime Quiz(1947)as Self - Guest Panelist
The Tonight Show Starring Jack Paar(1957)as Self
Here's Hollywood(1960)as Self
This Is Your Life(1950)as Self
My Name Is Alfred Hitchcock(2022)as Self
Secrets of the Dead(2000)as Dr. David Livingstone
Cinemassacre's Monster Madness(2007)as Ludwig Frankenstein
The Ten Commandments: Making Miracles(2011)as Sethi
The Sky Is Falling: Making 'the War of the Worlds'(2005)as Narrator