Dignified, aristocratic-looking Richard Vernon was born to English parents in Kenya. He was educated at Reading and Leighton Park Schools and commenced his acting career near the end of his wartime service with the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve, producing, directing and starring in a production of
George Bernard Shaw's 'Heartbreak House' for the Combined Services Club. At various times he was stationed in Singapore and Hong Kong. After being demobbed, Richard completed his training at the Central School of Speech and Drama. On the professional stage from 1950, he enjoyed a successful theatrical career in West End productions ranging from 'Peter Pan' (as Mr.Darling) to
Noël Coward's 'Hay Fever' (as Richard Greatham). During the 60s, he appeared in supporting roles in several prestigious motion pictures, including
Village of the Damned (1960),
The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1964) and
Goldfinger (1964).
Considerably better employed on the small screen, Richard evolved into the consummate scene-stealer. Balding, looking
rather older than his years and a dignified bearing made him ideal casting for typically British stiff-upper-lip military or aristocratic types or stuffy senior public servants. A noteworthy early starring role was as
The Man in Room 17 (1965), a barrister and ex- war correspondent assigned to a secret unit as an infallible criminologist investigating cases deemed too difficult for the local plods and Scotland Yard. A natural propensity for period drama then insured his successful run in several popular series, notably
Upstairs, Downstairs (1971) and
The Duchess of Duke Street (1976). Above all, Richard excelled in gleeful old rogues and slightly dishevelled or befuddled eccentrics. His great asset was a way of delivering even the funniest of lines totally deadpan and matter-of-fact. He was
wonderfully droll as Lord Bartlesham in the
Ripping Yarns (1976) episode 'Roger of the Raj'. Arguably his most famous role was that
of galactic fjord builder Slartibartfast in
The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1981), a part to which he had originally lent his voice in a 1978 radio
serial.
A truly unique and likeable character actor, Richard Vernon plied his craft until two years prior to his death from Parkinson's Disease. From 1955 until 1990, he had been married to Benedicta Leigh (née Hoskyns).
Loch Ness(1996)as Aged Professor
Class Act(1994)as Sir Horace Mainwaring
Lovejoy(1986)as Roger Nettleton
Frank Stubbs Promotes(1993)as Lord Dunstable
The Return of the Borrowers(1993)as Mr. Pott
The Man in Room 17(1965)
This Is Your Life(1955)as Self
The Morecambe & Wise Show(1978)as Self
Call My Bluff(1965)as Self
Amicalement Votre, Hollywood au service de sa majesté(2017)as Sir Maxwell Dean
The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years(2016)as Man on Train in A Hard Day's Night
Kate Bush: The Whole Story(1986)as Professor (clip: Experiment IV)
The Rock 'n' Roll Years(1985)as Johnson - the gentleman on the train
Sporting Chance(1975)as Sir Maxwell Dean
