Character actor James Villiers was of an aristocratic background - you
could half tell, not only from his sardonic looks and precisely
modulated voice, but from the roles he played. More often than not, he
was typecast as a snobbish, supercilious upper-class twit, effete
weakling or comic second-string villain. A graduate of RADA (Royal
Academy of Dramatic Art), his first major appearance on stage was in a
1954 West End production of "Toad of Toad Hall". During the following
years, he expanded his repertoire at the Old Vic with performances of
William Shakespeare's
"Julius Caesar" and "Richard III", also touring on Broadway. During his
extensive theatrical career, he acted in plays by
Noël Coward (including a
critically-acclaimed performance in "Private Lives" in 1972),
Oscar Wilde and
George Bernard Shaw, and, just prior
to his death, played "Mr. Brownlow" in "Oliver!" at the London
Palladium.
In the
1960's, James Villiers was featured in several films by
Joseph Losey,
most notably
The Damned (1962). One of
his most convincing roles was as one of the parents of a 10-year old
boy threatened by a homicidal
Bette Davis in
The Nanny (1965). He was also featured
in several horror movies, such as
Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (1971)
and the Amicus production of
Asylum (1972), reverting to his best
plummy-voiced form. On television, he was perfectly cast as "Professor
Higgins" in
Pygmalion (1973);
a 1973 adaptation which co-starred
Lynn Redgrave as "Eliza Doolittle". One of
his earlier successes was in the 1969 BBC period drama,
The First Churchills (1969),
in the part of "King Charles II" (whom he was said to have resembled).
One of the most British of actors, Villiers died of cancer in West
Sussex in January 1998.
The Kingdom of Shadows(2005)as The Man At The Lake
The Tichborne Claimant(1998)as Uncle Henry
A Dance to the Music of Time(1997)as Buster Foxe
The Willows in Winter(1996)as Magistrate
E=mc2(1996)as Dr. James Mallinson
The Ruling Class(1972)
Call My Bluff(1996)as Self
Going Going Gone(1995)as Self - Panelist
Notes from Under the Volcano(1984)as Self
3-2-1(1978)as K, Self - Guest Star
Arena(1975)
The Ghost of Peter Sellers(2018)as Self
Best Ever Bond(2002)as Tanner
Inside 'Octopussy'(2000)as Tanner
Clapper Board(1972)as Tanner, Uncle Bertie
The Dick Cavett Show(1968)as Dinsdale - film clip from THE RULING CLASS
