
Birthday:
04-08-1928
Deathday:
05-15-1995 (67 years)
Birthplace:
Shepard's Bush, London, UK
Biography
A highly respected Shakespearean for five decades until his death of colon cancer in 1995, classical actor Eric Porter's claim to international fame would, ironically, be outside of that realm, with one superb portrayal in one superb miniseries, The Forsyte Saga(1967), in which he won the BAFTA award. The son of Richard John Porter and Phoebe Elizabeth Spall, Porter first attended Wimbledon Technical College before stepping onto the stage as a walk-on in a production of William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" in February 1945 at the Arts Theatre in Cambridge. He continued in repertory until joining the National Service with the RAF during the war years. Early post-war credits would include touring with Sir Donald Wolfit and Sir Barry Jackson in their prestigious companies. Favorite roles in his repertoire would eventually include "Macbeth", "King Lear" and "Uncle Vanya". He won London's Evening Standard Award for "Rosmersholm" in 1959. Joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1960, he became a prime, esteemed resident for decades. Porter made his film debut in mid-career with The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) at age 36, but it was the BBC that made him an international favorite as the ever-proper but intensely emotional and unhinged "Soames Forsyte". Taboos were broken on that series with a violent rape scene that had people talking for months. Along with the newly acquired fame came leads in lesser films such as The Lost Continent(1968) and Hands of the Ripper (1971), adding class to both those atmospheric horrors. On the plus side, Porter engaged himself frequently in quality TV miniseries fare includingAnna Karenina (1977), The Jewel in the Crown (1984) and Oliver Twist (1985) (as Fagin), while transferring many classics to TV as well, with "Cyrano de Bergerac", "Man and Superman" and "Macbeth" being but a few.
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Their works
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The Day of the Jackal
Act like Colonel Rodin
event1973 star_border 7.5
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An international assassin known as ‘The Jackal’ is employed by disgruntled French generals to kill President Charles de Gaulle, with a dedicated gendarme on the assassin’s trail.
The Lost Continent
Act like Lansen
event1968 star_border 5.6
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An eclectic group of characters set sail on Captain Lansen’s leaky cargo ship in an attempt to escape their various troubles. When a violent storm strikes, the ship is swept into the Sargasso Sea and the passengers find themselves trapped on an island populated by man-eating seaweed, giant crabs and Spanish conquistadors who believe it’s still the 16th century.
Kaleidoscope
Act like Harry Dominion
event1966 star_border 4.8
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Barney Lincoln is a rambling gambling man who scores sensational wins at poker and chemin de fer because he has succeeded in marking the original plates for the backs of all the playing cards manufactured in a plant in Geneva and used in all the gambling joints in Europe. In his gambling depredation, Barney is spotted by Angel McGinnis, the daughter of a Scotland Yard Inspector 'Manny' McGinnis on the lookout for a man to do a job. The inspector enlists Barney's help in playing poker with a shady London character whom Scotland Yard wants to force to financial ruin.
The Thirty Nine Steps
Act like Chief Superintendent Lomas
event1978 star_border 6.7
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The year is 1914 and Richard Hannay, Mining Engineer who is visiting Britain for a short time before returning to South Africa, is shocked when one of his neighbours, Colonel Scudder, bursts into his rooms one night and tells him a story that Prussian 'sleeper' agents are planning to pre-start World War I by murdering a visiting foreign minister. However, Scudder is murdered and Hannay is framed for the death by the 'sleepers'. Fleeing to Scotland Hannay attempts to clear his name and to stop the agents with the aid of Alex Mackenzie but not only is he is chased by Chief Supt Lomas for Scudder's death but by the agents who are headed by Appleton who has managed to hide himself in a high-placed position in the British Government...
The Fall of the Roman Empire
Act like Julianus
event1964 star_border 6.5
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In the year 180 A.D. Germanic tribes are about to invade the Roman empire from the north. In the midst of this crisis ailing emperor Marcus Aurelius has to make a decision about his successor between his son Commodus, who is obsessed by power, and the loyal general Gaius Livius.
Hands of the Ripper
Act like Dr. John Pritchard
event1971 star_border 6.3
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A series of murders occur that mirror those committed by the Whitechapel Ripper. Through his experiments with psychoanalysis Dr Pritchard discovers a deadly violence in one of his young female patients. As he delves into the recesses of her mind he uncovers that Anna is possessed by her dead father's spirit, willing her to commit acts of gruesome savagery over which she has no control. But the most chilling revelation of all is the identity of her father: Jack the Ripper himself.
Callan
Act like Hunter
event1974 star_border 6.9
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David Callan, secret agent, is called back to the service after his retirement, to handle the assassination of a german businessman, but Callan refuses to co-operate until he finds out why this man is marked for death.
Antony and Cleopatra
Act like Enobarbus
event1972 star_border 5.6
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Adaptation of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, a historical drama that attempts to bring an epic visual style to the Bard's original stage play. The story concerns Marc Antony's attempts to rule Rome while maintaining a relationship with the queen of Egypt (Hildegarde Neil), which began while Antony was still married. Now he is being forced to marry the sister of his Roman co-leader, and soon the conflict leads to war.
Why Didn't They Ask Evans?
Act like Dr. Nicholson
event1980 star_border 6.4
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This intriguing story is set in the 1930s at a country house, where two amateur sleuths, Bobby Jones and Lady Frankie Derwent, try to unravel the mystery behind a tale of murder, suspense and false identities. And the only clues the two have to go on are the puzzling last words of a dying man. Featuring characters created by Agatha Christie, Why Didn't They Ask Evans is a classic crime thriller sure to please murder-mystery fans.
The Belstone Fox
Act like Asher Smith
event1973 star_border 7.2
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Based on the novel "The Ballad of the Belstone Fox", this heartwarming film chronicles the life of a fox much smarter than the dogs that hunt him. In fact, they never could catch him!
Message for Posterity
Act like James Player
event1994
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A version of Dennis Potter's play for television, remade shortly before his death as the original 1960s version had been wiped.
Oliver Twist
Act like Fagin
event1985 star_border 5
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Adaptation of the novel by Charles Dickens.
Macbeth
Act like Macbeth
event1970
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The Thane of Cawdor plots to become King of Scotland.
The Shetland Experience
Act like Narrator (voice)
event1977 star_border 7.2
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The environmental measures taken by the oil industry at the Sullom Voe terminal in the Shetlands.
Little Lord Fauntleroy
Act like Mr. Havisham
event1980 star_border 7.4
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Young Cedric Errol and his widowed mother live in genteel poverty in 1880s Brooklyn after the death of his father. Cedric's grandfather, the Earl of Dorincourt, has long ago disowned his son for marrying an American. But after the death of the Earl's remaining son, he decides to accept Cedric as his heir.
The Winslow Boy
Act like Arthur Winslow
event1977 star_border 8
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The term at Osborne Naval College is not yet over. Why, therefore, has cadet Ronnie Winslow returned home? And why, moreover, is he hiding in the garden in the rain?
The Best of Morecambe and Wise
Act like Self (archive footage)
event2001
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Compilation of sketches featuring the much-loved funnymen Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise. Includes 'Anthony and Cleopatra' with Glenda Jackson, 'Monty in the Bounty' with Arthur Lowe, the famous 'Singing in the Rain' routine, and Eric and Ernie making breakfast to the sound of 'The Stripper'.
Hitler: The Last Ten Days
Act like Generalfeldmarschall Robert Ritter von Greim
event1973 star_border 6.1
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Hitler: The Last Ten Days takes us into the depths of der Furher’s Berlin bunker during his final days. Based on the book by Gerhard Boldt, it provides a bleak look at the goings-on within, and without.
Hennessy
Act like Tobin
event1975 star_border 4.7
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Former Irish Republican Army member Niall Hennessy lives in Belfast, Ireland, with his wife and daughter amid the ongoing Irish-British conflict. Though he still knows people in the IRA, including fugitive leader Tobin, Niall has given up his violent ways. One day his family is caught in a chaotic street shootout and killed by British forces. Overwhelmed with rage and hunted by a Scotland Yard inspector, Niall heads to London to exact his deadly revenge.
The Heroes of Telemark
Act like Terboven
event1965 star_border 6.9
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Set in German-occupied Norway, resistance fighter Knut Straud enlists the reluctant physicist Rolf Pedersen in an effort to destroy the German heavy water production plant in rural Telemark.
The Crucible
Act like Deputy Governor Danforth
event1980 star_border 1
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An adaptation of Arthur Miller's play The Crucible, concerning the Salem witch trials.
Churchill and the Generals
Act like Gen. Sir Alan Brooke
event1979
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The complicated relationship between Winston Churchill and the leaders of the British army during World War II.
Hamlet
Act like Polonius
event1980 star_border 6.1
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Hamlet comes home from university to find his uncle married to his mother, and his father's ghost haunting the battlements and scaring the watch. Then his father's ghost directs him to seek revenge.
The Sin Bin
Act like Stanley Wilkinson
event1981
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TV play set in an experimental self-rehabilitations unit at a British Prison, where six lifers participate in group therapy.
Separate Tables
Act like Major Pollock / John Malcolm
event1970
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A play by Terence Rattigan about the stories of several people staying at a seaside hotel in Bournemouth which features dining at "Separate Tables."
Nicholas and Alexandra
Act like Stolypin
event1971 star_border 6.9
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Tsar Nicholas II, the inept last monarch of Russia, insensitive to the needs of his people, is overthrown and exiled to Siberia with his family.
The Wars of the Roses
Act like Henry VII
event1965 star_border 8.5
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A 1965 BBC adaptation of William Shakespeare's first historical tetralogy (1 Henry VI, 2 Henry VI, 3 Henry VI and Richard III), which deals with the conflict between the House of Lancaster and the House of York over the throne of England, a conflict known as the Wars of the Roses. It was based on the 1963 theatre adaptation by John Barton, and directed by Peter Hall for the Royal Shakespeare Company.
The Heroes of Telemark: Location report from Norway
event2003
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Over one hour of black-and-white location footage and interviews with the stars and director, all staged outdoors in manifestly frigid conditions. Mann talks about his filmmaking philosophy and the challenges of shooting in such rugged locations, and shares his insights on the Douglas-Harris feud.
Morecambe & Wise: Christmas Specials
event2007
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Running from 1969 until 1977, the BBC Christmas shows were usually on Christmas Day. These classic sketches revolved around famous guest stars, such as Eric Porter, Fenella Fielding, Ann Hamilton, Peter Gushing, Glenda Jackson, Andre Previn and Des O'Connor, being made fun of by Eric and Ernie.
The Last Invasion
Act like Harold
event1966
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A film following Harold II at the Battle of Hastings
A Shilling Life
Act like Petersham
event1982
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An ex-West End playwright, interviewed by a hack-journalist for a railway station biography. How can this turn into a love story?
The Jewel in the Crown
Act like Dimitri Bronowsky (14 ep.)
event1984 star_border 6.7
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A sweeping drama about the ruling and ruled classes of World War II India, the story begins with an unjust arrest for rape. The consequences of this arrest echo throughout the series with questions of identity and personal responsibility being explored against a background of war and personal intrigue.
Play for Today
Act like Stanley Wilkinson (1 ep.)
event1970 star_border 6.1
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Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted. The individual episodes were between fifty and a hundred minutes in duration.
Oliver Twist
Act like Fagin (12 ep.)
event1985 star_border 5.6
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Oliver Twist is a 1985 BBC TV serial. It was directed by Gareth Davies, and adapted by Alexander Baron from the novel by Charles Dickens. It follows the book more closely than any of the other film adaptions.
BBC Play of the Month
Act like Cyrano De Bergerac (1 ep.)
event1965 star_border 5
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Play of the Month is a BBC television anthology series featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays which were usually broadcast on BBC1. Each production featured a different work, often using prominent British stage actors in the leading roles. The series was transmitted from October 1965 to September 1983; the producer most associated with the Play of the Month was Cedric Messina.
Some of the 121 episodes are missing from the archives, having been junked in the 1960s and 1970s. Unless stated otherwise, the indication that the play is "lost" is taken from the lostshows.com website page as of 25 May 2013.
Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years
Act like Neville Chamberlain (8 ep.)
event1981 star_border 5
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Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years is an 8-part 1981 drama serial based on the life of Winston Churchill, and particularly his years in enforced exile from political position during the 1920s and 30s. It was written and directed by Ferdinand Fairfax and Churchill was played by Robert Hardy.
Hardy's brilliant performance as Churchill won critical acclaim and a BAFTA award in 1982. He reprised the role in The Sittaford Mystery, Bomber Harris and War and Remembrance and at the 50th anniversary celebrations of the end of World War II in 1995 when he quoted a number of Churchill's wartime speeches in character.
Anna Karenina
Act like Karenin (10 ep.)
event1977 star_border 5.8
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Anna Karenina was a 1977 BBC television adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's novel & tragic story of the love affair between Vronsky, a Russian Count and Anna Karenina, a married upper class woman. Nicola Pagett takes the role of Anna, a young woman who is married to a man twenty years her senior (Eric Porter), and who begins a passionate affair with the handsome Count Vronsky (Stuart Wilson). When she falls pregnant, Anna decides to dissolve her marriage and wed Vronsky, but true happiness proves elusive.
The BBC Television Shakespeare
(1 ep.)
event1978 star_border 5.2
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The BBC Television Shakespeare is a series of British television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, created by Cedric Messina and produced by BBC Television. It was transmitted in the UK from 3 December 1978 to 27 April 1985 and spanned seven series. Development of the series began in 1975 when Messina saw that Glamis Castle would make a perfect location for an adaptation of Shakespeare's play As You Like It. On returning to London, he envisioned an entire series devoted exclusively to the dramatic works of Shakespeare. After encountering numerous problems trying to produce the series, Messina eventually pitched the idea to the BBC’s departmental heads and the series was greenlighted. The series as a whole received generally negative reviews from critics.
The Forsyte Saga
Act like Soames Forsyte (26 ep.)
event1967 star_border 8.2
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The Forsyte Saga is a 1967 BBC television adaptation of John Galsworthy's series of The Forsyte Saga novels, and its sequel trilogy A Modern Comedy. The series follows the fortunes of the upper middle class Forsyte family, and stars Eric Porter as Soames, Kenneth More as Young Jolyon and Nyree Dawn Porter as Irene.
It was adapted for television and produced by Donald Wilson and was originally shown in twenty-six episodes on Saturday evenings between 7 January and 1 July 1967 on BBC2, at a time when only a small proportion of the population had television sets able to receive this channel. It was therefore the repeat on Sunday evenings on BBC1 starting on 8 September 1968 that secured the programme's success with 18 million tuning in for the final episode in 1969.
It was shown in the United States on public television and broadcast all over the world, and became the first BBC television series to be sold to the Soviet Union.
Civilisation
Act like Macbeth (voice) (1 ep.)
event1969 star_border 8.1
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Sir Kenneth Clark guides us through the ages exploring the glorious rise of civilisation in western man. Beginning with the bleakness of the dark ages to the present day, we consider civilisation's articulations and expressions in some of man's finest works of art.
The Perfect Morecambe & Wise
Act like Himself (1 ep.)
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A collection of the very best sketches, songs and comedy routines from the much-loved Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise.
Sherlock Holmes
Act like Professor Moriarty (3 ep.)
event1984 star_border 8.1
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Sherlock Holmes uses his abilities to take on cases by private clients and those that the Scotland Yard are unable to solve, along with his friend Dr. Watson.
Morecambe & Wise: Christmas Specials
Act like Himself (8 ep.)
event1969
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Running from 1969 until 1977, the BBC Christmas shows were usually on Christmas Day. These classic sketches revolved around famous guest stars, such as Eric Porter, Fenella Fielding, Ann Hamilton, Peter Gushing, Glenda Jackson, Andre Previn and Des O'Connor, being made fun of by Eric and Ernie.
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