Paul Scofield Is The Most Private - And Arguably The Greatest - Of All Living British Actors. At 80, He Is Still In Peak Condition, In Creative Power, Looks And Health. No Actor Of The Last Century Has Achieved Greater Acclaim For The Depth And Range Of His Performances, From Extreme Farce Or Comedy (including A Singing Part In A Musical), To Darkest Tragedy. Many Of His Roles Are Already Part Of The Glory Of British Theatre History. His King Lear Transformed That Role, Perhaps For All Time. His Two Performances As Hamlet Were Landmark Productions. The Tour Of The Second Hamlet To Russia Marked A Significant Thaw In Anglo-russian Cultural Contacts. Scofield, However, Is Adamantly Not A Celebrity Actor. As Guardian Of His Craft And Integrity, He Has Kept Himself Most Carefully Out Of The Limelight. This, In Fact, Is The First Full Biography Of Him. Garry O'connor, Highly Respected For His Theatrical Biographies, Presents A Richly Drawn, Fully Dimensional Portrait Of The Great Actor. O'connor Interviewed The Intensely Private Scofield Himself, As Well As Many Of The Actors And Directors He Has Worked With, Including Simon Callow, Trevor Nunn, Richard Eyre, And Peter Hall. The Result Is A Biography Of One Of The Past Century's Most Remarkable And Enigmatic Icons.--jacket. You Would Pluck The Heart Out Of My Mystery? -- Obligation To The Few -- Sunshine And Summer -- Virtue And Fallibility -- Interlude: Scofield's Tear -- Joy -- Interlude: Baddie Number One -- The Temple -- Peter And Paul -- Theatrical Lordlings -- What Is Amiss? -- Stir Fry -- That Earth That Kept The World In Awe -- I Have That Within -- At Large In Asia -- Binkie Land -- Warm-ups? Whatever For? -- Interlude: The Rivals (baddie Number Two) -- Gielgud Observed -- Ring Artist Direct -- The Actor As Writer -- Paul In Grimland -- Murder And Adultery -- Interlude: Encounter With Merlin -- A Bad Play? -- The Big One -- Interlude: Madness Versus Method -- Public And Private Ears -- Interlude: Mr. Lear (and The Return Of Baddie Number Two) -- Dipped In The Same Dish -- Interlude: General Filth And Green Virginity -- More Trivial Pursuits -- Self-deception--continued -- Saint, Homosexual, And Regicide -- Under Murderer's Report -- Four Score And Downwards -- Too Strong, Too 'ard -- Rust On The Leaf -- Great Riches -- Interlude: Prince Of The Borgias -- Monsters Of The Pit -- Nature And Brutality -- Interlude: A Family -- Bricked Up In Fame -- Completing The Quartet -- Return To Central Park -- Fleet Street Napoleon--other Worlds Elsewhere -- If You Want A Title, What's Wrong With Mr? -- Who Is The Hero? Who Is The Villain? -- You Will Never Find An Englishman In The Wrong -- And The Other Giant -- L'oreille Est Le Chemin Du Coeur -- Irene Worth On Scofield's King Lear. Garry O'connor. Filmographies: P. 344-353. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 355-371) And Index.

Garry O'Connor

Sales & distribution, Hal Leonard Corp., Applause

Applause Theatre Book Publishers

Glenn Young Books

United States, United States of America

New York, Milwaukee, WI, c2002

PS, 2002

[curator]associate-francis-boyer@archive.org[/curator][date]20180320204134[/date]

Filmographies: p. 344-353.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 355-371) and index.

Paul Scofield is the most private -- and arguably the greatest -- of all living British actors. Approaching his 80th birthday, he is still in peak condition, in creative power, looks and health. The proof is there in sound and on film. No actor of the last century has achieved greater acclaim for the depth and range of his performances, from extreme farce or comedy, to darkest tragedy.Scofield's stage roles are already part of the glory of British Theatre history. His two performances as Hamlet, the second directed by Peter Brook, were landmark productions. The tour of the second Hamlet to Russia marked a significant thaw in Anglo-Russian cultural contacts. His King Lear, again directed by Brook, later filmed, was in 1999 voted by Diana Rigg, John Peter and others, as the outstanding tragic performance of their lifetime. In their way his Macbeth, Othello, and Timon of Athens (directed by John Schlesinger) were revelations.Scofield has that rarest talent in the theatre -- he can make a good character fascinating. He first demonstrated this to the world as Sir Thomas More in the film A Man for All Seasons (for which he received an Academy Award for Best Actor), but he has repeated it many times since. Most recently, as Ralph Fiennes' scholarly father in Quiz Show (Academy Award nomination, Best Supprting Actor) and as a Salem witch-trial judge in the film of Arthur Miller's The Crucible. These are men struggling with their goodness in worlds awhirl in corruption and evil. Scofield has dramatized this most basic of human struggles better than any other actor.He is a diehard champion of live theatre. Scofield is adamantly not a celebrity actor. As guardian of his craft andintegrity he has kept himself most carefully out of the limelight, refusing a knighthood four times, and turning down endless offers of prestigious roles and commercial opportunities. He is the most modest and sensible of men, not in any way a tangled or difficult personality; all the pride is channeled through the thing he does brilliantly. "Your identity is vital to your sense of balance", says Scofield. Certainly in the acting world he is the most loved and admired of great actors, known affectionately as "Sco" or "Mr.Sco" and even "St. Paul".Garry O'Connor, highly respected for his theatrical biographies, presents a richly drawn, fully dimensional portrait of the great actor. He interviewed the intensely private Scofield himself, as well as many of the actors and directors he has worked with, including Simon Callow, Trevor Nunn, Richard Eyre and Peter Hall.The result is a masterly biography that paints a revealing portrait of a man who, for the serious film and theatre-goer, is more of an icon than any other living actor.

Filmographies: pages 344-353
Includes bibliographical references (pages 355-371) and index
"Paul Scofield is the most private - and arguably the greatest - of all living British actors. At 80, he is still in peak condition, in creative power, looks and health. No actor of the last century has achieved greater acclaim for the depth and range of his performances, from extreme farce or comedy (including a singing part in a musical), to darkest tragedy." "Many of his roles are already part of the glory of British theatre history. His King Lear transformed that role, perhaps for all time. His two performances as Hamlet were landmark productions. The tour of the second Hamlet to Russia marked a significant thaw in Anglo-Russian cultural contacts." "Scofield, however, is adamantly not a celebrity actor. As guardian of his craft and integrity, he has kept himself most carefully out of the limelight. This, in fact, is the first full biography of him. Garry O'Connor, highly respected for his theatrical biographies, presents a richly drawn, fully dimensional portrait of the great actor. O'Connor interviewed the intensely private Scofield himself, as well as many of the actors and directors he has worked with, including Simon Callow, Trevor Nunn, Richard Eyre, and Peter Hall. The result is a biography of one of the past century's most remarkable and enigmatic icons."--Jacket

Garry O'Connor, highly respected for his theatrical biographies, presents a richly drawn, fully dimensional portrait of the great actor Paul Scofield. He interviewed the intensely private Scofield himself, as well as many of the actors and directors he has worked with, including Simon Callow, Trevor Nunn, Richard Eyre and Peter Hall. The result is a masterly biography that paints a revealing portrait of a man who, for the serious film and theatre-goer, is more of an icon than any other living actor.

2023-06-28