Ernest Lytton Leslie Forwood (3 October 1915 – 18 May 1988), known professionally as Anthony Forwood, was an English actor.
Anthony Forwood | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Ernest Lytton Leslie Forwood 3 October 1915 |
| Died | 18 May 1988 (aged 72) London, England |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1935–1956 |
| Spouse | |
| Partner | Dirk Bogarde (1949–1988) |
| Children | Gareth Forwood |
| Relatives |
|
Early life
editErnest Lytton Leslie Forwood was born on 3 October 1915 in Weymouth, Dorset.[1] The Forwood family were landed gentry; Forwood's great-grandfather, Thomas Friend Brittain Peploe Forwood, resided in Thornton Manor in Cheshire and was the forefather of the Forwood Baronetcy. Forwood's great-uncles were English merchants, shipowners and politicians Sir Arthur Forwood, 1st Baronet and Sir William Bower Forwood; his father was Leslie Langton Forwood, a captain in the Royal Navy.[2]
Career
editAfter years of theatre, including the revue This World of Ours in 1935; Forwood gained his first film acting role in 1949, when he starred in Ralph Thomas' Traveller's Joy.[3][4][5] That same year he appeared in the thriller The Man in Black with Sid James.
In 1952, he received a number of roles including Appointment in London with Dirk Bogarde; he eventually became his life partner and manager.[6] Ralph Thomas, who had directed Forwood in his first film role, directed Bogarde in Doctor in the House and several of its sequels.[7]
Forwood appeared with Boris Karloff in the mystery Colonel March Investigates and played Will Scarlet in The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men (1952).[5] One year later he acted in the Oscar-nominated Knights of the Round Table, a film starring such high-profile actors as Robert Taylor, Ava Gardner and Stanley Baker, and in Terence Fisher's Mantrap (1953).[8][9] His last role came in 1956 in Colonel March of Scotland Yard.[7]
Personal life
editIn 1942, Forwood married actress Glynis Johns, but they divorced in 1948. Their only child was actor Gareth Forwood (1945–2007).[10]
Forwood later lived with his long-term lover,[11] actor Dirk Bogarde, in Amersham, England, and then in France before the couple returned to England shortly before Forwood died in London in 1988.[12]
Death
editBy 1987, Forwood was dying of liver cancer and Parkinson's disease. At this time Bogarde, a heavy smoker, had a minor stroke. On 18 May 1988, Forwood died aged 72 in Kensington and Chelsea, London. His body was cremated.[1]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Meet Simon Cherry | Alan Colville | ||
| 1949 | The Man in Black | Victor Harrington | ||
| 1950 | Traveller's Joy | Nick Rafferty | ||
| 1951 | Captain Horatio Hornblower | Lt. Woodford | Uncredited | |
| 1951 | Black Widow | Paul Kenton | ||
| 1952 | The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men | Will Scarlet | ||
| 1952 | The Gambler and the Lady | Lord Peter Willens | ||
| 1953 | Appointment in London | Navigation Officer | ||
| 1953 | Mantrap | Rex | ||
| 1953 | Knights of the Round Table | Gareth | ||
| 1954 | Five Days | Peter Glanville | ||
| 1954 | Colonel March of Scotland Yard | Jim Hartley | TV series - billed as Anthony Forward | |
| 1975 | Permission to Kill | Englishman | (final film role) |
References
editCitations
edit- ^ a b Lentz 2008, pp. 124.
- ^ Thomas Friend Brittain Peploe Forwood
- ^ "London Revues 1935-1939" (PDF). overthefootlights.co.uk.
- ^ "Anthony Forwood - Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
- ^ a b "Anthony Forwood". Archived from the original on 13 June 2018.
- ^ "Appointment in London (1953)". Archived from the original on 7 March 2016.
- ^ a b Anthony Forwood at IMDb
- ^ "Knights of the Round Table (1953) - Richard Thorpe - Awards". AllMovie.
- ^ "Mantrap (1953)". Archived from the original on 18 February 2017.
- ^ "BFI Screenonline: Johns, Glynis (1923-) Biography". screenonline.org.uk.
- ^ Ezard, John (2 October 2004). "Sexy self-image that revved up Dirk Bogarde". The Guardian.
- ^ Jury, Louise (28 March 2007), "The private world of Dirk Bogarde", The Independent, retrieved 12 August 2008[dead link]
General and cited sources
edit- Lentz, Harris M. (2008). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2007: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. ISBN 978-0786451913.