Hugh Griffith

Hugh Griffith
Griffith in 1960
Born
Hugh Emrys Griffith

(1912-05-30)30 May 1912
Died14 May 1980(1980-05-14) (aged 67)
London, England
Resting placeGolders Green Crematorium, London, England
EducationLlangefni County School
Alma materRoyal Academy of Dramatic Arts
OccupationActor
Years active1939–1980
SpouseAdelgunde Margaret Beatrice von Dechend (m. 1947)
RelativesElen Roger Jones (sister)
Military career
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchBritish Army
Years of service1940–1946
UnitRoyal Welch Fusiliers
Battles / wars

Hugh Emrys Griffith (30 May 1912 – 14 May 1980) was a Welsh actor.[1] Described by BFI Screenonline as a "wild-eyed, formidable character player",[2] Griffith appeared in over 100 theatre, film, and television productions in a career that spanned over 40 years.[2] He was the second-ever Welsh-born actor to win an Academy Award (following Ray Milland for The Lost Weekend), winning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in Ben-Hur (1959), with an additional nomination for Tom Jones (1963).

As a stage actor, he was a renowned Shakespearean and a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and was nominated for Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for the original production Look Homeward, Angel. He was also a BAFTA Award and a three-time Golden Globe nominee for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture (for Tom Jones; 1963, Oliver!; 1968, and The Fixer, also 1968), and a Clarence Derwent Award winner.

  1. ^ Obituary Variety, 21 May 1980.
  2. ^ a b "BFI Screenonline: Griffith, Hugh (1912-1980) Biography". www.screenonline.org.uk. Retrieved 25 December 2023.