Dirk Bogarde Biography

Fast Facts

• His father, Ulric Van den Bogaerde, was the first art editor of the London Times
• Served in World War II as part of the Queen's Royal Regiment
• Took part in the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp
• Matinee idol of 1950s British films, starring in light comedies such as the Simon Sparrow series
• His role in 1961's Victim, as a lawyer being blackmailed due to his closeted homosexuality, was credited for helping change public opinion in England toward homosexuality (which at the time of the film was illegal), leading to the passing of the Sexual Offences Bill (which legalized homosexuality in England in 1967)
• Longtime partner was actor Anthony Forwood (former husband of Glynis Johns), who died in 1988
• In his later years, he became a prolific writer of novels and autobiographical books