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Ralph Richardson Biography

Birth Name:

Ralph David Richardson

Birth Place:

Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England

Profession

Actor

Fast Facts

Began studying acting after receiving an inheritance, which he used to pay a Brighton theater company to keep him onboard for a year
Made his professional stage debut playing Lorenzo in a 1921 production of The Merchant of Venice
Joined the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Volunteer Reserve during World War II, earning the rank of lieutenant commander
Was knighted by King George IV in 1947
Turned down the role of Estragon in the English debut of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot and later said that he regretted the decision