MISTER SCOFIELD:

British actor Paul Scofield dies at 86 (he Associated Press, March 20, 2008)

Scofield made few films even after the Oscar for his 1966 portrayal of Tudor statesman Sir Thomas More. He was a stage actor by inclination and by his gifts -- a dramatic, craggy face and an unforgettable voice that was likened to a Rolls Royce starting up or the rumbling sound of low organ pipes.

Even his greatest screen role was a follow up to a play -- the London stage production of "A Man for All Seasons," in which he starred for nine months. Scofield also turned in a performance in the 1961 New York production that won him extraordinary reviews and a Tony Award.

"With a kind of weary magnificence, Scofield sinks himself into the part, studiously underplays it, and somehow displays the inner mind of a man destined for sainthood," Time magazine's said.

Actor Richard Burton, once regarded as the natural heir to Laurence Olivier and John Gielgud at the summit of British theater, said it was Scofield who deserved that place. "Of the 10 greatest moments in the theater, eight are Scofield's," he said.

Scofield was an unusual star -- a family man who lived almost his entire life within a few miles of his birthplace in southern England and hurried home after work to his wife and children. He didn't seek the spotlight, gave interviews sparingly, and at times seemed to need coaxing to venture out, even onto the stage he loved.

MORE:
-OBIT: Paul Scofield, Oscar-winning actor, dies (Nigel Reynolds, 20/03/2008, Daily Telegraph)

In 2004, a poll of actors of the Royal Shakespeare Company, including Ian McKellen, Donald Sinden, Janet Suzman and Anthony Sher, acclaimed his performance as King Lear as the greatest Shakespearean performance ever.

On at least two occasions occasions he refused a knighthood, though he finally agreed to become a Companion of Honour in 2001.

He died peacefully yesterday in a hospital near his home in Sussex, his agent Rosalind Chatto said.

He had been suffering from leukemia.

He married the actress Joy Parker in 1943 and the couple had two children, Martin, who became a lecturer in 19th century English literature at kent University, and Sarah.

The highlights of his theatrical career included the stage version of A Man for All Seasons, the title role in Ben Jonson’s Volpone at the National Theatre in 1977, and playing Antonio Salieri in the original production in 1979 of Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus.

-OBIT: Paul Scofield, Oscar-winning actor, dies (Martina Smit, 20/03/2008, Daily Telegraph)
-OBIT: Oscar-winning actor Scofield dies (BBC, 3/20/08)
-OBIT: Paul Scofield, Oscar-winning actor, has died (Fran Yeoman, 3/20/08, Times of London)

Posted by Orrin Judd at March 20, 2008 8:36 AM