Eric Porter
Date of birth: 1928-04-08
Place of birth: Shepard's Bush, London, UK
Known for: Acting
Also known as:
Biography
A highly respected Shakespearean for five decades until his death of colon cancer in 1995, classical actor Eric Porter's claim to international fame would, ironically, be outside of that realm, with one superb portrayal in one superb miniseries, The Forsyte Saga(1967), in which he won the BAFTA award. The son of Richard John Porter and Phoebe Elizabeth Spall, Porter first attended Wimbledon Technical College before stepping onto the stage as a walk-on in a production of William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" in February 1945 at the Arts Theatre in Cambridge. He continued in repertory until joining the National Service with the RAF during the war years. Early post-war credits would include touring with Sir Donald Wolfit and Sir Barry Jackson in their prestigious companies. Favorite roles in his repertoire would eventually include "Macbeth", "King Lear" and "Uncle Vanya". He won London's Evening Standard Award for "Rosmersholm" in 1959. Joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1960, he became a prime, esteemed resident for decades. Porter made his film debut in mid-career with The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) at age 36, but it was the BBC that made him an international favorite as the ever-proper but intensely emotional and unhinged "Soames Forsyte". Taboos were broken on that series with a violent rape scene that had people talking for months. Along with the newly acquired fame came leads in lesser films such as The Lost Continent(1968) and Hands of the Ripper (1971), adding class to both those atmospheric horrors. On the plus side, Porter engaged himself frequently in quality TV miniseries fare includingAnna Karenina (1977), The Jewel in the Crown (1984) and Oliver Twist (1985) (as Fagin), while transferring many classics to TV as well, with "Cyrano de Bergerac", "Man and Superman" and "Macbeth" being but a few.
Movie Credits
The Day of the Jackal
1973-05-16
An international assassin known as ‘The Jackal’ is employed by disgruntled French generals to kill P
The Lost Continent
1968-06-19
An eclectic group of characters set sail on Captain Lansen’s leaky cargo ship in an attempt to escap
Kaleidoscope
1966-07-01
Barney Lincoln is a rambling gambling man who scores sensational wins at poker and chemin de fer bec
The Thirty Nine Steps
1978-11-04
The year is 1914 and Richard Hannay, Mining Engineer who is visiting Britain for a short time before
The Fall of the Roman Empire
1964-03-24
In the year 180 A.D. Germanic tribes are about to invade the Roman empire from the north. In the mid
Hands of the Ripper
1971-10-17
A series of murders occur that mirror those committed by the Whitechapel Ripper. Through his experim
Callan
1974-05-23
David Callan, secret agent, is called back to the service after his retirement, to handle the assass
Antony and Cleopatra
1972-03-18
Adaptation of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, a historical drama that attempts to bring an epic
Why Didn't They Ask Evans?
1980-03-30
This intriguing story is set in the 1930s at a country house, where two amateur sleuths, Bobby Jones
The Belstone Fox
1973-01-01
Based on the novel "The Ballad of the Belstone Fox", this heartwarming film chronicles the life of a
Message for Posterity
1994-10-28
A version of Dennis Potter's play for television, remade shortly before his death as the original 19
Oliver Twist
1985-01-01
When 9-year-old orphan Oliver Twist dares to ask his cruel taskmaster, Mr. Bumble, for a second serv
Macbeth
1970-09-20
The Thane of Cawdor plots to become King of Scotland.
The Shetland Experience
1977-01-01
The environmental measures taken by the oil industry at the Sullom Voe terminal in the Shetlands.
Little Lord Fauntleroy
1980-12-01
Young Cedric Errol and his widowed mother live in genteel poverty in 1880s Brooklyn after the death
The Winslow Boy
1977-01-16
The term at Osborne Naval College is not yet over. Why, therefore, has cadet Ronnie Winslow returned
The Best of Morecambe and Wise
2001-10-01
Compilation of sketches featuring the much-loved funnymen Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise. Includes 'A
Hitler: The Last Ten Days
1973-04-19
Hitler: The Last Ten Days takes us into the depths of der Furher’s Berlin bunker during his final da
Hennessy
1975-12-31
Former Irish Republican Army member Niall Hennessy lives in Belfast, Ireland, with his wife and daug
The Heroes of Telemark
1965-11-12
Set in German-occupied Norway, resistance fighter Knut Straud enlists the reluctant physicist Rolf P
The Crucible
1980-01-01
An adaptation of Arthur Miller's play The Crucible, concerning the Salem witch trials.
Churchill and the Generals
1979-09-23
The complicated relationship between Winston Churchill and the leaders of the British army during Wo
Hamlet
1980-05-25
Hamlet comes home from university to find his uncle married to his mother, and his father's ghost ha
The Sin Bin
1981-03-17
TV play set in an experimental self-rehabilitations unit at a British Prison, where six lifers parti
Separate Tables
1970-03-15
A play by Terence Rattigan about the stories of several people staying at a seaside hotel in Bournem
Nicholas and Alexandra
1971-11-29
Tsar Nicholas II, the inept last monarch of Russia, insensitive to the needs of his people, is overt
The Wars of the Roses
1965-04-08
A 1965 BBC adaptation of William Shakespeare's first historical tetralogy (1 Henry VI, 2 Henry VI, 3
The Heroes of Telemark: Location report from Norway
2003-10-31
Over one hour of black-and-white location footage and interviews with the stars and director, all st
Morecambe & Wise: Christmas Specials
2007-11-12
Running from 1969 until 1977, the BBC Christmas shows were usually on Christmas Day. These classic s
The Last Invasion
1966-08-24
A film following Harold II at the Battle of Hastings
Emma
1948-05-23
Emma Woodhouse is a congenial young lady who delights in meddling in other people’s affairs. She is
A Shilling Life
1982-02-12
An ex-West End playwright, interviewed by a hack-journalist for a railway station biography. How can
The Final Solution
1975-04-07
The Final Solution is set against the backdrop of WW2. It follows a relentless detective racing agai
The Two Deaths of Adolf Hitler
1975-04-30
From War to Peace
It was simple to live in the world in 1945 after the defeats of Germany and Japan. Did nearly 60 mil
Warrior - World at War Special Presentation
Against a background of archive film, the voices of some sixty men drawn from all theaters of war re
Hitler’s Germany - A World at War Special Presentation
1976-04-10
History of Germany from 1933 - 1945
The Statue and the Rose
1975-05-23
The love affair of Irish nationalist politician Charles Stewart Parnell with a married woman, Kather