Eric Porter
Born
April 8, 1928
Died
May 15, 1995 (67 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
Shepard's Bush, London, UK
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.
Known For
Morecambe & Wise: Christmas Specials
2007
The Heroes of Telemark: Location report from Norway
2003
The Best of Morecambe and Wise
Self (archive footage)
2001
Message for Posterity
James Player
1994
Oliver Twist
Fagin · (12 episodes)
1985
Oliver Twist
Fagin
1985
Sherlock Holmes
Professor Moriarty · (3 episodes)
1984
The Jewel in the Crown
Dimitri Bronowsky · (14 episodes)
1984
A Shilling Life
Petersham
1982
Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years
Neville Chamberlain · (8 episodes)
1981
The Sin Bin
Stanley Wilkinson
1981
Little Lord Fauntleroy
Mr. Havisham
1980
Hamlet
Polonius
1980
Why Didn't They Ask Evans?
Dr. Nicholson
1980
The Crucible
Deputy Governor Danforth
1980
Churchill and the Generals
Gen. Sir Alan Brooke
1979
The BBC Television Shakespeare
Polonius · (1 episode)
1978
The Thirty Nine Steps
Chief Superintendent Lomas
1978
Anna Karenina
Karenin · (10 episodes)
1977
The Winslow Boy
Arthur Winslow
1977
The Shetland Experience
Narrator (voice)
1977
Hitler’s Germany - A World at War Special Presentation
Narrator
1976
Hennessy
Tobin
1975
The Two Deaths of Adolf Hitler
Narrator
1975
The Final Solution
Narrator
1975
Callan
Hunter
1974
The Day of the Jackal
Colonel Rodin
1973
Hitler: The Last Ten Days
Generalfeldmarschall Robert Ritter von Greim
1973
The Belstone Fox
Asher Smith
1973
Antony and Cleopatra
Enobarbus
1972
Nicholas and Alexandra
Stolypin
1971
Hands of the Ripper
Dr. John Pritchard
1971
Play for Today
Stanley Wilkinson · (1 episode)
1970
Macbeth
Macbeth
1970
Separate Tables
Major Pollock / John Malcolm
1970
Morecambe & Wise: Christmas Specials
Himself · (8 episodes)
1969
Civilisation
Macbeth (voice) · (1 episode)
1969
The Lost Continent
Lansen
1968
The Forsyte Saga
Soames Forsyte · (26 episodes)
1967
The Last Invasion
Harold
1966
Kaleidoscope
Harry Dominion
1966
The Heroes of Telemark
Terboven
1965
BBC Play of the Month
Cyrano De Bergerac · (1 episode)
1965
BBC Play of the Month
Macbeth · (1 episode)
1965
BBC Play of the Month
Arthur Winslow · (1 episode)
1965
BBC Play of the Month
Councillor Albert Parker · (1 episode)
1965
The Wars of the Roses
Henry VII
1965
The Fall of the Roman Empire
Julianus
1964
Emma
1948
From War to Peace
Narrator
Warrior - World at War Special Presentation
Narrator