Cyril Ritchard
Born
December 1, 1897
Died
December 18, 1977 (80 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
Legendary for his preening, prancing, delightfully playful villain Captain Hook on the award-winning stage (as well as TV) opposite America's musical treasure Mary Martin, beloved musical star Cyril Ritchard had a vast career that would last six decades, but "Peter Pan" would become his prime legacy. Born in Australia just before the turn of the century, he was educated at St. Aloysius College and Sydney University wherein he slyly sidestepped a parental-guided career in medicine for entertainment, participating in numerous college productions that quickly got him "hooked." He began professionally in the chorus line of The Royal Comic Opera Company and quickly progressed to juvenile leads. A subsequent pairing with the already-established theatre actress Madge Elliott in 1918 proved successful, and the musical twosome eventually married in 1935. Together they would go on to become known as "The Musical Lunts" by their acting peers performing in scores of plays and revues together. Ritchard specialized in playing slick, dandified villains in musical comedy and developed a potent reputation of being a man of many talents. Not only directing and staging Broadway's finest, he became a renown performer of various operas and led many productions as such. Shortly before his wife's death of bone cancer in 1955, Ritchard ventured into TV infamy by repeating his Tony and Donaldson award-winning portrayal of Hook in Peter Pan (1955). He continued to earn acclaim and/or honors with such classic stage productions as "Visit to a Small Planet" (Tony-nominated), "The Pleasure of His Company" (Drama League award, Tony-nominated), "The Roar of the Greasepaint...the Smell of the Crowd" (Tony-nominated), "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Sugar," the musical version of the classic Billy Wilder film Some Like It Hot (1959) in which Ritchard played the Joe E. Brown role. Lesser regarded when it comes to film, he performed in the early Hitchcock classic Blackmail (1929) and made his last movie with the musical Half a Sixpence (1967) with Tommy Steele. While performing as the Narrator in a stage production of "Side by Side by Sondheim" in November 1977, Ritchard suffered a heart attack and died one month later. A one-of-a-kind talent, his nefarious, narcissistic humor was a career trademark that culminated in the role of a lifetime -- one that will certainly be enjoyed by children young and old for eons to come.
Known For

The Hobbit
Elrond (voice)
1977

The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow
Father Thomas (voice)
1975

Tubby the Tuba
The Frog (voice)
1975

The Snoop Sisters
Morlock · (1 episode)
1973

Hans Christian Andersen's The Emperor's New Clothes
Emperor Klockenlocher (voice)
1972

Hans Brinker
Mijnheer Kleef
1969

Half a Sixpence
Harry Chitterlow
1967

The Daydreamer
The Sandman (voice)
1966

The Lyrics of Alan Jay Lerner
Host
1966

The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood
Big Bad Wolf
1965

Mr. Scrooge
Ebenezer Scrooge
1964

The Danny Kaye Show
Self · (1 episode)
1963

The Merv Griffin Show
Self · (3 episodes)
1962

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self · (2 episodes)
1962

The Owl and the Pussycat
1962

The Mike Douglas Show
Self - Co-Host · (1 episode)
1961

Dr. Kildare
Justin Fitzgibbons · (1 episode)
1961

Peter Pan
Mr. Darling / Captain Hook
1960
The Christmas Tree
Promenade Member
1958

Kraft Music Hall
Self · (1 episode)
1958

Aladdin
Sui-Generis, the Sorcerer
1958

DuPont Show of the Month
Sui-Generis the Sorcerer · (1 episode)
1957
Tonight Starring Jack Paar
Self · (2 episodes)
1957

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
Self · (2 episodes)
1956

The Steve Allen Show
Self - rehearsing for 'Jack and the Beanstalk' · (1 episode)
1956

The Steve Allen Show
Self - Dr. Frankenstien · (1 episode)
1956

The Steve Allen Show
Self - Guest · (1 episode)
1956

Tony Awards
Self - Presenter · (1 episode)
1956

Peter Pan
Mr. Darling / Captain Hook
1956

Dearest Enemy
Gen. Howe
1955
Playwrights '56
(1 episode)
1955

Peter Pan
Mr. Darling / Captain Hook
1955
Producers' Showcase
Captain Hook · (38 episodes)
1954

Omnibus
(1 episode)
1952

Pontius Pilate
Pontius Pilate
1952

Hallmark Hall of Fame
(1 episode)
1951
Lux Video Theatre
Arnold · (1 episode)
1950

What's My Line?
Self - Mystery Guest · (1 episode)
1950

Studio One
(1 episode)
1948

Studio One
Pontius Pilate · (1 episode)
1948

Studio One
Monty Gavenhurst · (1 episode)
1948

Woman Hater
Reveller (uncredited)
1948

The Philco Television Playhouse
(2 episodes)
1948

The Winslow Boy
Himself
1948

The Ed Sullivan Show
Self · (1 episode)
1948
Dangerous Medicine
Dr. Noel Penwood
1938

I See Ice
Paul Martine
1938

The Show Goes On
Jimmy
1937

It's a Grand Old World
1937

Symphony in Two Flats
Leo Chavasse
1930
Just for a Song
Craddock
1930

Blackmail
The Artist
1929

Piccadilly
Victor Smiles
1929