Tim Pigott-Smith

A familiar patrician-looking face both here and abroad, blue-eyed, fair-haired classical stage and TV actor 'Tim Pigott-Smith' (qv), the son of a journalist, was born on in Rugby, Warwickshire, on May 13, 1946. The Britisher attended King Edward VI School in Stratford-upon-Avon, graduated from Bristol University in 1967, and then receiving his acting training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. In later years, he would return to Bristol University as a lecturer.Tim made his professional debut in 1969 with the Bristol Old Vic under the stage name of "Tim Smith" and was predominantly a stage player in both regional and repertory companies. He focused quite strongly on Shakespeare and Greek plays and went on to play Balthazar in "Much Ado About Nothing" for the Prospect touring company as well as Posthumus in a 1974 production of "Cymbeline" for the Royal Shakespeare Company. He made his Broadway debut that same year in "Sherlock Holmes" as Dr. Watson opposite 'John Wood' (qv). Over the years, he would act alongside most of England's grande dame royalty including 'Judi Dench' (qv), 'Helen Mirren' (qv), 'Geraldine James' (qv), 'Margaret Tyzack' (qv), 'Peggy Ashcroft' (qv), 'Maggie Smith' (qv) and 'Penelope Wilton' (qv).A charming, distinguished presence on stage, Tim was invited by an ailing 'Anthony Quayle' (qv) to take over the running of the Compass theatre company founded by him in 1984 and served as its artistic director from 1989-1992. A theatre director as well ("Hamlet," and "A Royal Hunt of the Sun"), he would take several Shakespearean classics later to BBC-TV. He, in fact, started his small screen career in secondary Shakespeare roles as Laertes in _Hamlet (1970)_ (qv) opposite 'Ian McKellen' (qv) in the title role and Proculeius in _Antony and Cleopatra (1974)_ (qv) starring 'Richard Johnson' (qv) and 'Janet Suzman' (qv). He transitioned into more prominent BBC roles with his Angelo in _Measure for Measure (1979)_ (qv) and Hotspur in _Henry IV Part I (1979)_ (qv).Aside from Tim's theatre work, quality TV remained an extremely successful venue for decades with impressive performances in such prestigious min-series as _North & South (1975)_ (qv), _The Glittering Prizes (1976)_ (qv), _The Lost Boys (1978)_ (qv), _Danger UXB (1979)_ (qv), _Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years (1981)_ (qv), _Fame Is the Spur (1982)_ (qv), _I Remember Nelson (1982)_ (qv), _The Jewel in the Crown (1984)_ (qv) (BAFTA-TV as sadistic villain Ronald Merrick) and _The Challenge (1986)_ (qv). He enjoyed recurring roles on the TV series _Doctor Who (1963)_ (qv), _Hannah (1980)_ (qv) and regular roles in the short-lived comedy _Struggle (1983)_ (qv), the drama _The Chief (1990)_ (qv) and with _The Vice (1999)_ (qv). His mellifluous voice was also popular on many BBC radio productions, in audio books, as well as serving as a narrator on such documentary series as _Serial Killers (2006)_ (qv) and _Doomsday (2013)_ (qv)Film work began in the 1970's but remained far and few and less distinguished with his minor participation in _Aces High (1976)_ (qv), _Joseph Andrews (1977)_ (qv), _Sweet William (1980)_ (qv), _Clash of the Titans (1981)_ (qv), _Richard's Things (1980)_ (qv), _Victory (1981)_ (qv) and _The Remains of the Day (1993)_ (qv). He did enjoy a prime role in the nuclear drama _A State of Emergency (1986)_ (qv) starring opposite 'Martin Sheen' (qv) and 'Peter Firth' (qv).Pigott-Smith remained a strong, vibrant present on the stage throughout his career. In later years, he played in such contemporary plays as "Benefactors" (1984), "Coming in to Land" (1987) opposite Ms. Smith and "Amadeus" as composer Salieri. He also portrayed Leontes in "The Winter's Tale" (1988) and scored critical acclaim in the 1999 version of "The Iceman Cometh" (both London and Broadway) and with Ms. Mirren in an over four-hour production of "Mourning Becomes Electra." Into the millennium, he was seen in "Julius Caesar" (as Cassius, 2001), "A Christmas Carol" (as Scrooge, 2002), "Women Beware Women" (2006), "Enron" (2009), "Educating Rita" (2010), "A Delicate Balance" (2011), "King Lear" (title role, 2011), "The Tempest" (as Prospero, 2012), the Chorus in "Henry V" in 2013, and earned both Olivier and Tony nominations here and abroad for his powerful portrayal of King Charles III (2015). Tim became an RSC Associate Artist in 2012, and served on both the RSC board (from 2005 until 2011) and as a governor from 2005 until his retirement in 2016.On film in later years, he often appeared in official high-ranking parts. His list of movies include 'Martin Scorsese' (qv)'s _Gangs of New York (2002)_ (qv), _The Four Feathers (2002)_ (qv), the historical Greek biopic _Alexander (2004)_ (qv) starring 'Colin Farrell' (qv), _V for Vendetta (2005)_ (qv), _Flyboys (2006)_ (qv), _Quantum of Solace (2008)_ (qv), _Alice in Wonderland (2010)_ (qv), _RED 2 (2013)_ (qv), _Jupiter Ascending (2015)_ (qv) and _Whisky Galore (2016)_ (qv). He also graced such TV shows as "Downtown Abbey" and recreated his stage triumph in the title role of _King Charles III (2017)_ (qv) which earned him a second BAFTA-TV nomination.Tim was in rehearsals for an upcoming stage performance of "Death of a Salesman" as Willy Loman in London when he died suddenly of natural causes on April 7, 2017, at age 70. He was survived by his actress wife 'Pamela Miles' (qv) and their son 'Tom Pigott Smith' (qv), a concert/studio violinist.::Gary Brumburgh / [email protected]