Eric Porter
Acting • Born 1928-04-08 – Died 1995-05-15
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.
Filmography
58 credits
The Day of the Jackal
Movie • 1973
Colonel Rodin
The Lost Continent
Movie • 1968
Lansen
Kaleidoscope
Movie • 1966
Harry Dominion
The Thirty Nine Steps
Movie • 1978
Chief Superintendent Lomas
The Fall of the Roman Empire
Movie • 1964
Julianus
Hands of the Ripper
Movie • 1971
Dr. John Pritchard
Callan
Movie • 1974
Hunter
Antony and Cleopatra
Movie • 1972
Enobarbus
Why Didn't They Ask Evans?
Movie • 1980
Dr. Nicholson
The Belstone Fox
Movie • 1973
Asher Smith
Message for Posterity
Movie • 1994
James Player
Oliver Twist
Movie • 1985
Fagin
Macbeth
Movie • 1970
Macbeth
The Shetland Experience
Movie • 1977
Narrator (voice)
Little Lord Fauntleroy
Movie • 1980
Mr. Havisham
The Winslow Boy
Movie • 1977
Arthur Winslow
The Best of Morecambe and Wise
Movie • 2001
Self (archive footage)
Hitler: The Last Ten Days
Movie • 1973
Generalfeldmarschall Robert Ritter von Greim
Hennessy
Movie • 1975
Tobin
The Heroes of Telemark
Movie • 1965
Terboven
The Crucible
Movie • 1980
Deputy Governor Danforth
Churchill and the Generals
Movie • 1979
Gen. Sir Alan Brooke
Hamlet
Movie • 1980
Polonius
The Sin Bin
Movie • 1981
Stanley Wilkinson
Separate Tables
Movie • 1970
Major Pollock / John Malcolm
Nicholas and Alexandra
Movie • 1971
Stolypin
The Wars of the Roses
Movie • 1965
Henry VII
The Heroes of Telemark: Location report from Norway
Movie • 2003
Morecambe & Wise: Christmas Specials
Movie • 2007
The Last Invasion
Movie • 1966
Harold
Emma
Movie • 1948
A Shilling Life
Movie • 1982
Petersham
The Final Solution
Movie • 1975
Narrator
The Two Deaths of Adolf Hitler
Movie • 1975
Narrator
From War to Peace
Movie
Narrator
Warrior - World at War Special Presentation
Movie
Narrator
Hitler’s Germany - A World at War Special Presentation
Movie • 1976
Narrator
The Statue and the Rose
Movie • 1975
Parnell
Play for Today
TV • 1970
Stanley Wilkinson
Oliver Twist
TV • 1985
Fagin
Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years
TV • 1981
Neville Chamberlain
BBC Play of the Month
TV • 1965
Cyrano de Bergerac
Anna Karenina
TV • 1977
Karenin
The Forsyte Saga
TV • 1967
Soames Forsyte
Civilisation
TV • 1969
Macbeth (voice)
BBC Play of the Month
TV • 1965
Arthur Winslow
BBC Play of the Month
TV • 1965
Councillor Albert Parker
Sherlock Holmes
TV • 1984
Professor Moriarty
Morecambe & Wise: Christmas Specials
TV • 1969
Himself
Performance
TV • 1991
James Player
Playhouse
TV • 1974
Petersham
BBC Play of the Month
TV • 1965
Jack Tanner
BBC Play of the Month
TV • 1965
Maj. Pollock / John Malcolm
BBC Play of the Month
TV • 1965
Macbeth
The Jewel in the Crown
TV • 1984
Dimitri Bronowsky
Theatre 625
TV • 1964
'Newton'
Theatre Night
TV • 1957
Vadim Romanoff
The World of Hammer
TV • 1994
Self (archive footage)