Dirk Bogarde

Dirk Bogarde

Born Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde
28 March 1921(1921-03-28)
West Hampstead, London, England
Died 8 May 1999 (aged 78)
Chelsea, London
Years active 1939 - 1990

Sir Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde (28 March, 1921 – 8 May, 1999), better known by his stage name Dirk Bogarde, was an English actor and novelist.

Contents

Early years and war service

Bogarde was born in West Hampstead, London, of mixed Flemish, Dutch and Scottish ancestry. His father, Ulric van den Bogaerde (born in Perry Barr, Birmingham), was the art editor of The Times and his mother Margaret Niven was a former actress. He attended the former Allan Glen's School in Glasgow, a time he described in his autobiography as unhappy, although others have disputed his account [3].

Bogarde served in World War II, being commissioned into the Queen's Royal Regiment in 1943. He reached the rank of major and served in both the European and Pacific theatres, principally as an intelligence officer. In April 1945, he claimed he was one of the first Allied officers to reach the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany, an experience that had the most profound effect on him and about which he found it difficult to speak for many years afterward. His horror and revulsion at the cruelty and inhumanity that he said he witnessed in Belsen left him with a deep-seated hostility towards Germany; he wrote in the 1990s that he would disembark from an elevator rather than ride with a German. Nevertheless, three of his more memorable film roles were as Germans, one of them as a former SS officer (The Night Porter [4]). He was most vocal, towards the end of his life, on the issue of voluntary euthanasia, of which he became a staunch proponent after witnessing the protracted death of his partner and manager Anthony Forwood in 1988. He gave an interview to John Hofsess, London executive director of the Voluntary Euthanasia Society:

"My views were formulated as a 24-year-old officer in Normandy ... On one occasion the Jeep ahead hit a mine ... Next thing I knew, there was this chap in the long grass beside me. A bloody bundle, shrapnel-ripped, legless, one arm only. The one arm reached out to me, white eyeballs wide, unseeing, in the bloody mask that had been a face. A gurgling voice said, 'Help. Kill me.' With shaking hands I reached for my small pouch to load my revolver ... I had to look for my bullets -- by which time somebody else had already taken care of him. I heard the shot. I still remember that gurgling sound. A voice pleading for death ...

"During the war I saw more wounded men being 'taken care of' than I saw being rescued. Because sometimes you were too far from a dressing station, sometimes you couldn't get them out. And they were pumping blood or whatever; they were in such a wreck, the only thing to do was to shoot them. And they were, so don't think they weren't. That hardens you: You get used to the fact that it can happen. And that it is the only sensible thing to do."

Film career

After the war, Bogarde's good looks helped him begin a career as a film actor, contracted to The Rank Organisation.[1]

During the 1950s, he also starred as a murderer who befriends a young boy in Hunted (aka The Stranger in Between) (1952); Appointment in London (1953) as a young airman in Bomber Command who, against orders, joins a major offensive against the Germans; The Sea Shall Not Have Them (1954), playing a flight sergeant trapped in a dinghy with Sir Michael Redgrave; The Sleeping Tiger (1954), playing a neurotic criminal with co-star Alexis Smith in fine form, and Bogarde's first film for American expatriate director Joseph Losey; Doctor at Sea (1955), co-starring Brigitte Bardot in one of her first film roles; Cast a Dark Shadow (1955), as a man who marries women for money and then kills them; The Spanish Gardener (1956), co-starring Cyril Cusack and Bernard Lee; Doctor at Large (1957), another entry in the "Doctor series", co-starring Shirley Eaton; A Tale of Two Cities (1958), a faithful retelling of Charles Dickens' classic; The Doctor's Dilemma (1959), by George Bernard Shaw and co-starring Leslie Caron and Robert Morley, not a part of the "Doctor series"; and Libel (1959), playing two separate roles and co-starring Olivia de Havilland. Bogarde quickly became a matinee idol and was Britain's number one box office draw of the 1950s, gaining the title of "The Matinee Idol of the Odeon."

After 1960, Bogarde abandoned his heart-throb image for more challenging parts, such as barrister Melville Farr in Victim (1961); decadent valet Hugo Barrett in The Servant (1963) (directed by Joseph Losey); television reporter Robert Gold in Darling (1965); Stephen, a bored Oxford University professor, in Accident (1967); German industrialist Frederick Bruckman in Luchino Visconti's The Damned (1969); the ex-Nazi, Max, in the chilling and controversial The Night Porter (1974) directed by Liliana Cavani; and, most notably, as Gustav von Aschenbach in Death in Venice (1971) also directed by Luchino Visconti.

In some of his other roles during the 1960s and 1970s, Bogarde played opposite renowned stars, yet some of the films were of uneven quality. Some of these movies included The Angel Wore Red (1960), playing an unfrocked priest who falls in love with cabaret entertainer Ava Gardner during the Spanish Civil War; Song Without End (1960), playing Hungarian composer and virtuoso pianist Franz Liszt, a film made under the direction of Charles Vidor (who died during shooting) and George Cukor, in Bogarde's only foray into Hollywood; The Singer Not the Song (1961), as a Mexican bandit and co-starring Sir John Mills as a priest; HMS Defiant (aka Damn the Defiant!) (1962), playing sadistic Lieutenant Scott-Padget, in which Bogarde practically steals the movie from his co-star Sir Alec Guinness; I Could Go On Singing (1963), co-starring Judy Garland in her final screen role; The Mind Benders (1963), an off-beat film where Bogarde plays an Oxford professor conducting sensory deprivation experiments at Oxford University (precursor to Altered States (1980)); Hot Enough For June, (aka Agent 8 3/4) (1964), a James Bond-type spy spoof; King And Country (1964), playing an army lawyer reluctantly defending deserter Tom Courtenay; Modesty Blaise (1966), a camp spy send-up playing archvillain Gabriel; Our Mother's House (1967), an off-beat film playing an estranged father of seven children, directed by Jack Clayton; The Fixer (1968), based on Bernard Malamud's novel, co-starring Alan Bates; Sebastian (1968), playing a former Oxford professor heading the all-female decoding office of British Intelligence, co-starring Sir John Gielgud, Susannah York, and Lilli Palmer; Oh! What A Lovely War (1969), co-starring Sir John Gielgud, Sir Laurence Olivier and directed by Sir Richard Attenborough; Justine (1969), directed by George Cukor; Le Serpent (1973), co-starring Henry Fonda and Yul Brynner; A Bridge Too Far (1977), in a rather controversial performance as Lieutenant General Frederick "Boy" Browning; Providence (1977), co-starring Sir John Gielgud; Despair (1978); and Daddy Nostalgie (1991) co-starring Jane Birkin as his daughter, Bogarde's final film role.

While a contract performer at the Rank Organisation, Bogarde was considered for a screen version of Lawrence Of Arabia, to be directed by Anthony Asquith. The role of Lawrence eventually went to Peter O'Toole and was directed by David Lean. Not getting the role of Lawrence of Arabia was Bogarde's greatest screen disappointment.[1] Bogarde was also reportedly considered for the title role in MGM's Doctor Zhivago (1965). Earlier, he declined Louis Jourdan's role as Gaston in MGM's Gigi (1958).. Also, according to John Coldstream's biography Bogarde was offered a stage role at The Chichester Festival Theatre by Sir Laurence Olivier, but had to decline due to film commitments.

Bogarde was nominated six times as Best Actor by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), winning twice, for The Servant in 1963, and for Darling in 1965. He also received the London Film Critics Circle Lifetime Award in 1991. He made a total of 63 films between 1939 and 1991.

Later career and private life

In 1977, Bogarde embarked on his second career as an author. Starting with a first volume A Postillion Struck by Lightning, he wrote a series of autobiographical volumes, novels and book reviews. As a writer Bogarde displayed a witty, elegant, highly literate and thoughtful style, though some find his use of words to be somewhat precious at times.

Bogarde was a life-long bachelor and, during his life, was reported to be homosexual.[2] Bogarde's most serious friendship with a woman was with the bisexual French actress Capucine. For many years he shared his homes, first in Amersham, England, then in France with his manager Anthony Forwood (a former husband of the actress Glynis Johns and the father of her only child, actor Gareth Forwood), but repeatedly denied that their relationship was anything other than friendship. These denials were understandable, mainly given that homosexual acts were illegal during most of his career, and also given his following among female admirers which he was loath to jeopardise. His brother Gareth Van den Bogaerde confirmed in a 2004 interview that Bogarde was engaging in homosexual sex at a time when such acts were illegal, and also that his long-term relationship with Tony Forwood was more than simply that of a manager and friend. [3]

Many people believed Bogarde's refusal to enter into a marriage of convenience in order to cover up his homosexuality was a major reason for his failure to become a star in Hollywood, together with the critical and commercial failure of Song Without End. His friend Helena Bonham Carter believed Bogarde could never come out as gay in later life, after his movie stardom had ended, because he would not have been able to deal with the fact that he had been forced to live a lie during his career.[4]

Bogarde starred in the landmark 1961 film Victim, playing a prominent homosexual barrister in London who fights the blackmailers of a young man with whom he had an emotional relationship. The young man commits suicide after being arrested for embezzlement, rather than ruining the attorney's reputation. In the process of exposing the ring of extortionists, Bogarde's character puts at risk his successful legal career and marriage in order to see that justice is served. Victim was the first mainstream British film to treat the subject of homosexuality seriously and the film helped lead to the changing of the law.

Bogarde's controversial film choices later in his career led him to have something of a cult following. The singer Morrissey was a fan and, according to Charlotte Rampling[5], Bogarde was approached in 1990 by Madonna to appear in her video for Justify My Love, citing The Night Porter as an inspiration. Bogarde declined the offer.

In 1984, Bogarde served as president of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival. He was the first Briton ever to serve in that capacity, and this represented an immense honor for Bogarde. He was knighted in 1992 for services to acting, and was the recipient of several honorary doctorates, including from St Andrews and Sussex universities.

Formerly a heavy smoker, Bogarde suffered a minor stroke in November 1987 while Anthony Forwood was dying of liver cancer and Parkinson's disease. Never afraid of voicing his opinion, after witnessing Forwood's protracted death he became active in promoting voluntary euthanasia for terminally ill patients in Britain and toured the UK giving lectures and answering questions from live audiences on the subject. It was a cause, he stated, that had been important to him since the war, during which he had witnessed severely injured men pleading to be put out of their misery[6].

In September 1996, he underwent angioplasty to widen arteries leading to his heart and suffered a pulmonary embolism following this operation. For the final three years of his life Bogarde was paralyzed on one side of his body, which affected his speech. He managed, however, to complete a final volume of autobiography, which covered the stroke and its effect on him. He spent some time the day before he died with his good friend Lauren Bacall. Sir Dirk Bogarde died in London from a heart attack on May 8, 1999, aged 78. His ashes were scattered at his former beloved estate of "Le Haut Clermont" in Grasse, Southern France.

Filmography

Titles preceded by an asterisk (*) are films made for television.

Film Year Character
Come on George! 1939 Extra (uncredited)
Dancing with Crime 1947 Policeman
Esther Waters 1948 William Latch
Boys in Brown 1949 Alfie Rawlins
Quartet 1949 George Bland (segment "The Alien Corn")
Once a Jolly Swagman 1948 Bill Fox
Dear Mr. Prohack 1949 Charles Prohack
The Woman in Question 1950 R.W. (Bob) Baker
The Blue Lamp 1950 Tom Riley
Blackmailed 1950 Stephen Mundy
So Long at the Fair 1950 George Hathaway
Appointment in London 1952 Wing Commander Tim Mason
Hunted 1952 Chris Lloyd
Penny Princess 1952 Tony Craig
The Gentle Gunman 1952 Matt Sullivan
They Who Dare 1953 Lt. Graham
The Sea Shall Not Have Them 1954 Flight Sgt. MacKay
For Better, for Worse 1954 Tony Howard
Doctor in the House 1954 Dr Simon Sparrow
The Sleeping Tiger 1954 Frank Clemmons
Simba 1955 Alan Howard
Doctor at Sea 1955 Dr. Simon Sparrow
The Spanish Gardener 1956 Jose
Cast a Dark Shadow 1957 Edward "Teddy" Bare
Ill Met by Moonlight 1957 Maj. Patrick Leigh Fermor aka Philedem
Doctor at Large 1957 Dr. Simon Sparrow
Campbell's Kingdom 1957 Bruce Campbell
A Tale of Two Cities 1958 Sydney Carton
The Wind Cannot Read 1958 Flight Lt. Michael Quinn
The Doctor's Dilemma 1958 Louis Dubedat
Libel 1959 Sir Mark Sebastian Loddon/Frank Welney/Number Fifteen
Song Without End 1960 Franz Liszt
The Angel Wore Red 1960 Arturo Carrera
Victim 1961 Melville Farr
We Joined the Navy 1962 Cameo appearance (Dr. Simon Sparrow)
The Singer Not the Song 1961 Anacleto
H.M.S. Defiant 1962 1st Lt. Scott-Padget
The Password is Courage 1962 Sgt. Maj. Charles Coward
The Mind Benders 1963 Dr. Henry Longman
I Could Go On Singing 1963 David Donne
The Servant 1963 Hugo Barrett
Doctor in Distress 1963 Dr. Simon Sparrow
King & Country 1964 Capt. Hargreaves
Hot Enough for June 1964 Nicholas Whistler
The High Bright Sun 1964 Maj. McGuire
Darling 1965 Robert Gold
Modesty Blaise 1966 Gabriel
*Blithe Spirit 1966 Charles Condomine
Accident 1967 Stephen
Our Mother's House 1967 Charlie Hook
Sebastian 1968 Sebastian
The Fixer 1968 Bibikov
La Caduta degli dei (The Damned) 1969 Frederick Bruckmann
Oh! What a Lovely War 1969 Stephen
Justine 1969 Pursewarden
*Upon This Rock 1970 Bonnie Prince Charlie
Morte a Venezia (Death in Venice) 1971 Gustav von Aschenbach
Night Flight from Moscow 1973 Philip Boyle
Il Portiere di notte (The Night Porter) 1974 Maximilian Theo Aldorfer
Permission to Kill 1975 Alan Curtis
A Bridge Too Far 1977 Lt. Gen. Frederick 'Boy' Browning
Providence 1977 Claude Langham
Despair 1978 Hermann Hermann
*The Patricia Neal Story 1981 Roald Dahl
*May We Borrow Your Husband? 1986 William Harris
The Vision 1988 James Marriner
Daddy Nostalgie 1990 Daddy

Other works

Autobiographies and memoirs

Novels

Biography

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Morley, Sheridan (1999). Dirk Bogarde: Rank Outsider. Second Edition. London: Bloomsbury. ISBN 0747546983
  2. ↑ Review by Mansel Stimpson of Dirk Bogarde: The Authorised Biography, by John Coldstream [1]
  3. ↑ Gareth Van den Bogaerde interview with Jan Moir, The Telegraph, 2 September 2004 [2]
  4. ↑ Coldstream, John Dirk Bogarde: The Authorised Biography (2004)
  5. ↑ Interview, The Culture Show, BBC2, 17 June 2006
  6. ↑ Voluntary Euthanasia Society Interview

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Peter O'Toole
for Lawrence of Arabia		 BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
1963
for The Servant		 Succeeded by
Richard Attenborough
for Guns at Batasi & Seance on a Wet Afternoon
Preceded by
Richard Attenborough
for Guns at Batasi & Seance on a Wet Afternoon		 BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
1965
for Darling		 Succeeded by
Richard Burton
for The Spy Who Came in from the Cold & Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Persondata
NAME Bogarde, Dirk
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION actor
DATE OF BIRTH March 28, 1921
PLACE OF BIRTH West Hampstead, London
DATE OF DEATH May 8 1999
PLACE OF DEATH