This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2011)

Robert Oliver Reed (13 February 1938 – 2 May 1999) was an English actor known for his burly screen presence. Reed exemplified his real-life macho image in "tough guy" roles. His films include The Trap, Oliver!, Women in Love, Hannibal Brooks, The Triple Echo, The Devils, The Three Musketeers, Tommy, Castaway, Lion of the Desert and Gladiator.

Early life[link]

Reed was born Robert Oliver Reed in Wimbledon, London, to sports journalist Peter Reed and his wife Marcia (née Andrews).^[1] He was the nephew of film director Sir Carol Reed, and grandson of the actor-manager Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree by his alleged mistress May Pinney Reed. He was alleged to have been a descendant (through an illegitimate step) of Tsar Peter the Great of Russia.^[2] Reed attended Ewell Castle School in Surrey.

Career[link]

After time in the British Army, serving in the Royal Army Medical Corps, Reed commenced his thespian career as an extra in films in the late 1950s. He had no acting training or theatrical experience.

Oliver Reed appeared uncredited in an early Norman Wisdom film, The Square Peg in 1958, and in another Wisdom comedy, The Bulldog Breed in 1960, where Reed played the leader of a gang of Teddy Boys roughing up Wisdom in a cinema. Uncredited television includes episodes of The Invisible Man (1958) and The Four Just Men (1959). Reed got his first notable roles in Hammer Films' Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960), The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960), Captain Clegg (1962), Pirates of Blood River (1962), and The Curse of the Werewolf (1961). Reed also starred in Paranoiac, and The Damned. In 1964 he starred in the first of six films directed by Michael Winner, The System, (known as The Girl-Getters in the U.S.). More Hammer Films productions followed, such as The Brigand Of Kandahar (1965). He first collaborated with director Ken Russell in a TV biopic of Claude Debussy in 1965, and later played Dante Gabriel Rossetti in Russell's subsequent TV biopic Dante's Inferno (1967).

In 1966 Reed played a mountain fur trapper, with co-star Rita Tushingham, in an action-adventure film The Trap with a soundtrack by British film composer Ron Goodwin. Reed's presence could be seen in The Shuttered Room (1967), after which came another performance in the film Women in Love (1969), in which he wrestled nude with Alan Bates in front of a log fire. The controversial 1971 film The Devils was followed in the summer of 1975 by the musical film Tommy, based on The Who's 1969 concept album Tommy and starring its lead singer Roger Daltrey: all three films were directed by Ken Russell. Reed made another contribution to the horror genre in 1976, acting alongside Karen Black, Bette Davis, and Burgess Meredith in the Dan Curtis film Burnt Offerings.

In between those films for Russell, Reed played the role of Bill Sikes, alongside Ron Moody, Shani Wallis, Mark Lester, Jack Wild and Harry Secombe, in his uncle Carol Reed's 1968 screen version of the hit musical Oliver!. In 1969 Reed played the title role in Michael Winner's WWII action-comedy Hannibal Brooks, alongside an elephant named Lucy.

An anecdote holds that Reed could have been chosen to play James Bond. In 1969, Bond franchise producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman were looking for a replacement for Sean Connery and Reed (who had recently played a resourceful killer in The Assassination Bureau) was mentioned as a possible choice for the role. Whatever the reason, Reed was never to play Bond. After Reed's death, the Guardian Unlimited called the casting decision, "One of the great missed opportunities of post-war British movie history".

Reed starred as Athos the musketeer in three films based on Alexandre Dumas's novels. First in The Three Musketeers (1973), followed by The Four Musketeers (1974), and The Return of the Musketeers (1989). He starred in a similarly historical themed film, Crossed Swords (UK Title "The Prince and the Pauper") (1977), as Miles Hendon alongside Raquel Welch and a grown up Mark Lester, who had worked with Reed in Oliver!. Reed returned to horror as Dr. Hal Raglan in David Cronenberg's 1979 film The Brood.

From the 1980s onwards Reed's films had less success, his more notable roles being General Rodolfo Graziani in the 1981 film Lion of the Desert, which co-starred Anthony Quinn and chronicled the resistance to Italy's occupation of Libya; and in Castaway (1986) as the middle aged Gerald Kingsland, who advertises for a "wife" (played by Amanda Donohoe) to live on a desert island with him for a year.

He also starred as Lt-Col Gerard Leachman in the Iraqi historical film Al-Mas' Ala Al-Kubra (a.k.a. Clash of Loyalties) in 1982, which dealt with Leachman's exploits during the 1920 revolution in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq).

By the late 1980s, he was largely appearing in exploitation films produced by the infamous impresario Harry Alan Towers, most of which were filmed in South Africa at the time of apartheid and released straight to video in the US and UK. These included Skeleton Coast (1987), Gor (1987) Dragonard (1987) and its filmed-back-to-back sequel Master Of Dragonard Hill, Hold My Hand I'm Dying (aka Blind Justice) (1988), House Of Usher (1988), Captive Rage (1988)and The Revenger (1989).

His last major successes were Terry Gilliam's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) (as the god Vulcan), Treasure Island (1990) (as Captain Billy Bones), and Peter Chelsom's Funny Bones (1995).

His final role was the elderly slave dealer Proximo in Gladiator, in which he played alongside Richard Harris, an actor whom Reed admired greatly both on and off the screen. The film was released after his death in 2000 with some footage filmed with a double, digitally mixed with outtake footage. The film was dedicated to him. He was posthumously nominated for a British Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in this film, and also for the Screen Actors Guild Award, along with the rest of the principal players for Best Ensemble Cast.

Personal life[link]

In 1959, Reed wed Kate Byrne. They had one son, Mark, before their divorce in 1969. While filming his part of Bill Sikes in Oliver!, he met one of the dancers hired for the film, the classically trained Jacquie Daryl. By the end of the film they were lovers, and subsequently had a daughter named Sarah. In 1985, he married Josephine Burge, to whom he was still married at the time of his death. In his last years, Reed lived with Josephine in Churchtown, County Cork, Ireland.

When the UK government raised taxes on personal income, Reed initially declined to join the exodus of major British film stars to Hollywood and other more tax-friendly locales. Reed claimed to have turned down major roles in two hugely successful Hollywood movies: The Sting (1973) (although he did appear in the sequel) and Jaws (1975). In the late 1970s Reed finally relocated to Guernsey as a tax exile. He had sold his large house, 'Broome Hall', between the villages of Coldharbour and Ockley some years earlier.

Alcoholism[link]

Reed was famous for his excessive drinking, which fitted in with the "social" attitude of many rugby teams in the 1960s and 1970s, and there are numerous anecdotes such as Reed and 36 friends drinking in an evening, 60 gallons of beer, 32 bottles of Scotch, 17 bottles of gin, four crates of wine, and one bottle of Babycham. He subsequently revised the story, claiming he drank 106 pints of beer on a two-day binge before marrying Josephine; "The event that was reported actually took place during an arm-wrestling competition in Guernsey about 15 years ago, it was highly exaggerated." Steve McQueen told the story that in 1973 he flew to the UK to discuss a film project with Reed and suggested the pair go to a nightclub in London. They ended up on a marathon pub crawl during which Reed vomited on McQueen. Reed's face had been scarred 10 years previously during a 1963 bar fight after which he received 63 stitches and was in danger of having his film career terminated in his 20s.

Reed was often irritated that his appearances on TV chat shows concentrated on his drinking feats rather than his latest film. David Letterman cut to a commercial when it appeared Reed might get violent after being asked too many questions about his drinking. In September 1975, in front of a speechless Johnny Carson, the bellicose Reed famously had a glass of whiskey poured over his head on-camera by an enraged Shelley Winters on The Tonight Show (Winters had been upset by Reed's seemingly derogatory comments toward women)^[3]. He was held partly responsible for the demise of BBC1's Sin on Saturday after some typically forthright comments on the subject of lust, the sin featured on the first programme. The show had many other problems and a fellow guest revealed that Reed recognised this when he arrived and virtually had to be dragged in front of the cameras. Near the end of his life, he was brought onto some TV shows specifically for his drinking; for example The Word put bottles of liquor in his dressing room so he could be secretly filmed getting drunk. He was forced to leave the set of the Channel 4 television discussion programme After Dark after arriving drunk and attempting to kiss feminist writer Kate Millett, uttering the memorable phrase, "Give us a kiss, big tits." He was seemingly very drunk on the Michael Aspel chat show, to many highly entertaining, to others a waste of a great acting talent. However, author Cliff Goodwin, in his biography of Reed titled Evil Spirits, offers the theory that Reed was not always as drunk on chat shows as he appeared to be, but rather was acting the part of an uncontrollably sodden former star to liven things up, at the producers' behests. In addition, he did some drinking in the U.S. and was arrested in the Southern U.S., where he was acquitted of disturbing the peace while drunk. He was banned from the state of Georgia, where the infraction happened.

In December 1987, Reed became seriously ill with kidney problems as a result of his alcoholism and had to abstain from drinking for a year.

In later years, Reed could often be seen quietly drinking with his wife, Josephine Burge, at the bar of the White Horse Hotel in the High Street in Dorking, Surrey, not far from his home in Oakwoodhill. When working in London, he was often found at The Duke of Hamilton pub in Hampstead, an area and pub he often frequented earlier in his career with Peter O'Toole and Richard Burton.

Death[link]

Reed died of a sudden heart attack^[4] during a break from filming Gladiator in Valletta, Malta on 2 May 1999. The heart attack was a result of a night of hard drinking, which included three bottles of downed rum and arm wrestling victories over five sailors.^{[original research?]} He was 61 years old.

Several of his scenes in Gladiator had to be completed using CGI techniques and, in one place, a mannequin. His funeral was held in Churchtown, County Cork, Ireland. The song "Consider Yourself" from his classic film Oliver! was played at Oliver Reed's funeral. Reed's remains were buried in the 13th-century cemetery in the heart of Churchtown village, and his grave was seeded with Irish wildflowers.

Selected filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Oliver Reed at the Internet Movie Database
• Oliver Reed at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
• Oliver Reed at Yahoo! Movies
• [1] from Playmen, by Michael Pergolani, May 1972
• Obituary in The Daily Telegraph
• (Friday 7 May 1999). "Devil of an actor". Retrieved 24 February 2006

Sir Carol Reed (30 December 1906 – 25 April 1976) was an English film director best known for Odd Man Out (1947), The Fallen Idol (1948), The Third Man (1949) and Oliver! (1968).^[1] He won the Palme d'Or for The Third Man and the 1968 Academy Award for Best Director for Oliver!

Early life and education[link]

The son of actor-producer Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree and his mistress, May Pinney Reed,^[2] Carol Reed was born in Putney, and educated at The King's School, Canterbury, an independent school. Reed served in the British Army during the Second World War, giving him many experiences which appeared in his later films.

Career and personal life[link]

He embarked on an acting career while still in his teens, but soon went into the role of producer/director. He worked as an Assistant Director with Basil Dean on the films Autumn Crocus, Lorna Doone and Loyalties and with Thorold Dickinson on Java Head. As director he was responsible for The Stars Look Down (1939), Kipps (1941), Odd Man Out (1947), The Fallen Idol (1948), Outcast of the Islands (1952), Our Man in Havana (1959), and The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965). The Fallen Idol, The Third Man, and Our Man in Havana are based on the work of Graham Greene.

From 1943 until 1947, he was married to the British film star Diana Wynyard. After their divorce, he married, in 1948, the actress Penelope Dudley Ward, also known as Pempie, the elder daughter of Freda Dudley Ward, who had been a mistress of the Prince of Wales, later Edward VIII of the United Kingdom and Duke of Windsor. They had one son, Max. A nephew was the actor Oliver Reed. His stepdaughter, Miss Ward's daughter, Tracy Reed, acted in numerous films.^{[citation needed]}

In 1953, he became only the second British film director to be knighted for his craft. The first was his mentor and collaborator, Sir Alexander Korda in 1942, who had also been closely involved in the production of some of Reed's most admired films.

Death[link]

Carol Reed died from a heart attack on 25 April 1976 at his home in Chelsea, aged 69.

Filmography[link]

^[4][5]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Freehan, Deirdre (15 December 2010). "Carol Reed". Senses of Cinema. http://www.sensesofcinema.com/2003/great-directors/reed/. 

External links[link]

Biography portal

• Carol Reed at the Internet Movie Database
• Carol Reed at AllRovi
• Carol Reed at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
• Carol Reed at Find a Grave

Mark Lester
Lester in 1977
Born	Mark A. Letzer (1958-07-11) 11 July 1958 (age 53) Oxford, Oxfordshire
Years active	1964-1977 2009-present

Mark Lester (born Mark A. Letzer;^[1] 11 July 1958) is an English former child star and actor known for playing the title role in the 1968 musical film version of Oliver! and starring in a number of other British and European films of the 1960s and 70s and in a number of television series.

Early life[link]

Lester was born in the city of Oxford in Oxfordshire in Southern England, to actress Rita Keene Lester and actor and producer Michael Lester (originally Michael Boris Letzer).^[2] His father was Jewish and his mother Anglican.^[2]

Lester was educated at three independent schools: at Corona Theatre School in Ravenscourt Park in West London, followed by Tower House School, a boys' preparatory school near Richmond Park (also in West London), and at Halliford School in Shepperton in Surrey.

Career as child actor[link]

Lester initially had supporting roles in several British television series, including The Human Jungle and Danger Man.

In 1964, at the age of six, Lester was cast in Robert Dhery's film Allez France! (English title The Counterfeit Constable) with Diana Dors (who appeared in the 1948 film version of Oliver Twist). He played a small part as the second schoolboy in Fahrenheit 451.

In 1967, at the age of eight,^[3] Lester was cast in the title role in the film version of Lionel Bart's musical Oliver!. The multiple Academy Award-winning adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel co-starred Jack Wild, Ron Moody, Shani Wallis and Oliver Reed, and was directed by Sir Carol Reed. Since Lester could not sing, all of his singing in the movie was dubbed by Kathe Green, daughter of the film's music arranger Johnny Green.^[4] Lester was good friends with Wild throughout the making of the film and their friendship continued after production with Lester describing Wild as a "long lost brother". When Wild was nominated for an Academy Award for the film, they were flown together to the USA for the ceremony.^{[citation needed]}

These two child actors later reunited for Melody (1971), which depicted British schoolchildren in love. Tracy Hyde played the role of Melody in the film, which used music from the Bee Gees and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

In 1969, Lester received critical acclaim for his portrayal of a dysfunctional and withdrawn only child in Run Wild, Run Free, starring opposite John Mills, and then as a disturbed child in the first regular episode of Then Came Bronson. Lester's acting roles peaked as he starred in Eyewitness (1970), with Susan George, Night Hair Child with Britt Ekland, Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?, with Shelley Winters, Melody and a film version of Black Beauty (all 1971). After this period, his acting roles in the UK would begin to wane as he found good roles harder to come by. He extended his range with roles in a series of films in Italy including Redneck (1972) with Telly Savalas and the Western Scalawag (1973) with Kirk Douglas. The final film of his Italian-based career was in the costume drama La Prima volta sull'erba (English title The First Time on the Grass, 1974), which was nominated for the Golden Bear prize at the 25th Berlin International Film Festival.^[5] Lester wrapped up his British film career with the lead role in the all-star film Crossed Swords aka The Prince and Pauper (1977), starring Raquel Welch, Charlton Heston, Rex Harrison, George C. Scott, and Oliver Reed, who had played Bill Sikes in Oliver!.

Lester reprised his acting career in 2011 as King Harold II in 1066 currently in pre-production.^[6]

Adult life[link]

After the poor reception of Crossed Swords Lester gave up acting at the age of 19. He took his A Levels at the age of 28 and became an osteopath, studying at the British School of Osteopathy. In 1993, Lester opened the Carlton Clinic, an acupuncture clinic in Cheltenham.^[7][8]

He married in January 1993 and with his wife had 4 children. They divorced in 2005. He remarried Lisa, a psychiatric nurse, in 2006.

He is a patron of the theatre charity The Music Hall Guild of Great Britain and America.

Lester was a close friend of Michael Jackson from 1982 until Jackson's death in 2009, and Jackson chose him to be godfather to the children. In August 2009, Lester gave an interview to the British tabloid newspaper News of the World, claiming that he could be the biological father of Paris Katherine Jackson, the late singer's daughter. Lester claimed to have been a sperm donor for Jackson in 1996, and announced that he was willing to take a paternity test to determine whether he was the father.

He stated in a video interview for the newspaper that his motivation, as godfather of the children, was that he had not been allowed contact with them since Jackson's death: "It's very, very upsetting not being able to see all those children; they're my godchildren, and I love them dearly."^[9][10] Brian Oxman, former lawyer for the Jackson family, rejected the claim in a television interview, stating, “The thing I always heard from Michael was that Michael was the father of these children, and I believe Michael."^[11]

Filmography[link]

• 1964: The Counterfeit Constable aka Allez France as Gérald
• 1965: Spaceflight IC-1: An Adventure in Space as Don Saunders
• 1966: Fahrenheit 451 as a schoolboy (uncredited)
• 1967: Our Mother's House as Jiminee
• 1968: Oliver! as Oliver Twist
• 1969: Run Wild, Run Free as Philip Ransome
• 1970: The Boy Who Stole the Elephant as Davey (TV movie)
• 1970: Eyewitness as Ziggy
• 1971: Melody as Daniel Latimer
• 1971: Black Beauty as Joe Evans
• 1971: Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? as Christopher Coombs
• 1972: Night Hair Child aka Diabólica malicia as Marcus
• 1973: Senza ragione as Lennox Duncan
• 1973: Little Adventurer as Mike Richard
• 1973: Scalawag as Jamie
• 1975: The First Time on the Grass aka La prima volta sull'erba
• 1977: Crossed Swords as Prince Edward / Tom Canty
• 2011: 1066 as King Harold II (pre-production)

TV series

• 1964: The Human Jungle (TV series as a small boy in episode "The Twenty-Four Hour Man")
• 1966: Danger Man (TV series as a boy in episode "Dangerous Secret")
• 1966: Court Martial (TV series as Paolo Stevens in episode "Retreat from Life")
• 1969: Then Came Bronson (TV series in episode "The Runner" as John Beaman)
• 1969: The Ghost & Mrs. Muir (TV series as Mark Helmore in episodes "Puppy Love" and "Spirit of the Law")
• 1970: Disneyland as Davey (film in two parts)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Mark Lester at the Internet Movie Database

Shani Wallis (born 14 April 1933) is an English actress and singer.

Wallis was born in Tottenham, London. Making her first stage appearance at the age of four, she later studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) on a scholarship. Wallis went on to play many leading roles in the West End, but she is best known for the role of Nancy in Carol Reed's 1968 film production of Lionel Bart's musical Oliver! which co-starred Ron Moody, Harry Secombe, Oliver Reed, Jack Wild and Mark Lester. Wallis has appeared with Liberace, Jack Benny, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.

Wallis is a naturalized citizen of the United States, where she has lived for some time. She married her agent/manager Bernie Rich on Friday 13 September 1968. Asked, "Why on that day?" she replied, "Everything good has happened to me on Friday 13th and Shani means 'lucky jewel'. The couple have one child, Rebecca, and two granddaughters. She is also the sister of jazz drummer Leon Roy.

Wallis is a patron of the theatre charity The Music Hall Guild of Great Britain and America.

Credits[link]

Theatre[link]

• Call Me Madam, London Coliseum (as "Princess Marie") with Anton Walbrook.
• Wish You Were Here (London Casino) with Elizabeth Larner and Dickie Henderson.
• Happy As A King, at the Princes Theatre, London (as "Juliet") with Warren Mitchell.
• Wonderful Town, (1953) London Casino (as "Fay Tomkin") with Pat Kirkwood and Dickie Henderson
• Irma La Douce, (1961) Lyric Theatre (title role) with Denis Quilley.
• Fine Fettle, (1959) Palace Theatre with Benny Hill and Robertson Hare.
• Green Room Rags, Princes Theatre (1954) with Beryl Reid and Larry Adler
• The Dave King Show, London Hippodrome.
• Aladdin, (pantomime) Streatham Hill Theatre (as "Aladdin") with Hughie Green and Lauri Lupino Lane
• King Cole (pantomime) - Palace Manchester (played "Miranda") with Alfred Marks, Tommy Cooper and Gary Miller
• Bus Stop, Golders Green Hippodrome (1958) (as "Cherie"). Dir: Sam Wanamaker.
• You'll Be Lucky, Adelphi Theatre with Lauri Lupino Lane
• Cowardy Custard, (1989) Theatre Royal Bath.
• A Time for Singing, (1966) Broadway Theater, NYC - Opened May 12 and closed after 41 performances with Tessie O'Shea.
• Finian's Rainbow, (1958) Liverpool, New Shakespeare Theatre - (as "Sharon") with Bobby Howes
• 42nd Street, Drury Lane Theatre, London (as "Dorothy Brock") with Frankie Vaughan and Maxine Audley.
• Always, (1996) Victoria Palace Theatre in London (as "Aunt Bessie") with Sheila Ferguson.

Film[link]

• A King in New York (as cabaret singer) with Charles Chaplin, Dawn Addams, Maxine Audley and Sid James
• The Extra Day with George Baker, Beryl Reid and Richard Basehart
• Oliver! with Ron Moody, Harry Secombe, Sheila White, Oliver Reed and Jack Wild and herself
• Mayday at 40,000 Feet with David Janssen and Jane Powell
• Arnold with Roddy McDowall
• Round Numbers (as "Binki")
• Terror in the Wax Museum with Broderick Crawford
• The Pebble and the Penguin (as Narrator)
• Mojave Phone Booth (as Greta)
• Walt Disney's Pocahontas 2 (vocal)
• Walt Disney's Basil The Great Mouse Detective (Voice of "Lady Mouse")

TV[link]

• Gunsmoke
• The Young and the Restless (as "Frances the Governess")
• Charlie's Angels (Guest appearance as "Ellen Jason") with Gene Barry
• Columbo
• Murder, She Wrote
• Night Gallery
• Mickie Finn's
• On The Move with Jack Jones
• The Ed Sullivan Show - Where she was spotted and subsequently auditioned and won the part of Nancy in the 1968 film Oliver
• The Red Skelton Hour 1965 episode singing "I'm Old Fashioned" and singing/dancing "Pass Me By" (episode also included boxing champion Archie Moore)
• The Dean Martin Show singing "I'm A Girl" & "How Are Things In Glocca Morra?"

She also appeared in the first television version of "Once Upon A Mattress" as Lady Larkin, with most of the original Broadway cast.

British TV[link]

• The Tom Jones Show
• Give Us a Clue
• Highway with Harry Secombe
• The Morecambe and Wise Show
• Oliver! The Reunion Herself

Recordings[link]

• Oliver! (1968) - Original film cast recording
• Call Me Madam - Original London stage recording
• Wish You Were Here - Original London stage recording
• The Girl From Oliver
• I'm a Girl!, Kapp Records Stereo KS-3472
• Personality, Please Don't Say No, Don't Take Your Love Away From Me, There Goes My Heart, with Wally Stott
• Don't ringa da bell
• The Trolley Song
• Bell Bottom Blues
• Secondhand Rose
• Our Melody
• "From Atlanta To Goodbye" (Richard Ahlert-Leon Carr) KAPP K-2044 produced by Hy Grill; Musical Director: Jimmy Dale
• "Another Monday" (Stanley Jay Gelber) KAPP K-2044 produced by Hy Grill; Musical Director: Jimmy Dale

External links[link]

• Shani Wallis at the Internet Movie Database
• Simply Shani Fansite