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Cyril Ritchard‌

Gender

Male

Birthday

calendar1897-12-01

Popularity

star4.4

Cyril Ritchard

Cyril Ritchard

Gender

Male

Birthday

calendar1897-12-01

Popularity

star4.4

Biography

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.

Movie Credits

Blackmail

Blackmail‌
star6.5
calendar 1929

The Hobbit

The Hobbit‌
star6.5
calendar 1977

Piccadilly

Piccadilly‌
star6.4
calendar 1929

Peter Pan

Peter Pan‌
star6.7
calendar 1960

The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow

The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow‌
star5.5
calendar 1975

The Enchanted World of Danny Kaye: The Emperor's New Clothes

The Enchanted World of Danny Kaye: The Emperor's New Clothes‌
star5.0
calendar 1972

Hans Brinker

Hans Brinker‌
star6.5
calendar 1969

The Show Goes On

The Show Goes On‌
star5.0
calendar 1937

The Daydreamer

The Daydreamer‌
star4.8
calendar 1966

The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood

The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood‌
star0.0
calendar 1965

Half a Sixpence

Half a Sixpence‌
star6.0
calendar 1967

Service for Ladies

Service for Ladies‌
star6.8
calendar 1932

The Owl and the Pussycat

The Owl and the Pussycat‌
star0.0
calendar 1962

Tubby the Tuba

Tubby the Tuba‌
star0.0
calendar 1975

I See Ice

I See Ice‌
star8.1
calendar 1938

Peter Pan

Peter Pan‌
star6.1
calendar 1955

The Winslow Boy

The Winslow Boy‌
star6.9
calendar 1948

Dangerous Medicine

Dangerous Medicine‌
star0.0
calendar 1938

Mr. Scrooge

Mr. Scrooge‌
star10.0
calendar 1964

Just for a Song

Just for a Song‌
star0.0
calendar 1930

Symphony in Two Flats

Symphony in Two Flats‌
star0.0
calendar 1930

The Lyrics of Alan Jay Lerner

The Lyrics of Alan Jay Lerner‌
star0.0
calendar 1966

Pontius Pilate

Pontius Pilate‌
star0.0
calendar 1952

The Christmas Tree

The Christmas Tree‌
star0.0
calendar 1958

Peter Pan

Peter Pan‌
star1.0
calendar 1956

It's a Grand Old World

It's a Grand Old World‌
star0.0
calendar 1937

Aladdin

Aladdin‌
star0.0
calendar 1958

Dearest Enemy

Dearest Enemy‌
star0.0
calendar 1955

Woman Hater

Woman Hater‌
star7.0
calendar 1948

Tv Credits

Omnibus

Omnibus‌
star6.0
calendar 1952

The Merv Griffin Show

The Merv Griffin Show‌
star5.3
calendar 1962

Studio One

Studio One‌
star4.4
calendar 1948

Hallmark Hall of Fame

Hallmark Hall of Fame‌
star8.8
calendar 1951

Lux Video Theatre

Lux Video Theatre‌
star5.5
calendar 1950

The Philco Television Playhouse

The Philco Television Playhouse‌
star5.6
calendar 1948

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show‌
star4.0
calendar 1956

Producers' Showcase

Producers' Showcase‌
star6.0
calendar 1954

Playwrights '56

Playwrights '56‌
star6.0
calendar 1955

The Steve Allen Show

The Steve Allen Show‌
star4.0
calendar 1956

Dr. Kildare

Dr. Kildare‌
star5.4
calendar 1961

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson‌
star7.4
calendar 1962

Tonight Starring Jack Paar

Tonight Starring Jack Paar‌
star5.7
calendar 1957

The Ed Sullivan Show

The Ed Sullivan Show‌
star6.5
calendar 1948

What's My Line?

What's My Line?‌
star6.6
calendar 1950

Studio One

Studio One‌
star4.4
calendar 1948

Studio One

Studio One‌
star4.4
calendar 1948

DuPont Show of the Month

DuPont Show of the Month‌
star6.0
calendar 1957

The Mike Douglas Show

The Mike Douglas Show‌
star4.8
calendar 1961

The Steve Allen Show

The Steve Allen Show‌
star4.0
calendar 1956

The Steve Allen Show

The Steve Allen Show‌
star4.0
calendar 1956

Tony Awards

Tony Awards‌
star5.0
calendar 1956

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

Alfred Hitchcock Presents‌
star7.7
calendar 1955

The Snoop Sisters

The Snoop Sisters‌
star7.2
calendar 1973

The Danny Kaye Show

The Danny Kaye Show‌
star6.3
calendar 1963

Kraft Music Hall

Kraft Music Hall‌
star4.0
calendar 1958