Richardson, Ralph (David) (1902-1983)

English actor. He played many stage parts, including Falstaff (Shakespeare), Peer Gynt (Ibsen), and Cyrano de Bergerac (Rostand). He shared the management of the Old Vic Theatre with Laurence Olivier 1944-50. In later years he revealed himself as an accomplished deadpan comic.

Later stage successes include David Storey's Home (1970) and Harold Pinter's No Man's Land (1976). His films include Things to Come (1936), Richard III (1956), Our Man in Havana (1959), The Wrong Box (1966), The Bed-Sitting Room (1969), and O Lucky Man! (1973). He was knighted in 1947.