Gareth forwood childrens museum

Welsh actor (1899–1992)

David Mervyn Johns (18 February 1899 – 6 September 1992) was a Welsh stage, film and television actor who became a fixture of British films during the Second World War. Johns appeared extensively on screen and stage with over 100 credits between 1923 and 1979.

He made his theatrical debut while on tour of the British dominions in 1923. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art with honours in 1924, he appeared in a succession of diverse roles in the West End and Bristol. He made his screen debut with Lady in Danger in 1934 and appeared in several supporting roles in the 1930s before becoming a leading man in the 1940s and 50s. In his most critically acclaimed period, he became an indelible part of British wartime cinema with starring roles in Saloon Bar (1940), The Next of Kin (1942), Went the Day Well? (1942), The Halfway House (1944), Twilight Hour (1945), and Dead of Night (1945).

In the postwar era, Johns worked regularly as a character actor at Ealing Studios with roles in They Knew Mr. Knight (1946), The Captive Heart (1946), Captain Boycott (1947), Easy Money (1948), and Scrooge (1951). He settled into supporting roles in later years with guest appearances on televised plays and anthology series. Johns also appeared in two films alongside his daughter Glynis Johns.

Early life

David Mervyn Johns was born on 18 February 1899 in Pembroke, Wales. He attended Llandovery College, an independent boarding school in South Wales, following the graduation of his brother Howard Johns, later rector of Pusey and Weston-on-the-Green. From 1913, he played cricket and rugby for the school's national teams.

Upon leaving, he wanted to pursue a career in medicine and so attended Royal London Hospital, where he trained as a medical student. While there, he met concert pianist Alyce Steele-Wareham

English actor (1921–1999)

Sir Dirk Bogarde (born Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde; 28 March 1921 – 8 May 1999) was an English actor, novelist and screenwriter. Initially a matinée idol in films such as Doctor in the House (1954) for the Rank Organisation, he later acted in art house films, evolving from "heartthrob to icon of edginess".

In a second career, Bogarde wrote seven best-selling volumes of memoirs, six novels, and a volume of collected journalism, mainly from articles in The Daily Telegraph. He saw active military duty during World War II, and over the course of five years reached the rank of major and was awarded seven medals. His poetry has been published in war anthologies, and a grey ink brush drawing, "Tents in Orchard. 1944", is in the collection of the British Museum.

Having come to prominence in films including The Blue Lamp in the early 1950s, Bogarde starred in the successful Doctor film series (1954–1963). He twice won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, for The Servant (1963) and Darling (1965). His other notable film roles included Victim (1961), Accident (1967), The Damned (1969), Death in Venice (1971), The Night Porter (1974), A Bridge Too Far (1977) and Despair (1978). He was appointed a Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters in 1990 and a Knight Bachelor in 1992.

Early years and education

Bogarde was the eldest of three children born to Ulric van den Bogaerde (1892–1972) and Margaret Niven (1898–1980). Ulric was born in Perry Barr, Birmingham, of Flemish ancestry, and was art editor of The Times. Margaret Niven, a former actress, was Scottish, from Glasgow. Dirk Bogarde was born in a nursing home at 12 Hemstal Road,West Hampstead, London, and was baptised on 30 October 1921, at St. Mary's Church, Kilburn. He had a younger sister, Elizabeth (born 1924), and a brother, Gareth Ulric Van Den Bogaerde

Hello everyone! This email marks Issue #1 of an ongoing series I will be doing, entitled Actors, Actors, Actors! I thought it might be fun to kick things off with a favorite artist of mine.

Before we delve into the rich life and career of Bogarde, I’m thrilled to say this is the very first rambling of SophiaOnFilm. Here’s hoping there’ll be more to come. If you like this piece, please forward it to your loved ones. As Dirk always said, life is for living, enjoying, learning, and sharing that with others.

Without further ado…

Sir Dirk Bogarde (28 March 1921-8 May 1999) once described life as follows:

It’s not forever; nothing’s forever. It’s sandcastles. The tide comes down and they go. You spend days, years, building the wretched things, covering them with shells, seaweed and making it all pretty, building moats and finding driftwood for little bridges. I remember very well as a child watching them and seeing them go in the evening when the tide came in.

—TV Times: Public Tears of a Private Man, An Interview with Dirk Bogarde. Interviewed By David James Smith. 13 September 1986.

This is a strong contender for one of my favorite sentiments shared on the mechanisms of life as we are aware of it. Undoubtedly nothing is forever, however that does not mean we should allow for the past to be completely erased— quite the contrary, this is a feeling I carry with me every day. Up to this present moment, a little over 23 years after Dirk Bogarde died of a heart attack in his Chelsea flat, his life and contributions to cinema have thankfully been acknowledged. By virtue of the Dirk Bogarde Estate and his official biographer, John Coldstream, there is a treasure trove of information to learn from. Much of the content compiled here is derived primarily from those resources, in addition to Dirk’s own writings, fan magazines, and interviews through the years.

Also in 1986, interviewer Russell Harty sat Bogarde down at his home in Provence, Franc