Eric Porter
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Apr 8, 1928
- Died
- May 15, 1995 (aged 67)
- Place of birth
- Shepard's Bush, London, UK
- Credits
- 59
A highly respected Shakespearean for five decades until his death of colon cancer in 1995, classical actor Eric Porter's claim to international fame would, ironically, be outside of that realm, with one superb portrayal in one superb miniseries, The Forsyte Saga(1967), in which he won the BAFTA award. The son of Richard John Porter and Phoebe Elizabeth Spall, Porter first attended Wimbledon Technical College before stepping onto the stage as a walk-on in a production of William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" in February 1945 at the Arts Theatre in Cambridge. He continued in repertory until joining the National Service with the RAF during the war years. Early post-war credits would include touring with Sir Donald Wolfit and Sir Barry Jackson in their prestigious companies. Favorite roles in his repertoire would eventually include "Macbeth", "King Lear" and "Uncle Vanya". He won London's Evening Standard Award for "Rosmersholm" in 1959. Joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1960, he became a prime, esteemed resident for decades. Porter made his film debut in mid-career with The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) at age 36, but it was the BBC that made him an international favorite as the ever-proper but intensely emotional and unhinged "Soames Forsyte". Taboos were broken on that series with a violent rape scene that had people talking for months. Along with the newly acquired fame came leads in lesser films such as The Lost Continent(1968) and Hands of the Ripper (1971), adding class to both those atmospheric horrors. On the plus side, Porter engaged himself frequently in quality TV miniseries fare includingAnna Karenina (1977), The Jewel in the Crown (1984) and Oliver Twist (1985) (as Fagin), while transferring many classics to TV as well, with "Cyrano de Bergerac", "Man and Superman" and "Macbeth" being but a few.
Known for
The Day of the Jackal
1973Movie
Colonel Rodin
Little Lord Fauntleroy
1980Movie
Mr. Havisham
Sherlock Holmes
1984TV
Professor Moriarty
The Fall of the Roman Empire
1964Movie
Julianus
The Heroes of Telemark
1965Movie
Terboven
Nicholas and Alexandra
1971Movie
Stolypin
Filmography
Morecambe & Wise: Christmas Specials
2007Movie
The Heroes of Telemark: Location report from Norway
2003Movie
The Best of Morecambe and Wise
2001Movie
Self (archive footage)
Message for Posterity
1994Movie
James Player
The World of Hammer
1994TV
Self (archive footage)
Performance
1991TV
James Player
The Return of Sherlock Holmes
1986TV
Professor Moriarty
Oliver Twist
1985TV
Fagin
Oliver Twist
1985Movie
Fagin
Sherlock Holmes
1984TV
Professor Moriarty
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
1984TV
Professor Moriarty
The Jewel in the Crown
1984TV
Dimitri Bronowsky
A Shilling Life
1982Movie
Petersham
Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years
1981TV
Neville Chamberlain
The Crucible
1981Movie
Deputy Governor Danforth
The Sin Bin
1981Movie
Stanley Wilkinson
Little Lord Fauntleroy
1980Movie
Mr. Havisham
Hamlet
1980Movie
Polonius
Why Didn't They Ask Evans?
1980Movie
Dr. Nicholson
Churchill and the Generals
1979Movie
Gen. Sir Alan Brooke
The Thirty Nine Steps
1978Movie
Chief Superintendent Lomas
Anna Karenina
1977TV
Karenin
The Winslow Boy
1977Movie
Arthur Winslow
The Shetland Experience
1977Movie
Narrator (voice)
Hitler’s Germany - A World at War Special Presentation
1976Movie
Narrator
Hennessy
1975Movie
Tobin
The Final Solution
1975TV
Self - Narrator
The Statue and the Rose
1975Movie
Parnell
Private Affairs
1975TV
Charles Stewart Parnell
The Two Deaths of Adolf Hitler
1975Movie
Narrator
The Final Solution
1975Movie
Narrator
Callan
1974Movie
Hunter
From War to Peace
1974Movie
Narrator
Warrior - World at War Special Presentation
1974Movie
Narrator
Playhouse
1974TV
Petersham
The Day of the Jackal
1973Movie
Colonel Rodin
Hitler: The Last Ten Days
1973Movie
Generalfeldmarschall Robert Ritter von Greim
The Belstone Fox
1973Movie
Asher Smith
Antony and Cleopatra
1972Movie
Enobarbus
Nicholas and Alexandra
1971Movie
Stolypin
Hands of the Ripper
1971Movie
Dr. John Pritchard
Play for Today
1970TV
Stanley Wilkinson
Macbeth
1970Movie
Macbeth
Separate Tables
1970Movie
Major Pollock / John Malcolm
Solo
1970TV
Morecambe & Wise: Christmas Specials
1969TV
Himself
Civilisation
1969TV
Macbeth (voice)
The Lost Continent
1968Movie
Lansen
The Forsyte Saga
1967TV
Soames Forsyte
The Last Invasion
1966Movie
Harold
Kaleidoscope
1966Movie
Harry Dominion
The Heroes of Telemark
1965Movie
Terboven
BBC Play of the Month
1965TV
Cyrano de Bergerac, Councillor Albert Parker, Arthur Winslow, Jack Tanner, Maj. Pollock / John Malcolm, Macbeth
Knock on Any Door
1965TV
Johnny Isaacs
The Wars of the Roses
1965Movie
Henry VII
Theatre 625
1964TV
'Newton'
The Fall of the Roman Empire
1964Movie
Julianus
Theatre Night
1957TV
Vadim Romanoff
Emma
1948Movie