- Born
- Died
- Birth nameCyril Joseph Trimnell-Ritchard
- Height1.88 m
- 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 Certains l'aiment chaud (1959) in which Ritchard played the Joe E. Brown role. Lesser regarded when it comes to film, he performed in the early Hitchcock classic Chantage (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.- IMDb mini biography by: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net
- SpouseMadge Elliott(September 16, 1935 - August 8, 1955) (her death, 1 child)
- Won Broadway's 1955 Tony Award as Best Supporting of Featured Actor (Musical) for playing Captain Hook, his signature role, in "Peter Pan," a performance he recreated in several television versions. Was also nominated for four other Tony Awards: in 1957, as Best Actor (Dramatic) for "A Visit to a Small Planet;" in 1959, as both Best Actor (Dramatic) and Best Director for "The Pleasure of His Company;" and in 1965 as Best Actor (Musical) for "The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd.:
- During the 20s when he visited New York to perform, he shared an apartment with Walter Pidgeon. They performed together in the revue "Puzzles of 1925."
- Awarded a Tony in 1955 for Supporting Actor in the musical, 'Peter Pan'.
- A devout Catholic, he attended daily mass religiously in New York, where he lived, or in whatever city he happened to be appearing.
- His very first role (in Australia) was in a production of "The Pink Lady" in which he played "the Satyr," a foreshadowing of the devilish merry-making to come.
- I have four notes, two of them good.
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