Corin Redgrave
English actor (1939–2010)
title: "Corin Redgrave" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1939-births", "2010-deaths", "burials-at-highgate-cemetery", "20th-century-english-male-actors", "21st-century-english-male-actors", "alumni-of-king's-college,-cambridge", "british-trotskyists", "deaths-from-prostate-cancer-in-england", "english-activists", "english-communists", "english-male-film-actors", "english-male-stage-actors", "english-male-television-actors", "people-educated-at-westminster-school,-london", "male-actors-from-london", "people-from-marylebone", "english-male-shakespearean-actors", "workers-revolutionary-party-(uk)-members", "redgrave-family", "british-political-party-founders", "actors-from-the-city-of-westminster"] description: "English actor (1939–2010)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corin_Redgrave" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary English actor (1939–2010) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Corin Redgrave |
| image | Corin Redgrave reading Poems from Guantánamo.jpg |
| caption | Redgrave reading Poems from Guantánamo at the Center for Constitutional Rights in 2007 |
| birthname | Corin William Redgrave |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Marylebone, London, England |
| death_date | |
| death_place | Tooting, London, England |
| resting_place | Highgate Cemetery |
| nationality | English |
| education | Westminster School, London |
| alma mater | King's College, Cambridge |
| occupation | Actor, political activist |
| yearsactive | 1964–2010 |
| spouse | {{plainlist |
| * {{marriage | Deirdre Hamilton-Hill |
| children | 4, including Jemma |
| parents | |
| family | Redgrave |
| :: |
| name = Corin Redgrave | image = Corin Redgrave reading Poems from Guantánamo.jpg| | caption = Redgrave reading Poems from Guantánamo at the Center for Constitutional Rights in 2007 | imagesize = | birthname = Corin William Redgrave | birth_date = | birth_place = Marylebone, London, England | death_date = | death_place = Tooting, London, England | resting_place = Highgate Cemetery | nationality = English | education = Westminster School, London | alma mater = King's College, Cambridge | occupation = Actor, political activist | yearsactive = 1964–2010 | spouse = {{plainlist|
| children = 4, including Jemma | parents = | family = Redgrave Corin William Redgrave (16 July 19396 April 2010) was an English actor.
Early life
Redgrave was born in Marylebone, London, the only son and middle child of actors Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson. He was educated at Westminster School and King's College, Cambridge.
Career
Redgrave played a wide range of character roles on film, television and stage.
On stage, he was known for performances by Shakespeare (such as Much Ado About Nothing, Henry IV, Part 1,* Antony and Cleopatra*, and The Tempest) and Noël Coward (a highly successful revival of A Song At Twilight co-starring his sister Vanessa Redgrave and his second wife, Kika Markham).
For his role as the prison warden Boss Whalen in the Royal National Theatre production of Tennessee Williams's Not About Nightingales, Redgrave was nominated for an Evening Standard Award, and after a successful transfer of the production to New York, he received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Play, in 1999. Two years later he starred in the original London production of The General from America as Benedict Arnold. When the play transferred to Broadway the following season Redgrave switched roles and portrayed George Washington.
In 2005, Redgrave had just finished an engagement playing the lead in King Lear with the Royal Shakespeare Company in London when he suffered a severe heart attack. In 2008, he returned to the stage in a highly praised portrayal of Oscar Wilde in the one-man-play De Profundis. In 2009, he starred in Trumbo, which opened only hours after the death of his niece, Natasha Richardson.
On screen, he was cast in such films as A Man for All Seasons (1966) as Thomas More's son-in-law, William Roper; the highly praised Australian "flop" Between Wars (1974) as a renegade psychiatrist; Excalibur (1981) as the doomed Cornwall; In the Name of the Father (1993) as the corrupt lead police investigator; Persuasion (TV, 1995) as the foolish Sir Walter Eliot; and Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) as Hamish, the fiancé and sometime husband of Andie MacDowell's character.
Redgrave appeared in British television programmes such as Ultraviolet, The Vice, Trial & Retribution, Shameless, Foyle's War, The Relief of Belsen, The Ice House and the Emmy Award-winning telefilm The Girl in the Cafe, in which he played the prime minister. He took the lead part of Sir George Grey in the New Zealand TV miniseries The Governor (1977).
He wrote a play called Blunt Speaking, in which he performed at the Minerva Theatre (a second stage of the Chichester Festival Theatre) between 23 July - 10 August 2002.
Politics
Redgrave was a lifelong activist in left-wing politics. With his elder sister Vanessa, he was a prominent member of the Workers' Revolutionary Party. After the WRP's collapse, he was involved with the Marxist Party, which the two siblings founded.
Redgrave and his second wife, Kika Markham, expressed support for activist group Viva Palestina, led by British MP George Galloway, attempting to break the blockade of the Gaza Strip. He was also a defender of the interests of the Romani people.
Family
Main article: Redgrave family
Redgrave was part of the third generation of a theatrical dynasty spanning four generations. His parents were Sir Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson; Vanessa and Lynn Redgrave were his sisters. His first marriage was to Deirdre Deline Hamilton-Hill (1939–1997). They had a daughter, actress Jemma Redgrave, and a son. Redgrave and Hamilton-Hill divorced in 1975. Redgrave and Kika Markham married in 1985 in Wandsworth, London, and remained together until Redgrave's death. The couple had two sons.
He wrote a memoir about his strained relationship with his father, Michael Redgrave - My Father, which incorporates passages from Michael's diaries. It also reveals his father's bisexuality.
Health problems and death
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Highgate_Cemetery_-East-_Corin_Redgrave_01.jpg" caption="The grave of Corin Redgrave in [[Highgate Cemetery"] ::
Redgrave was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2000, which continued to affect him until he died in 2010. In June 2005, his family said he was in critical but stable condition in hospital following a severe heart attack at a public meeting in Basildon, Essex. In March 2009, Redgrave returned to the London stage playing the title role in Trumbo, based on the life of the blacklisted Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo. On the opening night, Redgrave dedicated his performance to the memory of his niece Natasha Richardson, who had died earlier that week in a skiing accident.
He died on 6 April 2010 in St George's Hospital, Tooting, south London. His funeral was held on 12 April 2010 at St Paul's, Covent Garden, London, and he was interred on the eastern side of Highgate Cemetery.
His sister Lynn Redgrave died of breast cancer on 2 May 2010, less than a month after her brother. Markham's memoir of her husband, Our Time of Day: My Life with Corin Redgrave, was published in 2014.
Select stage work
- Henry IV Part I
- Anthony and Cleopatra
- The Seagull
- Not About Nightingales
- A Song at Twilight
- The General From America
- De Profundis
- Trumbo
- The Norman Conquests
Filmography
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Camera Three | Pilot Officer | TV series (1 episode: "Chips with Everything") |
| The Avengers | Quentin Slim | TV series (1 episode: "Lobster Quadrille") | |
| Crooks in Cloisters | Brother Lucius | ||
| 1965 | A Study in Terror | Rupert's Friend | Uncredited |
| The Big Spender | Copley | TV series | |
| 1966 | A Man For All Seasons | Roper | |
| 1967 | The Deadly Affair | Terry | |
| 1968 | The Gambler | Mr. Astley | TV mini-series (1 episode: "Episode No. 1.1") |
| The Charge of the Light Brigade | Cpt. Featherstonhaugh | ||
| Theatre 625 | Kelvin Walker | TV series (1 episode: "The Fall of Kelvin Walker") | |
| The Girl with the Pistol | Frank Hogan | ||
| Mystery and Imagination | Jonathan Harker | TV series (1 episode: "Dracula") | |
| The Magus | Captain Wimmel | ||
| 1969 | The Tenant of Wildfell Hall | Arthur Huntingdon | TV series (3 episodes) |
| Oh! What a Lovely War | Bertie Smith | ||
| Tower of London: The Innocent | Perkin Warbeck | TV film | |
| Canterbury Tales | Nicholas | TV series (1 episode: "Episode No. 1.2") | |
| ITV Sunday Night Theatre | Willie Tatham | TV series (1 episode: "Aren't We All?") | |
| 1970 | David Copperfield | James Steerforth | TV film |
| The Wednesday Play | Richard | TV series (1 episode: "Rest in Peace, Uncle Fred") | |
| Callan | Amos Green | TV series (1 episode: "Amos Green Must Live") | |
| Paul Temple | Rolf | TV series (2 episodes) | |
| 1971 | When Eight Bells Toll | Hunslett | |
| Von Richthofen and Brown | Major Lanoe Hawker VC | ||
| La vacanza | Gigi | ||
| Hassan | TV film | ||
| 1972 | Thick as Thieves | Trevor | TV film |
| 1974 | Anthony and Cleopatra | Octavius | |
| Between Wars | Dr. Edward Trenbow | ||
| 1976 | Sérail | Eric Sange | |
| 1976 | The Governor | Governor George Grey | New Zealand mini-series |
| 1981 | Excalibur | Cornwall | |
| 1982 | L'ombre sur la plage | Harry | |
| 1983 | Eureka | Worsley | |
| Wagner | Dr. Pusinelli | TV series (1 episode: "Episode No. 1.1") | |
| 1990 | The Fool | Sir Thomas Neathouse | |
| 1993 | In The Name of The Father | Robert Dixon | |
| 1994 | Four Weddings and a Funeral | Hamish | |
| 1995 | Persuasion | Sir Walter Eliot | |
| Performance | Angelo / Earl of Worcestor | TV series (2 episodes) | |
| Dangerfield | Patrick Hooper | TV series (1 episode: "The Unfaithful Husband") | |
| Circles of Deceit: Dark Secret | Harry Summers | TV film | |
| England, My England | William of Orange | ||
| 1996 | Indecent Acts | Oscar Wilde | |
| 1997 | The Woman in White | Dr. Kitson | TV film |
| The Ice House | D.C.I. George Walsh | TV film | |
| Prime Suspects | Commissioner | ||
| Trial & Retribution | Robert Rylands QC | TV series (5 episodes: 1997–2002) | |
| The Opium War | William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne | ||
| 1998 | Ultraviolet | Dr. Paul Hoyle / John Doe | TV series (2 episodes) |
| 1999 | The Vice | Lord Buller | TV series (2 episodes) |
| Kavanagh QC | John Woodley | TV series (1 episode: "The More Loving One") | |
| The Strange Case of Delphina Potocka or The Mystery of Chopin | Judge | ||
| 2000 | Honest | Duggie Ord | |
| Escape to Life: The Erika and Klaus Mann Story | Narrator | ||
| 2001 | Enigma | Admiral Trowbridge | |
| Gypsy Woman | Devine | ||
| 2002 | Shackleton | Lord Curzon | TV film |
| Sunday | Edward Heath | TV film | |
| Bertie and Elizabeth | General Montgomery | TV film | |
| The Forsyte Saga | Jolyon Forsyte Sr. | TV mini-series (4 episodes) | |
| Close Your Eyes | Chief Inspector Clements | ||
| Waking the Dead | Sir James Beatty | TV series (2 episodes) | |
| 2003 | To Kill a King | Baron Vere | |
| Imagine | Sir John Soane | TV series (1 episode: "Entertaining Mr. Soane") | |
| Foyle's War | ACC Rose | TV series (2 episodes) | |
| 2004 | Shameless | Mr. Hammersley | TV series (1 episode: "Episode No. 1.5") |
| Enduring Love | Professor | ||
| Spooks | David Swift | TV series (1 episode: "Episode No. 3.4") | |
| 2005 | The Trial of the King Killers | Sir Orlando Bridgman | |
| The Girl in the Cafe | Prime Minister | TV film | |
| 2006 | Welcome to World War One | ||
| 2007 | The Relief of Belsen | Glyn Hughes | TV film |
| 2008 | La rabbia | Producer 1 | |
| 2009 | The Calling | The Bishop | |
| Glorious 39 | Oliver | ||
| The Turn of the Screw | Professor | TV film | |
| 2010 | Eva | ||
| Moving On | Gabe | TV series (1 episode: "The Test") | |
| (final appearance) | |||
| :: |
References
References
- Weber, Bruce. (7 April 2010). "Corin Redgrave, Actor and Activist, Dies at 70". [[The New York Times]].
- Rourke, Mary. (7 April 2010). "Corin Redgrave dies at 70; actor and activist was part of the famed British family of performers". [[Los Angeles Times]].
- Bernstein, Adam. (7 April 2010). "Behind the scenes, actor Corin Redgrave, 70, play leftist political role". [[The Washington Post]].
- MacKillop, Ian. (16 April 2004). "Interview with Corin Redgrave". British Library.
- Billington, Michael. (6 April 2010). "Corin Redgrave obituary". The Guardian.
- Sanderson, David. (7 April 2010). "Corin Redgrave, actor who paid dearly for political beliefs, dies aged 70". [[The Times]].
- (6 April 2010). "Corin Redgrave". [[The Daily Telegraph]].
- Noah, Sherna. (7 April 2010). "Britain's first family of acting mourns loss of its father figure". [[The Independent]].
- Bremer, Jack. (6 April 2010). "Actor Corin Redgrave dies at". [[The First Post]].
- (13 April 2010). "Corin Redgrave is given one last theatrical goodbye". The Times.
- (12 April 2010). "Funeral of Corin Redgrave held in London". BBC News.
- Moorhead, Joanna. (20 September 2014). "Corin Redgrave: He lost his memory of our life together". The Guardian.
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