Eric Porter

Known for ActingBorn 1928-04-08Died 1995-05-15Shepard's Bush, London, UK

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.Read more

Movies & web series

Churchill and the Generals

The Two Deaths of Adolf Hitler

The Statue and the Rose

Separate Tables

The Wars of the Roses

The Forsyte Saga

Sherlock Holmes

Message for Posterity

Civilisation

The Winslow Boy

The Day of the Jackal

The Belstone Fox

Little Lord Fauntleroy

The Shetland Experience

Theatre 625

Anna Karenina

Playhouse

Nicholas and Alexandra

Callan

The World of Hammer

The Thirty Nine Steps

The Heroes of Telemark

Why Didn't They Ask Evans?

Emma

The Jewel in the Crown

Play for Today

Performance

The Fall of the Roman Empire

Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years

Hamlet

Hitler: The Last Ten Days

Hands of the Ripper

Oliver Twist

Antony and Cleopatra

Oliver Twist

The Lost Continent

Kaleidoscope

BBC Play of the Month

Hennessy

The Crucible

Morecambe & Wise: Christmas Specials

The Heroes of Telemark: Location report from Norway

The Best of Morecambe and Wise

A Shilling Life

The Sin Bin

Hitler’s Germany - A World at War Special Presentation

The Final Solution

Macbeth