Robert Morley

Morley was born in Semley, Wiltshire, England, the son of Gertrude Emily (née Fass) and Robert Wilton Morley, a major in the British Army.[3] His mother came from a German family that had emigrated to South Africa. Morley attended Wellington College, Berkshire, which he hated, followed by RADA.[4][5] As he was a famous "Old Wellingtonian", generations of headmasters tried to contact him, without success, with Morley stating "the only reason for me visiting Wellington would be to burn it down".[6]

Morley made his West End stage debut in 1929 in Treasure Island at the Strand Theatre and his Broadway debut in 1938 in the title role of Oscar Wilde at the Fulton Theatre.[5][7] Although soon won over to the big screen, Morley remained both a busy West End star and successful author, as well as appearing in touring productions.[5]

Still from the trailer for Marie Antoinette (1938)

A versatile actor, especially in his younger years, he played Louis XVI in Marie Antoinette (1938), for which he received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor.[8]

As a playwright he co-wrote several plays for the stage. His 1937 play Goodness, How Sad was turned into an Ealing Studios film, Return to Yesterday (1940), directed by Robert Stevenson.[9] Later, he had outstanding success in London and New York with Edward, My Son, a gripping family drama written in 1947 in collaboration with Noel Langley.[5] Morley played the central role of Arnold Holt, but in the disappointing film version Spencer Tracy was miscast, turning Holt, an unscrupulous English businessman, into a blustering Canadian expatriate. Edward, My Son (1949) was directed by George Cukor for MGM-British.[10] Morley's acting career continued with roles as a missionary in The African Queen (1951), The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan (1953), as W. S. Gilbert, and in Oscar Wilde (1960).[1] In 1959 he appeared in an Alfred Hitchcock Presents adaptation of a Stanley Ellin short story entitled, 'Specialty of the House'.[11]

Ken Annakin's Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines was released 16 June 1965. In the British period comedy film, Morley is featured among an international ensemble cast including Stuart Whitman, Sarah Miles, Terry-Thomas, James Fox, Red Skelton, Benny Hill, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Gert Fröbe and Alberto Sordi. The film, revolving around the craze of early aviation circa 1910, is about a pompous newspaper magnate (Morley) who is convinced, by his daughter (Miles) and her fiancé (Fox), to organize an air race from London to Paris. A large sum of money is offered to the winner, hence it attracts a variety of characters who participate. The film received positive reviews, describing it as funny, colourful, clever and having captured the early enthusiasm for aviation.[12][13][14] It was treated as a major production, one of only three full-length 70 mm Todd-AO Fox releases in 1965 with an intermission and musical interlude part of the original screenings.[15] Because of the Todd-AO process, the film was an exclusive roadshow feature initially shown in deluxe Cinerama venues, where customers needed reserved seats purchased ahead of time.[16] The film grossed $31,111,111 theatrically and on home video $29,950,000.[17][18] Audience reaction both in first release and even today, is nearly universal in assessing the film as one of the "classic" aviation films.[19]

Morley also personified the conservative Englishman in many comedy and caper films. He was the face of BOAC (later British Airways) as the merry television commercial spokesman of the 1970s with "We'll take good care of you" for British Airways.[20] Later in his career, he received critical acclaim and numerous accolades for his performance in Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?[21] During the 1980s, Morley hosted a celebrity cooking show on Cable TV, Celebrity Chefs. In 1980, Morley hosted (providing explanatory introductions) the 14-episode Granada Television anthology series Ladykillers.[22]

He was renowned as a witty raconteur and for being an eloquent conversationalist,[20] as well as a noted and enthusiastic gourmet, in real life and in various roles in film and TV.[23]

Morley was honoured by being the first King of Moomba appointed by the Melbourne Moomba festival committee and, in typical humility, he accepted the crown in bare feet.[24][25] Morley was in Australia touring his one-man show, The Sound of Morley.[26]

In his book British Film Character Actors, Terence Pettigrew wrote: "Morley, who has more wobbly chins than a Shanghai drinking club, enjoys poking fun at life's absurdities, among whom he generously includes himself."[27]

He was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1974 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews.[28]

Robert Morley married Joan Buckmaster (1910–2005), a daughter of Dame Gladys Cooper.[29] Their elder son, Sheridan Morley, became a writer and critic. They also had a daughter, Annabel, and another son, Wilton.[5]

Morley was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1957 and was also offered a knighthood in 1975 but declined.[30]

Morley lived for decades at Wargrave, Berkshire.[31]

Morley died in Reading, England, from a stroke, aged 84.[5]

• A Musing Morley (1974, ISBN 0 340 19997 0)
• Morley Marvels (1976, ISBN 0 340 22331 6)
• More Morley (1978, ISBN 0 340 24763 0)
• Robert Morley's Book of Bricks (1978, ISBN 0 330 25881 8)
• Worry! (with Margaret Morley, 1979, ISBN 0 399 12596 5)
• Robert Morley’s Book of Worries (U.K. Version of Worry!) (with Margaret Morley, 1979, ISBN 0 297 77698 3)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Robert Morley.

• Robert Morley at IMDb
• Robert Morley at the Internet Broadway Database
• Robert Morley at the BFI's Screenonline
• Robert Morley at AllMovie
• Robert Morley at Find a Grave
• Britmovie (Robert Morley)
• Robert Morley's appearance on This Is Your Life