Brian Bedford

Bedford, Brian [Anthony] (b. 1935), actor and director. One of the finest classical actors on two continents, the English actor has spent much of his career acting and directing at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Canada but has appeared on Broadway sporadically over a forty‐year period. Bedford first called attention to himself in America in two importations: Five Finger Exercise (1958) and the double bill of The Private Ear and The Public Eye (1963). Among his memorable performances in the States are the self‐righteous General in The Unknown Soldier and His Wife (1967), a dry and droll Elyot Chase in Private Lives (1969), the absent‐minded moral philosopher George in Jumpers (1974), British actor William Charles Macready caught in the Astor Place Riots in Two Shakespearean Actors (1992), and the lordly fop Harcourt Courtley in London Assurance (1996). But it was Bedford's classical portrayals that have been particularly cherished, from Molière clowns to Shakespearean kings. He is a very average‐looking actor, but on stage his subtle gestures and crystal‐clear voice combine to create magical performances.