Anthony Forwood

Anthony Forwood
Born
Ernest Lytton Leslie Forwood

(1915-10-03)3 October 1915
Weymouth, Dorset, England
Died18 May 1988(1988-05-18) (aged 72)
London, England
OccupationActor
Years active1935–1956
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1942; div. 1948)​
PartnerDirk Bogarde (1949–1988)
ChildrenGareth Forwood
Relatives

Ernest Lytton Leslie Forwood (3 October 1915 – 18 May 1988), known professionally as Anthony Forwood, was an English actor.

Early life

Ernest Lytton Leslie Forwood was born on 3 October 1915 in Weymouth, Dorset.[1] The Forwood family were landed gentry; Forwood's great-grandfather, Thomas Friend Brittain Peploe Forwood, resided in Thornton Manor in Cheshire and was the forefather of the Forwood Baronetcy. Forwood's great-uncles were English merchants, shipowners and politicians Sir Arthur Forwood, 1st Baronet and Sir William Bower Forwood; his father was Leslie Langton Forwood, a captain in the Royal Navy.[2]

Career

After years of theatre, including the revue This World of Ours in 1935; Forwood gained his first film acting role in 1949, when he starred in Ralph Thomas' Traveller's Joy.[3][4][5] That same year he appeared in the thriller The Man in Black with Sid James.

In 1952, he received a number of roles including Appointment in London with Dirk Bogarde; he eventually became his life partner and manager.[6] Ralph Thomas, who had directed Forwood in his first film role, directed Bogarde in Doctor in the House and several of its sequels.[7]

Forwood appeared with Boris Karloff in the mystery Colonel March Investigates and played Will Scarlet in The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men (1952).[5] One year later he acted in the Oscar-nominated Knights of the Round Table, a film starring such high-profile actors as Robert Taylor, Ava Gardner and Stanley Baker, and in Terence Fisher's Mantrap (1953).[8][9] His last role came in 1956 in Colonel March of Scotland Yard.[7]

Personal life

In 1942, Forwood married actress Glynis Johns, but they divorced in 1948. Their only child was actor Gareth Forwood (1945–2007).[10]

Forwood later lived with his long-term lover,[11] actor Dirk Bogarde, in Amersham, England, and then in France before the couple returned to England shortly before Forwood died in London in 1988.[12]

Death

By 1987, Forwood was dying of liver cancer and Parkinson's disease. At this time Bogarde, a heavy smoker, had a minor stroke. On 18 May 1988, Forwood died aged 72 in Kensington and Chelsea, London. His body was cremated.[1]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1949 Meet Simon Cherry Alan Colville
1949 The Man in Black Victor Harrington
1950 Traveller's Joy Nick Rafferty
1951 Captain Horatio Hornblower Lt. Woodford Uncredited
1951 Black Widow Paul Kenton
1952 The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men Will Scarlet
1952 The Gambler and the Lady Lord Peter Willens
1953 Appointment in London Navigation Officer
1953 Mantrap Rex
1953 Knights of the Round Table Gareth
1954 Five Days Peter Glanville
1954 Colonel March of Scotland Yard Jim Hartley TV series - billed as Anthony Forward
1975 Permission to Kill Englishman (final film role)

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b Lentz 2008, pp. 124.
  2. ^ Thomas Friend Brittain Peploe Forwood
  3. ^ "London Revues 1935-1939" (PDF). overthefootlights.co.uk.
  4. ^ "Anthony Forwood - Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
  5. ^ a b "Anthony Forwood". Archived from the original on 13 June 2018.
  6. ^ "Appointment in London (1953)". Archived from the original on 7 March 2016.
  7. ^ a b Anthony Forwood at IMDb
  8. ^ "Knights of the Round Table (1953) - Richard Thorpe - Awards". AllMovie.
  9. ^ "Mantrap (1953)". Archived from the original on 18 February 2017.
  10. ^ "BFI Screenonline: Johns, Glynis (1923-) Biography". screenonline.org.uk.
  11. ^ Ezard, John (2 October 2004). "Sexy self-image that revved up Dirk Bogarde". The Guardian.
  12. ^ Jury, Louise (28 March 2007), "The private world of Dirk Bogarde", The Independent, retrieved 12 August 2008[dead link‍]

General and cited sources

  • Lentz, Harris M. (2008). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2007: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. ISBN 978-0786451913.