Richard O'Sullivan
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| Richard O'Sullivan | |
|---|---|
| Born | 7 May 1944 Chiswick, Middlesex, England |
| Years active | 1953–1996 1999, 2006, |
Richard O'Sullivan (born 7 May 1944, Chiswick, Middlesex) is an English comedy actor who is probably best known to British, Canadian and Australian audiences for his role as Robin Tripp in the 1970s sitcoms Man About the House (1973–1976) and Robin's Nest and as the title character in the period family adventure series Dick Turpin. O'Sullivan also starred in Doctor at Large, Doctor in Charge, Trouble in Mind, Alcock and Gander and Me and My Girl.
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[edit] Early life
Richard O'Sullivan's early education was at St. John the Evangelist's RC Primary School in Brentford, Middlesex. After a family holiday in Ireland as a boy, O'Sullivan returned with a strong Irish accent and was sent to the famous Corona Theatre School to try to get rid of it, thus starting a distinguished acting career. He appeared in his first film at the age of eight.
[edit] Career
His earliest recognised work was the film It's Great to Be Young where he appeared alongside John Mills. He appeared alongside Keith Michell and Belinda Lee in the 1957 opulent swashbuckler, Dangerous Exile as Louis XVII, the ten-year-old son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Also during 1957, he co-starred alongside Richard Greene in two episodes of the television film series The Adventures of Robin Hood, playing Will Dale in the episode "The Challenge of the Black Knight" and Prince Arthur I, Duke of Brittany[disambiguation needed 
] in the episode "The Double". He also acted in one Carry On film, Carry On Teacher in the small role of student Robin Stevens. In early 1958, at thirteen, he was chosen to play the role of Pierre van der Mal in an early scene of the Fred Zinnemann film "The Nun's Story," in which he bids farewell to his sister Gabrielle--memorably performed by Audrey Hepburn--as she leaves home to enter the convent.
In the early 1960s he appeared in two Cliff Richard films: The Young Ones, and Wonderful Life. O'Sullivan also featured alongside Elizabeth Taylor in the film Cleopatra as Cleopatra's young brother, Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII.
For the remainder of the 1960s he was a jobbing actor appearing in such tv series as Dr. Syn:the Scarecrow, Emergency Ward 10 , Redcap, Danger Man, No Hiding Place, Dixon of Dock Green, Strange Report and many more, until in 1971 he was offered the major role of Dr. Lawrence Bingham in LWT sitcoms Doctor at Large and later Doctor in Charge both continuations of the sitcom Doctor in the House which began in 1969. In 1972 he also had a main role in the ITV/Thames Television comedy Alcock and Gander.
In 1973 he starred as Robin Tripp, a trainee chef, in the flatshare sitcom Man About the House written by Johnnie Mortimer & Brian Cooke. The other regulars were Paula Wilcox as Chrissie, Sally Thomsett as Jo, with Yootha Joyce and Brian Murphy as Mildred and George Roper, also Doug Fisher as Larry. When the series ended in 1976, he continued playing Robin Tripp in the spin-off sitcom Robin's Nest, in which Robin sets up a restaurant with funding from his girlfriend Vicky's (Tessa Wyatt) father James Nicholls (Tony Britton).
Robin's Nest was a big success and the first UK sitcom to feature an unmarried couple cohabiting. To tie-in with the series, he wrote a recipe book called Man About The Kitchen, which was published in 1980. He also wrote the Robin's Nest theme tune, which was arranged by Brian Bennett. During this period, O'Sullivan also appeared in adverts for British Gas.
In 1979 he starred in the LWT children's drama series Dick Turpin, in the title role, which ran until 1982, then he played the widower Simon Harrup in sitcom Me and My Girl broadcast from 1984 to 1988, co-starring Tim Brooke-Taylor and Joan Sanderson and also produced by LWT. In the 1990s, his profile decreased although he was never short of work. His final acting role was in a 1996 one-off satire entitled Holed with Tony Robinson about a suburban golf club.
[edit] Recent years
O'Sullivan largely retired from public life in 1996. His last appearance on television was as a guest on a 1999 edition of This Is Your Life held in honour of his Doctor... co-star George Layton. O' Sullivan had himself been the subject of the show in 1974.
O'Sullivan suffered a stroke late in 2003. He is now living in Brinsworth House, a retirement home for actors and performers in England, run by the Entertainment Artistes' Benevolent Fund.[1] In 2006, O'Sullivan recorded commentary for the DVD release of Carry On Teacher.
[edit] Television roles
| Year | Title | Role |
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1972 to 1973 |
Doctor in Charge |
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1977 to 1981 |
Robin's Nest |
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[edit] Filmography
- Dance, Little Lady (1954)
- The Green Scarf (1954)
- The Dark Avenger (1955)
- Jacqueline (1956)
- It's Great to Be Young (1956)
- No Time for Tears (1957)
- Carry On Teacher (1959)
- The Young Ones (1960)
- Spare the Rod (1961)
- Cleopatra (1963)
- Wonderful Life (US title: Swingers' Paradise[2] 1964)
- Every Day's a Holiday (1965)
- A Dandy in Aspic (1968)
- The Haunted House of Horror (1969)
- Futtock's End (1970)
- Au Pair Girls (1972)
- Father, Dear Father (1973)
- Man About the House (1974)
- Can You Keep It Up For A Week? (1975) cameo as Mr Rose
