Stephen Boyd

For the football player, see Stephen Boyd (American football).

Stephen Boyd
from the trailer for the film Ben-Hur (1959).
Born	William Millar 4 July 1931(1931-07-04) Glengormley, Northern Ireland, UK
Died	2 June 1977(1977-06-02) (aged 45) Northridge, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1954–1977
Spouse	Mariella di Sarzana (1958-3 weeks later) (divorced) Elizabeth Mills (1977-his death 10 months later)

Stephen Boyd (4 July 1931 – 2 June 1977) was an Irish actor, from Glengormley, Northern Ireland, who appeared in around 60 films, most notably in the role of Messala in Ben-Hur.

Biography

One of nine siblings from a Protestant family from County Antrim, Boyd was originally named William Millar. He starred in a radio play in Belfast and worked as a commissionare at a cinema in London. He began acting in British films, notably as an edgy Irish spy in the 1955 World War II film The Man Who Never Was. It was his role in a 1957 French film, The Night Heaven Fell opposite Brigitte Bardot that got him noticed.

He went to Hollywood and appeared as leads in a variety of films, including The Bravados (1958) and The Best of Everything (1959). His role as Messala in Ben-Hur (1959) propelled him to international fame. He later played another Roman leader in Samuel Bronston's The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), in which he co-starred with Sophia Loren. He received a Golden Globe for his performance in Ben-Hur. In 1962 Boyd appeared in the film The Inspector opposite starlet Dolores Hart, who later left Hollywood to join a Roman Catholic convent in Connecticut, of which she later became Prioress. The two remained friends until Boyd's death.

Boyd was originally chosen to play Mark Antony opposite Elizabeth Taylor in 20th Century-Fox's epic production of Cleopatra (1963) under the direction of Rouben Mamoulian, but eventually withdrew from the problem-plagued production when he committed to star in The Fall of the Roman Empire (Cleopatra was later directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and the role of Mark Antony went to Richard Burton). Boyd also appeared in John Huston's Biblical epic The Bible...in the Beginning (1966) and was top-billed in another epic, Genghis Khan (1965), filmed in Yugoslavia. He appeared in the French-produced Napoleonic epic Imperial Venus (1962).

His non-epic roles included the musical Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962) the melodrama The Oscar (1966), the sci-fi film Fantastic Voyage (1966), the spy thriller Assignment K (1969) and the international Western Shalako (1969), shot in Spain. His career declined in the 1970s and he appeared in several European potboilers before making a comeback in Michael Apted's British gangster thriller The Squeeze (1977).^{[citation needed]}

Death

Boyd died of a heart attack at the age of 45 while playing golf at the Porter Valley Country Club in Northridge, California. He was in talks to play the role of the Regimental Sergeant Major in Euan Lloyd's The Wild Geese before his death. Boyd was interred in Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery in Chatsworth, California.

Personal life

Boyd was married twice: for three weeks in 1958 to Italian-born MCA executive Mariella di Sarzana, and subsequently to Elizabeth Mills, a secretary at the British Arts Council, whom he had known since 1955. Mills followed Boyd to the USA in the late fifties and was his personal assistant and secretary for many years before marrying him about 10 months before his death.

Religion

Boyd was allegedly a member of the Church of Scientology and rose to Grade IV within the organization. He utilized Scientology techniques while filming a movie in Louisiana. However, his funeral was conducted according to the religion in which he was raised.

Partial filmography

An Alligator Named Daisy (1955) The Man Who Never Was (1956) A Hill in Korea (1956) Seven Waves Away (1957) Island in the Sun (1957) Seven Thunders (1957) Les Bijoutiers du clair de lune, also known as The Night Heaven Fell (1958) The Bravados (1958) Woman Obsessed (1959) The Best of Everything (1959) Ben-Hur (1959) Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962) The Inspector (1962) The Third Secret (1964)

The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) Genghis Khan (1965) Poppies Are Also Flowers (1966) The Oscar (1966) Fantastic Voyage (1966) The Bible: In the Beginning (1966) The Caper of the Golden Bulls (1967) Assignment K (1968) Shalako (1968) Slaves (1969) Carter's Army (1970) (TV) Marta (1971) Hannie Caulder (1971) (uncredited) The Squeeze (1977)

External links

• Stephen Boyd at the Internet Movie Database
• Stephen Boyd at Find a Grave
• Stephen Boyd: The Busker Who Became a Screen Idol BBC News, Retrieved 7-23-2011
• The Man Who Never Was? Literary Belfast, Retrieved 7-23-2011