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No need to mention their names again; they're not the subject of the article, and have already been named and ref'd earlier. And why ref IMDB for Marc and not for the more famous and notable Jeremy?
'West End' is clearly not his current position, and hasn't been for many years? And a travelling production filling in empty nights doesn't count either
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Sinden was born in [[Plymouth]], [[Devon]], [[England]], on 9 October 1923. The son of Alfred Edward Sinden and his wife Mabel Agnes (née Fuller), he grew up in the [[Sussex]] village of [[Ditchling]], where their home ('The Limes') doubled as the local chemist shop.<ref name="Pieces Of Me">{{cite web |first= |last= |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/feb/04/theatre |title=Pieces Of Me|publisher=The Guardian|accessdate=04/02/2009}}</ref> In 1948 he married actress Diana Mahony, who died in 2004.<ref>Who's Who (2007)</ref> He lives near [[Tenterden]], [[Kent]].<ref name="BBC Kent">{{cite web |first= |last= |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/kent/content/articles/2007/02/22/celebrities_county_qs_donald_sinden_feature.shtml|title=County Questions |publisher=BBC Kent |date=2007-02-22 |accessdate=20/11/2008}}</ref>
Sinden was born in [[Plymouth]], [[Devon]], [[England]], on 9 October 1923. The son of Alfred Edward Sinden and his wife Mabel Agnes (née Fuller), he grew up in the [[Sussex]] village of [[Ditchling]], where their home ('The Limes') doubled as the local chemist shop.<ref name="Pieces Of Me">{{cite web |first= |last= |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/feb/04/theatre |title=Pieces Of Me|publisher=The Guardian|accessdate=04/02/2009}}</ref> In 1948 he married actress Diana Mahony, who died in 2004.<ref>Who's Who (2007)</ref> He lives near [[Tenterden]], [[Kent]].<ref name="BBC Kent">{{cite web |first= |last= |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/kent/content/articles/2007/02/22/celebrities_county_qs_donald_sinden_feature.shtml|title=County Questions |publisher=BBC Kent |date=2007-02-22 |accessdate=20/11/2008}}</ref>


The couple had two children. [[Marc Sinden]] is a [[West End theatre producer]]. Their other son, the actor [[Jeremy Sinden]], died in 1996.<ref name="Debrett 2007">Debrett's Distinguished People of Today (2007)</ref>
The couple had two children. [[Marc Sinden]] is a theatre producer. Their other son, the actor [[Jeremy Sinden]], died in 1996.<ref name="Debrett 2007">Debrett's Distinguished People of Today (2007)</ref>


==Early career==
==Early career==

Revision as of 18:28, 21 October 2009

Sir Donald Sinden
Production poster for
An Evening with... Sir Donald Sinden
Born
Donald Alfred Sinden
OccupationActor
SpouseDiana Mahony (1948– 2004 [her death])
AwardsEvening Standard Best Actor; SOLT Best Actor; Tony Award Best Actor nomination etc.

Sir Donald Alfred Sinden CBE (born 9 October 1923) is an English actor of theatre, film and television.

Personal life

Sinden was born in Plymouth, Devon, England, on 9 October 1923. The son of Alfred Edward Sinden and his wife Mabel Agnes (née Fuller), he grew up in the Sussex village of Ditchling, where their home ('The Limes') doubled as the local chemist shop.[1] In 1948 he married actress Diana Mahony, who died in 2004.[2] He lives near Tenterden, Kent.[3]

The couple had two children. Marc Sinden is a theatre producer. Their other son, the actor Jeremy Sinden, died in 1996.[4]

Early career

He trained as an actor at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art and made his first stage appearance at the Brighton Little Theatre (of which he later became President) in January 1941, playing Dudley in George and Margaret. He broke into professional acting after appearing with the Mobile Entertainments Southern Area company in modern comedies for the armed forces during the Second World War.[4]

Rank Organisation

In 1953 he was contracted for seven years to the Rank Organisation at Pinewood Studios and subsequently starred in many outstanding British films of the 1950s including The Cruel Sea, Mogambo, Doctor in the House, Above Us The Waves, Doctor at Large, The Siege of Sidney Street, Twice Round the Daffodils and with a very young Adam Faith in Mix Me a Person.[5]

Royal Shakespeare Company

Sinden has been an Associate Artiste of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) since the early 1960s. Among his many notable stage appearances for the RSC are in The Wars of the Roses (as The Duke of York) opposite Dame Peggy Ashcroft (as Queen Margaret). For the 1976 Stratford season and then at the Aldwych in 1977, he gave an outstanding comedy performance partnered with Dame Judi Dench as Beatrice and Benedick in the 'British Raj' revival of Much Ado About Nothing. He also won the Evening Standard Award for Best Actor that year for his outstanding performance as King Lear. Other memorable RSC performances were Twelfth Night; The Relapse and London Assurance for which he received the 1975 Drama Desk Special Award.[6]

Theatre

Theatre being his first 'love',[7] he is a noted farceur and has won Best Actor awards for his appearances in Ray Cooney farces Not Now Darling; Two Into One and Out of Order. Other memorable productions have been leading performances in There's a Girl in My Soup; An Enemy Of The People; Major Barbara; The Scarlet Pimpernel; That Good Night and Quartet.[6]

TV

He achieved an early wider fame with the non-theatregoing public in 1963 through the Associated Rediffusion series Our Man at St Marks followed by Our Man from St Marks and then again in 1975 through the London Weekend Television situation comedy Two's Company, in which he played an English butler, Robert, to Elaine Stritch's American character, Dorothy. Much of the humour derived from the culture clashes between Robert's very stiff-upper-lip Britishness and Dorothy's devil-may-care New York view on life. Two's Company was exceptionally well-received in Britain, despite being buried in the so-called 'graveyard slot' of Sunday night at 10:30pm. Stritch and Sinden also sang the theme tune to the programme. The format was sold to NBC and remade in the US as The Two of Us starring Peter Cook, however the remake was a failure and only lasted one season. The original British version is now available on DVD in both the UK and the US.

From 1981 he was also to star as Simon Peel in the Thames TV situation comedy Never the Twain, in which he played a snooty antiques dealer who had to live next door to Oliver Smallbridge (played by Windsor Davies), who also ran an antique shop. The characters hated each other and were horrified when they discovered that their son and daughter were to be married - thus meaning they were related. Despite a lack of critical acclaim, the series proved to be popular with audiences and ran for 11 years. One episode had Sinden being literally picked up by two police officers played by his own actor sons.

Other featured TV roles included guest starring in the cult series The Prisoner, from 2001 - 2007 he played the part of senior judge (and father-in-law of the title character) Sir Joseph Channing in Judge John Deed and is the voice of Totally Viral. He also appeared frequently on radio, including Sir Charles Baskerville in a Radio 4 adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes story The Hound of the Baskervilles.[4]

Sinden was spoofed on Spitting Image, the British satirical television programme in which famous people were lampooned by caricatured latex puppets. For example, his puppet, sitting in a restaurant, summons a waiter and asks "Do you serve a ham salad?" the waiter replies "Yes, we serve salad to anyone" and was shown fawning to the Queen and requesting a knighthood from her. He did however receive a knighthood in 1997.

Books

Sinden has written two autobiographical volumes, A Touch of the Memoirs (1982) and Laughter in the Second Act (1985), as well as a collection of "epitaphs and final utterances," The Last Word (1994). He was also a leading figure in the fight to launch the Theatre Museum in London's Covent Garden in the 1980s.[4]

He is believed to be the last person alive to have known Oscar Wilde's lover Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas and is writing his memories of their friendship.[4]

Present

In 2002, the purpose-built theatre at Homewood School, Ashford Road, Tenterden, Kent was named The Sinden Theatre.[8]

In 2007, Sinden embarked on a UK and European tour, taking in various venues to talk about his life, work and anecdotes in An Evening with... Sir Donald Sinden.[9] In 2010, he is fronting a new documentary to be released worldwide on DVD. Both are produced by Marc Sinden.[10]

Filmography

External links

References

  1. ^ "Pieces Of Me". The Guardian. Retrieved 04/02/2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  2. ^ Who's Who (2007)
  3. ^ "County Questions". BBC Kent. 2007-02-22. Retrieved 20/11/2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  4. ^ a b c d e Debrett's Distinguished People of Today (2007)
  5. ^ "IMDB". Retrieved 14/02/2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  6. ^ a b Who's Who in the Theatre, 17th edition (1981)
  7. ^ Croydon Life issue 14 June 2008
  8. ^ "British Theatre Guide". Retrieved 14/02/2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  9. ^ http://livebrum.co.uk/2009/09/19/an-evening-with-sir-donald-sinden
  10. ^ Debrett's People of Today. Debrett's Ltd. 2009. ISBN 1870520513.
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