Walter Raleigh in popular culture
Sir Walter Raleigh (c. 1554 – 29 October 1618) was an English aristocrat, writer, poet, soldier, courtier, spy, and explorer, well-known for popularising tobacco in England.
In fiction
Film
- In 1939, Vincent Price was cast as Sir Walter Raleigh in "The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex". The cast also included big stars such as Bette Davis and Errol Flynn.
- In late 1940s to early 1950s, actor and comedian Andy Griffith appeared as Sir Walter Raleigh with other cast members in the stage play “The Lost Colony”.
- Raleigh was also portrayed in films by Richard Todd in The Virgin Queen in 1955, and by Clive Owen in Elizabeth: The Golden Age in 2007.
Music
- Raleigh is referenced to as "a stupid git" in the song "I'm So Tired" by The Beatles on their 1968 release, The White Album.
Other media
- In 1986, Simon Jones portrayed Raleigh in the episode "Potato" of the BBC sitcom Blackadder II. His The Historie of the World, of which only the first volume was completed before his execution, is the source of the title of the Mel Brooks comedy film History of the World, Part I.
References
- Notes
- Bibliography