Paul Scofield, British Actor, Dies at 86

[mcscajun]

Source: AP via NYT

LONDON (AP) -- Paul Scofield, the towering British stage actor who won international fame and an Academy Award for the film ''A Man for All Seasons,'' has died. He was 86.

Scofield died Wednesday in a hospital near his home in southern England, agent Rosalind Chatto said. He had been suffering from leukemia.

Scofield made few films even after the Oscar for his 1966 portrayal of Sir Thomas More, the Tudor statesman executed for treason in 1535 after clashing with King Henry VIII. He was a stage actor by inclination and by his gifts -- a dramatic, craggy face and an unforgettable voice that was likened to a Rolls-Royce starting up or the rumbling sound of low organ pipes.

Even his greatest screen role was a follow up to a play -- the London stage production of ''A Man for All Seasons,'' in which he starred for nine months. Scofield also turned in a performance in the 1961 New York production that won him extraordinary reviews and a Tony Award.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Obit-Scofield.html?hp

---

"A Man for All Seasons" contains one of the greatest liberal speeches I've ever heard:

Margaret More: Father, that man's bad.
Sir Thomas More: There's no law against that.
William Roper: There is: God's law.
Sir Thomas More: Then God can arrest him.
William Roper: So, now you give the Devil the benefit of law!
Sir Thomas More: Yes! What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?
William Roper: Yes, I'd cut down every law in England to do that!
Sir Thomas More: Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned 'round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast, Man's laws, not God's! And if you cut them down, and you're just the man to do it, do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!

[HughBeaumont]

1. I remember him from Quiz Show . . .

RIP.

[joeybee12]

2. Saw him recently with Katherine Hepburn in A Delicate Balance...

...on film. Both were excellent, although I have no clue what that play was all about.

RIP

[Dhalgren]

3. A truly great actor. This is a sad day...

For Mr. Scofield! :applause:

[sarge43]

4. The Train with Burt Lancaster - awesome. n/t

[Tyler Durden]

9. A treasured part of my movie collection...

Along with "A man for all seasons."

[Lautremont]

10. That is an awesome movie. Great acting, spectacular train crashes.

Scofield was also an excellent Lear, btw.

[sarge43]

12. He was born to play Lear. n/t

[tomg]

5. When I was 17 and saw A Man For All Seasons

it absolutely changed me. His Lear in the 1971 Peter Brook's version was brillant: a blend of Shakespeare and Samuel Beckett. What a great actor. RIP

[ananda]

6. Also..

He was so moving and poignant as Otto Frank,
and a superb Martin Chuzzlewit.

That man could bring tears out of a stone.

He will be so missed...

[CBHagman]

14. Yes, I've got the DVD of Martin Chuzzlewit!

For those of you who missed it, the BBC did a miniseries of Charles Dickens's Martin Chuzzlewit more than a decade ago, with Scofield in a dual role. The program aired on PBS's Masterpiece Theatre here in the United States.

I'd never read the novel, of course, :blush: but did get into the series. The story was entertaining and relevant to life in late 20th/early 21st century life, and the cast was phenomenal, as you'll see by the link

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112062/fullcredits#cast

I love the way Scofield used his voice...

[ccpup]

7. One of the Absolute Greats of the London Stage

he'll be missed on the West End and wherever Great Talent is appreciated. :cry:

[xchrom]

8. truly one of the greatest -- and his like will never be seen again.

Peace be with his family.

[Burma Jones]

11. A Consummate Workman

A long and amazing career and a 65 year marriage.

"A Man For All Seasons" had an enormous effect on me as I was deciding what it meant for me to be a good human being....

[goodgd_yall]

13. R.I.P.

I loved that movie, "A Man for All Seasons" the first time I saw it. Scofield was brilliant.

[CBHagman]

15. There are some interesting articles online.

Here's one from the Times:

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/stage/theatre/article3592225.ece

And another:

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article3589293.ece

In fact, there are a lot of interesting cultural items at the same site. That's also true of the Guardian.

[mcscajun]

16. Thanks for sharing these.

:hi:

[IntravenousDemilo]

17. That's very sad. A Man for All Seasons is my favourite movie.

Well, I know what I'm watching tonight.

[bronxiteforever]

18. Great Actor. Favorite scenes are in Henry V when

he sees his daughter having fun -she (emma thompson) unaware of the gravity of the war-his sad look is the best anti-war statement.

Second, Almost broken down by a raging Robert Shaw as King Henry the 8th in a Man for all Seasons, as Shaw bellows you can feel and see Scofield crumble under the humility and fear his moral position places him in. What an actor. RIP.

[mcscajun]

19. He thundered pretty well at the end of the film...

As More summons his little remaining strength, plants his feet well apart and commands attention from all: "Nevertheless! It was not for the Supremacy you sought my blood, but because I would not bend to the marriage!"

[bronxiteforever]

20. Excellent point and when John Hurt sells his soul for Wales!

[goodgd_yall]

22. John Hurt as a young man

I saw "A Man for All Seasons" when I was young teen. John Hurt's performance left an indelible impression on me. I liked the film so much that I bought the LP soundtrack to the movie---the whole audio of it, which I still have.

[sarge43]

24. "For Wales, Rich?"

The sarcasm he brought to that simple line ...

[JNelson6563]

26. He was great in Henry V

I agree with you on the scene you describe. Love that movie, loaded with talent.

Julie

[Frank Cannon]

21. I saw "A Man for all Seasons" for the first time a few months ago

It just always seemed like a film that would bore the shit out of me, no matter what people said about it.

But it was terrific. And he was amazing.

[Garbo 2004]

23. Wonderful actor, memorable performances. Thanks for your work sir. n/t

[DrCory]

25. Love his voice, so dramatic. N/T

[CBHagman]

27. Here's the speech on a nation of laws.

Some refer to it as the "giving the devil his due" speech. It's extremely timely, frighteningly so.

From the 1966 film A Man for All Seasons.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMqReTJkjjg

[libbygurl]

28. I'll always remember him for his Thomas More role in 'A Man For All Seasons'.

Rest in peace, Mr Scofield. I love that passage you quote, too.

[Hardrada]

29. I learned from that play and Scofield's interpretation of

St. Thomas More that it was important NEVER to compromise on high principle. And I brought that conviction right into the antiwar movement and the SDS in 1968!