![Cyril Ritchard](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w185/5eCfLv1Yb71z57JK5jdscVswJoI.jpg)
Cyril Ritchard
Legendary for his preening, prancing, delightfully playful villain Captain Hook on the award-winning stage (as well as TV) opposite America's musical treasure Mary Martin, beloved musical star Cyril Ritchard had a vast career that would last six decades, but "Peter Pan" would become his prime legacy. Born in Australia just before the turn of the century, he was educated at St. Aloysius College and Sydney University wherein he slyly sidestepped a parental-guided career in medicine for entertainment, participating in numerous college productions that quickly got him "hooked." He began professionally in the chorus line of The Royal Comic Opera Company and quickly progressed to juvenile leads. A subsequent pairing with the already-established theatre actress Madge Elliott in 1918 proved successful, and the musical twosome eventually married in 1935. Together they would go on to become known as "The Musical Lunts" by their acting peers performing in scores of plays and revues together. Ritchard specialized in playing slick, dandified villains in musical comedy and developed a potent reputation of being a man of many talents. Not only directing and staging Broadway's finest, he became a renown performer of various operas and led many productions as such. Shortly before his wife's death of bone cancer in 1955, Ritchard ventured into TV infamy by repeating his Tony and Donaldson award-winning portrayal of Hook in Peter Pan (1955). He continued to earn acclaim and/or honors with such classic stage productions as "Visit to a Small Planet" (Tony-nominated), "The Pleasure of His Company" (Drama League award, Tony-nominated), "The Roar of the Greasepaint...the Smell of the Crowd" (Tony-nominated), "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Sugar," the musical version of the classic Billy Wilder film Some Like It Hot (1959) in which Ritchard played the Joe E. Brown role. Lesser regarded when it comes to film, he performed in the early Hitchcock classic Blackmail (1929) and made his last movie with the musical Half a Sixpence (1967) with Tommy Steele. While performing as the Narrator in a stage production of "Side by Side by Sondheim" in November 1977, Ritchard suffered a heart attack and died one month later. A one-of-a-kind talent, his nefarious, narcissistic humor was a career trademark that culminated in the role of a lifetime -- one that will certainly be enjoyed by children young and old for eons to come.
Known For | Acting |
---|---|
Most Rating | 7.424 |
Birthday | 1897-12-01 |
Place of Birth | |
Also Known As | Cyrill Ritchard, Cyril Joseph Trimnell-Ritchard, |
![Blackmail](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/7ioNEKouUkkWyv5tUDwVUd7BDRR.jpg)
1929
![Blackmail](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/7ioNEKouUkkWyv5tUDwVUd7BDRR.jpg)
Blackmail
6.539/228
London, 1929. Frank Webber, a very busy Scotland Yard detective, seems to be more interested in his work than in Alice White, his girlfriend. Feeling...
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Blackmail
![The Hobbit](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/2ohvyMPhvjftLrM6S6Ljr6QrL0u.jpg)
1977
![The Hobbit](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/2ohvyMPhvjftLrM6S6Ljr6QrL0u.jpg)
The Hobbit
6.537/301
Bilbo Baggins the Hobbit was just minding his own business, when his occasional visitor Gandalf the Wizard drops in one night. One by one, a whole gro...
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The Hobbit
![The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/k1Qilu8ROJOQsnAYCVctB6wzktA.jpg)
1975
![The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/k1Qilu8ROJOQsnAYCVctB6wzktA.jpg)
The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow
5.472/18
A young shepherd, Lucas, is blinded by lightening, and some kindly nuns at a nearby abbey take him in. Sister Catherine describes snow to Lucas, who h...
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The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow
![Piccadilly](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/biZjt8E9ljayP80tZPXgWKBiiyn.jpg)
1929
![Piccadilly](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/biZjt8E9ljayP80tZPXgWKBiiyn.jpg)
Piccadilly
6.345/29
A young Chinese woman, working in the kitchen at a London dance club, is given the chance to become the club's main act.
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Piccadilly
![Peter Pan](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/qCQ42aTmU4cuHwzfu8rCvYQuCyx.jpg)
1960
![Peter Pan](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/qCQ42aTmU4cuHwzfu8rCvYQuCyx.jpg)
Peter Pan
6.735/17
In this magical tale about the boy who refuses to grow up, Peter Pan and his mischievous fairy sidekick Tinkerbell visit the nursery of Wendy, Michael...
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Peter Pan
![The Enchanted World of Danny Kaye: The Emperor's New Clothes](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/5Mk05BUZqhVQpTmero2iZqjOZ12.jpg)
1972
![The Enchanted World of Danny Kaye: The Emperor's New Clothes](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/5Mk05BUZqhVQpTmero2iZqjOZ12.jpg)
The Enchanted World of Danny Kaye: The Emperor's New Clothes
5/1
This is one of the 'Animagical' titles from the children's film archive of Rankin/Bass. The story line is reminiscent of an earlier 1966 R/B Animagic...
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The Enchanted World of Danny Kaye: The Emperor's New Clothes
![Hans Brinker](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/y8Wu9l3bAYCKk9Jfea7gC8fv912.jpg)
1969
![Hans Brinker](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/y8Wu9l3bAYCKk9Jfea7gC8fv912.jpg)
Hans Brinker
6.5/5
Melodrama on ice
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Hans Brinker
![The Show Goes On](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/8fs98WfhBdHNbree7BqsIQK35Sy.jpg)
1937
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The Show Goes On
5/1
A mill worker with show biz dreams catches a big break when she's discovered by an ailing composer who's seeking the right singer for his songs.
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The Show Goes On
![The Daydreamer](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/k7RiyeB5NccB2NgXtVFJXFiwe6Z.jpg)
1966
![The Daydreamer](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/k7RiyeB5NccB2NgXtVFJXFiwe6Z.jpg)
The Daydreamer
4.8/9
A young Hans Christian Andersen goes in search of knowledge in the Garden of Paradise in order to make his studies easier. Each time he falls asleep,...
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The Daydreamer
![The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/zdtioxupLZZLRM6YiAdNnK3WYr0.jpg)
1965
![The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/zdtioxupLZZLRM6YiAdNnK3WYr0.jpg)
The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood
0/0
Everyone knows the story of Red Riding Hood. But every story has two sides and now the wolf has finally told his. This original musical comedy special...
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The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood
![Half a Sixpence](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/5vd2qhuZ5FFGv2nx8Nc0HD3kdsI.jpg)
1967
![Half a Sixpence](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/5vd2qhuZ5FFGv2nx8Nc0HD3kdsI.jpg)
Half a Sixpence
6/16
"If I had the money, I'd buy me a banjo!" says struggling sales clerk Arthur Kipps. Soon he'll inherit enough to buy a whole bloomin' orchestra. But c...
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Half a Sixpence
![Service for Ladies](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/9UeFlT907fehY9KBxFHzCJAFoBs.jpg)
1932
![Service for Ladies](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/9UeFlT907fehY9KBxFHzCJAFoBs.jpg)
Service for Ladies
6.8/3
Max Tracey is the head waiter at a London hotel. He falls in love at first sight with Sylvia Robertson, an aristocratic woman, and poses as a prince t...
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Service for Ladies
![Tubby the Tuba](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/3c2JMxUw8GcQZzblyVSyEGtTO6j.jpg)
1975
![Tubby the Tuba](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/3c2JMxUw8GcQZzblyVSyEGtTO6j.jpg)
Tubby the Tuba
0/0
When Tubby the Tuba sets out to find a melody all of his own, his journey results in this enchanting and exciting musical tale. Tubby joins the circus...
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Tubby the Tuba
![I See Ice](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/7RSG0VcqFSkPFWFkfUPP6MgNSyU.jpg)
1938
![I See Ice](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/7RSG0VcqFSkPFWFkfUPP6MgNSyU.jpg)
I See Ice
8.1/4
George Bright is a props man in an ice ballet company, and a keen amateur photographer who accidentally snaps crooks at work. Comic complications ensu...
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I See Ice
![Peter Pan](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/6EX6Rq06ocGPnjkc2w3Ka6DCF62.jpg)
1955
![Peter Pan](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/6EX6Rq06ocGPnjkc2w3Ka6DCF62.jpg)
Peter Pan
6.1/23
This musical version of the tale of the boy who wouldn't grow up aired live on television on March 7, 1955. It was so popular that it was restaged the...
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Peter Pan
![Mr. Scrooge](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/ybzyFufpwHtdFezUgohgDznBmQH.jpg)
1964
![Mr. Scrooge](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/ybzyFufpwHtdFezUgohgDznBmQH.jpg)
Mr. Scrooge
10/1
A Christmas Carol retelling
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Mr. Scrooge
![Just for a Song](https://nicosiaefe.gov.cy/video/assets/no-poster.png)
1930
![Just for a Song](https://nicosiaefe.gov.cy/video/assets/no-poster.png)
Just for a Song
0/0
A jealous agent uses a girl singer to break up a double act.
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Just for a Song
![Symphony in Two Flats](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/i705OEsU5gNE9ENr2LdxF7WFiTN.jpg)
1930
![Symphony in Two Flats](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/i705OEsU5gNE9ENr2LdxF7WFiTN.jpg)
Symphony in Two Flats
0/0
A young composer goes blind, and shortly afterward enters his most recent work in a competition. He believes he's won, but doesn't know that his wife...
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Symphony in Two Flats
![The Lyrics of Alan Jay Lerner](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/vqhVWKsafyWu2WwCuETLs4tWmDy.jpg)
1966
![The Lyrics of Alan Jay Lerner](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/vqhVWKsafyWu2WwCuETLs4tWmDy.jpg)
The Lyrics of Alan Jay Lerner
0/0
Hosted by Cyril Ritchard, with performances by Florence Henderson, Barbara Harris, Stanley Holloway, John Cullum, Patricia McBride and Edward Villella...
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The Lyrics of Alan Jay Lerner
![Pontius Pilate](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/mJkVYmU286dL1o1iKedkb0xrTdW.jpg)
1952
![Pontius Pilate](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/mJkVYmU286dL1o1iKedkb0xrTdW.jpg)
Pontius Pilate
0/0
The story, set 15 years after the Crucifixion, of the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, who is depicted as a victim of circumstances.
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Pontius Pilate
![The Christmas Tree](https://nicosiaefe.gov.cy/video/assets/no-poster.png)
1958
![The Christmas Tree](https://nicosiaefe.gov.cy/video/assets/no-poster.png)
The Christmas Tree
0/0
The Christmas Tree is a 1958 Hallmark Hall of Fame made-for-television film that was broadcast on NBC on December 14, 1958. It is based on the short s...
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The Christmas Tree
![Peter Pan](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/sjIB9n5BSYJkIgqPE3Cr6alCC9z.jpg)
1956
![Peter Pan](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/sjIB9n5BSYJkIgqPE3Cr6alCC9z.jpg)
Peter Pan
1/1
This SECOND live broadcast aired a year after the success of the first. Utilizing much of the same cast, it nevertheless is its own unique performance...
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Peter Pan
![It's a Grand Old World](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/nZFKSFY6s7tLpFB5C4uJyzMWLog.jpg)
1937
![It's a Grand Old World](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/nZFKSFY6s7tLpFB5C4uJyzMWLog.jpg)
It's a Grand Old World
0/0
An unemployed man wins the football pools, and decides to buy a country house for his actress girlfriend.
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It's a Grand Old World
![Aladdin](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/cHDnWrdnJJ1bHHxGJdW4hyaa3OX.jpg)
1958
![Aladdin](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/cHDnWrdnJJ1bHHxGJdW4hyaa3OX.jpg)
Aladdin
0/0
Cole Porter's version of the story of Aladdin--his only musical written especially for television.
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Aladdin
![Dearest Enemy](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/1R9msMSoKqgoTt7s2k8xpWhOP2n.jpg)
1955
![Dearest Enemy](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/1R9msMSoKqgoTt7s2k8xpWhOP2n.jpg)
Dearest Enemy
0/0
This live TV adaptation of the Broadway musical "Dearest Enemy" from 1925 is based on an American Revolutionary War incident in September 1776 when Ma...
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Dearest Enemy
![Woman Hater](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/gJHZWzUYjBmnNiIQAWy4ZlzDinN.jpg)
1948
![Woman Hater](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/gJHZWzUYjBmnNiIQAWy4ZlzDinN.jpg)
Woman Hater
7/2
A confirmed bachelor and a woman who claims to hate men get together and find romance.
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Woman Hater
![The Owl and the Pussycat](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/eXrwAUgJYEgj69LSkaW3z1Uv12D.jpg)
1962
![The Owl and the Pussycat](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/eXrwAUgJYEgj69LSkaW3z1Uv12D.jpg)
The Owl and the Pussycat
0/0
A film version of Edward Lear's narrative poem about the owl and the pussycat who went to sea in a pea-green boat
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The Owl and the Pussycat
![The Winslow Boy](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/5HjxMMFr6QKB3vaiGQxavcs3qB0.jpg)
1948
![The Winslow Boy](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w154/5HjxMMFr6QKB3vaiGQxavcs3qB0.jpg)
The Winslow Boy
6.9/25
In pre-WW1 England, a youngster is expelled from a naval academy over a petty theft, but his parents raise a political furor by demanding a trial.
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