Daniel Massey

Massey played the historical figure Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester (1532-1588) in the historical film "Mary, Queen of Scots" (1971). In the film. Dudley was depicted as a court favorite of Elizabeth I of England, (played by Glenda Jackson) and as a suitor for Mary I of Scotland (played by. Vanessa Redgrave).

1660-1731).

He played the French dramatist Victorien Sardou (1831-1908) in the biographical film "The Incredible Sarah" (1976).

His paternal uncle was Canadian diplomat Vincent Massey (1887-1967), who became the first Canadian-born Governor General of Canada (term 1952-1959). Massey was educated at Eton College and King's College, Cambridge.

Massey was the son of Canadian actor Raymond Massey (1896-1983) and English actress Adrianne Allen (1907-1993). He was raised by his mother, following his parents' divorce.

Daniel Massey was an English actor of Canadian descent, best known for portraying his godfather Noël Coward (1899-1973) in the critically acclaimed film "Star!" (1968). For this role he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. It was his only Academy Award nomination.

The Award was instead won by rival actor Jack Albertson (1907-1981). Massey's next found a critically acclaimed role in television.

He, his father Raymond Massey and his younger sister Anna Massey all worked with Laurence Olivier: Raymond in Fire Over England (1937) and 49th Parallel (1941), Daniel in The Entertainer (1960) and Anna in Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965), David Copperfield (1970) and A Little Romance (1979).

Daniel Massey's parents, Raymond Massey and Adrianne Allen, were seeking a divorce and hired longtime friend and international lawyer, William Dwight Whitney, who was divorced from his wife, Dorothy Whitney. In 1939, Dorothy married Raymond, and Adrianne married William Whitney. Both couples lived "happily ever after". Daniel and his sister, Anna Massey, spent most of their childhood time in London with Adrianne and Bill and, during WWII, enjoyed many visits with their uncle, Roger Sherman Baldwin Whitney, M.D.

They depicted the last years of the interwar period in France and the Fall of France (1940) in World War II.

The film depicted the Battle of Crete (1941) and its aftermath.

He made his film debut as a child actor, in the war film "In Which We Serve" (1942).

The series was an adaptation of a trilogy of novels: "The Age of Reason" (1945), "The Reprieve" (1945) and "Troubled Sleep" (1949) by Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980).

Massey did not return to film roles until the late 1950s.

Was educated at Eton and Cambridge University, where he first acted in amateur plays and revues. Made his Broadway debut in 1956 and had a long career as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre.

His early roles included the comedy film "Girls at Sea" (1958), the military-themed comedy "Operation Bullshine" (1959), the comedy-drama "Upstairs and Downstairs" (1959), the music-hall themed drama and "The Entertainer" (1960).

The film was loosely based on the political scandal Profumo affair, which had damaged the reputation of the Conservative Party in the early 1960s.

He played the leading role of John Fellowes (Daniel Massey), an officer in the Grenadier Guards, in the military-themed drama "The Queen's Guards" (1961).

His next major role was as an incompetent thief in the crime comedy "Go to Blazes" (1962).

He had a supporting role in the historical comedy "The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders" (1965), which was an adaptation of the novel "Moll Flanders" (1722) by Daniel Defoe (c.

Massey received his best known role in the film "Star!" (1968), and received his nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

He played the openly gay character Daniel in the historical drama "The Roads to Freedom" (1970).

Massey next has a role in the anthology horror film "The Vault of Horror " (1973), which adapted several classic horror stories published by EC Comics. It was his first appearance in a comic book adaptation.

He divorced his actress/wife Penelope Wilton, his co-star on stage in such stage productions as "Bloomsbury" (1974), "The Betrayal" (1978), "The Philanderer" (1979) and "Man and Superman" (1981) (for which he won a Laurence Olivier Award), and almost immediately married her sister, Lindy Wilton.

Massey was mostly reduced to supporting roles in the religious drama "The Devil's Advocate" (1977), the fantasy film "Warlords of Atlantis" (1978), and the horror comedy "The Cat and the Canary" (1979).

He only appeared in a hand full of films in the 1980s, but played the historical judge Mervyn Griffith-Jones (1909-1979) in "Scandal" (1989).

He was awarded a Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1982 (1981 season) for Best Actor in a Revival for "Man and Superman".

Massey was in poor health in the 1990s, and his career consequently suffered.

He was awarded the 1995 London Critics Circle Theatre Award (Drama Theatre) for Best Actor for his performance in Taking Sides.

His last film role was voicing Jesus' disciple Cleopas in the animated Biblical drama "The Miracle Maker" (1999). The film was an an adaptation of the Gospels of the New Testament, and was released following Massey's death.