Dirk Bogarde

Born in London on March 28, 1921, Dirk Niven Van den Bogaerde was the son of a former actress and a photograph editor of the Times. He worked as a scene designer and commercial artist while studying acting, and made his stage debut in 1939. Bogarde joined the British army as an officer in Air Photographic Intelligence, serving in World War II.

As soon as he returned to England from military service, Mr. Bogarde joined a small theater group. Stage work after the war brought him a contract with Rank studios. He took a small role in the film Dancing With Crime (1947) and gained some critcical acclaim for The Blue Lamp (1949). Soon, he landed roles in the lighthearted Doctor in the House series, and by the 1950s, the actor with the boyish good looks had become a matinee idol. Other film roles included Hunted (1952), Cast A Dark Shadow (1955) and The Spanish Gardener.

He also played the artist Louis Dubedat in The Doctor's Dilemma (1959) and then took the brave step of portraying a blackmailed homosexual in Victim (1961), the first British movie to deal with homosexuals in public life.

Director Joseph Losey drew some particularly impressive performances from the actor. Roles included the part of a contemptuous manservant in The Servant, (1963), a conscience-stricken defending office in King and Country (1964), a high-camp villain in Modesty Blaise and a troubled Oxford don in Accident (1967).

Toward the end of the 1970s, Bogarde bought a 15th century farmhouse in Southern France. The films he made there included La Caduta Degli Dei (The Damned) (1969), Il Portiere Di Notte (The Night Porter), (1973), Providence (1977) and Death in Venice (1971). He also began a second career as a writer, producing a seven volume autobiography and several successful novels.

Bogarde returned to England in the late eighties, where he continued writing. In the latter part of his life, his acting was restricted to ocassional TV appearances, although he did return to the cinema for Daddy Nostalgie (These Foolish Things) (1990). Bogarde died of a heart attack, at his London home, 8 May 1999.

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