Ron Moody
Encyclopedia
Ron Moody is an English
actor
.
, North London
, England, the son of Kate (née Ogus) and Bernard Moodnick, a studio executive. His father was of Russia
n Jewish descent and his mother was a Lithuania
n Jew. He is a cousin of director
Laurence Moody
and actress Clare Lawrence
. His surname was legally changed to Moody in 1930. He trained to become a sociologist at the London School of Economics
, but began appearing in shows and later decided to become a professional actor. Moody married a Pilates
teacher, Therese Blackbourn, in 1985. They have six children.
Moody's son, Daniel, was the visual effects assistant on the 2010 film The Wolfman.
in Lionel Bart
's stage and film musical Oliver!
based on Oliver Twist
by Charles Dickens
. He created the role in the original West End
production, and reprised it in 1984 on Broadway
and in the 1968 film
, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor
and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
.
He appeared in several children's television series, including The Animals of Farthing Wood, Noah's Island
, Telebugs
, Into the Labyrinth
, and the Discworld
series. Among his better known roles is that of Prime Minister Rupert Mountjoy in the comedy The Mouse on the Moon
(1963), alongside Margaret Rutherford
. He played French entertainer and mime artist
The Great Orlando in the 1963 Cliff Richard
film Summer Holiday. He acted again with former Oliver!
co-star Jack Wild
in Flight of the Doves
.
In 1969, he was offered, but declined, the lead role in Doctor Who
, following the departure of Patrick Troughton
from the part. He later told many people (including Doctor Who
companion Elisabeth Sladen
) that declining the role was a decision he subsequently regretted. He played Edwin Caldecott, an old nemesis of Jim Branning
in EastEnders
. He played Ippolit Vorobyaninov alongside Frank Langella
(as Ostap Bender
) in Mel Brooks
' version of The Twelve Chairs
(1970). In 2003, he starred in the black comedy Paradise Grove
alongside Rula Lenska
. In 2005, he acted in the Big Finish Productions
Doctor Who audio play Other Lives
, playing the Duke of Wellington
.
In 2004, the British
ITV1
nostalgia series After They Were Famous hosted a documentary of the surviving cast of the motion picture Oliver!. Several of the film's musical numbers were reenacted. Most notable and poignant perhaps was Moody, then 80 but still spry, and Jack Wild
, (the Artful Dodger from Oliver! and seriously ill with oral cancer at the time of the shooting), recreating their dance from the closing credits of the film.
He appeared on an episode of BBC1's Casualty (episode aired 30 January 2010) as a Scottish war veteran patient who had served with the Black Watch
during World War II
.
On 30 June 2010, Moody appeared on stage at the end of a performance of Cameron Mackintosh
's revival of Oliver! and made a humorous speech about the show's 50th anniversary. He then reprised the "Pick a Pocket or Two" number with the cast.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Personal life
Moody was born in TottenhamTottenham
Tottenham is an area of the London Borough of Haringey, England, situated north north east of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:Tottenham is believed to have been named after Tota, a farmer, whose hamlet was mentioned in the Domesday Book; hence Tota's hamlet became Tottenham...
, North London
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
, England, the son of Kate (née Ogus) and Bernard Moodnick, a studio executive. His father was of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Jewish descent and his mother was a Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n Jew. He is a cousin of director
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
Laurence Moody
Laurence Moody
Laurence Moody is an English television director who, after reading English at Cambridge University, worked as a trainee at Granada Television, at this time directing a number of episodes of their top rated ITV1 soap opera, Coronation Street.Subsequently, he has originated and worked such...
and actress Clare Lawrence
Clare Lawrence
Clare Lawrence Moody is an English television and stage actor and producer. She is the daughter of English television director Laurence Moody...
. His surname was legally changed to Moody in 1930. He trained to become a sociologist at the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
, but began appearing in shows and later decided to become a professional actor. Moody married a Pilates
Pilates
Pilates is a physical fitness system developed in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates in Germany, the UK and the USA. As of 2005, there were 11 million people practicing the discipline regularly and 14,000 instructors in the United States....
teacher, Therese Blackbourn, in 1985. They have six children.
Moody's son, Daniel, was the visual effects assistant on the 2010 film The Wolfman.
Career
Moody has worked in a variety of genres, but is perhaps best known for his starring role as FaginFagin
Fagin is a fictional character who appears as an antagonist of the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist, referred to in the preface of the novel as a "receiver of stolen goods", but referred to more frequently within the actual story as the "merry old gentleman" or simply the "Jew".-Character:Born...
in Lionel Bart
Lionel Bart
Lionel Bart was a writer and composer of British pop music and musicals, best known for creating the book, music and lyrics for Oliver!-Early life:...
's stage and film musical Oliver!
Oliver!
Oliver! is a British musical, with script, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens....
based on Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens, published by Richard Bentley in 1838. The story is about an orphan Oliver Twist, who endures a miserable existence in a workhouse and then is placed with an undertaker. He escapes and travels to...
by Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
. He created the role in the original West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
production, and reprised it in 1984 on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
and in the 1968 film
Oliver! (film)
Oliver! is a 1968 British musical film directed by Carol Reed. The film is based on the stage musical Oliver!, with book, music and lyrics written by Lionel Bart. The screenplay was written by Vernon Harris....
, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor
Academy Award for Best Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
The Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951...
.
He appeared in several children's television series, including The Animals of Farthing Wood, Noah's Island
Noah's Island
Noah's Island was an animated TV serial made by the creators of The Animals of Farthing Wood and commissioned by the European Broadcasting Union. It was directed by Philippe Leclerc and Alan Simpson and written by Elphin Lloyd-Jones and John M. Mills. Each episode, of which there were 39, ran for...
, Telebugs
Telebugs
The Telebugs is a cartoon from the 1980s about the adventures of three robots with televisions for heads.-Overview:The robots' names are C.H.I.P. , S.A.M.A.N.T.H.A. and B.U.G. - who were accompanied by a flying video pack called M.I.C...
, Into the Labyrinth
Into the Labyrinth (TV series)
Into the Labyrinth is a British children's television series produced by HTV for the ITV network between 1980 and 1982. Three series, each consisting of seven 25-minute episodes, were produced and directed by Peter Graham Scott...
, and the Discworld
Discworld
Discworld is a comic fantasy book series by English author Sir Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat world balanced on the backs of four elephants which, in turn, stand on the back of a giant turtle, Great A'Tuin. The books frequently parody, or at least take inspiration from, J. R. R....
series. Among his better known roles is that of Prime Minister Rupert Mountjoy in the comedy The Mouse on the Moon
The Mouse on the Moon
The Mouse on the Moon is a 1963 British comedy film, an adaptation of the novel The Mouse on the Moon by Irish author Leonard Wibberley. It was directed by Richard Lester and served as the sequel to The Mouse That Roared. In it, the people of the Duchy of Grand Fenwick, a microstate, attempt space...
(1963), alongside Margaret Rutherford
Margaret Rutherford
Dame Margaret Taylor Rutherford DBE was an English character actress, who first came to prominence following World War II in the film adaptations of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, and Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest...
. He played French entertainer and mime artist
Mime artist
A mime artist is someone who uses mime as a theatrical medium or as a performance art, involving miming, or the acting out a story through body motions, without use of speech. In earlier times, in English, such a performer was referred to as a mummer...
The Great Orlando in the 1963 Cliff Richard
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard, OBE is a British pop singer, musician, performer, actor, and philanthropist who has sold over an estimated 250 million records worldwide....
film Summer Holiday. He acted again with former Oliver!
Oliver! (film)
Oliver! is a 1968 British musical film directed by Carol Reed. The film is based on the stage musical Oliver!, with book, music and lyrics written by Lionel Bart. The screenplay was written by Vernon Harris....
co-star Jack Wild
Jack Wild
Jack Wild was a British actor who is best remembered for his performances in both stage and screen productions of the Lionel Bart musical Oliver! with Ron Moody, Shani Wallis, and Oliver Reed. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the age of 16 for the role of the...
in Flight of the Doves
Flight of the Doves
Flight of the Doves is a 1971 British film based on the novel by Walter Macken, the film was written by Frank Gabrielson and Ralph Nelson. Nelson also directed the film.-Cast:...
.
In 1969, he was offered, but declined, the lead role in Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, following the departure of Patrick Troughton
Patrick Troughton
Patrick George Troughton was an English actor most widely known for his roles in fantasy, science fiction and horror films, particularly in his role as the second incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running British science-fiction television series Doctor Who, which he played from 1966 to 1969,...
from the part. He later told many people (including Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
companion Elisabeth Sladen
Elisabeth Sladen
Elisabeth Clara Heath-Sladen was an English actress best known for her role as Sarah Jane Smith in the British television series Doctor Who. She was a regular cast member from 1973 to 1976, alongside both Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, and reprised the role many times in subsequent decades, both on...
) that declining the role was a decision he subsequently regretted. He played Edwin Caldecott, an old nemesis of Jim Branning
Jim Branning
James Archibald "Jim" Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by John Bardon, first appearing on 29 April 1996 and becoming a regular character in 1999 and has remained in the series right up to 2011....
in EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
. He played Ippolit Vorobyaninov alongside Frank Langella
Frank Langella
-Early life:Langella, an Italian American, was born in Bayonne, New Jersey, the son of Angelina and Frank A. Langella Sr., a business executive who was the president of the Bayonne Barrel and Drum Company. Langella attended Washington Elementary School and Bayonne High School in Bayonne...
(as Ostap Bender
Ostap Bender
Ostap Bender is a fictional con man and antihero who first appeared in the novel The Twelve Chairs written by Soviet authors Ilya Ilf and Yevgeni Petrov and released in January 1928.-Appearances:...
) in Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks is an American film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer. He is best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. He began his career as a stand-up comic and as a writer for the early TV variety show Your Show of Shows...
' version of The Twelve Chairs
The Twelve Chairs (1970 film)
The Twelve Chairs is a 1970 American slapstick comedy film directed by Mel Brooks, starring Frank Langella, Dom DeLuise and Ron Moody. The screenplay was written by Brooks. The film is loosely based on a Russian 1928 novel The Twelve Chairs by Ilf and Petrov...
(1970). In 2003, he starred in the black comedy Paradise Grove
Paradise Grove
Paradise Grove is an independent 2003 black comedy filmed in London. Much of the film is based in a fictional Jewish retirement home. It stars Ron Moody and Rula Lenska. It was directed by Charles Harris and was his first feature film.-Synopsis:...
alongside Rula Lenska
Rula Lenska
Rula Lenska is an English actress. Best known for her work in the United Kingdom, she is remembered in the United States for a television advert that presented her as a celebrity, even though she was not widely known in the US at the time the advert was produced.She has appeared extensively on...
. In 2005, he acted in the Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...
Doctor Who audio play Other Lives
Other Lives
Other Lives is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Plot:...
, playing the Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
.
In 2004, the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
nostalgia series After They Were Famous hosted a documentary of the surviving cast of the motion picture Oliver!. Several of the film's musical numbers were reenacted. Most notable and poignant perhaps was Moody, then 80 but still spry, and Jack Wild
Jack Wild
Jack Wild was a British actor who is best remembered for his performances in both stage and screen productions of the Lionel Bart musical Oliver! with Ron Moody, Shani Wallis, and Oliver Reed. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the age of 16 for the role of the...
, (the Artful Dodger from Oliver! and seriously ill with oral cancer at the time of the shooting), recreating their dance from the closing credits of the film.
He appeared on an episode of BBC1's Casualty (episode aired 30 January 2010) as a Scottish war veteran patient who had served with the Black Watch
Black Watch
The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The unit's traditional colours were retired in 2011 in a ceremony led by Queen Elizabeth II....
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
On 30 June 2010, Moody appeared on stage at the end of a performance of Cameron Mackintosh
Cameron Mackintosh
Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh is a British theatrical producer notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "the most successful, influential and powerful theatrical producer in the world" by the New York...
's revival of Oliver! and made a humorous speech about the show's 50th anniversary. He then reprised the "Pick a Pocket or Two" number with the cast.
Partial filmography
- Follow a StarFollow a StarFollow a Star is a 1959 British comedy film directed by Robert Asher and starring Norman Wisdom.-Plot:The story is rather similar to the ending of Singin' in the Rain, where a singer fraudulently "borrows" the voice of Norman Wisdom's character....
(1959) - Five Golden HoursFive Golden HoursFive Golden Hours is a 1961 Italian-British comedy film directed by Mario Zampi and written by Hans Wilhelm. It stars Ernie Kovacs, Cyd Charisse and George Sanders, and features Dennis Price and John Le Mesurier.-Plot:...
(1961) - A Pair of BriefsA Pair of BriefsA Pair of Briefs is a 1962 British legal comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Michael Craig, Mary Peach, Brenda De Banzie and James Robertson Justice...
(1962) - Summer Holiday (1963)
- The Mouse on the MoonThe Mouse on the MoonThe Mouse on the Moon is a 1963 British comedy film, an adaptation of the novel The Mouse on the Moon by Irish author Leonard Wibberley. It was directed by Richard Lester and served as the sequel to The Mouse That Roared. In it, the people of the Duchy of Grand Fenwick, a microstate, attempt space...
(1963) - Ladies Who DoLadies Who DoLadies Who Do 1963 British comedy film starring Peggy Mount, Robert Morley and Harry H. Corbett.-Cast:*Peggy Mount as Mrs. Cragg*Robert Morley as Colonel Whitforth*Harry H. Corbett as James Ryder*Miriam Karlin as Mrs. Higgins...
(1963) - Murder Most FoulMurder Most FoulMurder Most Foul is the third of four films made by MGM loosely based on novels by Agatha Christie and starring Margaret Rutherford as Miss Jane Marple, Bud Tingwell as Inspector Craddock, and Stringer Davis as Mr Stringer. The story is ostensibly based on the novel Mrs McGinty's Dead, but notably...
(1964) - The Sandwich ManThe Sandwich ManThe Sandwich Man is a 1966 British comedy film starring Michael Bentine, Dora Bryan, Harry H. Corbett, Bernard Cribbins, Diana Dors, Norman Wisdom, Terry-Thomas and Ian Hendry. It was written by Bentine in conjunction with Robert Hartford-Davis...
(1966) - Oliver!Oliver! (film)Oliver! is a 1968 British musical film directed by Carol Reed. The film is based on the stage musical Oliver!, with book, music and lyrics written by Lionel Bart. The screenplay was written by Vernon Harris....
(1968) - The Twelve ChairsThe Twelve Chairs (1970 film)The Twelve Chairs is a 1970 American slapstick comedy film directed by Mel Brooks, starring Frank Langella, Dom DeLuise and Ron Moody. The screenplay was written by Brooks. The film is loosely based on a Russian 1928 novel The Twelve Chairs by Ilf and Petrov...
(1970) - Flight of the DovesFlight of the DovesFlight of the Doves is a 1971 British film based on the novel by Walter Macken, the film was written by Frank Gabrielson and Ralph Nelson. Nelson also directed the film.-Cast:...
(1971) - Legend of the WerewolfLegend of the WerewolfLegend of the Werewolf is a 1975 British horror film directed by Freddie Francis. It stars Peter Cushing.-Plot summary:A boy that has been raised by wolves is displayed as a circus freak. Then he grows up, becomes a zookeeper and falls in love with a prostitute...
(1975) - The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know ItThe Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know ItThe Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It is a 1977 comedy starring John Cleese. It is a low-budget spoof of the Sherlock Holmes detective series, as well as the mystery genre in general.- Plot :...
(1977) - DominiqueDominique (film)Dominique is a 1980 British film directed by Michael Anderson.The film is also known as Dominique Is Dead .-Plot:...
(1978) - Unidentified Flying OddballUnidentified Flying OddballUnidentified Flying Oddball, also known as The Spaceman and King Arthur, is Disney’s film adaptation of Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. It was directed by Russ Mayberry...
, aka The Spaceman and King Arthur (1979) - Wrong Is RightWrong Is RightWrong Is Right is a black comedy thriller about the theft of two suitcase nukes, featuring the plot conventions of media bias, reality television, government conspiracy, and Islamic terrorism...
(1982) - Where Is Parsifal?Where Is Parsifal?Where is Parsifal? is a 1983 British comedy film directed by Henri Helman. It was released in France on April 13, 1988. The cast includes Tony Curtis, Donald Pleasence, Erik Estrada, and Orson Welles. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival...
(1983) - Asterix and the Big FightAsterix and the Big Fight (film)Asterix and the Big Fight is a 1989 animated movie directed by Philippe Grimond as a French-German co-production which was produced by Yannick Piel as Astérix et le coup du menhir. It is based on the Asterix comic book series. The movie has a different plot from the book of the same name...
(1989) (voice) - A Kid in King Arthur's CourtA Kid in King Arthur's CourtA Kid in King Arthur's Court is a 1995 film directed by Michael Gottlieb. It is based on the famous Mark Twain novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, transplanted into the twentieth century....
(1995) - RevelationRevelation (2001 film)Revelation is a 2001 film, directed by Stuart Urban and starring James D'Arcy, Natasha Wightman, Udo Kier and Terence Stamp. Revelation tells the story of the final search for an ancient relic known as the Loculus, dating back to 50 CE, and the effect of this relic on the Martel family and the...
(2001) - Paradise GroveParadise GroveParadise Grove is an independent 2003 black comedy filmed in London. Much of the film is based in a fictional Jewish retirement home. It stars Ron Moody and Rula Lenska. It was directed by Charles Harris and was his first feature film.-Synopsis:...
(2003)