Eric Porter

Eric Porter

A highly respected Shakespearean for five decades until his death of colon cancer in 1995, classical actor Eric Porter's claim to international fame would, ironically, be outside of that realm, with one superb portrayal in one superb miniseries, The Forsyte Saga(1967), in which he won the BAFTA award. The son of Richard John Porter and Phoebe Elizabeth Spall, Porter first attended Wimbledon Technical College before stepping onto the stage as a walk-on in a production of William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" in February 1945 at the Arts Theatre in Cambridge. He continued in repertory until joining the National Service with the RAF during the war years. Early post-war credits would include touring with Sir Donald Wolfit and Sir Barry Jackson in their prestigious companies. Favorite roles in his repertoire would eventually include "Macbeth", "King Lear" and "Uncle Vanya". He won London's Evening Standard Award for "Rosmersholm" in 1959. Joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1960, he became a prime, esteemed resident for decades. Porter made his film debut in mid-career with The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) at age 36, but it was the BBC that made him an international favorite as the ever-proper but intensely emotional and unhinged "Soames Forsyte". Taboos were broken on that series with a violent rape scene that had people talking for months. Along with the newly acquired fame came leads in lesser films such as The Lost Continent(1968) and Hands of the Ripper (1971), adding class to both those atmospheric horrors. On the plus side, Porter engaged himself frequently in quality TV miniseries fare includingAnna Karenina (1977), The Jewel in the Crown (1984) and Oliver Twist (1985) (as Fagin), while transferring many classics to TV as well, with "Cyrano de Bergerac", "Man and Superman" and "Macbeth" being but a few.

  • Popularity : 8.57
  • Known For : Acting
  • Birthday : 1928-04-08
  • Place of Birth : Shepard's Bush, London, UK
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Eric Porter Movies

  • 1973
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    The Day of the Jackal

    The Day of the Jackal

    7.517 1973 HD

    An international assassin known as ‘The Jackal’ is employed by disgruntled French generals to kill President Charles de Gaulle, with a...

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  • 1968
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    The Lost Continent

    The Lost Continent

    5.6 1968 HD

    An eclectic group of characters set sail on Captain Lansen’s leaky cargo ship in an attempt to escape their various troubles. When a violent...

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  • 1966
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    Kaleidoscope

    Kaleidoscope

    4.8 1966 HD

    Barney Lincoln is a rambling gambling man who scores sensational wins at poker and chemin de fer because he has succeeded in marking the original...

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  • 1978
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    The Thirty Nine Steps

    The Thirty Nine Steps

    6.7 1978 HD

    The year is 1914 and Richard Hannay, Mining Engineer who is visiting Britain for a short time before returning to South Africa, is shocked when one...

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  • 1964
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    The Fall of the Roman Empire

    The Fall of the Roman Empire

    6.5 1964 HD

    In the year 180 A.D. Germanic tribes are about to invade the Roman empire from the north. In the midst of this crisis ailing emperor Marcus Aurelius...

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  • 1971
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    Hands of the Ripper

    Hands of the Ripper

    6.2 1971 HD

    A series of murders occur that mirror those committed by the Whitechapel Ripper. Through his experiments with psychoanalysis Dr Pritchard discovers a...

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  • 1974
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    Callan

    Callan

    6.9 1974 HD

    David Callan, secret agent, is called back to the service after his retirement, to handle the assassination of a german businessman, but Callan...

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  • 1972
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    Antony and Cleopatra

    Antony and Cleopatra

    5.6 1972 HD

    Adaptation of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, a historical drama that attempts to bring an epic visual style to the Bard's original stage play....

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  • 1980
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    Why Didn't They Ask Evans?

    Why Didn't They Ask Evans?

    6.4 1980 HD

    This intriguing story is set in the 1930s at a country house, where two amateur sleuths, Bobby Jones and Lady Frankie Derwent, try to unravel the...

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  • 1973
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    The Belstone Fox

    The Belstone Fox

    7.2 1973 HD

    Based on the novel "The Ballad of the Belstone Fox", this heartwarming film chronicles the life of a fox much smarter than the dogs that hunt him. In...

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  • 1994
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    Message for Posterity

    Message for Posterity

    1 1994 HD

    A version of Dennis Potter's play for television, remade shortly before his death as the original 1960s version had been wiped.

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  • 1985
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    Oliver Twist

    Oliver Twist

    5 1985 HD

    Adaptation of the novel by Charles Dickens.

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  • 1970
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    Macbeth

    Macbeth

    1 1970 HD

    The Thane of Cawdor plots to become King of Scotland.

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  • 1977
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    The Shetland Experience

    The Shetland Experience

    7.2 1977 HD

    The environmental measures taken by the oil industry at the Sullom Voe terminal in the Shetlands.

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  • 1980
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    Little Lord Fauntleroy

    Little Lord Fauntleroy

    7.3 1980 HD

    Young Cedric Errol and his widowed mother live in genteel poverty in 1880s Brooklyn after the death of his father. Cedric's grandfather, the Earl of...

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  • 1977
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    The Winslow Boy

    The Winslow Boy

    8 1977 HD

    The term at Osborne Naval College is not yet over. Why, therefore, has cadet Ronnie Winslow returned home? And why, moreover, is he hiding in the...

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  • 2001
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    The Best of Morecambe and Wise

    The Best of Morecambe and Wise

    1 2001 HD

    Compilation of sketches featuring the much-loved funnymen Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise. Includes 'Anthony and Cleopatra' with Glenda Jackson, 'Monty...

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  • 1973
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    Hitler: The Last Ten Days

    Hitler: The Last Ten Days

    6.088 1973 HD

    Hitler: The Last Ten Days takes us into the depths of der Furher’s Berlin bunker during his final days. Based on the book by Gerhard Boldt, it...

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  • 1975
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    Hennessy

    Hennessy

    4.7 1975 HD

    Former Irish Republican Army member Niall Hennessy lives in Belfast, Ireland, with his wife and daughter amid the ongoing Irish-British conflict....

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  • 1965
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    The Heroes of Telemark

    The Heroes of Telemark

    6.9 1965 HD

    Set in German-occupied Norway, resistance fighter Knut Straud enlists the reluctant physicist Rolf Pedersen in an effort to destroy the German heavy...

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  • 1980
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    The Crucible

    The Crucible

    1 1980 HD

    An adaptation of Arthur Miller's play The Crucible, concerning the Salem witch trials.

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  • 1979
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    Churchill and the Generals

    Churchill and the Generals

    1 1979 HD

    The complicated relationship between Winston Churchill and the leaders of the British army during World War II.

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  • 1980
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    Hamlet

    Hamlet

    6.1 1980 HD

    Hamlet comes home from university to find his uncle married to his mother, and his father's ghost haunting the battlements and scaring the watch....

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  • 1981
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    The Sin Bin

    The Sin Bin

    1 1981 HD

    TV play set in an experimental self-rehabilitations unit at a British Prison, where six lifers participate in group therapy.

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  • 1970
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    Separate Tables

    Separate Tables

    1 1970 HD

    A play by Terence Rattigan about the stories of several people staying at a seaside hotel in Bournemouth which features dining at "Separate Tables."

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  • 1971
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    Nicholas and Alexandra

    Nicholas and Alexandra

    6.9 1971 HD

    Tsar Nicholas II, the inept last monarch of Russia, insensitive to the needs of his people, is overthrown and exiled to Siberia with his family.

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  • 1965
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    The Wars of the Roses

    The Wars of the Roses

    8.5 1965 HD

    A 1965 BBC adaptation of William Shakespeare's first historical tetralogy (1 Henry VI, 2 Henry VI, 3 Henry VI and Richard III), which deals with the...

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  • 2003
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    The Heroes of Telemark: Location report from Norway

    The Heroes of Telemark: Location report from Norway

    1 2003 HD

    Over one hour of black-and-white location footage and interviews with the stars and director, all staged outdoors in manifestly frigid conditions....

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  • 2007
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    Morecambe & Wise: Christmas Specials

    Morecambe & Wise: Christmas Specials

    1 2007 HD

    Running from 1969 until 1977, the BBC Christmas shows were usually on Christmas Day. These classic sketches revolved around famous guest stars, such...

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  • 1966
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    The Last Invasion

    The Last Invasion

    1 1966 HD

    A film following Harold II at the Battle of Hastings

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  • 1948
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    Emma

    Emma

    1 1948 HD

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  • 1982
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    A Shilling Life

    A Shilling Life

    1 1982 HD

    An ex-West End playwright, interviewed by a hack-journalist for a railway station biography. How can this turn into a love story?

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  • 1984
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    The Jewel in the Crown

    The Jewel in the Crown

    6.7 1984 HD

    A sweeping drama about the ruling and ruled classes of World War II India, the story begins with an unjust arrest for rape. The consequences of this...

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  • 1970
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    Play for Today

    Play for Today

    6.125 1970 HD

    Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more...

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  • 1985
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    Oliver Twist

    Oliver Twist

    5.6 1985 HD

    Oliver Twist is a 1985 BBC TV serial. It was directed by Gareth Davies, and adapted by Alexander Baron from the novel by Charles Dickens. It follows...

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  • 1965
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    BBC Play of the Month

    BBC Play of the Month

    5 1965 HD

    Play of the Month is a BBC television anthology series featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays which were usually broadcast on...

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  • 1981
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    Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years

    Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years

    5 1981 HD

    Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years is an 8-part 1981 drama serial based on the life of Winston Churchill, and particularly his years in enforced...

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  • 1977
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    Anna Karenina

    Anna Karenina

    5.8 1977 HD

    Anna Karenina was a 1977 BBC television adaptation of Tolstoy's novel.

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  • 1978
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    BBC Television Shakespeare

    BBC Television Shakespeare

    5.2 1978 HD

    The BBC Television Shakespeare is a series of British television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, created by Cedric Messina and...

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  • 1967
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    The Forsyte Saga

    The Forsyte Saga

    8.2 1967 HD

    The Forsyte Saga is a 1967 BBC television adaptation of John Galsworthy's series of The Forsyte Saga novels, and its sequel trilogy A Modern Comedy....

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  • 1969
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    Civilisation

    Civilisation

    8.118 1969 HD

    Sir Kenneth Clarke guides us through the ages exploring the glorious rise of civilisation in western man. Beginning with the bleakness of the dark...

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  • 1965
    imgS16 E4

    BBC Play of the Month

    BBC Play of the Month

    5 1965 HD

    Play of the Month is a BBC television anthology series featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays which were usually broadcast on...

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  • 1965
    imgS16 E4

    BBC Play of the Month

    BBC Play of the Month

    5 1965 HD

    Play of the Month is a BBC television anthology series featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays which were usually broadcast on...

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  • 1965
    imgS16 E4

    BBC Play of the Month

    BBC Play of the Month

    5 1965 HD

    Play of the Month is a BBC television anthology series featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays which were usually broadcast on...

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  • 1970
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    The Perfect Morecambe & Wise

    The Perfect Morecambe & Wise

    1 1970 HD

    A collection of the very best sketches, songs and comedy routines from the much-loved Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise.

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  • 1984
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    Sherlock Holmes

    Sherlock Holmes

    8.055 1984 HD

    Sherlock Holmes uses his abilities to take on cases by private clients and those that the Scotland Yard are unable to solve, along with his friend...

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  • 1969
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    Morecambe & Wise: Christmas Specials

    Morecambe & Wise: Christmas Specials

    1 1969 HD

    Running from 1969 until 1977, the BBC Christmas shows were usually on Christmas Day. These classic sketches revolved around famous guest stars, such...

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