Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough, Kt, CBE (29 August 1923 – 24 August 2014) was an English actor, filmmaker, entrepreneur, and politician. He was the President of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Attenborough joined the Royal Air Force during World War II and served in the film unit. He went on several bombing raids over Europe and filmed action from the rear gunner's position.
As a film director and producer, Attenborough won two Academy Awards for Gandhi in 1983. He also won four BAFTA Awards and four Golden Globe Awards. As an actor, he is perhaps best known for his roles in Brighton Rock, The Great Escape, 10 Rillington Place, Miracle on 34th Street (1994) and Jurassic Park.
He was the older brother of David Attenborough, a naturalist and broadcaster, and John Attenborough, an executive at Alfa Romeo. He was married to actress Sheila Sim from 1945 until his death.
Golden Globe Awards
Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture
Best Director
Known For
Doctor Dolittle
(1967)
Albert Blossom
Dunkirk
(1958)
John Holden
Jurassic Park
(1993)
Hammond
The Great Escape
(1963)
Bartlett 'Big X'
A Bridge Too Far
(1977)
Lunatic with Glasses (uncredited)
Elizabeth
(1998)
Sir William Cecil
Miracle on 34th Street
(1994)
Kris Kringle
A Matter of Life and Death
(1946)
An English Pilot
Hamlet
(1996)
English Ambassador
The Sand Pebbles
(1966)
Frenchy Burgoyne
Return to Jurassic Park
(2011)
Self (archive footage)
The Flight of the Phoenix
(1965)
Lew Moran
And Then There Were None
(1974)
Judge Arthur Cannon
10 Rillington Place
(1971)
John Christie
And the Oscar Goes To...
(2014)
Self (archive footage)
The Magic Christian
(1969)
Oxford Coach
Full Filmography
Acting
In Which We Serve
(1942)
Young Stoker
Schweik's New Adventures
(1943)
Railway worker
The Hundred Pound Window
(1944)
Tommy Draper
Journey Together
(1945)
David Wilton
The True Glory
(1945)
Commentator
School for Secrets
(1946)
Jack Arnold
A Matter of Life and Death
(1946)
An English Pilot
Dancing with Crime
(1947)
Ted Peters
The Man Within
(1947)
Francis Andrews
The Guinea Pig
(1948)
Jack Read
Brighton Rock
(1948)
Pinkie Brown
London Belongs to Me
(1948)
Percy Boon
Boys in Brown
(1949)
Jackie Knowles
The Lost People
(1949)
Jan
Morning Departure
(1950)
Stoker Snipe
Hell Is Sold Out
(1951)
Pierre Bonnet
Father's Doing Fine
(1952)
Dougall
Gift Horse
(1952)
Dripper Daniels
The Magic Box
(1952)
Jack Carter
Box for One
(1953)
The Caller
Eight O'Clock Walk
(1954)
Thomas Leslie Manning
The Ship That Died of Shame
(1955)
George Hoskins
The Baby and the Battleship
(1956)
Knocker White
Private's Progress
(1956)
Pvt. Percival Henry Cox
The Scamp
(1957)
Stephen Leigh
Brothers in Law
(1957)
Henry Marshall
The Man Upstairs
(1958)
Peter Watson
Dunkirk
(1958)
John Holden
Sea of Sand
(1958)
Brody
Jet Storm
(1959)
Ernest Tilley
I'm All Right Jack
(1959)
Sidney De Vere Cox
SOS Pacific
(1959)
Whitey Mullen
Danger Within
(1959)
Capt. 'Bunter' Phillips
The League of Gentlemen
(1960)
Lexy
The Angry Silence
(1960)
Tom Curtis
Trial and Error
(1962)
Herbert Fowle
All Night Long
(1962)
Rod Hamilton
Only Two Can Play
(1962)
Gareth L. Probert
The Great Escape
(1963)
Bartlett 'Big X'
Guns at Batasi
(1964)
Regimental Sgt. Major Lauderdale
Seance on a Wet Afternoon
(1964)
Bill
The Third Secret
(1964)
Alfred Price-Gorham
The Flight of the Phoenix
(1965)
Lew Moran
The Sand Pebbles
(1966)
Frenchy Burgoyne
Doctor Dolittle
(1967)
Albert Blossom
Only When I Larf
(1968)
Silas
The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom
(1968)
Robert Blossom
The Magic Christian
(1969)
Oxford Coach
Will the Real Mr. Sellers...
(1969)
Self
David Copperfield
(1969)
Mr. Tungay
Loot
(1970)
Inspector Truscott
Don't Make Me Laugh
(1970)
The Last Grenade
(1970)
Gen. Charles Whiteley
A Severed Head
(1971)
Palmer Anderson
10 Rillington Place
(1971)
John Christie
And Then There Were None
(1974)
Judge Arthur Cannon
Brannigan
(1975)
Cmdr. Charles Swann
Rosebud
(1975)
Edward Sloat
Conduct Unbecoming
(1975)
Maggiore Lionel E. Roach
The Chess Players
(1977)
General Outram
A Bridge Too Far
(1977)
Lunatic with Glasses (uncredited)
The Human Factor
(1979)
Colonel John Daintry
James Bond: The First 21 Years
(1983)
Self
Mr. Attenborough and Mr. Gandhi
(1983)
Self
The Golden Gong: The Story of Rank Films - British Cinema's Legendary Studio
(1985)
Self
Mother Teresa
(1986)
Narrator (voice)
Picture of Europe
(1990)
Self
Jurassic Park
(1993)
Hammond
Audrey Hepburn: Remembered
(1993)
Self
In Darkest Hollywood: Cinema and Apartheid
(1994)
Self
A Century of Cinema
(1994)
Self
Miracle on 34th Street
(1994)
Kris Kringle
The Making of 'Jurassic Park'
(1995)
Self / John Hammond
E=mc2
(1996)
The Visitor
Hamlet
(1996)
English Ambassador
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
(1997)
John Hammond
The Making of 'The Lost World'
(1997)
Self
Diana: Queen of Hearts
(1998)
Self - Narrator
Elizabeth
(1998)
Sir William Cecil
Frank Sinatra: The Voice of the Century
(1998)
Self (archive footage)
Humphrey Jennings: The Man Who Listened to Britain
(2000)
Self
Sir John Mills' Moving Memories
(2000)
Self
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
(2000)
Jacob
The Railway Children
(2000)
The Old Gentleman
The Spirit of Grey Owl
(2000)
Self
The Children Who Cheated the Nazis
(2000)
Narrator
Light Keeps Me Company
(2000)
Self
Beyond Jurassic Park
(2001)
Self
Forever Ealing
(2002)
Self
Puckoon
(2002)
Writer/Director
Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin
(2003)
Self
The Many Lives of Richard Attenborough
(2003)
Self
Within the Way Without
(2004)
(voice)
Toward the Unknown Region: Malcolm Arnold - A Story of Survival
(2004)
Self
Steve McQueen: The Essence of Cool
(2005)
Self
Chaplin the Hero
(2008)
Self
The Most Famous Man in the World!
(2008)
Self
Strolling Into the Sunset
(2008)
Self
Return to Jurassic Park
(2011)
Self (archive footage)
And the Oscar Goes To...
(2014)
Self (archive footage)
Richard Attenborough: A Life in Film
(2014)
Self
Diana: The People's Princess
(2016)
Self
And the Winner Isn't
(2017)
Self (archive footage)
Production
The Angry Silence
(1960)
Producer
Whistle Down the Wind
(1961)
Producer
The L-Shaped Room
(1962)
Producer
Seance on a Wet Afternoon
(1964)
Producer
Oh! What a Lovely War
(1969)
Producer
Gandhi
(1982)
Producer
Cry Freedom
(1987)
Producer
Chaplin
(1992)
Producer
Shadowlands
(1993)
Producer
In Love and War
(1996)
Producer
Grey Owl
(1999)
Producer
Directing
Oh! What a Lovely War
(1969)
Director
Young Winston
(1972)
Director
A Bridge Too Far
(1977)
Director
Magic
(1978)
Director
Gandhi
(1982)
Director
A Chorus Line
(1985)
Director
Cry Freedom
(1987)
Director
Chaplin
(1992)
Director
Shadowlands
(1993)
Director
In Love and War
(1996)
Director
Grey Owl
(1999)
Director
Closing the Ring
(2007)
Director