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{{Short description|English actor and theatre director (1904–2000)}}
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[[File:JG-Benedick-1959.jpg|thumb|Gielgud as Benedick in ''[[Much Ado About Nothing]]'', 1959]]
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'''Sir Arthur John Gielgud''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|g|iː|l|g|ʊ|d}} {{respell|GHEEL|guud}}; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With [[Ralph Richardson]] and [[Laurence Olivier]], he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the British stage for much of the 20th century. A member of the [[Terry family]] theatrical dynasty, he gained his first paid acting work as a junior member of his cousin [[Phyllis Neilson-Terry]]'s company in 1922. After studying at the [[Royal Academy of Dramatic Art]] (RADA), he worked in [[repertory theatre]] and in the [[West End theatre|West End]] before establishing himself at the [[Old Vic]] as an exponent of [[Shakespeare]] in 1929–31.

During the 1930s Gielgud was a stage star in the West End and on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]], appearing in new works and classics. He began a parallel career as a director, and set up his own company at the [[Sondheim Theatre|Queen's Theatre]], London. He was regarded by many as the finest [[Prince Hamlet|Hamlet]] of his era, and was also known for high comedy roles such as John Worthing in ''[[The Importance of Being Earnest]]''. In the 1950s Gielgud feared that his career was threatened when he was convicted and fined for a homosexual offence, but his colleagues and the public supported him loyally. When ''{{lang|fr|[[Experimental theatre|avant-garde]]}}'' plays began to supersede traditional West End productions in the later 1950s he found no new suitable stage roles, and for several years he was best known in the theatre for his one-man Shakespeare show ''[[The Ages of Man (play)|The Ages of Man]]''. From the late 1960s he found new plays that suited him, by authors including [[Alan Bennett]], [[David Storey]] and [[Harold Pinter]].

During the first half of his career Gielgud did not take the cinema seriously. Though he made his first film in 1924, and had successes with ''[[The Good Companions (1933 film)|The Good Companions]]'' (1933) and ''[[Julius Caesar (1953 film)|Julius Caesar]]'' (1953), he did not begin a regular film career until his sixties. He appeared in more than sixty films between ''[[Becket (1964 film)|Becket]]'' (1964), for which he received his first [[Academy Award]] nomination for playing [[Louis VII of France]], and ''[[Elizabeth (film)|Elizabeth]]'' (1998). As the acid-tongued Hobson in ''[[Arthur (1981 film)|Arthur]]'' (1981) he won the [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor]]. His film work further earned him a [[Golden Globe Award]] and two [[BAFTAs]].

Although largely indifferent to awards, Gielgud had the rare distinction of winning an [[EGOT|Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy, and a Tony]]. He was famous from the start of his career for his voice and his mastery of Shakespearean verse. He broadcast more than a hundred radio and television dramas between 1929 and 1994, and made commercial recordings of many plays, including ten of Shakespeare's and three recordings from his own "Ages of Man". Among his honours, he was [[Knight Bachelor|knighted]] in 1953 and the [[Gielgud Theatre]] was named after him in 1994. From 1977 to 1989, he was president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

==Life and career==
{{main_list|List of roles and awards of John Gielgud}}

===Background and early years===
Gielgud was born on 14 April 1904, in [[South Kensington]], London, the third of the four children of Frank Henry Gielgud and his second wife, Kate Terry-Gielgud, ''née'' Terry-Lewis. Gielgud's elder brothers were [[Lewis Gielgud|Lewis]], who became a senior official of the [[International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies|Red Cross]] and [[UNESCO]], and [[Val Gielgud|Val]], later head of [[BBC]] radio drama; his younger sister Eleanor became John's secretary for many years.<ref name=dnb>Morley, Sheridan and Robert Sharp. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/74146 "Gielgud, Sir (Arthur) John (1904–2000)"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521083150/http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/74146 |date=21 May 2013}}, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, online edition, January 2011, retrieved 2 February 2014 {{ODNBsub}}</ref> On his father's side, Gielgud was of Lithuanian and Polish descent. The surname derives from [[Gelgaudiškis]], a village in Lithuania.<ref name=dnb/> The [[Count]]s Gielgud had owned the [[Gelgaudiškis Manor]] on the [[Nemunas]] river, but their estates were confiscated after they took part in a [[November Uprising|failed uprising against Russian rule]] in 1830–31.{{refn|The date is given by Gielgud as 1830,<ref name=g22/> and by his biographer [[Jonathan Croall]] as 1831.<ref name=c8/> The historian Saulius Sužiedėlis dates the uprising as November 1830 to November 1831.<ref>Sužiedėlis, p. 134</ref>|group=n}} Jan Gielgud took refuge in England with his family;<ref name=c8>Croall (2011), pp. 8–9</ref> one of his grandchildren was Frank Gielgud, whose maternal grandmother was the Polish actress, [[Aniela Aszpergerowa]].<ref name=g22>Gielgud (1979), p. 22</ref>

[[File:Ellen-Terry-jubilee.jpg|thumb|upright=1.9|Centre: [[Marion Terry|Marion]], [[Kate Terry|Kate]] and [[Ellen Terry]] and, far right, [[Fred Terry]] at Ellen's [[Silver Jubilee]] matinée, [[Theatre Royal, Drury Lane|Drury Lane]], 12 June 1906. Everyone shown was a member of the [[Terry family]].]]

Frank married into [[Terry family|a family with wide theatrical connections]]. His wife, who was on the stage until she married, was the daughter of the actress [[Kate Terry]], and a member of the stage dynasty that included [[Ellen Terry|Ellen]], [[Fred Terry|Fred]] and [[Marion Terry]], [[Mabel Terry-Lewis]] and [[Edith Craig|Edith]] and [[Edward Gordon Craig]].<ref name=g222>Gielgud (1979), pp. 222–223</ref> Frank had no theatrical ambitions and worked all his life as a stockbroker in the [[City of London]].<ref>Croall (2011), p. 10</ref>

In 1912, aged eight, Gielgud went to Hillside [[preparatory school (United Kingdom)|preparatory school]] in Surrey as his elder brothers had done. For a child with no interest in sport he acquitted himself reasonably well in [[cricket]] and [[rugby football|rugby]] for the school.<ref>Gielgud (2004), pp. 5–6</ref> In class, he hated mathematics, was fair at [[classics]], and excelled at English and [[divinity (academic discipline)|divinity]].<ref>Croall (2011), p. 16</ref> Hillside encouraged his interest in drama, and he played several leading roles in school productions, including [[Mark Antony]] in ''[[Julius Caesar (play)|Julius Caesar]]'' and [[Shylock]] in ''[[The Merchant of Venice]]''.<ref>Croall (2011), pp. 17–18</ref>

After Hillside, Lewis and Val had won scholarships to [[Eton College|Eton]] and [[Rugby School|Rugby]], respectively; lacking their academic achievement, John failed to secure such a scholarship.<ref>Gielgud (2000), p. 34</ref> He was sent as a [[day pupil|day boy]] to [[Westminster School]]{{refn|He was briefly a [[boarding school|boarder]], but he persuaded his parents to let him live at home, which was only three miles (4.8 kilometres) from the school.<ref>Croall (2000), pp. 19–20</ref>|group=n}} where, as he later said, he had access to the [[West End theatre|West End]] "in time to touch the fringe of the great century of the theatre".<ref name=g36/> He saw [[Sarah Bernhardt]] act, [[Adeline Genée]] dance and [[Albert Chevalier]], [[Vesta Tilley]] and [[Marie Lloyd]] perform in the [[music hall]]s.<ref name=g36>Gielgud (2000), p. 36</ref> The school choir sang in services at [[Westminster Abbey]], which appealed to his fondness for ritual.<ref>Gielgud (2000), p. 37</ref> He showed talent at sketching, and for a while thought of [[scenic design]] as a possible career.<ref>Hayman, p. 13</ref>

The young Gielgud's father took him to concerts, which he liked, and galleries and museums, "which bored me rigid".<ref>Morley, p. 34</ref> Both parents were keen theatregoers, but did not encourage their children to follow an acting career. Val Gielgud recalled, "Our parents looked distinctly sideways at the Stage as a means of livelihood, and when John showed some talent for drawing his father spoke crisply of the advantages of an architect's office."<ref>Gielgud (1965), p. 31</ref> On leaving Westminster in 1921, Gielgud persuaded his reluctant parents to let him take drama lessons on the understanding that if he was not self-supporting by the age of twenty-five he would seek an office post.<ref name=g48>Gielgud (1979), p. 48</ref>

===First acting experience===
{{Hatnote|Details of Gielgud's work, 1921–25: [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgS21|Stage]]}}
Gielgud, aged seventeen, joined a private drama school run by [[Constance Benson]], wife of the [[actor-manager]] [[Frank Benson (actor)|Sir Frank Benson]].<ref>Hayman, p. 18</ref> On the new boy's first day Lady Benson remarked on his physical awkwardness: "she said I walked like a cat with [[rickets]]. It dealt a severe blow to my conceit, which was a good thing."<ref>"Profile – The old master of rhetoric and robes", ''[[The Observer]]'', 14 April 1974, p. 9</ref> Before and after joining the school he played in several amateur productions,<ref>Gielgud (2000), p. 41</ref> and in November 1921 made his debut with a professional company, though he himself was not paid. He played the Herald in ''[[Henry V (play)|Henry V]]'' at the [[Old Vic]]; he had one line to speak and, he recalled, spoke it badly.<ref>Gielgud (2000), pp. 45–46</ref> He was kept on for the rest of the season in walk-on parts in ''[[King Lear]]'', ''Wat Tyler'' and ''[[Peer Gynt]]'', with no lines.<ref>Gaye, p. 643; and Gielgud (2000), p. 46</ref>

{{Quote box|bgcolor=#DCD|salign=right|quote=If your great-aunt happens to be Ellen Terry, your great-uncle Fred Terry, your cousins Gordon Craig and Phyllis Neilson-Terry, and your grandmother the greatest Shakespearean actress in all Lithuania, you are hardly likely to drift into the fish trade.|source=Gielgud on his theatrical background.<ref>Morley, p. 1</ref>|align=left|width=225px}}

Gielgud's first substantial engagement came through his family. In 1922 his cousin [[Phyllis Neilson-Terry]]{{refn|Phyllis Neilson-Terry was Gielgud's first cousin once removed, being a first cousin of his mother.<ref name=g222/>|group=n}} invited him to tour in [[J.&nbsp;B. Fagan]]'s ''The Wheel'' as [[understudy]], bit-part player and assistant stage manager, an invitation he accepted.<ref name=dnb/> A colleague, recognising that the young man had talent but lacked technique, recommended him to the [[Royal Academy of Dramatic Art]] (RADA). Gielgud was awarded a scholarship to the academy and trained there throughout 1923 under [[Kenneth Barnes (director)|Kenneth Barnes]], [[Helen Haye]] and [[Claude Rains]].<ref>Gielgud (2000), p. 51</ref>

The actor-manager [[Nigel Playfair]], a friend of Gielgud's family, saw him in a student presentation of [[J.&nbsp;M. Barrie]]'s ''[[The Admirable Crichton]]''. Playfair was impressed and cast him as Felix, the poet-butterfly, in the British premiere of the [[Brothers Čapek|Čapek brothers]]' ''[[The Insect Play]]''. Gielgud later said that he made a poor impression in the part: "I am surprised that the audience did not throw things at me."<ref>Gielgud (2000), p. 53</ref> The critics were cautious but not hostile to the play;<ref>Ervine, St John. "The Insect Play", ''The Observer'', 6 May 1923, p. 15; Brown, Ivor. "The Insect Play", ''The Manchester Guardian'', 7 May 1923, p. 14; "The Insect Play", ''[[The Times]]'', 7 May 1923, p. 10; and "Theatres", ''The Times'', 9 June 1923, p. 98</ref> it did not attract the public and closed after a month.<ref name=m33/> While still continuing his studies at RADA, Gielgud appeared again for Playfair in ''Robert{{space}}E Lee'' by [[John Drinkwater (playwright)|John Drinkwater]].<ref name=m33>Morley, p. 33</ref> After leaving the academy at the end of 1923 Gielgud played a Christmas season as Charley in ''[[Charley's Aunt]]'' in the West End, and then joined Fagan's [[repertory]] company at the [[Oxford Playhouse]].<ref>Morley, p. 38</ref>

Gielgud was in the Oxford company in January and February 1924, from October 1924 to the end of January 1925, and in August 1925.<ref name=roles>Croall (2000), pp. 534–545; Morley, pp. 459–477; and Tanitch, pp. 178–191</ref> He played a wide range of parts in classics and modern plays, greatly increasing his technical abilities in the process.<ref>Croall (2000), pp. 60–61</ref> The role he most enjoyed was Trofimov in ''[[The Cherry Orchard]]'', his first experience of [[Chekhov]]: "It was the first time I ever went out on stage feeling that perhaps, after all, I could really be an actor."<ref>Morley, p. 43</ref>

===Early West End roles===
{{Hatnote|Details of Gielgud's work, 1924–29: [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgS24|Stage]], [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgR24|Radio]], [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgF24|Film]]}}
Between Gielgud's first two Oxford seasons, the producer [[Barry Jackson (director)|Barry Jackson]] cast him as [[Romeo]] to the [[Juliet]] of [[Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies]] at the Regent's Theatre, London, in May 1924. The production was not a great success, but the two performers became close friends and frequently worked together throughout their careers.<ref>Gielgud (1979), p. 63</ref> Gielgud made his screen debut during 1924 as Daniel Arnault in [[Walter Summers]]'s silent film ''[[Who Is the Man?]]'' (1924).<ref>Gielgud (2000), p. 197</ref>

[[File:Lilian Braithwaite & Noël Coward.jpg|thumb|[[Noël Coward]] with [[Lilian Braithwaite]], his, and later Gielgud's, co-star in ''[[The Vortex]]'']]

In May 1925 the Oxford production of ''The Cherry Orchard'' was brought to the [[Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith]]. Gielgud again played Trofimov.<ref>"Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith", '' The Times'', 26 May 1925, p. 14</ref> His distinctive speaking voice attracted attention and led to work for [[BBC Radio]], which his biographer [[Sheridan Morley]] calls "a medium he made his own for seventy years".<ref name=dnb/> In the same year [[Noël Coward]] chose Gielgud as his understudy in his play ''[[The Vortex]]''. For the last month of the West End run Gielgud took over Coward's role of Nicky Lancaster, the drug-addicted son of a nymphomaniac mother. It was in Gielgud's words "a highly-strung, nervous, hysterical part which depended a lot upon emotion".<ref name=g61>Gielgud (1979), p. 61</ref> He found it tiring to play because he had not yet learned how to pace himself, but he thought it "a thrilling engagement because it led to so many great things afterwards".<ref name=g61/>

The success of ''The Cherry Orchard'' led to what one critic called a "Chekhov boom" in British theatres, and Gielgud was among its leading players.<ref>Croall (2000), p. 69</ref> As Konstantin in ''[[The Seagull]]'' in October 1925 he impressed the Russian director [[Theodore Komisarjevsky]], who cast him as Tusenbach in the British premiere of ''[[Three Sisters (play)|Three Sisters]]''. The production received enthusiastic reviews, and Gielgud's highly praised performance enhanced his reputation as a potential star.<ref>Croall (2000), p. 73</ref> There followed three years of mixed fortunes for him, with successes in fringe productions, but West End stardom was elusive.<ref>Croall (2011), p. 74</ref>

In 1926 the producer [[Basil Dean]] offered Gielgud the lead role, Lewis Dodd, in a dramatisation of [[Margaret Kennedy]]'s best-selling novel, ''[[The Constant Nymph (play)|The Constant Nymph]]''. Before rehearsals began Dean found that a bigger star than Gielgud was available, namely Coward, to whom he gave the part. Gielgud had an enforceable contractual claim to the role, but Dean, a notorious bully, was a powerful force in British theatre.<ref>Croall (2000), p. 89</ref><ref name="dean dnb">Roose-Evans, James. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/31016 "Dean, Basil Herbert (1888–1978)"], ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, online edition, January 2011, retrieved 12 August 2014 {{ODNBsub}}</ref> Intimidated, Gielgud accepted the position of understudy, with a guarantee that he would take over the lead from Coward when the latter, who disliked playing in long runs, left.<ref>Croall (2011), pp. 85–86</ref> In the event Coward, who had been overworking, suffered a nervous collapse three weeks after the opening night, and Gielgud played the lead for the rest of the run. The play ran for nearly a year in London and then went on tour.<ref>Gielgud (2000), pp. 93–94</ref>

[[File:Mrs-Patrick-Campbell-and-EdithEvans.jpg|thumb|left|[[Mrs Patrick Campbell]] and [[Edith Evans]], 1920s co-stars with Gielgud]]

By this time Gielgud was earning enough to leave the family home and take a small flat in the West End. He had his first serious romantic relationship, living with John Perry, an unsuccessful actor, later a writer, who remained a lifelong friend after their affair ended. Morley makes the point that, like Coward, Gielgud's principal passion was the stage; both men had casual dalliances, but were more comfortable with "low-maintenance" long-term partners who did not impede their theatrical work and ambitions.<ref>Morley, p. 56</ref>

In 1928 Gielgud made his [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] debut as the [[Alexander I of Russia|Grand Duke Alexander]] in [[Alfred Neumann (writer)|Alfred Neumann]]'s ''The Patriot''. The play was a failure, closing after a week, but Gielgud liked New York and received favourable reviews from critics including [[Alexander Woollcott]] and [[Brooks Atkinson]].<ref>Hayman, p. 46; and Atkinson, Brooks. [https://www.nytimes.com/1928/01/20/archives/the-play-imperial-tragedy.html "The Play – Imperial Tragedy"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', 20 January 1928, p. 15 {{subscription}}</ref> After returning to London he starred in a succession of short runs, including [[Ibsen]]'s ''[[Ghosts (play)|Ghosts]]'' with [[Mrs Patrick Campbell]] (1928), and [[Reginald Berkeley]]'s ''The Lady with a Lamp'' (1929) with [[Edith Evans]] and Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies.<ref name=dnb/> In 1928 he made his second film, ''[[The Clue of the New Pin (1929 film)|The Clue of the New Pin]]''.{{refn|According to Morley, but not to Gielgud or Croall, Gielgud's second film appearance was in the title role of Komisarjevsky's film ''Michael Strogoff'' (1926).<ref>Morley, p. 63</ref> No such film is listed by the [[British Film Institute]], and this seems to refer to a live performance given as a prologue to the gala screening of Universal Film de France's 1926 ''Michel Strogoff'' at the [[Albert Hall]]. The film was directed by [[Viktor Tourjansky]];<ref>[http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b6be94f88 "Michel Strogoff"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222014657/http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b6be94f88 |date=22 February 2014}}, British Film Institute, retrieved 9 February 2014</ref> Komisarjevsky directed the live prologue, in which a scene from the film was enacted "with prominent British stage players taking the principal roles and scores of dancing girls and others making up the colorful Tartar atmosphere".<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/motionpicture34moti#page/n149/mode/2up "Strogoff Feb 8 Release"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131107170344/http://archive.org/stream/motionpicture34moti |date=7 November 2013}}, ''Motion Picture News'', 13 November 1926, p. 1855</ref>|group=n}} This, billed as "the first British full-length [[talkie]]",<ref>"The Film World", ''The Times'', 6 February 1929, p. 12</ref> was an adaptation of an [[Edgar Wallace]] mystery story; Gielgud played a young scoundrel who commits two murders and very nearly a third before he himself is killed.{{refn|Both Gielgud and Morley refer to the film as silent,<ref>Gielgud (2000), p. 198; and Morley, p. 81</ref> but according to the [[British Film Institute]], it had sound, by the British Phototone [[sound-on-disc]] system, and beat [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s ''[[Blackmail (1929 film)|Blackmail]]'' to the distinction of being Britain's first full-length talkie.<ref>White and Buscombe, p. 94</ref>|group=n}}

===Old Vic===
{{Hatnote|Details of Gielgud's work, 1929–31: [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgS29|Stage]], [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgR29|Radio]], [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgF29|Film]]}}
In 1929 [[Harcourt Williams]], newly appointed as director of productions at the Old Vic, invited Gielgud to join the company for the forthcoming season. The Old Vic, in an unfashionable area of London south of the [[Thames]], was run by [[Lilian Baylis]] to offer plays and operas to a mostly working-class audience at low ticket prices.<ref>Gilbert, p. 16</ref> She paid her performers very modest wages, but the theatre was known for its unrivalled repertory of classics, mostly [[Shakespeare's plays|Shakespeare]], and Gielgud was not the first West End star to take a large pay cut to work there. It was, in Morley's words, the place to learn Shakespearean technique and try new ideas.<ref name=dnb/>

[[File:Old Vic0185.JPG|thumb|left|The [[Old Vic]] (photographed in 2012), where Gielgud honed his skill as a Shakespearean]]

During his first season at the Old Vic, Gielgud played Romeo to the Juliet of [[Adele Dixon]], [[Antonio (The Merchant of Venice)|Antonio]] in ''The Merchant of Venice'', Cleante in ''[[The Imaginary Invalid]]'', the [[Richard II of England|title role]] in ''[[Richard II (play)|Richard II]]'', and [[Oberon]] in ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]''.<ref name=roles/> His Romeo was not well reviewed, but as Richard II Gielgud was recognised by critics as a Shakespearean actor of undoubted authority.<ref>Morley, pp. 68–70</ref> The reviewer in ''[[The Times]]'' commented on his sensitiveness, strength and firmness, and called his performance "work of genuine distinction, not only in its grasp of character, but in its control of language".<ref>"The Old Vic – Richard II", ''The Times'', 19 November 1929, p. 14</ref> Later in the season he was cast as Mark Antony in ''Julius Caesar'', [[Orlando (As You Like It)|Orlando]] in ''[[As You Like It]]'', the [[Caesar (title)|Emperor]] in ''[[Androcles and the Lion (play)|Androcles and the Lion]]'' and the title role in [[Luigi Pirandello|Pirandello]]'s ''[[The Man with the Flower in His Mouth]]''.<ref name=roles/>

In April 1930 Gielgud finished the season [[Hamlet in performance|playing Hamlet]].<ref name=roles/> Williams's production used the complete text of the play. This was regarded as a radical innovation; extensive cuts had been customary for earlier productions. A running time of nearly five hours did not dampen the enthusiasm of the public, the critics or the acting profession. [[Sybil Thorndike]] said, "I never hoped to see Hamlet played as in one's dreams&nbsp;... I've had an evening of being swept right off my feet into another life – far more real than the life I live in, and moved, moved beyond words."<ref>Croall (2000), pp. 126–127</ref> The production gained such a reputation that the Old Vic began to attract large numbers of West End theatregoers. Demand was so great that the cast moved to the [[Sondheim Theatre|Queen's Theatre]], in [[Shaftesbury Avenue]], where Williams staged the piece with the text discreetly shortened. The effect of the cuts was to give the title role even more prominence.<ref>"The Old Vic", ''The Times'', 29 April 1930, p. 12</ref> Gielgud's Hamlet was richly praised by the critics. [[Ivor Brown]] called it "a tremendous performance&nbsp;... the best Hamlet of [my] experience".<ref>Brown, Ivor. "Mr John Gielgud's Hamlet", ''The Manchester Guardian'', 29 May 1930, p. 6</ref> [[James Agate]] wrote, "I have no hesitation whatsoever in saying that it is the high water-mark of English Shakespearean acting of our time."<ref>Croall (2011), p. 123</ref>

[[File:Mabel terry-lewis.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Mabel Terry-Lewis]], Gielgud's aunt and co-star in ''[[The Importance of Being Earnest]]'']]
Hamlet was a role with which Gielgud was associated over the next decade and more. After the run at the Queen's finished he turned to another part for which he became well known, John Worthing in ''[[The Importance of Being Earnest]]''. Gielgud's biographer [[Jonathan Croall]] comments that the two roles illustrated two sides of the actor's personality: on the one hand the romantic and soulful Hamlet, and on the other the witty and superficial Worthing.<ref>Croall (2000), p. 131</ref> The formidable Lady Bracknell was played by his aunt, Mabel Terry-Lewis. ''The Times'' observed, "Mr Gielgud and Miss Terry-Lewis together are brilliant&nbsp;... they have the supreme grace of always allowing [[Oscar Wilde|Wilde]] to speak in his own voice."<ref>"Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith", ''The Times'', 8 June 1930, p. 12</ref>

Returning to the Old Vic for the 1930–31 season, Gielgud found several changes to the company. [[Donald Wolfit]], who loathed him and was himself disliked by his colleagues, was dropped, as was Adele Dixon.<ref name=c134>Croall (2000), p. 134</ref> Gielgud was uncertain of the suitability of the most prominent new recruit, [[Ralph Richardson]], but Williams was sure that after this season Gielgud would move on; he saw Richardson as a potential replacement.<ref name=c134/> The two actors had little in common. Richardson recalled, "He was a kind of brilliant butterfly, while I was a very gloomy sort of boy",<ref>Croall (2011), p. 128</ref> and "I found his clothes extravagant, I found his conversation flippant. He was the New Young Man of his time and I didn't like him."<ref name=h67/> The first production of the season was ''[[Henry IV, Part 1]]'', in which Gielgud as [[Henry Percy (Hotspur)|Hotspur]] had the best of the reviews.<ref>Croall (2000), p. 135</ref> Richardson's notices, and the relationship of the two leading men, improved markedly when Gielgud, who was playing [[Prospero]] in ''[[The Tempest]]'', helped Richardson with his performance as [[Caliban]]:

{{blockquote|He gave me about two hundred ideas, as he usually does, twenty-five of which I eagerly seized on, and when I went away I thought, "This chap, you know, I don't like him very much but by God he knows something about this here play."{{space}}... And then out of that we formed a friendship.<ref name=h67>Hayman, p. 67</ref>}}

The friendship and professional association lasted for more than fifty years, until the end of Richardson's life.<ref>Gielgud, John. "A great gentleman, a rare spirit", ''The Observer'', 16 October 1983, p. 9</ref> Gielgud's other roles in this season were Lord Trinket in ''[[The Jealous Wife]]'', Richard II again, Antony in ''[[Antony and Cleopatra]]'', [[Malvolio]] in ''[[Twelfth Night]]'', Sergius in ''[[Arms and the Man]]'', Benedick in ''[[Much Ado About Nothing]]'' – another role for which he became celebrated – and he concluded the season as [[King Lear]]. His performance divided opinion. ''The Times'' commented, "It is a mountain of a part, and at the end of the evening the peak remains unscaled";<ref>"The Old Vic", ''The Times'', 14 April 1931, p. 12</ref> in ''[[The Manchester Guardian]]'', however, Brown wrote that Gielgud "is a match for the thunder, and at length takes the Dover road with a broken tranquillity that allowed every word of the King's agony to be clear as well as poignant".<ref>Brown, Ivor. "King Lear", ''The Manchester Guardian'', 14 April 1931, p. 8</ref>

===West End star===
{{Hatnote|Details of Gielgud's work, 1931–37: [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgS31|Stage]], [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgD31|Director]], [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgR31|Radio]], [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgF31|Film]]}}
Returning to the West End, Gielgud starred in [[J.B. Priestley|J.&nbsp;B.{{space}}Priestley]]'s ''[[The Good Companions (play)|The Good Companions]]'', adapted for the stage by the author and [[Edward Knoblock]].{{refn|Knoblock was the subject of one of the most repeated Gielgud stories, which, pressed by [[Emlyn Williams]], Gielgud confessed was true. While Knoblock and Gielgud were dining one day at [[The Ivy (United Kingdom)|The Ivy]] a man passed their table, and Gielgud said, "Thank God he didn't stop, he's a bigger bore than Eddie Knoblock – oh, not you, Eddie!" Williams asked how Knoblock reacted, and Gielgud replied, "He just looked slightly puzzled, and went on boring."<ref>Croall (2013), p. 44</ref>|group=n}} The production ran from May 1931 for 331 performances, and Gielgud described it as his first real taste of commercial success.<ref>Gielgud (2000), p. 146</ref> He played Inigo Jollifant, a young schoolmaster who abandons teaching to join a travelling theatre troupe. This crowd-pleaser drew disapproval from the more austere reviewers, who felt Gielgud should be doing something more demanding,<ref>Morley, p. 80</ref> but he found playing a conventional juvenile lead had challenges of its own and helped him improve his technique.<ref>Gielgud (2000), p. 145</ref> During the run of the play he made another film, ''[[Insult (film)|Insult]]'' (1932), a [[melodrama]] about the [[French Foreign Legion]], and he starred in [[The Good Companions (1933 film)|a cinema version]] of ''The Good Companions'' in 1933, with [[Jessie Matthews]].<ref name=roles/>{{refn|In a retrospective survey of Gielgud's film career, Brian Baxter wrote in 2000 that Inigo was Gielgud's first memorable screen role, helped by the direction of [[Victor Saville]], whom Baxter calls the best British director of the period next to [[Alfred Hitchcock]].<ref name=baxter>Baxter, Brian. "Appreciation: Sir John Gielgud's films", ''The Guardian'', 25 May 2000, p. 26</ref> The film was well received by critics; [[Mordaunt Hall]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' got Gielgud mixed up with his brother Val but thought his performance "a joy to behold&nbsp;... extraordinarily real".<ref>Hall, Mordaunt. [https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9F0CE5D91530EF3ABC4852DFB6678388629EDE "Film Review"], ''The New York Times'', 10 October 1933, p. 24 {{subscription}} {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306115052/http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9F0CE5D91530EF3ABC4852DFB6678388629EDE |date=6 March 2016}}</ref>|group=n}} A letter to a friend reveals Gielgud's view of film acting: "There is talk of my doing Inigo in the film of ''The Good Companions'', which appals my soul but appeals to my pocket."<ref>Gielgud (2004), p. 16</ref> In his first volume of memoirs, published in 1939, Gielgud devoted two pages to describing the things about filming that he detested.<ref>Gielgud (2000), pp. 199–201</ref> Unlike his contemporaries Richardson and [[Laurence Olivier]], he made few films until after the Second World War, and did not establish himself as a prominent film actor until many years after that.<ref>Morley, p. 81</ref> As he put it in 1994, "I was stupid enough to toss my head and stick to the stage while watching Larry and Ralph sign lucrative [[Alexander Korda|Korda]] contracts."<ref>[http://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/26th-march-1994/18/people-think-im-about-to-die "People think I'm about to die"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140308194734/http://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/26th-march-1994/18/people-think-im-about-to-die |date=8 March 2014}}, ''[[The Spectator]]'', 16 March 1994, p. 18</ref>

[[File:Peggy-Ashcroft-1936-3.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Peggy Ashcroft]] in 1936]]

In 1932 Gielgud turned to directing. At the invitation of [[George Devine]], the president of the [[Oxford University Dramatic Society]], Gielgud took charge of a production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' by the society, featuring two guest stars: [[Peggy Ashcroft]] as Juliet and Edith Evans as the Nurse. The rest of the cast were students, led by [[Christopher Hassall]] as Romeo, and included Devine, [[William Devlin (actor)|William Devlin]] and [[Terence Rattigan]].<ref>"OUDS – Romeo and Juliet", ''The Times'', 11 February 1932, p. 10</ref> The experience was satisfactory to Gielgud: he enjoyed the attentions of the undergraduates, had a brief affair with one of them, [[James Lees-Milne]],<ref>Morley, p. 84</ref> and was widely praised for his inspiring direction and his protégés' success with the play.<ref>Morley, p. 86</ref> Already notorious for his innocent slips of the tongue (he called them "Gielgoofs"), in a speech after the final performance he referred to Ashcroft and Evans as "Two leading ladies, the like of whom I hope I shall never meet again".<ref>Morley, p. 85</ref>

During the rest of 1932 Gielgud played in a new piece, ''Musical Chairs'' by Ronald Mackenzie, and directed one new and one classic play, ''Strange Orchestra'' by [[Rodney Ackland]] in the West End, and ''The Merchant of Venice'' at the Old Vic, with [[Malcolm Keen]] as Shylock and Ashcroft as Portia.<ref>"'The Merchant' – New Style: A Rejuvenated Play", ''The Manchester Guardian'', 13 December 1932, p. 18</ref> In 1932 he starred in ''[[Richard of Bordeaux]]'' by [[Elizabeth MacKintosh]].{{refn|MacKintosh wrote under the pen name [[Gordon Daviot]], and wrote novels under the name Josephine Tey.<ref>Morley, p. 95</ref>|group=n}} This, a retelling in modern language of the events of ''Richard II'', was greeted as the most successful historical play since Shaw's ''[[Saint Joan (play)|Saint Joan]]'' nine years earlier, more faithful to the events than Shakespeare had been.<ref>Morley, pp. 97–100</ref> After an uncertain start in the West End it rapidly became a sell-out hit and played in London and on tour over the next three years.<ref name=roles/>

Between seasons of ''Richard'', in 1934 Gielgud returned to ''Hamlet'' in London and on tour, directing and playing the title role. The production was a box-office success, and the critics were lavish in their praise.<ref>"Mr Gielgud's Hamlet", ''The Manchester Guardian'', 15 November 1934, p. 8; "New Theatre", ''The Times'', 15 November 1934, p. 12; and "The Week's Theatres: 'Hamlet'", ''The Observer'', 18 November 1934, p. 17</ref> In ''[[The New York Times]]'', [[Charles Langbridge Morgan|Charles Morgan]] wrote, "I have never before heard the rhythm and verse and the naturalness of speech so gently combined.&nbsp;... If I see a better performance of this play than this before I die, it will be a miracle."<ref>Morgan, Charles. [https://www.nytimes.com/1934/12/02/archives/the-gielgud-hamlet.html "The Gielgud Hamlet"], ''The New York Times'', 2 December 1934, p. X3 {{subscription}}</ref> Morley writes that junior members of the cast such as [[Alec Guinness]] and [[Frith Banbury]] would gather in the wings every night "to watch what they seemed intuitively already to know was to be the Hamlet of their time".<ref>Morley, p. 113</ref>

{{Quote box|bgcolor=#DCD|salign=right|quote=Mr Olivier was about twenty times as much in love with Peggy Ashcroft as Mr Gielgud is. But Mr Gielgud spoke most of the poetry far better than Mr Olivier&nbsp;... Yet – I must out with it – the fire of Mr Olivier's passion carried the play along as Mr Gielgud's doesn't quite.|source=[[Herbert Farjeon]] on the rival Romeos.<ref>Findlater, p. 57</ref>|align=right|width=33%}}

The following year Gielgud staged perhaps his most famous Shakespeare production, a ''Romeo and Juliet'' in which he co-starred with Ashcroft and Olivier. Gielgud had spotted Olivier's potential and gave him a major step up in his career.{{refn|Olivier's biographer [[Michael Billington (critic)|Michael Billington]] writes under the heading "Rescued by Gielgud" that Olivier "had appeared in a string of commercial flops, had flirted unrewardingly with Hollywood, and had largely avoided the classics".<ref>Billington, Michael. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/38623 "Olivier, Laurence Kerr, Baron Olivier (1907–1989)"], ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, January 2014, retrieved 13 March 2014 {{ODNBsub}}</ref>|group=n}} For the first weeks of the run Gielgud played [[Mercutio]] and Olivier played Romeo, after which they exchanged roles.{{refn|The original casting applied from 18 October to 28 November 1935; the two leading men then switched roles for alternating periods of several weeks at a time during the run. For the last week, ending on 28 March 1936, Olivier was Mercutio and Gielgud Romeo.<ref name=plans>"Mr Gielgud's Plans", ''The Times'', 10 March 1936, p. 14</ref>|group=n}} As at Oxford, Ashcroft and Evans were Juliet and the nurse. The production broke all box-office records for the play, running at the [[Noël Coward Theatre|New Theatre]] for 189 performances.{{refn|The previous record was 161 performances, by [[Henry Irving]] and Gielgud's great-aunt Ellen Terry in 1882.<ref name=plans/>|group=n}} Olivier was enraged at the notices after the first night, which praised the virility of his performance but fiercely criticised his speaking of Shakespeare's verse, comparing it with his co-star's mastery of the poetry. The friendship between the two men was prickly, on Olivier's side, for the rest of his life.<ref>Morley, pp. 122–123</ref>

[[File:John Gielgud in Secret Agent (1936).jpg|thumb|left|upright|Gielgud in a publicity photograph for ''[[Secret Agent (1936 film)|Secret Agent]]'' (1936)]]
In May 1936 Gielgud played Trigorin in ''The Seagull'', with Evans as Arkadina and Ashcroft as Nina. Komisarjevsky directed, which made rehearsals difficult as Ashcroft, with whom he had been living, had just left him. Nonetheless, Morley writes, the critical reception was ecstatic.<ref>Morley, p. 133</ref> In the same year Gielgud made his last pre-war film, co-starring with [[Madeleine Carroll]] in [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s ''[[Secret Agent (1936 film)|Secret Agent]]''. The director's insensitivity to actors made Gielgud nervous and further increased his dislike of filming.<ref>Morley, pp. 130–131</ref> The two stars were praised for their performances, but Hitchcock's "preoccupation with incident" was felt by critics to make the leading roles one-dimensional, and the laurels went to [[Peter Lorre]] as Gielgud's deranged assistant.<ref>"'Secret Agent' – Exciting Spy Film by Alfred Hitchcock", ''The Manchester Guardian'', 11 May 1936, p. 13; "New Films in London", ''The Times'', 11 May 1936, p. 10; and "'Secret Agent' at the Gaumont", ''The Manchester Guardian'', 13 October 1936, p. 13</ref>

From September 1936 to February 1937 Gielgud played Hamlet in North America, opening in Toronto before moving to New York and Boston. He was nervous about starring on Broadway for the first time, particularly as it became known that the popular actor [[Leslie Howard]] was to appear there in a rival production of the play. When Gielgud opened at the [[Empire Theatre (41st Street)|Empire Theatre]] in October the reviews were mixed,{{refn|[[Brooks Atkinson]] commented that Gielgud's performance "requires comparison with the best. But there is a coarser ferocity to Shakespeare's tragedy that is sound theatre, and that is wanting in Mr Gielgud's art."<ref>Atkinson, Brooks. [https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0D10FE3D5A1B7B93CBA9178BD95F428385F9 "The Play"], ''The New York Times'', 9 October 1936, p. 30 {{subscription}} {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222232029/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0D10FE3D5A1B7B93CBA9178BD95F428385F9 |date=22 February 2014}}</ref>|group=n}} but, as the actor wrote to his mother, the audience response was extraordinary. "They stay at the end and shout every night and the stage door is beset by fans."<ref>Gielgud (2004), pp. 28–29</ref> Howard's production opened in November; it was, in Gielgud's words, a débâcle, and the "battle of the Hamlets" heralded in the New York press was over almost as soon as it had begun. Howard's version closed within a month; the run of Gielgud's production beat Broadway records for the play.<ref>Gielgud (2004), pp. 30 and 35; and Morley, pp. 143–144</ref>

===Queen's Theatre company===
{{Hatnote|Details of Gielgud's work, 1937–38: [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgS37|Stage]], [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgD37|Director]], [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgR37|Radio]]}}
[[File:London Queen's Theatre auditorium.jpg|thumb|upright|Interior of the [[Sondheim Theatre|Queen's Theatre]]]]
After his return from America in February 1937 Gielgud starred in ''He Was Born Gay'' by [[Emlyn Williams]].<ref>Croall (2000), pp. 237–238</ref> This romantic tragedy about French royalty after the [[French Revolution|Revolution]] was quite well received during its pre-London tour,<ref>"'He Was Born Gay' at the Opera House", ''The Manchester Guardian'', 20 April 1937, p. 13</ref> but was savaged by the critics in the West End.<ref>Morley, p. 149</ref> ''The Times'' said, "This is one of those occasions on which criticism does not stand about talking, but rubs its eyes and withdraws hastily with an embarrassed, incredulous, and uncomprehending blush. What made Mr Emlyn Williams write this play or Mr Gielgud and Miss Ffrangcon-Davies appear in it is not to be understood."<ref>"Queen's Theatre", ''The Times'', 22 May 1937, p. 14</ref> The play closed after twelve performances. Its failure, so soon after his Shakespearean triumphs, prompted Gielgud to examine his career and his life. His domestic relationship with Perry was comfortable but unexciting, he saw no future in a film career, and the Old Vic could not afford to stage the classics on the large scale to which he aspired. He decided that he must form his own company to play Shakespeare and other classic plays in the West End.<ref>Morley, pp. 150–152</ref>

Gielgud invested £5,000, most of his earnings from the American ''Hamlet''; Perry, who had family money, put in the same sum.<ref name=m152/> From September 1937 to April 1938 Gielgud was the tenant of the Queen's Theatre, where he presented a season consisting of ''Richard II'', ''[[The School for Scandal]]'', ''Three Sisters'', and ''The Merchant of Venice''.<ref name=m152>Morley, pp. 152–158</ref> His company included [[Harry Andrews]], Peggy Ashcroft, [[Glen Byam Shaw]], George Devine, [[Michael Redgrave]] and Harcourt Williams, with [[Angela Baddeley]] and Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies as guests. His own roles were King Richard, Joseph Surface, Vershinin and Shylock.<ref name=roles/> Gielgud's performances drew superlatives from reviewers and colleagues. Agate considered his Richard II, "probably the best piece of Shakespearean acting on the English stage today".<ref>Agate, p. 30</ref> Olivier said that Gielgud's Joseph Surface was "the best light comedy performance I've ever seen, or ever shall see".<ref>Croall (2011), p. 234</ref>

The venture did not make much money,<ref>Gielgud (2004), p. 48; and Morley, p. 159</ref> and in July 1938 Gielgud turned to more conventional West End enterprises, in unconventional circumstances. He directed ''[[Spring Meeting (play)|Spring Meeting]]'', a farce by Perry and [[Molly Keane]], presented by [[Binkie Beaumont]], for whom Perry had just left Gielgud. Somehow the three men remained on excellent terms.<ref>Croall (2000), pp. 258–259</ref> In September of the same year Gielgud appeared in [[Dodie Smith]]'s sentimental comedy ''[[Dear Octopus]]''.<ref name=roles/> The following year he directed and appeared in ''The Importance of Being Earnest'' at the [[Gielgud Theatre|Globe]], with Evans playing Lady Bracknell for the first time. They were gratified when [[Allan Aynesworth]], who had played Algernon in the 1895 premiere, said that the new production "caught the gaiety and exactly the right atmosphere. It's all delightful!"<ref>Croall (2011), p. 255</ref>

===War and post-war===
{{Hatnote|Details of Gielgud's work, 1939–49: [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgS39|Stage]], [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgD39|Director]], [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgR39|Radio]], [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgF39|Film]], [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgA39|Accolades]]}}
At the start of the Second World War Gielgud volunteered for active service, but was told that men of his age, thirty-five, would not be wanted for at least six months. The government quickly came to the view that most actors would do more good performing to entertain the troops and the general public than serving, whether suitable or not, in the armed forces.<ref name=m168>Morley, p. 168</ref>{{refn|Among Gielgud's colleagues who managed to join up, Alec Guinness and [[Anthony Quayle]] earned distinguished war records, but, more typically in Morley's view, the authorities were very glad to release Richardson and Olivier from the [[Fleet Air Arm]] to rejoin the theatre.<ref name=m168/> Gielgud told [[Jeremy Paxman]] in 1999 that he had recently discovered that Binkie Beaumont secretly told the authorities that Gielgud was unfit for military service, purely to retain his services for Beaumont's productions.<ref>Morley, p. 450</ref>|group=n}}

Gielgud directed Michael Redgrave in a 1940 London production of ''[[The Beggar's Opera]]'' for the [[Glyndebourne Festival]]. This was a chaotic affair: Gielgud's direction confused his star, and when Redgrave lost his voice Gielgud had to step in and sing the role as best he could. Gielgud felt that something serious or even solemn was necessary for [[The Blitz|wartime London]], where most entertainment was light-hearted. Together with [[Harley Granville-Barker]] and Guthrie he reopened the Old Vic with Shakespeare. His King Lear once again divided the critics, but his Prospero was a considerable success. He played the role quite differently from his attempt on the same stage in 1930: in place of the "manic conjurer"<ref>Morley, p. 172</ref> his Prospero was "very far from the usual mixture of Father Christmas, a Colonial Bishop, and the President of the Magicians' Union&nbsp;... a clear, arresting picture of a virile Renaissance notable", according to Brown.<ref>Brown, Ivor. "At the Play", ''The Observer'', 2 June 1940, p. 10</ref> The critics singled out, among the other players, [[Jack Hawkins]] as Caliban, [[Marius Goring]] as Ariel, [[Jessica Tandy]] as Miranda and Alec Guinness as Ferdinand.<ref>"Old Vic", ''The Times'', 30 May 1940, p. 4; and Brown, Ivor. "At the Play", ''The Observer'', 2 June 1940, p. 10</ref>

Following the example of several of his stage colleagues, Gielgud joined tours of military camps. He gave recitals of prose and poetry, and acted in a triple bill of short plays, including two from Coward's ''[[Tonight at 8.30]]'', but he found at first that less highbrow performers like [[Beatrice Lillie]] were better than he at entertaining the troops.<ref name=m172/> He returned to filming in 1940, as [[Disraeli]] in [[Thorold Dickinson]]'s ''[[The Prime Minister (film)|The Prime Minister]]''. In this morale-boosting film he portrayed the politician from ages thirty to seventy; this was, in Morley's view, the first time he seemed at home before the camera.<ref name=m172>Morley, pp. 172–174</ref> Gielgud made no more films for the next ten years; he turned down the role of [[Julius Caesar]] in the [[Caesar and Cleopatra (film)|1945 film]] of Shaw's ''[[Caesar and Cleopatra (play)|Caesar and Cleopatra]]'' with [[Vivien Leigh]]. He and Leigh were close friends, and Shaw tried hard to persuade him to play the part, but Gielgud had taken a strong dislike to the director, [[Gabriel Pascal]].<ref>Croall (2011), p. 300</ref> Caesar was eventually played by Gielgud's former teacher, Claude Rains.{{refn|Although Rains had enjoyed a long and successful career as a film actor, Gielgud was so out of touch with the film world that, according to [[Peter Ustinov]], he once said in an interview that at drama school he had a wonderful teacher. "His name was Claude Rains.{{space}}... I don't know what happened to him. I think he failed and went to America."<ref>Ustinov, p. 201</ref>|group=n}}

Throughout 1941 and 1942 Gielgud worked continually, in Barrie's ''Dear Brutus'', another ''Importance of Being Earnest'' in the West End, and ''[[Macbeth]]'' on tour.<ref name=roles/> Returning, with more assurance than before, to entertaining the troops, he so far departed from his classical style as to join Lillie and [[Michael Wilding]] singing a comic trio.<ref>Morley, p. 181</ref> His 1943 revival of [[William Congreve]]'s ''[[Love for Love]]'' on tour and then in London received high praise from reviewers.<ref name=dnb/> In 1944 he was approached by Ralph Richardson, who had been asked by the governors of the Old Vic to form a new company. Unwilling to take sole charge, Richardson proposed a managing triumvirate of Gielgud, Olivier and himself. Gielgud declined: "It would be a disaster, you would have to spend your whole time as referee between Larry and me."<ref>Miller, p. 83</ref>
[[File:Gielgud and Haas in Crime and Punishment.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|left|Gielgud and [[Dolly Haas]] in ''Crime and Punishment'', Broadway, 1947]]
A 1944–45 season at the [[Haymarket Theatre|Haymarket]] for Beaumont included a Hamlet that many considered his finest. Agate wrote, "Mr Gielgud is now completely and authoritatively master of this tremendous part.{{space}}... I hold that this is, and is likely to remain, the best Hamlet of our time."<ref>Gielgud (1979), pp. 238–239</ref> Also in the season were ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', ''[[The Duchess of Malfi]]'' and the first major revival of ''[[Lady Windermere's Fan]]'' (1945).<ref name=roles/> These productions attracted much praise, but at this point in his career Gielgud was somewhat overshadowed by his old colleagues. Olivier was celebrated for his recent film of ''[[Henry V (1944 film)|Henry V]]'', and with Richardson (and [[John Burrell (theatre director)|John Burrell]] in Gielgud's stead) was making the Old Vic "the most famous theatre in the Anglo-Saxon world" according to the critic [[Harold Hobson]].<ref>Hobson, p. 55</ref>

In May 1945 Gielgud bought [[Barton Street and Cowley Street, Westminster|No.16, Cowley Street]], a [[Georgian architecture|Georgian]] townhouse in [[Westminster]], central London, which remained his home for the next 31 years.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/john-gielgud/|title=Blue Plaques: John Gielgud, Actor & Director|publisher=[[English Heritage]]|access-date=23 December 2024}}</ref>{{refn|In 2017 Dame [[Judi Dench]] unveiled an [[English Heritage]] [[Blue plaque]] at the house, commemorating Gielgud's 31-year residence.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/about-us/search-news/john-gielgud-blue-plaque/|title=Sir John Gielgud receives English Heritage Blue Plaque|publisher=[[English Heritage]]|date=27 April 2017|access-date=23 December 2024}}</ref>|group=n}} In late 1945 and early 1946 he toured for [[ENSA]] in the Middle and Far East with ''Hamlet'' and Coward's ''[[Blithe Spirit (play)|Blithe Spirit]]''. During this tour he played Hamlet on stage for the last time.<ref name=roles/> He was [[Rodion Raskolnikov|Raskolnikoff]] in a stage version of ''[[Crime and Punishment]]'', in the West End in 1946 and on Broadway the following year.<ref name=roles/> Agate thought it the best thing Gielgud had done so far, other than Hamlet.<ref>Hayman, p. 154</ref> Between these two engagements Gielgud toured North America in ''The Importance of Being Earnest'' and ''Love for Love''. Edith Evans was tired of the role of Lady Bracknell, and refused to join him; [[Margaret Rutherford]] played the part to great acclaim.<ref>Atkinson, Brooks. [https://www.nytimes.com/1947/03/09/archives/john-gielguds-version-of-oscar-wildes-play.html "Style in Comedy – John Gielgud's Version of Oscar Wilde's Play"], ''The New York Times'', 9 March 1947, p. XI {{subscription}}; and Morley, p. 192</ref> Gielgud was in demand as a director, with six productions in 1948–49. They included ''[[The Heiress (1947 play)|The Heiress]]'' in 1949, when he was brought in at the last moment to direct Richardson and Ashcroft, saving what seemed a doomed production; it ran for 644 performances.<ref>Miller, pp. 130–132; and Gaye, p. 1526</ref> His last big hit of the 1940s was as Thomas Mendip in ''[[The Lady's Not for Burning]]'', which he also directed. The London cast included the young [[Claire Bloom]] and [[Richard Burton]], who went with Gielgud when he took the piece to the US the following year.<ref>Croall (2011), pp. 353–355</ref>

===1950s – Film success and personal crisis===
{{Hatnote|Details of Gielgud's work, 1950–59: [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgS50|Stage]], [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgD50|Director]], [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgR50|Radio]], [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgF50|Film]], [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgTV50|Television]], [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgA50|Accolades]]}}
[[File:Julius Caesar promo still.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|[[Edmond O'Brien]] (Casca, left) and Gielgud (Cassius) in ''[[Julius Caesar (1953 film)|Julius Caesar]]'' (1953)]]
At the [[Shakespeare Memorial Theatre]], [[Stratford-upon-Avon]], Gielgud did much to reclaim his position as a leading Shakespearean. His cold, unsympathetic Angelo in [[Peter Brook]]'s production of ''[[Measure for Measure]]'' (1950) showed the public a new, naturalistic manner in his playing.<ref>Hayman, p. 171; and Morley, pp. 210–212</ref> He followed this with three other Shakespeare productions with Brook, which were well received.<ref name=dnb/> His own attempt at direction in Stratford, for Richardson's ''Macbeth'' in 1952, was much less successful, with poor notices for the star and worse ones for the director.<ref>"Stratford Festival", ''The Times'', 11 June 1952, p. 8; and Tynan, p. 107</ref>

In 1953 Gielgud made his first Hollywood film, the sole classical actor in [[Joseph L. Mankiewicz]]'s ''[[Julius Caesar (1953 film)|Julius Caesar]]'', playing [[Gaius Cassius Longinus|Cassius]]. [[Marlon Brando]] (Mark Antony) was in awe of him,<ref>Gielgud (2004), p. 157</ref> and [[James Mason]] (Brutus) was disheartened at Gielgud's seemingly effortless skill.<ref name=m223>Morley, pp. 223–224</ref> Gielgud, for his part, felt he learned much about film technique from Mason.<ref>Gielgud (1979), p. 199</ref> Gielgud enjoyed his four-month stay in California, not least, as Morley comments, for the relaxed attitude there to homosexuality.<ref>Morley, p. 225</ref>

[[File:John Gielgud - 1953.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Gielgud, 1953]]

Returning to London later in 1953 Gielgud took over management of the Lyric, Hammersmith, for a classical season of ''Richard II'', Congreve's ''[[The Way of the World]]'', and [[Thomas Otway]]'s ''[[Venice Preserv'd]]'', directing the first, acting in the last, and doing both in the second. Feeling he was too old for Richard, he cast the young [[Paul Scofield]]; both the actor and the production were a critical and commercial success.<ref>Morley, pp. 232–233</ref> During the season Gielgud was [[Knight Bachelor|knighted]] in the [[1953 Coronation Honours#Knights Bachelor|1953 Coronation Honours]].<ref>"The Coronation Honours", ''The Times'', 1 June 1953, p. 8</ref>

On the evening of 20 October 1953, Gielgud, usually highly discreet about casual sex, was arrested in [[Chelsea, London|Chelsea]] for [[cottaging]] (i.e. [[cruising for sex]] in a public lavatory). Until the 1960s sexual activity of any kind between men was illegal in Britain.{{refn|The principal law against homosexual acts was the [[Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885]], in which [[Labouchere Amendment|Section 11]] made any kind of sexual activity between men illegal. It was not repealed until the passage of the [[Sexual Offences Act 1967]].<ref name=w239/>|group=n}} The [[Home Secretary]] of the day, [[David Maxwell Fyfe]], was fervently homophobic, urging the police to arrest anyone who contravened the Victorian laws against homosexuality.<ref name=w239>Weeks, pp. 239–240; and Carpenter, p. 334</ref> Gielgud was fined; when the press reported the story, he thought his disgrace would end his career. When the news broke he was in [[Liverpool]] on the pre-London tour of a new play, ''[[A Day by the Sea]]''. According to the biographer [[Richard Huggett (playwright)|Richard Huggett]], Gielgud was so paralysed by nerves that the prospect of going onstage as usual seemed impossible, but his fellow players, led by [[Sybil Thorndike]], encouraged him:

{{blockquote|She grabbed him and whispered fiercely, "Come on, John darling, ''they won't boo me''{{-"}}, and led him firmly on to the stage. To everybody's astonishment and indescribable relief, the audience gave him a standing ovation. They cheered, they applauded, they shouted. The message was quite clear. The English public had always been loyal to its favourites, and this was their chance to show that they didn't care tuppence what he had done in his private life{{space}}... they loved him and respected him dearly. It was a moment never to be forgotten by those who witnessed it.<ref>Huggett, p. 249</ref>}}

His career was safe, but the episode briefly affected Gielgud's health; he suffered a [[nervous breakdown]] some months afterwards. He never spoke publicly about the incident, and it was quickly sidelined by the press and politely ignored by writers during his lifetime. Privately he made donations to [[LGBT rights in the United Kingdom|gay campaign groups]], but did not endorse them in public. In his later years he said to the actor [[Simon Callow]], "I do admire people like you and [[Ian McKellen]] for coming out, but I can't be doing with that myself."<ref>Croall (2013), p. 87</ref>

Between December 1953 and June 1955 Gielgud concentrated on directing and did not appear on stage. His productions ranged from a revival of ''Charley's Aunt'' with [[John Mills]] to ''The Cherry Orchard'' with Ffrangcon-Davies, and ''Twelfth Night'' with Olivier.<ref name=roles/> His return to the stage was in a production of ''King Lear'', which was badly hampered by costumes and scenery by [[Isamu Noguchi]] that the critics found ludicrous.<ref>"Palace Theatre", ''The Times'', 27 July 1955, p. 5; Hope-Wallace, Philip. "Lear in Eastern Trappings", ''The Manchester Guardian'', 27 July 1955, p. 3; and [[J. C. Trewin|Trewin, J C]]. "The World of the Theatre", ''[[Illustrated London News]]'', 13 August 1955, p. 276</ref> A revival of ''Much Ado About Nothing'' with Ashcroft in 1955 was much better received; in ''The Manchester Guardian'', [[Philip Hope-Wallace]] called it "Shakespearean comedy for once perfectly realised".<ref>Hope-Wallace, Philip. "'Much Ado' Visits London", ''The Manchester Guardian'', 22 July 1955, p. 5</ref> In 1955 Gielgud made his second appearance in a film of Shakespeare, portraying [[George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence|Clarence]] in Olivier's ''[[Richard III (1955 film)|Richard III]]''.<ref name=roles/>

In the second half of the 1950s Gielgud's career was in the doldrums as far as new plays were concerned.<ref>Harwood, pp. 82–83</ref> British theatre was moving away from the West End glamour of Beaumont's productions to more ''{{lang|fr|[[Experimental theatre|avant-garde]]}}'' works. Olivier had a great success in [[John Osborne]]'s ''[[The Entertainer (play)|The Entertainer]]'' in 1957,<ref>Tynan, p. 49</ref> but Gielgud was not in tune with the new wave of writers.{{refn|In 1955 Gielgud advised Richardson not to accept the role of [[Estragon]] in [[Samuel Beckett|Beckett]]'s ''[[Waiting for Godot]]'', describing the piece as rubbish. Richardson later deeply regretted taking his friend's advice, recognising the work as "the greatest play of my generation".<ref>Miller, pp. 162–163</ref>|group=n}} He remained in demand as a Shakespearean, but there were few new plays suitable for him. He directed and played the lead in Coward's ''[[Nude with Violin]]'' in 1956, which was dismissed by the critics as old-fashioned, though it ran for more than a year.<ref>Lesley, p. 370</ref> He made two film appearances, playing a cameo comedy scene with Coward as a prospective manservant in [[Michael Anderson (director)|Michael Anderson]]'s ''[[Around the World in 80 Days (1956 film)|Around the World in 80 Days]]'' (1956), and as the father of [[Elizabeth Barrett Browning]] in [[Sidney Franklin (director)|Sidney Franklin]]'s 1957 remake of ''[[The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1957 film)|The Barretts of Wimpole Street]]''. He did not consider his performance as the tyrannical father convincing, and confessed that he undertook it only for the large fee ("it will set me up for a couple of years") and to keep him before the public in America, where he had not performed for over four years.<ref name=roles/><ref>Gielgud (2000), pp. 441–443; and Gielgud (2004), p. 191</ref>

[[File:Gielgud and Leighton in Much Ado 1959.jpg|thumb|left|upright|''[[Much Ado About Nothing]]'': Gielgud as Benedick and [[Margaret Leighton]] as [[Beatrice (Much Ado About Nothing)|Beatrice]], 1959|alt=]]
During 1957 Gielgud directed [[Berlioz]]'s ''[[The Trojans]]'' at [[Royal Opera House|Covent Garden]] and played Prospero at [[Theatre Royal, Drury Lane|Drury Lane]],<ref name=roles/> but the production central to his career over the late 1950s and into the 1960s was his one-man show ''The Ages of Man''. He first appeared in this in 1956 and revived it every year until 1967. It was an anthology of Shakespearean speeches and [[Shakespeare's sonnets|sonnets]], compiled by [[George Rylands]], in which, wearing modern evening clothes on a plain stage, Gielgud recited the verses, with his own linking commentary.<ref>Hope-Wallace, Philip. "A recital by Gielgud", ''The Manchester Guardian'', 9 June 1959, p. 5</ref> He performed it all over Britain, mainland Europe, Australasia and the US, including a performance at the [[White House]] in 1965.<ref name=roles/> He found there were advantages to performing solo: "You've no idea how much easier it is without a Juliet. When there's a beautiful girl above you on a balcony, or lying on a tomb with candles round her, naturally the audience look at her the whole time, and Romeo has to pull out all the stops to get any attention."<ref>Lyttelton and Hart-Davis, p. 104</ref> His performance on Broadway won him a [[Special Tony Award]] in [[13th Tony Awards|1959]], and an audio recording in 1979 received a [[Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album|Grammy Award]].<ref name=dnb/><ref>[http://www.grammy.com/nominees/search?artist=Gielgud&field_nominee_work_value=&year=All&genre=All "John Gielgud"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221203938/http://www.grammy.com/nominees/search?artist=Gielgud&field_nominee_work_value=&year=All&genre=All |date=21 February 2014}}, Grammy, retrieved 15 February 2014</ref> He made many other recordings, both before and after this, including ten Shakespeare plays.<ref>Croall (2000), p. 545</ref>

Gielgud continued to try, without much success, to find new plays that suited him as an actor, but his direction of [[Peter Shaffer]]'s first play, ''[[Five Finger Exercise]]'' (1958), received acclaim.<ref>Morley, pp. 302–303</ref><!--Deleted mention of him winning Tony for the Shaffer play, as it seems to be incorrect; Juliet Mills was nominated at the 14th Tony Awards, but Gielgud was not.--> While in the US for the Shaffer play, Gielgud revived ''Much Ado About Nothing'', this time with [[Margaret Leighton]] as his [[Beatrice (Much Ado About Nothing)|Beatrice]]. Most of the New York critics praised the production, and they all praised the co-stars.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1959/09/19/archives/5-drama-critics-hail-much-ado-but-all-7-praise-gielgud-and-margaret.html "5 Drama Critics Hail 'Much Ado'; But All 7 Praise Gielgud and Margaret Leighton"], ''The New York Times'', 19 September 1959 {{subscription}}</ref> He gave his first performances on television during 1959, in Rattigan's ''[[The Browning Version (play)|The Browning Version]]'' for [[CBS]] and [[N.&nbsp;C. Hunter]]'s ''A Day by the Sea'' for [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]].<ref>Tanitch, p. 15</ref> He appeared in more than fifty more plays on television over the next four decades.<ref>Croall (2000), pp. 542–544</ref>

===1960s===
{{Hatnote|Details of Gielgud's work, 1960–69: [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgS60|Stage]], [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgD60|Director]], [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgR60|Radio]], [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgF60|Film]], [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgTV60|Television]], [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgA60|Accolades]]}}
[[File:The School for Scandal 1963.jpg|thumb|upright|Gielgud (left) as Joseph Surface, and [[Ralph Richardson]] as Sir Peter Teazle, ''[[The School for Scandal]]'', 1962]]
During the early 1960s Gielgud had more successes as a director than as an actor. He directed the first London performance of [[Britten]]'s opera ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream (opera)|A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'' (1961) at Covent Garden{{refn|The assistant director, [[John Copley (producer)|John Copley]], recalled Gielgud's remark on Britten's music for the rude mechanicals, "Why did he write this dreadful music for those beautiful words?", but both the music and the staging won enthusiastic reviews.<ref>Croall (2013), p. 81; and Porter, Andrew. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/949415 "Covent Garden"], ''[[The Musical Times]]'', March 1961, pp. 161–162 {{subscription}}</ref>|group=n}} and [[Hugh Wheeler]]'s ''[[Big Fish, Little Fish]]'' on Broadway, the latter winning him a Tony for [[Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play|Best Direction of a Play]] in [[15th Tony Awards|1961]].<ref name=dnb/> His performance as Othello at Stratford in the same year was less successful; [[Franco Zeffirelli]]'s production was thought ponderous and Gielgud "singularly unvehement".<ref>Hope-Wallace, Philip. "Zeffirelli's Othello", ''The Guardian'', 11 October 1961, p. 9</ref> As Gaev in ''The Cherry Orchard'' to the Ranevskaya of Ashcroft he had the best of the notices; his co-star and the production received mixed reviews.<ref>"Uneasy Compromise on Chekhov", ''The Times'', 15 December 1961, p. 16; and Tynan, Kenneth. "Orchard in the waste land", ''The Observer'', 17 December 1961, p. 21</ref> The following year Gielgud directed Richardson in ''The School for Scandal'', first at the Haymarket and then on a North American tour, which he joined as, in his words, "the oldest Joseph Surface in the business".<ref>Miller, p. 185</ref>

In 1962 Gielgud met Martin Hensler (1932–99), an interior designer exiled from Hungary. He was temperamental, and Gielgud's friends often found him difficult, but the two became a long-term couple and lived together until Hensler's death. Under his influence Gielgud moved his main residence from central London to the South Pavilion of [[Wotton House]] at [[Wotton Underwood]] in Buckinghamshire.<ref>Morley, p. 340</ref><ref>Croall (2011), p. 478</ref>

Gielgud received an [[Academy Awards|Oscar]] nomination for his performance as King [[Louis VII of France]] in ''[[Becket (1964 film)|Becket]]'' (1964), with Richard Burton in the title role. Morley comments, "A minor but flashy role, this had considerable and long-lasting importance; his unrivalled theatrical dignity could greatly enhance a film."<ref name=dnb/> In 1964 Gielgud directed Burton in ''Hamlet'' on Broadway. Burton's performance received reviews ranging from polite to hostile, but the production was a box-office success, and a film was made of it.<ref>Croall (2000), pp. 441–445</ref> Gielgud finally began to take the cinema seriously, for financial and sometimes artistic reasons. He told his agent to accept any reasonable film offers.<ref>Morley, p. 301</ref> His films of the mid-1960s were [[Tony Richardson]]'s ''[[The Loved One (film)|The Loved One]]'' (1965), which Croall termed a disaster<ref>Croall (2011), p. 400</ref> despite later acclaim, and [[Orson Welles]]'s [[Falstaff]] film ''[[Chimes at Midnight]]'' (1966), which was unsuccessful at the time but has since been recognised as "one of the best, albeit most eccentric, of all Shakespearean movies", according to Morley.<ref>Morley, p. 327</ref>{{refn|Gielgud played [[Henry IV of England]]; Welles played [[Sir John Falstaff]].<ref name=roles/>|group=n}}

Much of Gielgud's theatre work in the later 1960s was as a director: Chekhov's ''[[Ivanov (play)|Ivanov]]'' at the [[Phoenix Theatre (London)|Phoenix]] in London and the [[Shubert Theatre (New York City)|Shubert]] in New York, [[Peter Ustinov]]'s ''Half Way Up the Tree'' at the Queen's and [[Mozart]]'s ''[[Don Giovanni]]'' at the [[English National Opera|Coliseum]].<ref name=roles/> One potentially outstanding acting role, Ibsen's Bishop Nicholas, fell through in 1967 when Olivier, with whom he was to co-star at the [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]] in ''[[The Pretenders (play)|The Pretenders]]'', was ill.<ref>Rosenthal, Daniel. "The ones that got away", ''The Stage'', 17 October 2013, pp. 26–27</ref> Gielgud played Orgon in ''[[Tartuffe]]'' and the title role in [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]]'s ''[[Oedipus (Seneca)|Oedipus]]'' during the National's 1967–68 season, but according to Croall neither production was satisfactory.<ref>Croall (2000), pp. 450 and 453</ref> After this, Gielgud at last found a modern role that suited him and which he played to acclaim: the Headmaster in [[Alan Bennett]]'s first play, ''[[Forty Years On (play)|Forty Years On]]'' (1968).<ref>Croall (2011), p. 520</ref> The notices for both play and star were excellent.<ref>Croall (2000), p. 456</ref> John Barber wrote in ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' that "Gielgud dominates all with an unexpected caricature of a mincing pedant, his noble features blurred so as to mimic a fussed and fatuous egghead. From the great mandarin of the theatre, a delicious comic creation."<ref>''Quoted'' in Croall (2000), p. 456</ref>

Having finally embraced film-making, Gielgud appeared in six films in 1967–69. His most substantial role was [[FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan|Lord Raglan]] in Tony Richardson's ''[[The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968 film)|The Charge of the Light Brigade]]''.<ref>Morley, p. 338</ref> His other roles, in films including Michael Anderson's ''[[The Shoes of the Fisherman (movie)|The Shoes of the Fisherman]]'' (1968) as a fictional pope and [[Richard Attenborough]]'s ''[[Oh! What a Lovely War]]'' (1969) as [[Count Leopold Berchtold]], were cameo appearances in character roles.<ref>Croall (2011) pp. 533 and 553</ref>

===1970s – Career revival===
{{Hatnote|Details of Gielgud's work, 1970–79: [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgS70|Stage]], [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgD70|Director]], [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgR70|Radio]], [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgF70|Film]], [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgTV70|Television]], [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgA70|Accolades]]}}
In 1970 Gielgud played another modern role in which he had great success; he joined Ralph Richardson at the [[Royal Court Theatre|Royal Court]] in Chelsea in [[David Storey]]'s ''[[Home (Storey play)|Home]]''. The play is set in the gardens of a nursing home for mental patients, though this is not clear at first. The two elderly men converse in a desultory way, are joined and briefly enlivened by two more extrovert female patients, are slightly scared by another male patient, and are then left together, conversing even more emptily. The ''[[Punch (magazine)|Punch]]'' critic Jeremy Kingston wrote:

{{blockquote|At the end of the play, as the climax to two perfect, delicate performances, Sir Ralph and Sir John are standing, staring out above the heads of the audience, cheeks wet with tears in memory of some unnamed misery, weeping soundlessly as the lights fade on them. It makes a tragic, unforgettable close.<ref>Kingston, Jeremy, "Theatre", ''Punch'', volume 258, 1970, p. 961</ref>}}

The play transferred to the West End and then to Broadway. In ''The New York Times'' [[Clive Barnes]] wrote, "The two men, bleakly examining the little nothingness of their lives, are John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson giving two of the greatest performances of two careers that have been among the glories of the English-speaking theater."<ref>Barnes, Clive. [https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0B10FE3F551B7493CAA8178AD95F448785F9 "Theater: 'Home' Arrives"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219005851/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0B10FE3F551B7493CAA8178AD95F448785F9 |date=19 February 2014}}, ''The New York Times'', 18 November 1970, p. 41 {{subscription}}</ref> The original cast recorded the play for television in 1972.<ref>Miller, p. 369</ref>

[[File:John Gielgud 12. Allan Warren.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Gielgud in 1973, by [[Allan Warren]]]]

In the first half of the decade Gielgud made seven films and six television dramas. Morley describes his choice as indiscriminate, but singles out for praise his performances in 1974 as the Old Cardinal in [[Joseph Losey]]'s ''[[Galileo (1975 film)|Galileo]]'' and the manservant Beddoes in [[Sidney Lumet]]'s ''[[Murder on the Orient Express (1974 film)|Murder on the Orient Express]]''.<ref>Morley, p. 369</ref> In a 1971 BBC presentation of [[James Elroy Flecker]]'s ''Hassan'', Gielgud played the Caliph to Richardson's Hassan. The critic of ''[[The Illustrated London News]]'' said that viewers would "shiver at a towering performance by Gielgud, as a Caliph with all the purring beauty and ruthlessness of a great golden leopard".<ref>"Another Arabian Night", ''The Illustrated London News'', 2 January 1971, p. 22</ref> In the theatre Gielgud directed Coward's ''[[Private Lives]]'' and [[Somerset Maugham]]'s ''[[The Constant Wife]]'' (both 1973, London and 1974, New York).<ref name=roles/> His final production as a director was [[Arthur Wing Pinero|Pinero]]'s ''[[The Gay Lord Quex (play)|The Gay Lord Quex]]'' (1975).<ref>Croall (2000), pp. 494–495</ref>

Gielgud continued his long stage association with Richardson in [[Harold Pinter]]'s ''[[No Man's Land (play)|No Man's Land]]'' (1975), directed by Hall at the National. Richardson played Hirst, a prosperous but isolated and vulnerable author, and Gielgud was Spooner, a down-at-heel sponger and opportunist. Hall found the play "extremely funny and also extremely bleak".<ref>Page, p. 50</ref>{{refn|The long pauses in the middle of the dialogue troubled both actors during early rehearsals, and they had to relearn their stage technique to accommodate them. Gielgud told Hall, "I never pause in the West End. The first time I played there I took a big pause, and a woman cried out in the balcony, 'Oh, you beast. You've come all over my umbrella!'"<ref>Croall (2013), p. 107</ref>|group=n}} The production was a critical and box-office success and, over a period of three years, played at the Old Vic, in the West End, at the [[Lyttelton Theatre]] in the new National Theatre complex, on Broadway and on television.<ref name=roles/> In [[Julian Mitchell]]'s ''Half-Life'' (1977) at the National, Gielgud was warmly praised by reviewers; he reprised the role at the [[Duke of York's Theatre]] in the West End in 1978 and on tour the following year.<ref>Croall (2000), pp. 497–498</ref>

In the latter part of the decade Gielgud worked more for cinema and television than on stage. His film work included what Morley calls "his most embarrassing professional appearance",<ref name=dnb/> in ''[[Caligula (film)|Caligula]]'' (1979), [[Gore Vidal]]'s story of Ancient Rome, spiced with pornographic scenes.<ref>Croall (2011), pp. 604–605</ref> In Gielgud's ten other films from this period, his most substantial role was Clive Langham in [[Alain Resnais]]' ''[[Providence (1977 film)|Providence]]'' (1977). Gielgud thought it "by far the most exciting film I have ever made".<ref name=g195>Gielgud (1979), p. 195</ref> He won a [[New York Film Critics Circle]] award for his performance as a dying author, "drunk half the time&nbsp;... throwing bottles about, and roaring a lot of very coarse dialogue".<ref name=g195/> His other film parts included the Head Master of Eton in [[Jack Gold]]'s ''[[Aces High (film)|Aces High]]'' (1976) and Tomlinson in [[Otto Preminger]]'s ''[[The Human Factor (1979 film)|The Human Factor]]'' (1979).<ref name=roles/> For television his roles included Lord Henry Wotton in ''[[The Picture of Dorian Gray (Play of the Month)|The Picture of Dorian Gray]]'' (1976), [[John of Gaunt]] in ''Richard II'' (1978) and Chorus in ''Romeo and Juliet'' (1978).<ref name=roles/>

===Later years===
{{Hatnote|Details of Gielgud's work, 1980–2000: [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgS80|Stage]], [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgR70|Radio]], [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgF70|Film]], [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgTV70|Television]], [[List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#jgA80|Accolades]]}}
In the 1980s Gielgud appeared in more than twenty films. Morley singles out as noteworthy ''[[The Elephant Man (1980 film)|The Elephant Man]]'' (1980), as the chairman of the [[Royal London Hospital]], ''[[Chariots of Fire]]'' (1981), as the Master of [[Trinity College, Cambridge]], ''[[Gandhi (film)|Gandhi]]'' (1982), as [[Lord Irwin]] (the latter two winning Academy Awards as Best Picture), ''[[The Shooting Party]]'' (1984) and ''[[Plenty (film)|Plenty]]'' (1985), directed by [[David Lynch]], [[Hugh Hudson]], Richard Attenborough, [[Alan Bridges]] and [[Fred Schepisi]] respectively. [[Tony Palmer (director)|Tony Palmer]]'s ''[[Wagner (film)|Wagner]]'' (1983) was the only film in which Gielgud, Richardson, and Olivier played scenes together.{{refn|The three are seen together in long shot near the opening of Olivier's film of ''Richard III'' but with no shared dialogue.|group=n}} Gielgud made cameo appearances in films of little merit, lending distinction while not damaging his own reputation.<ref name=dnb/> He told an interviewer, "They pay me very well for two or three days' work a month, so why not? It's nice at my age to be able to travel all over the world at other people's expense."<ref name=ba>[[Bryan Appleyard|Appleyard, Bryan]]. "'Brideshead': a brilliant and sensual impact", ''The Times'', 13 October 1981, p. 8</ref>

Gielgud's most successful film performance of the decade was [[Steve Gordon (director)|Steve Gordon]]'s comedy ''[[Arthur (1981 film)|Arthur]]'' (1981), which starred [[Dudley Moore]] as a self-indulgent playboy. Gielgud played Hobson, Moore's butler. He turned the part down twice before finally accepting it, nervous, after the ''Caligula'' débâcle, of the strong language used by the acerbic Hobson.<ref name=ba/> He won an [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Oscar as Best Supporting Actor]] and other awards for the performance.{{refn|He also won a [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture|Golden Globe]] and awards from both the [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor|New York]] and [[Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor|Los Angeles Critics' Circles]].<ref>Morley, p. 408</ref>|group=n}} He placed little value on awards, and avoided presentation ceremonies whenever he could: "I really detest all the mutual congratulation baloney and the invidious comparisons which they evoke."<ref>Gielgud (2004), p. 440</ref>

For television Gielgud played nineteen roles during the 1980s; they included Edward Ryder in an [[Brideshead Revisited (TV serial)|eleven-part adaptation]] of [[Evelyn Waugh|Waugh]]'s ''[[Brideshead Revisited]]'' (1982). ''The Times'' said that he gave the role "a desolate and calculated malice which carries almost singlehandedly [the] first two episodes".<ref name=ba/> Near the end of the decade, Gielgud was nominated for a [[Primetime Emmy Award]] for his role as Aaron Jastrow, a Jewish professor murdered in the Holocaust, in the mini-series ''[[War and Remembrance (miniseries)|War and Remembrance]]''.<ref>[https://www.emmys.com/shows/war-and-remembrance ''War and Remembrance''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304024437/https://www.emmys.com/shows/war-and-remembrance|date=4 March 2021}}, ''Emmys.com''</ref> At the decade's end he played a rakish journalist, Haverford Downs, in [[John Mortimer]]'s ''[[Summer's Lease (TV series)|Summer's Lease]]'', for which he won an [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie|Emmy]].<ref>Gielgud (2004), p. 483</ref>

Gielgud's final West End play was [[Hugh Whitemore]]'s ''[[The Best of Friends (play)|The Best of Friends]]'' (1988). He played [[Sir Sydney Cockerell]], director of the [[Fitzwilliam Museum]], in a representation of a friendship between Cockerell, [[Bernard Shaw]] and [[Laurentia McLachlan]], a [[Benedictine]] nun.<ref>Gielgud (2004), p. 464</ref> Gielgud had some trouble learning his lines;<ref>Wardle, Irving. "Platonic perfection", ''The Times'', 11 February 1988, p. 18</ref> at one performance he almost forgot them, momentarily distracted by seeing in a 1938 copy of ''The Times'', read by his character, a review of his own portrayal of Vershinin in ''Three Sisters'' fifty years earlier.<ref>Billen, Andrew. "Arts Diary", ''The Times'', 28 March 1988, p. 21</ref>

In 1990 Gielgud made his last film appearance in a leading role, playing Prospero in ''[[Prospero's Books]]'', [[Peter Greenaway]]'s adaptation of ''The Tempest''. Reviews for the film were mixed, but Gielgud's performance in one of his signature roles was much praised.<ref>Morley, p. 432</ref> He continued to work on radio, as he had done throughout his career; Croall lists more than fifty BBC radio productions of plays starring Gielgud between 1929 and 1994.<ref>Croall (2000), pp. 544–545</ref> To mark his ninetieth birthday he played Lear for the last time; for the BBC [[Kenneth Branagh]] gathered a cast that included [[Judi Dench]], [[Eileen Atkins]] and [[Emma Thompson]] as Lear's daughters, with actors such as [[Bob Hoskins]], [[Derek Jacobi]] and [[Simon Russell Beale]] in supporting roles.<ref>Morley, p. 439</ref> He continued to appear on television until 1998; his last major role in the medium was in a BBC production in 1994 of [[J. B. Priestley]]'s rarely-revived ''[[Summer Day's Dream]]''. Subsequently, he made further cameo appearances in films including Branagh's ''[[Hamlet (1996 film)|Hamlet]]'' (as King Priam, 1996),{{refn|Priam and his wife Hecuba, played by Judi Dench, were interpolations of the director, portrayed in flashback during the Player King's speech.<ref>Morley, p. 214</ref>|group=n}} ''[[Dragonheart]]'' (as the voice of [[King Arthur]], 1996), and ''[[Shine (film)|Shine]]'' (as Cecil Parkes, 1996). His last feature film appearance was as [[Pope Pius V]] in [[Shekhar Kapur]]'s ''[[Elizabeth (film)|Elizabeth]]'' (1998).<ref name=roles/> In 2000 he had a non-speaking role alongside Pinter in a film of Beckett's short play ''[[Catastrophe (play)|Catastrophe]]'' directed by [[David Mamet]].<ref>Morley, p. 452</ref>

Gielgud's partner, Martin Hensler, died in 1999. After this, Gielgud went into a physical and psychological decline;<ref>Morley, p. 448</ref> he died at home on 21 May 2000, at the age of 96. At his request there was no memorial service, and his funeral at All Saints' Church, [[Wotton Underwood]], was private, for family and close friends.<ref>Morley, pp. 4 and 453</ref>

==Honours, character and reputation==
{{main|List of roles and awards of John Gielgud#Awards and honours}}
Gielgud's state honours were [[Knight Bachelor]] (1953), [[Legion of Honour]] (France, 1960), [[Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour]] (1977), and [[Member of the Order of Merit]] (UK, 1996). He was awarded honorary degrees by [[University of St Andrews|St Andrews]], [[University of Oxford|Oxford]] and [[Brandeis University|Brandeis]] universities.<ref name=ww>[http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whowaswho/U178633 "Gielgud, Sir (Arthur) John"], ''Who Was Who'', Oxford University Press, November 2012, retrieved 2 February 2014 {{subscription}}</ref>

From 1977 to 1989 Gielgud was president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art – a symbolic position – and was the academy's first honorary fellow (1989).<ref name=ww/> In 1994 the Globe Theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue was renamed the [[Gielgud Theatre]]. He had not acted on stage for six years, and felt out of touch with the West End: he commented on the renaming of the theatre, "At last there is a name in lights on the Avenue which I actually recognise, even if it is my own."<ref name=dnb/>

Gielgud was uninterested in religion or politics. As a boy he had been fascinated by the rituals at [[Westminster Abbey]], but his brief attraction to religion quickly faded, and as an adult he was a non-believer.<ref>Morley, p. 286</ref> His indifference to politics was illustrated at a formal dinner not long after the Second World War when he asked a fellow guest, "Whereabouts are you living now?", unaware that, as he was talking to [[Clement Attlee]], the answer was "[[10 Downing Street]]".<ref>Croall (2013), p. 126</ref>

In his ''[[Who's Who (UK)|Who's Who]]'' entry Gielgud listed his hobbies as music and painting, but his concentration on his work, which Emlyn Williams called fanatical, left little scope for leisure activities.<ref name="ww" /><ref>Morley, p. 103</ref> His dedication to his art was not solemn. The critic [[Nicholas de Jongh]] wrote that Gielgud's personality was "such infinite, mischievous fun",<ref>De Jongh, Nicholas. [https://www.theguardian.com/film/2000/may/22/news.obituaries "Obituary – Sir John Gielgud"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161029135622/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2000/may/22/news.obituaries |date=29 October 2016}}, ''The Guardian'', 22 May 2000</ref> and Coward's biographer Cole Lesley recalled the pleasure of Gielgud's company, "the words tumbling out of his mouth in an avalanche, frequently having to wipe away his own tears of laughter at the funniness of the disasters he recounted, disasters always against himself".<ref>Lesley, p. 335</ref>

Together with Richardson and Olivier, Gielgud was internationally recognised as one of the "great trinity of theatrical knights"<ref name="indy" /> who dominated the British stage for more than fifty years during the middle and later decades of the 20th century.<ref name="indy" /><ref>[[Heilpern, John]]. [http://observer.com/1998/01/in-praise-of-the-holy-trinity-olivier-gielgud-richardson/ "In Praise of the Holy Trinity: Olivier, Gielgud, Richardson"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819084453/http://observer.com/1998/01/in-praise-of-the-holy-trinity-olivier-gielgud-richardson/ |date=19 August 2014}}, ''The New York Observer'', 12 January 1998; Gussow, Mel. [https://www.nytimes.com/2000/05/23/movies/sir-john-gielgud-96-dies-beacon-of-classical-stage.html "Sir John Gielgud, 96, Dies; Beacon of Classical Stage"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306181336/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/05/23/movies/sir-john-gielgud-96-dies-beacon-of-classical-stage.html |date=6 March 2016}}, ''The New York Times'', 23 May 2000; and Beckett, Francis. [http://www.newstatesman.com/books/2011/05/john-gielgud-olivier-croall "John Gielgud: Matinee Idol to Movie Star"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819090938/http://www.newstatesman.com/books/2011/05/john-gielgud-olivier-croall |date=19 August 2014}}, ''The New Statesman'', 26 May 2011</ref>

The critic [[Michael Coveney]] wrote, for Gielgud's ninety-fifth birthday:

{{blockquote|I have seen Olivier, Ralph Richardson, Alec Guinness and Peggy Ashcroft but John Gielgud is something else. Gielgud is the lone survivor of those great actors whose careers laid the foundation stones of modern theatre. He is acclaimed as the greatest speaker of Shakespearean verse this century. People my age and younger can only take on trust the impact of the Hamlet whose influence lasted more than 30 years. Even the recordings do not quite convey the mellifluous magic of the voice once described by Guinness as a "silver trumpet muffled in silk".

He is indelibly linked with the roles of Prospero and King Lear – regarded as pinnacles of theatrical achievement – yet he is also widely remembered for his wonderful comic touch as Jack Worthing in Wilde's ''The Importance of Being Earnest''. But his influence goes far beyond his performances. Without Gielgud there would be no National Theatre or [[Royal Shakespeare Company]]. He was a pioneer in establishing the first permanent companies in the West End.<ref>Coveney, Michael. "The glory of Gielgud, the lone survivor: as our greatest actor celebrates his 95th birthday", ''Daily Mail'', 14 April 1999, p. 10</ref>}}

In an obituary in ''[[The Independent]]'' Alan Strachan, having discussed Gielgud's work for cinema, radio and television, concluded that "any consideration of Gielgud's rich and often astonishing career must return to the stage; as he wrote at the close of ''An Actor and His Time'' (1979), he saw the theatre as 'more than an occupation or a profession; for me it has been a life'."<ref name=indy>Strachan, Alan. [http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:UKNB:TND1&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=132A885355CDDD08&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA "Obituary: Sir John Gielgud"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110080330/http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004 |date=10 November 2013}}, ''The Independent'', 23 May 2000</ref>

==Books by Gielgud==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

===Autobiography===
* {{cite book |year=1939 |title=Early Stages |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.208942 |location=London |publisher=Macmillan |oclc=250105547}}
* {{cite book |year=1963 |title=Stage Directions |location=London |publisher=Heinemann |oclc=255709348}}
* {{cite book |year=1972 |title=Distinguished Company |location=London |publisher=Heinemann |isbn=0435183532}}
* {{cite book |year=1979 |title=An Actor and His Time |location=London |publisher=Sidgwick and Jackson |isbn=0283985739}}
* {{cite book |year=1989 |title=Backward Glances |location=London |publisher=Hodder & Stoughton |isbn=0340429259}}
* {{cite book |editor=John Miller |year=1991 |title=Acting Shakespeare |location=New York |publisher=Scribner, Maxwell, Macmillan |isbn=0684195119}}
* {{cite book |editor=Richard Mangan |year=1994 |title=John Gielgud's Notes from the Gods – Playgoing in the Twenties |location=London |publisher=Nick Hern |isbn=1854591053}}
* {{cite book |editor=Richard Mangan |year=2004 |title=Gielgud's Letters |location=London |publisher=Weidenfeld and Nicolson |isbn=0297829890}}
{{col-break}}

===Anthology===
* {{cite book |year=1979 |title=Sir John Gielgud's Ages of Man |location=New York |publisher=Caedmon |oclc=15733016}}

===Acting versions===
* {{cite book |year=1963 |last=Chekhov |first=Anton |title=The Cherry Orchard |location=New York |publisher=Theatre Arts Books |oclc=1669979}}
* {{cite book |year=1966 |last=Chekhov |first=Anton |title=Ivanov |url=https://archive.org/details/ivanovdramainfou0000chek |url-access=registration |location=New York |publisher=Theatre Arts Books |oclc=1380663}} Based on a translation by Edward Nicolaeff.
{{col-end}}

==See also==
* [[List of British actors]]
* [[List of Academy Award winners and nominees from Great Britain]]
* [[List of LGBTQ Academy Award winners and nominees#Confirmed individuals 3|List of LGBTQ Academy Award winners and nominees – Confirmed individuals for Best Supporting Actor]]
* [[List of actors with Academy Award nominations]]
* [[List of actors with more than one Academy Award nomination in the acting categories]]
* [[List of people who have won Academy, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Awards]]
* [[List of Primetime Emmy Award winners]]
* [[List of Golden Globe winners]]

==Notes and references==
'''Notes'''
{{reflist|group=n|colwidth=24em}}
'''References'''
{{reflist|colwidth=25em}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book |last=Agate |first=James |year=1939 |title=The Amazing Theatre |location=London |publisher=Harrap |oclc=9430902}}
* {{cite book |last=Carpenter |first=Humphrey |year=1992 |title=Benjamin Britten: A Biography |location=London |publisher=Faber and Faber |isbn=0571143245}}
* {{cite book |last=Croall |first=Jonathan |year=2000 |title=Gielgud&nbsp;– A Theatrical Life, 1904–2000 |location=London |publisher=Methuen |isbn=0413745600}}
* {{cite book |last=Croall |first=Jonathan |year=2011 |title=John Gielgud&nbsp;– Matinee Idol to Movie Star |location=London |publisher=Methuen |isbn=1408131064 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/johngielgudmatin0000croa}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Croall |editor-first=Jonathan |year=2013 |title=Gielgoodies&nbsp;– The Wit and Wisdom and Gaffes of John Gielgud |location=London |publisher=Oberon Books |isbn=1783190078}}
* {{cite book |last=Findlater |first=Richard |year=1983 |title=These our Actors&nbsp;– A Celebration of the Theatre Acting of Peggy Ashcroft, John Gielgud, Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson |location=London |publisher=Elm Tree Books |isbn=0241111358}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Gaye |editor-first=Freda |year=1967 |title=Who's Who in the Theatre |edition=fourteenth |location=London |publisher=Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons |oclc=5997224}}
* {{cite book |last=Gielgud |first=John |year=1979 |title=An Actor and His Time |location=London |publisher=Sidgwick and Jackson |isbn=0283985739}}
* {{cite book |last=Gielgud |first=John |year=2000 |title=Gielgud on Gielgud&nbsp;– ''volume comprising reprints of'' Early Stages ''and'' Backward Glances |orig-year=1939 and 1989 |location=London |publisher=Hodder and Stoughton |isbn=0340795026}}
* {{cite book |last=Gielgud |first=John |year=2004 |editor=Richard Mangan |title=Gielgud's Letters |location=London |publisher=Weidenfeld and Nicolson |isbn=0297829890}}
* {{cite book |last=Gielgud |first=Val |year=1965 |title=Years in a Mirror |location=London |publisher=Bodley Head |oclc=1599748}}
* {{cite book |last=Gilbert |first=Susie |year=2009 |title=Opera for Everybody |location=London |publisher=Faber and Faber |isbn=0571224938}}
* {{cite book |last=Harwood |first=Ronald |year=1984 |title=The Ages of Gielgud&nbsp;– An Actor at Eighty |location=London |publisher=Hodder and Stoughton |isbn=0340348283}}
* {{cite book |last=Hayman |first=Ronald |year=1971 |title=Gielgud |location=London |publisher=Heinemann |isbn=0435184008}}
* {{cite book |last=Hobson |first=Harold |year=1958 |title=Ralph Richardson |location=London |publisher=Rockliff |oclc=3797774}}
* {{cite book |last=Huggett |first=Richard |year=1989 |title=Binkie Beaumont&nbsp;– Éminence Grise of the West End Theatre, 1933–1973 |location=London |publisher=Hodder and Stoughton |isbn=0340412690}}
* {{cite book |last=Lesley |first=Cole |year=1976 |title=The Life of Noel Coward |location=London |publisher=Cape |isbn=0224012886}}
* {{cite book |last=Lyttelton |first=George |author-link=George William Lyttelton |author2=Rupert Hart-Davis |year=1982 |title=[[Lyttelton/Hart-Davis Letters]], ''Volume 4'' |location=London |publisher=John Murray |isbn=0719539412 |author-link2=Rupert Hart-Davis}}
* {{cite book |last=Miller |first=John |year=1995 |title=Ralph Richardson&nbsp;– The Authorized Biography |location=London |publisher=Sidgwick and Jackson |isbn=0283062371}}
* {{cite book |last=Morley |first=Sheridan |year=2001 |title=John G&nbsp;– The Authorised Biography of John Gielgud |location=London |publisher=Hodder and Stoughton |isbn=0340368039}}
* {{cite book |last=Page |first=Malcolm |year=1993 |title=File on Pinter |location=London |publisher=Methuen |isbn=0413536203}}
* {{cite book |last=Sužiedėlis |first=Saulius |year=2011 |title=Historical Dictionary of Lithuania |location=Lanham, Maryland, US |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=0810849143}}
* {{cite book |last=Tanitch |first=Robert |year=1988 |author-link=Robert Tanitch |title=Gielgud |location=London |publisher=Harrap |isbn=0245545603}}
* {{cite book |last=Tynan |first=Kenneth |year=1964 |title=Tynan on Theatre |url=https://archive.org/details/tynanontheatre0000tyna |url-access=registration |location=London |publisher=Penguin Books |oclc=949598}}
* {{cite book |last=Ustinov |first=Peter |year=1978 |orig-year=1977 |title=Dear Me |location=Harmondsworth, UK |publisher=Penguin |isbn=0140049401}}
* {{cite book |last=Weeks |first=Jeffrey |author-link=Jeffrey Weeks (sociologist) |year=1989 |title=Sex, Politics and Society |url=https://archive.org/details/sexpoliticssocie0000week |url-access=registration |location=London |publisher=Longman |isbn=0582483336}}
* {{cite book |last=White |first=Rob |author2=Edward Buscombe |year=2003 |title=British Film Institute Film Classics |location=London and New York |publisher=BFI and Fitzroy Dearborn |isbn=1579583288}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{IMDb name}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160327002939/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba2547c5d John Gielgud] at the [[British Film Institute]]{{better source needed|reason=Help request: a live link can be searched for at https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/search/expert - if available, replace the archive URL with the live link. Or if none found, remove this 'better source needed' template. | date=October 2023}}
* {{TCMDb name}}
* {{Screenonline name|461020}}
* [https://www.theguardian.com/news/2000/may/23/guardianobituaries.nicholasdejongh John Gielgud | Stage | The Guardian]
* [http://searcharchives.bl.uk/IAMS_VU2:IAMS032-001986980 John Gielgud Archive]{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} at the [[British Library]]

{{Navboxes
|title = [[John Gielgud, roles and awards#Awards and honours|Awards for John Gielgud]]
|list =
{{AcademyAwardBestSupportingActor 1981-2000}}
{{BAFTA Award for Best Actor 1952-1959}}
{{BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor 1968-1984}}
{{BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award}}
{{DramaDesk UniqueTheatricalExperience 1976–2000}}
{{Distinguished Performance Award}}
{{EmmyAward MiniseriesLeadActor 1976-2000}}
{{Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor}}
{{GoldenGlobeBestSuppActorMotionPicture 1981-2000}}
{{GoldenGlobeSupportingActorTV 1970-1989}}
{{Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album 1980s}}
{{Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor}}
{{National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor}}
{{New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor}}
{{OlivierAward SpecialAward}}
{{Special Tony Award}}
{{TonyAward PlayDirection 1947-1975}}
}}
{{EGOT winners}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gielgud, John}}
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