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In Memoriam: Brian Bedford, 1936-2016, and William Needles, 1919-2016

Within the space of a day, the Stratford Festival lost two of its most beloved artists: actor/director Brian Bedford, who died of cancer at the age of 80, and actor William Needles, of a heart attack at the age of 97.

The British-born Bedford, expert at touching both the heart and the funny bone, was a protégé of John Gielgud in England, playing Ariel to Gielgud’s Prospero in a 1958 staging of Shakespeare’s The Tempest. He spent time on Broadway in the late 50s and 60s, performing in a dozen productions and winning a Tony as best actor.

In 1975, artistic director Robin Phillips brought Bedford to Stratford to play the self-centred Malvolio in Twelfth Night and the conflicted Angelo in Measure For Measure. In the latter his co-star was Martha Henry, and their chemistry was some of the most exciting I’ve seen at the festival: the seemingly upright Angelo, left in absolute control of the city of Vienna, lusts after the virginal Isabella, offering to spare her condemned brother’s life if she sleeps with him.

During his 29 seasons at the festival, Bedford appeared in more than 50 productions and directed 20. Two of them, Timon Of Athens and The Importance of Being Earnest, went to Broadway at the end of his career, he’d received seven Tony nominations.

What do I remember best of his work? An incredibly nuanced Richard III, his teddy-bear carrying Malvolio in Twelfth Night, and especially his work with Maggie Smith during her Stratford years. There wasn’t a funnier Private Lives than the 1978 production in which they starred.

But he had lots more tricks to pull out of his vast theatre trunk, including a Lady Bracknell who quivered with indignation whenever she heard or considered anything reprehensible and who regularly had the audience shaking with laughter. Bedford also directed that production.

His last Stratford acting/directing credits included the lead in King Lear and a solo show based on the letters of Oscar Wilde, Ever Yours, Oscar. His final work at the festival was helming 2013’s Blithe Spirit.

Bedford was also known to TV viewers for appearances on Cheers, Frasier and Murder, She Wrote.

Stratford, which will hold a memorial at a later date, dedicates the 2016 production of Macbeth to Bedford’s memory years ago, he starred in the show on the Festival stage.

Mirvish Productions also honours Bedford, dimming the marquee lights at the Royal Alexandra and Princess of Wales theatres tonight Bedford made his Canadian debut at the Royal Alex in 1960 and performed there five more times during his career.

According to Stratford’s records, William Needles was Canada’s oldest working actor. A founding member of the Stratford company, a member of the Order of Canada, co-founder of the Actors Fund of Canada and recipient of numerous awards, Needles was not only a fine actor but also a teacher and mentor to several generations of performers.

Born in Yonkers, New York, Needles moved to Winnipeg and then Toronto, where he appeared in radio before joining the inaugural 1953 Stratford season during 47 seasons, audiences watched him in over 100 productions. One of his most memorable roles was Chorus in Shakespeare’s Henry V the character begins the play, and Needles brought a lively presence and subtle passion to the part.

He retired from the stage at the age of 87, one of his last roles being, appropriately, a touching Old Adam in As You Like It. And just as fittingly, Stratford dedicates its upcoming production of As You to his memory. A celebration of Needles’s life will be held in the spring.

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