Richard Briers: Movies & Box Office

Richard Briers was a renowned English actor whose career spanned more than five decades, touching film, radio, stage and television with remarkable versatility. Born Richard David Briers on 14 January 1934 in Raynes Park, Surrey, England, he grew up in a household that valued music and performance, his mother being a concert pianist and his father an avid amateur singer. After serving two years in the Royal Air Force, Briers trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, graduating with a silver medal and a scholarship that launched him into repertory theatre. He first captured the public’s attention as George Starling in the sitcom Marriage Lines (1961‑66), but his breakthrough came when he narrated the beloved children’s series Roobarb and Noah and Nelly in… Skylark in the mid‑1970s, establishing him as a household name. His charismatic turn as Tom Good in The Good Life (1975‑78) cemented his status as a national treasure, a role that resonated so strongly that the final episode was performed before Queen Elizabeth II. Briers also excelled in more serious work, collaborating with Kenneth Branagh on Shakespearean films such as Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet and As You Like It, displaying his classical chops alongside his comic timing. On stage he delighted audiences in productions ranging from Ayckbourn’s Relatively Speaking to the Royal National Theatre’s revival of London Assurance in 2010. Beyond acting, he was a prolific voice artist, lending his warm narration to countless radio dramas, commercials and animated series, and he remained a devoted supporter of charitable causes, serving as President of Parkinson’s UK. Honoured with an OBE in 1989 and a CBE in 2003, Briers left an indelible mark on British entertainment before his death on 17 February 2013, remembered by peers and fans alike as one of Britain’s best‑loved actors.